In the hazy morning light, Sercis opened his eyes.
He raised his hand to block the incoming light.
It was a young girl's hand, with long, slender fingers, a fragile pale palm, carrying an unhealthy appearance.
"Sigh... that unpleasant dream again."
The girl lying on the wooden bed murmured, her voice clear as a spring, yet filled with weariness.
Sercis—no longer called Sercis now. At the moment when his body had completely died and his soul was about to dissipate, he was confusedly swept into a dark current, arriving in the body of this girl named "Celitia."
The original owner's life had already reached its end, but Sercis's arrival awakened in her a glimmer of hope for survival.
And Sercis, at that time filled with pain and disillusionment, found a renewed desire for life through the girl's persistence.
Two souls on the brink of death, their memories and emotions merged, ultimately struggling to survive.
"To see the beauty of the world with these eyes?"
After the fusion, Sercis, as the dominant personality, wasn't particularly interested in this wish that belonged to the girl.
"Unfortunately, this world is filled with betrayal and darkness, just as you've been living in hell all along..."
Recalling past events, thinking of those three faces that had torn off their masks of affection to reveal hatred and disgust, Celitia felt a sharp pain in her chest, too intense to suppress.
She clutched her chest tightly, fingers digging into her clothes, the back of her hand so pale it was nearly transparent. Her body curled up, trembling uncontrollably.
"...Huff...cough...cough cough..."
Several deep breaths still couldn't control her body's reaction. Celitia covered her mouth, struggling to suppress the violent coughing to a minimum.
"...Cough cough cough...cough cough..."
The once abundant battle energy and magic had completely disappeared. The girl was seriously ill, her body in the worst possible condition, as if she might pass away at any moment.
Finally, the coughing stopped, and the physical discomfort gradually subsided.
Celitia rubbed her temples, forcing herself to focus as she sat up from the hard wooden bed and reached for the clothes placed at her bedside.
It was a deep gray linen dress, without any decorative patterns, plain and simple.
Expressionlessly removing her nightgown and changing into the dress, Celitia casually brushed the long hair behind her ears and looked toward the mirror on the wooden table not far away.
The mirror reflected the girl's appearance. Her light flaxen hair was fluffy and curly, draped over her shoulders like seaweed. Her features were delicate and elegant, her skin white as snow, her figure thin and frail, showing signs of illness.
Most striking were her purple-gray eyes, seemingly covered with a light mist, like a winter morning's drizzle, hazy and mysterious.
After examining herself for a moment, the girl's brows furrowed slightly, her misty eyes revealing a hint of helplessness.
Unfamiliar.
Extremely unfamiliar.
But...
"...Since I'm here anyway..." she muttered.
Having chosen to live, she could only accept everything and continue living.
Heaven had given them a chance at new life, an opportunity as a completely new personality to pursue desires hidden deep within her heart.
Moreover, Celitia wanted to see just how chaotic things would become over there without her support.
Rising from her attic room, she picked up the broom from the corner and walked into the courtyard.
Facing the morning sun, the girl leisurely began sweeping the yard.
This body was far too weak, unable to withstand any exercise of even moderate intensity. She could only just barely move her limbs to gradually adapt.
Passersby hurriedly walked by outside, and through the wall, Celitia heard them discussing recent major events:
"The Kingdom of York is completely finished. Who would have thought that after Sercis's death, that little queen couldn't control the situation at all. Various lords have declared independence, and those who haven't probably are thinking about breaking away."
"That's inevitable. I heard that not only did their Templar Knight Order lose its commander, but the Holy Magic Corps leader Kristin went insane as well. With both major military forces out of control at the same time, it would be strange if the Kingdom of York weren't in chaos."
"Ah, speaking of which, did you feel the strange power that suddenly erupted last night?"
"Yes, I was so frightened I couldn't sleep well all night. These are truly troubled times. The King is still seriously ill, the Princess is unable to hold things together, we can only count on Lady Ariel, the Saintess..."
"Shh, don't discuss matters regarding the Princess and Lady Saintess..."
Listening to the passersby's words, Celitia lowered her eyelids, continuing to sweep without pause.
Only her pale lips curved into a mocking smile.
The nation she had worked so hard to maintain was now teetering, the people she had sworn to protect with all her might had fallen into madness...
But what did that have to do with her now?
Sercis was dead.
Standing here now was just an ordinary girl.
Suddenly, a strange power fluctuation arose nearby, and a mosaic-like black hole appeared in midair.
An extremely ominous feeling emanated from it.
"Ahhh-!!"
Nearby pedestrians screamed in terror at this strange phenomenon, fleeing in all directions, desperately trying to get away.
Below the black hole, Celitia tilted her head back, slightly furrowing her brow.
This power was not unfamiliar to Celitia.
She had once given this strange, distorted space-time a name, calling it the "Shadow Space-Time."
During her adventures years ago, Sercis had encountered it at an elven dwelling.
Left with no choice, he had killed the elves who had gone mad from exposure to the power and sealed the cave that connected to the Shadow Space-Time.
At that time, Sercis had also taken away the only surviving elf girl.
That was Kassy, who had signed a master-servant contract with him and had always remained by his side.
The distorted black hole opened a crack, and an arm struggled to reach out from the gap.
The once fair skin was now stained with patches of black.
Then, a figure painfully crawled out, falling from midair and landing at Celitia's feet.
From the long pointed ears, one could vaguely recognize that she was an elf.
Her clothes were tattered, her body festering. Her light blue long hair had lost its luster, and her face had lost its former elegant coolness. At first glance, she would only inspire disgust.
The elf crawled forward a couple of steps, prostrating herself at Celitia's feet, painfully extending her hand as if trying to grasp Celitia's toes.
"...Master… Master..."
Broken fragments of voice escaped the elf's mouth.
"...Save me… please..."
From that shattered voice, Celitia barely recognized that the person before her was her former contract elf, Kassy.
Eyes narrowing, Celitia held her broom and casually stepped back half a step, avoiding the elf's trembling hands.
"Who are you?" Celitia coldly spoke. "I don't know you. Please don't try to claim a relationship with me."