"If you are reading this, then perhaps I am already dead."
In an instant, a chill ran down Isaac's spine as he kept staring at the words for a long moment.
"And if you are reading this, then you must be the next person inheriting this accursed place."
'Accursed?'
Isaac repeated the word, hastily looking around the garden. A soft breeze brushed past his face like a gentle touch — which was absurd in itself.
'How is this place accursed?'
Isaac drew in a deep breath and read on.
"Before I begin, this is a warning that you must take seriously. If you have a weak mind, or are someone who is easily influenced by others, then this world is not for you."
"Kill yourself now and be free. You will not get another chance once you start."
"This…."
Isaac grew increasingly anxious the more he read.
Whoever had written this must have gone through something truly terrible — to suggest death over living.
Isaac felt rather overwhelmed by her words.
'I just arrived in this world.'
Though he had no intention of taking his own life, no matter how bad things got.
"If you have made up your mind to stay, then let us start from the very beginning."
"My name is Cassandra. I first opened my eyes in this world on the 12th of March, 1356 of the 3rd Epoch, at the age of 15, in my hometown of Sotan, on the Arianar Continent."
"My life was a mess after my transmigration, with no one to rely on. I spent most of my time crying and begging for all of it to be a nightmare, but even after two years nothing changed — until I was selected as a priestess of an Old God."
"It was only after becoming his priestess that I began to understand what this world truly is at its core."
"But what made me happy was that I found out something really important… a way to return to my real world."
"...."
Isaac's hand trembled as he stared at the words. A wave of relief washed over him, and a bud of hope bloomed in his chest.
'…I can go back.'
His heart swelled with happiness as he eagerly read on.
"To return home, you need to reach a certain level of Ascendant before you even attempt anything."
"Ascendant?"
Isaac mumbled softly, tilting his head in confusion.
From the previous Isaac's memories, he had heard Logan mention it before, but he hadn't been sure what it meant.
"But it is possible. I may have failed, but I will help you meet your family once again."
'How can you be so sure that I want to see my family?'
The assumption struck Isaac as odd, and he made a mental note of it.
Even so, despite never having seen or met her, he was genuinely grateful for her help.
"To start, you need to complete your first ritual. I have already prepared a gift that will be incredibly useful to you."
Isaac tilted his head and looked at the box sitting on the table.
But as he tried to pick it up, a sharp pain stabbed through his mind.
"Argh."
Isaac squeezed his eyes shut, grabbing his head with both hands and blinking desperately against the pain.
'Huh?'
When it subsided, he was staring up at the wooden ceiling of the room.
Isaac blinked groggily and pushed himself up from the floor.
'What happened?'
'Where did the garden go?'
He looked around, but there was no trace of it. The dull ache still lingering in his mind made him give up quickly.
Then a second pain overtook the first... a searing, sizzling sensation on his forearm.
Ouch! Ouch!
He gritted his teeth and looked down at his forearm, where a mark of the garden was slowly being carved into his skin.
Isaac endured it, tolerating the pain as it ran its course. After a while, it finally faded.
'It seems not much time has passed here.'
He could still hear Rhea moving around in the kitchen.
Letting out a sigh, he sat down on the bed and rubbed his temples.
'…An Ascendant.'
He wondered what it would take to become one.
'I should ask Logan about this.'
Still, Isaac felt a great weight lift from his chest knowing there was a way back to his world.
'…I just need to be patient.'
"Isaac!"
Rhea's voice jolted him out of his thoughts.
"Coming!"
He replied, standing up and slowly making his way down the hallway.
His body was still weak, but he had better control over it now.
The smell of food reached him, and his stomach growled in response.
As he walked towards the kitchen, he noticed a picture on the wall.
A family portrait.... Logan seated in the middle, a young man standing to one side with Rhea and her two children, and a young Isaac among them.
"...."
Isaac stared at the man beside Logan-- his son, Mesmer, who wore a bright smile on his face.
He had fragmented memories of him; of what a good father he had been to all of them.
But during the fire set by the humans, he had died protecting everyone.
Rhea stepped out of the kitchen and found him staring at the picture.
With a soft smile, she walked over and ruffled his hair. "Don't think so much."
She took his arm and guided him to his seat.
Isaac sat down and looked at the meal she had prepared, a simple spread of soup and a loaf of bread.
He broke off a small piece of bread and dipped it into the soup.
Rhea sat close to him, her chin resting in her palm as she watched him eat. There was a quiet smile on her face -- the kind only a mother wore for her children.
Isaac glanced at her and felt something tighten in his chest.
'She really did love the previous Isaac.'
Sadly, the one she thought of as her child was already gone.
Isaac was just a traveller who had taken over a dead body.
'…But how did the previous Isaac die?'
He wasn't sure whether his death had anything to do with him.
While eating, Isaac posed a question. "Do you know anything about Ascendants, Mother?"
Rhea blinked in surprise at the word coming from his mouth. "How do you…?"
"I heard it from Grandfather." He made up an excuse on the spot. "Do you know what they are?"
Rhea hummed, debating with herself whether to answer.
"Well, Ascendants are beings beyond a normal person's comprehension," she said, cryptically. "They are born from the grace of gods."
Isaac nodded, clearing his throat.
He looked into her calm, clear eyes.
"…How can I become one?"