Born in a New Body

Darkness.

Silence.

Emptiness.

And then, slowly... warmth.

As if the cold and rigid world had melted away, cradling her in a new embrace—Ayaka Ishikawa, who should have died, opened her eyes.

“Where… am I…?”

The sky stretched above her—soft blue, streaked with wisps of white. Clouds drifted lazily over an endless expanse of forest, swaying gently in the breeze. The air carried the scent of leaves and damp earth, fresh like a spring morning.

But it wasn’t the beauty of the world that shocked her most.

It was her own hands.

Too smooth. Too slender. Skin pale and almost glowing, as though lit by moonlight. She lifted them before her eyes, and her breath caught.

“This… isn’t my body.”

Golden hair spilled down her shoulders. She leaned over a nearby stream, catching a glimpse of her reflection rippling in the water—a young girl’s face stared back at her, with long pointed ears and radiant amber eyes.

She was no longer Ayaka Ishikawa.

She had become… something else.

“A High Elf…?”

She whispered the words softly, recalling what she’d once read in fantasy novels and games. A race known as the most powerful wielders of natural magic—rare, noble, and nearly untouched by time.

And then, the memories came rushing in.

The office. The endless stack of papers. The cold glow of her computer screen. The dull ache of loneliness from her mundane, grinding life. And then… the accident. Screeching tires. A deafening crash. Darkness.

And now… she was here. In this body. In a world that felt far too real to be a dream.

“Did I… reincarnate?”

She pushed herself to her feet. Her new body felt light yet strong, pulsing with an energy that was unfamiliar yet strangely comforting. She took a few cautious steps, exploring the unfamiliar clearing. A forest surrounded her—dense yet luminous, as if protected by a sacred light unseen.

But it didn’t take long before she found something else.

Ruins.

Stone pillars cloaked in moss, worn down by time. The remnants of a forgotten age. At the center stood a small altar, and upon it—an old book with a silver-bound cover.

As if pulled by instinct, Ayaka approached and reached out.

The moment her fingers brushed the silver surface, a voice echoed in her mind.

[Welcome, Heir of Light.]

Her heart skipped a beat.

“W-Who… who’s there?”

[Your name has been written in the covenant of watchers. Your body now belongs to Lyselle Althariel—the final vessel of High Elf’s sacred blood. Your fate is bound to this world, and magic shall awaken within you.]

Lyselle Althariel?

Ayaka collapsed to her knees, trembling. She hadn’t just entered a new body—she had replaced someone. Someone named Lyselle Althariel. And judging by the voice, that person had been far from ordinary.

“Then… I didn’t just get a second life. I inherited a role in this world.”

She slowly opened the book.

The pages were etched with ancient symbols and strange markings—but somehow, she could read them.

> “Magic is the root of this world. There are seven primary branches: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, Darkness, and Spirit. Only those with a complete Soul Symphony may touch them all.”

Ayaka—no, Lyselle—pressed a hand to her chest.

She could feel it. Like a tiny vortex of energy sleeping deep within, waiting to be called. Magic. A power she never had in her previous life.

And then—footsteps. Soft, hurried.

Startled, she ducked behind a pillar.

A young girl appeared from the trees, her curly hair bouncing as she carried a basket full of mushrooms and herbs. She gasped when she saw Lyselle.

“Ah! B-Big Sis Lyselle… You’re awake?!”

“…You know me?”

The girl ran to her, wrapping her arms around Lyselle without hesitation.

“Yes! Everyone was so worried! After you collapsed at the altar, you didn’t wake up for two whole weeks! Grandpa thought you had already returned to the Elven heavens!”

Two weeks?

So this was Lyselle’s body, and Ayaka had simply… “awakened” after lying dormant.

“What’s your name?” Lyselle asked gently, managing a smile though unease lingered in her chest.

“My name’s Mira! I live in Luiren Village, near the edge of the forest.”

Lyselle nodded.

“All right, Mira. Could you take me home?”

“Of course! Let’s go!”

As they walked side by side through the forest, Lyselle tried to absorb everything.

She was now in a world called Eirenthal, in the body of a noble High Elf. People here knew her. They had been waiting for her. She wasn’t starting from zero—but from someone’s unfinished life.

But it wasn’t her new body that disturbed her most.

It was the whispers of this world.

“Within the palace festers corruption.”

“Betrayal. Greed. Power bought with blood.”

Ayaka had seen evil in her previous life—office politics, bribery, exploitation. But this world… this world might be worse. Ruled by nobility and kingdoms, where justice was a luxury and magic was used as a weapon of control.

She didn’t know why she had been chosen.

But if this truly was her second chance—

She wouldn’t waste it.

Not to become a hero.

But to dismantle the system that caused others to suffer.

“I’ll start here,” she whispered to herself.

Soon, Luiren Village came into view. Modest wooden houses. Small fields. People who looked weary, yet greeted her with smiles warm like the sun.

They welcomed her as if a long-lost family member had returned.

But behind their smiles, Lyselle could see it—poverty, suffering, helplessness.

This world... needed change.

And she would be the spark that ignites it.