New Body, New Problems

The old familiar feeling of a full-body static shock preceded the entrance into another dark void. A glowing pale blue figure hovered nearby.

She has one too… but she’s dead. The others were also red— except Finley’s, but I never saw hers. Maybe the colors mean something? Like, red for an enemy NPC?

But why does she have one, if she’s dead? …Eris insinuated that, without our avatars, we are just ‘source code.’ Is that what this is? Beneath the body and soul… this is how the program sees us.

I reached out my hand and stopped just before touching the figure.

So when I do this… I’m overriding a set of code. What happens to their ‘soul,’ if the body continues to exist? …Agh, I’m not smart enough for this.

I plunged my hand into her chest, and the void filled with vibrant light as she withered away. I woke up covered in burial cloth and sat up. The loosened cloth fell off in strips, and I saw Vivian standing at my left.

“It… it worked. We did it! How do you feel?”

“… Groggy. Like I’ve been asleep for days. Where’s William?”

“… Who?”

Oh, right.

“Sorry, it takes a moment to get used to their memories. This body was traveling with a man named William.”

Memories of being scorched by the sun and frozen by howling night winds flashed through my mind. I remembered the pain of hunger, the worried look in William’s bright green eyes. I saw a cup being lifted to my lips, and my hands reaching for my throat as my body collapsed to the floor.

“She was poisoned. They were running out of food, so William decided to control her fate.”

“Unfortunate. Well, how do you feel? Is the body still affected by the poison?”

I closed my eyes and took a few breaths. Nothing felt out of the ordinary, and I enjoyed the feeling of air circulating through my lungs.

“I feel fine. I want to try training with the others.”

I rushed to my feet and stumbled to the ground. Vivian reached out her hand, and I used it to lift myself.

“You might want to go slowly. This body is weakened; it will not be like those of the soldiers.”

I dusted myself off and looked at Vivian’s worried face. I smiled reassuringly and turned to stare in the direction of the training grounds.

“Right. I’ll just walk and watch for a while.”

“You could try studying the arcane. Maybe your body has an innate talent?”

“You said Eris is adept at magic. I’m sure, no matter how talented I might be, she’ll still be stronger.”

“Mm.”

Vivian placed a hand on her cheek and pursed her lips.

“Sigh. If you really think it’ll help, I don’t mind trying some simple spells.”

Vivian’s eyes lit up, and she turned to me. She pulled out a rusty trinket with a dull green gem at the center.

“What do you see?”

“An old brooch?”

“Anything else?”

“… No, nothing. What’s this for?”

Vivian looked down at the brooch, huffed, and squinted her eyes.

“It has been imbued with magic. Anyone versed in the arcane would be able to see that.”

“So… does that mean magic is a no-go?”

“It means that you have no innate talent or knowledge of magic. But all hope is not lost, we can still try!”

Vivian clutched the brooch and ran off back to the tunnel, dust kicking up behind her.

“Okayyy… see you later, then.”

I stretched my new body to test the strength of its limbs. After making sure I wouldn’t fall apart or break, I walked toward the training site while combing through the body's memories.

Not much stood out to me. The body’s name was Leila. She grew up at the outskirts of the kingdom with stern parents, and she ran away to be with her lover William shortly after the King’s marriage to Eris was announced.

There was one thing that seemed strange. Two names popped up during her memories of living in Solagard: Prince Plutarch and Princess Astraia. The former appeared once in Leila’s memories, a distant figure with striking red hair waving down to the crowd. I remembered the throne room where I spoke with Eris, and the three empty thrones beside her.

The Prince and Princess wouldn’t have let Eris destroy their father’s kingdom, right? Did she… Did she kill them? Disgusting.

When I arrived at the training site, Finley had left, and Matthias stood in the shade watching the group practice with wooden swords. I walked up to him, and he narrowed his eyes at me.

“Vivian said to look out for you. You’re smaller than I thought... It almost seems like a downgrade.”

I puffed my cheeks in defiance and glared up at him. He responded with a smirk.

“Pfft. Are you supposed to be angry? You look stupid. Here, catch.”

He tossed a large stick at me, and I fumbled it. It hit the ground with a light smack, and I rushed to pick it back up.

“Right, so exactly what purpose does that body serve? Are you hoping your enemies will surrender out of pity?”

“Why do you have to be such a jerk? You know women don’t like jerks, right?”

He raised an eyebrow and looked at me with bewilderment. I realized what I said and covered my mouth.

“I’m so sorry, this isn’t how I talk. At least not as far as I can remember.”

“Hm. You know, if being in another body lets you mimic their personalities, why don’t you just sneak your way into the castle? You could pretend to be someone close to Eris and kill her when she isn’t looking.”

“That… could actually work. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Maybe because you’re an idiot.”

This little—

“Alright, wisecrack, well how about this: I didn't see anyone get close to Eris, except for that creepy skeleton she calls Endymion. Even then, he said she’s made him ‘incorruptible’— whatever that means.”

Matthias stayed silent while he glared at me. I smirked with satisfaction, knowing I’d finally made him shut up. I brought the stick close to my chest, holding it like a broom handle.

“Now then, I have a big question for you. This body has memories of the kingdom before Eris took over. Prince Plutarch and Princess Astraia, who are they?”

Matthias leaned against a tree, and I turned the stick in my hands while I waited for his answer.

“It’s difficult to say. The Prince only showed his face to the public a few times. From what I heard, his fiancée died, and two moons later… he killed the King. A few days after his imprisonment, Eris announced he’d taken his own life.”

My eyes fell and I stared at the stick in my hands. Leila’s memories showed me the announcement of the previous Queen Katharine’s death and the King’s refusal to hold audiences for months afterward.

“Without him, only Eris could take the throne. Princess Astraia still lives, as far as we’ve heard. She just… doesn’t appear publicly anymore.”

I scratched my cheek while I ruminated on Matthias’s words. I tried to remember anything more about the Prince and Princess’s appearances, but nothing came to mind.

“Sounds… incredibly suspicious. You don’t think Eris might’ve killed both the King and Prince herself? Maybe the Princess, too?”

“We’ve thought about that ourselves, but there’s no way for us to find proof. As for the Princess, we sometimes hear travelers talk about her. According to them, she joins Eris in the throne room now and then.”

That means she gets close to Eris. I could use her body to get to Eris, but… I don’t want to ruin another innocent life.

“Matthias, would you say… that the Princess is on Eris’s side?”

Matthias stood up straight and looked at me with wide eyes. My body shrank back with fear on instinct.

“No, don’t even try to convince yourself of that. Queen Katharine was a wonderful person and mother. Princess Astraia clung to her side and admired her more than anyone else.”

“Matthias… did you know them, personally?”

Matthias clutched his left arm and narrowed his eyes at the ground beside him. I tilted my head to look into his wavering eyes.

“You must’ve heard when Finley mentioned my upbringing. The Arcane Sanctuary was also once Queen Katharine’s home. She would visit us regularly after her marriage to the King… and as soon as she was capable of walking, Astraia was always there by her side.”

“Oh… Wait. Matthias, if you grew up with mages, why don’t you use magic?”

Matthias’s grip on his arm tightened, and he glared at me.

“That’s none of your concern.”

Short, sour, and to the point.

Matthias stormed off, and I was left to stand in the shade alone. I turned to watch the others train and mimicked their movements. My arms felt heavy and weak— I could feel my muscles tense up with every swing.