Serving a prison sentence for several years was never easy, especially when you were locked inside a suffocating cell filled with chaos and power struggles at such a young age.
There was no proven crime, yet that alone was enough to throw him into prison. Strange as it was, he wasn't surprised in the slightest when he realized just how corrupt the system of that place truly was.
Moreover, even though the prison was infamous for its countless iron cells and hundreds, perhaps even thousands of inmates. A man there suffered from extreme loneliness and crushing mental pressure because his circumstances were different from the other prisoners; he never received a single visit from family.
Oddly enough, the woman responsible for him ending up in that place came twice a month to comfort him. She had once been his classmate, and she possessed a strange nature that slowly turned the personality of that man, Liam Tirarty, rigid and harsh.
Too long, far too long. From the moment he first entered prison at the age of eighteen, he always kept to himself in the corner of that dark, suffocating, foul-smelling cell until he turned twenty-eight on May 31st.
The strange event that changed everything happened when the sound of bizarre murmurs echoed not far from the place where he was imprisoned, and after that, everything became unknown once he realized his consciousness had been transferred into another world, stripping away part of his cold and rough personality along with his core memories, while also inheriting the traits of the body he now occupied.
A sense of compassion and curiosity tied to the occult, including the strange news spreading across Moran.
Meanwhile, the blue moonlight shimmered beautifully in the sky alongside hundreds of glittering stars, making the scenery feel magical, utterly mesmerizing, and strangely calming to the mind of a man staring at it with a face burdened by pressure.
From the ground-floor window in the living room, Liam Tirarty realized he was inside an unfamiliar house, accompanied by the strange feeling that had haunted him since waking from death, along with the disorientation caused by half of his past memories overlapping with his current ones.
He only remembered two people; a woman he assumed had been his friend, and a man lying on the ground with a knife stabbed into his stomach. Beyond that, he remembered nothing else.
Including the memories of his time in prison and the few seconds before he was transferred into this body.
For a moment, his gaze fixed on the stone-paved street outside, where not a single person could be seen passing by, making his chest tighten at the realization. Confusion clouded his mind. Where exactly was he?
"Who is he? How did I end up inside this person's body?" he muttered in confusion, his blue eyes faintly glimmering in the dim light as he stared at his own reflection in the window glass.
8:30 PM.
Liam realized something was wrong with this world when he read the newspaper reporting the series of deaths that morning, learning about it after his mother returned home carrying two copies of the paper from the town square.
The report described the incident that had happened to Zavi. The cathedral bells had continued ringing throughout the afternoon and evening before, mourning the tragedy that had struck the city of Moran.
He realized, or rather, this world resembled the city where he had once lived back on that cursed Earth.
In various cities, especially within Havanuheta Province, supernatural incidents occurred frequently and often ended in tragedy, claiming lives in horrifying ways.
The cause of those deaths had never been clearly identified, and even now, on Saturday, October 20th, the news had reached its peak regarding the many deaths across Moran's seven districts, including Zavi, while the authorities had no answers for any of it.
At the same time, prophecies about the coming apocalypse spread everywhere. No one knew when it would happen. No exact date, month, or year...
Even the main church, Morotuane, which worshipped the god Auneron, the bringer of fortune and virtue, seemed somewhat concerned about all of this and instructed the citizens to remain calm and not panic.
More than six hours had passed since Liam's soul transferred into the body of a twenty-year-old young man named Zavi Actitus. Yet he only fully regained consciousness that afternoon, as if his soul needed to adapt to this body and this world before sinking deep into the bizarre unknown.
Inside this modest two-story house with a total of seven rooms, Zavi lived together with his mother, Mei Actitus, his older brother, Ren Actitus, and his younger sister, Isabelle Actitus.
He was the second child in the family.
Or rather, the first.
When Zavi was five years old, his father left without any clear explanation. Isabelle had only been one year old at the time. Zavi's mother, Mei, said that his father had remarried. That was all. No explanation. No reason.
Some time later, his mother remarried as well, to one of her upperclassmen from school. He brought along a son. Ren. Ten years old. His mother had passed away, leaving behind only the family name. Since then, their family had gained another member. But Zavi's biological father... would never return.
On that very same date, October 20th, 1543 according to the Star Calendar, on Saturday at exactly 8:15 AM, Zavi ended his own life by stabbing his heart with a knife.
Why did he do it? Because on Thursday, the 18th, he had gone together with a female friend to a place known as the holy land called Eaurealis Castle in Tezny District, and by Friday night he began feeling an unbearable sensation throughout his entire body.
As if two black marks had appeared on his left or right wrist and on his neck, accompanied by a sensation like his heart was about to explode.
On Saturday morning, right after breakfast, the sensation became so overwhelming that his body reached its limit, and Zavi stabbed his own heart with a kitchen knife. That day, none of his family members knew anything about it, as though the incident itself was connected to the occult!
That death triggered Liam's soul to forcibly take over his body, and somehow, the stab wound healed completely afterward, as if the entire event had merely been a nightmare fading away after waking from a long sleep.
Even tonight, Liam still couldn't speak properly after experiencing that bizarre incident, and the moment kept replaying endlessly in his mind, making his chest tremble violently.
After learning all of that, he realized he had to hide the knife inside the wardrobe, clean the blood from the kitchen floor, and wash himself in the bathroom before his older brother returned home together with their mother.
Keeping calm, holding back the effects of excessive anxiety and playing his role as Zavi for a while before he decides to find out how this world works and solve the mystery of his existence in the body of a 20 year old young man named Zavi Actitus.
"Damn it."
Then... a voice filled with curiosity and slight confusion came from the direction of the stairs.
"What's wrong, Zavi?" his younger sister asked with a puzzled expression. "Did your heart get broken again after being rejected by another woman?"
His younger sister, Isabelle, stood on the first step of the staircase, and she was somewhat mischievous toward him. Since childhood, she had barely ever spoken to her older brother, Ren, for reasons unknown.
Liam turned toward her with a faint smile, stepped forward, and decided to play along for a moment to ease the tension and curiosity in his mind.
As though hearing their conversation, their mother, who was inside her room on the left side of the living room, stepped out.
"It's already late. Aren't you two sleepy?" their mother said softly while rubbing her eyes and turning on the light.
The question spread through the atmosphere like mist swept away by the wind.
His mother stared deeply at Liam as she watched him walk closer to her. Then she spoke in a voice as soft as silk, "Has Ren come home yet?" She carefully observed both of her children.
Isabelle's previously cheerful expression darkened. She climbed the stairs, intending to return to her room, leaving the two of them behind.
Liam tilted his head after witnessing that. He still didn't understand why Isabelle hated Ren so much. Even within Zavi's memories, he couldn't find a single clue about it.
He let out a sigh while staring at his mother's face, which was filled with worry.
"Just leave it alone! You should go back to sleep," Liam said softly while guiding his mother back toward her room.
'He went out again after coming home at 5 PM, and about my memories from Earth... why can't I remember them clearly because they keep overlapping, while this body's memories are dominating my mind right now? And what exactly was I doing before I transferred into this body?'
Liam became completely lost in his thoughts as he walked and slowly pushed his mother into the room.
Click...
His mother's bedroom door closed from the outside. Meanwhile, Liam walked toward his own room because there was information he wanted to investigate.
His room was located on the right side of the living room.
The moment the door opened, the gentle night breeze greeted his face with a calmness that briefly emptied his thoughts.
Realizing the window was still open, Liam had no choice but to shut it tightly. This time, he chose to turn off the bedroom light and use a candle for illumination while resting.
"So... what exactly am I supposed to do?" he muttered softly.
"Strange prophecies? Supernatural phenomena? Shamans? And how did I end up in this world?"
He wanted to escape the stress of being trapped inside the house.
'Looks like I just need to search for my memories and... those memories keep overlapping, and what was that black figure I saw an hour ago?'
Liam was confused, uncertain what he should do as he picked up the pocket watch in front of him and opened its cover.
Click...
'Half past eight at night, huh?'
Not long after, he heard faint footsteps passing outside his room. The footsteps were rhythmic, as though the person carried malicious intent, perhaps intending to rob the house.
Alertness gripped his mind, his jaw tightened, his breathing became uneven, and horrifying memories resurfaced of a humanoid shadow walking in front of his old house.
Liam immediately stood up, pushing his chair backward. Then he walked to the right and slowly opened the door to peek outside.
"Was that Ren? I wonder why nobody questioned his absence this morning and why he only came home this afternoon."
Because the living room was fairly dark with the lights turned off, and he was only an ordinary human incapable of seeing clearly in the dark, he could only make out the silhouette of someone standing in front of the window.
Accidentally, he pushed the door wider open, causing the unpleasant creaking of the hinges to echo briefly throughout the room.
'Damn it...'
Liam suddenly felt nervous. His hands trembled violently, and even the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
From the doorway, his gaze briefly landed on a man with straight black hair and blue eyes filled with exhaustion, staring at him with a weary look.
Ren lowered the hood of his cloak and glanced briefly at his younger brother before climbing the stairs.
'Is he a criminal?'
Liam didn't know what to think. He sighed, and when his gaze shifted outside, the door moved and let out a piercing creak; with heavy steps, he immediately shut it.
Back inside his room, sitting quietly while staring at the neatly arranged books on the desk and the soft, steady candlelight, Liam suddenly remembered something from fragments of Zavi's memories.
'That man was hiding something in his left hand. I'm sure of it. He's hiding something from the family... but what is it?'
Those questions kept spinning endlessly inside his head without answers, irritating him until, without realizing it, he slammed his hand onto the table.
Not long afterward, unexpectedly, his ears caught the sound of rapid footsteps descending the stairs like a series of sharp knocks. He wondered what kind of person could run down the stairs that fast. Did that person possess supernatural abilities?
Then came a knock on the door from the right side, where he sat.
His eyes widened, his breathing grew heavier, and his gaze locked onto the door.
Suddenly, he stood up and decided to open it.
He saw his older brother standing there with a gloomy expression and an unreadable gaze.
"Why are you here?" he asked flatly while staring at his brother's face, his breathing slowly becoming steady again.
Ren inspected every corner of the room as though making sure there was nothing strange hidden inside. Suddenly, he grabbed Liam's shoulders with both of his cold hands.
"It's nothing. But be careful."
'Be careful?' Liam thought, gasping softly as his heart pounded violently and a chill spread throughout his body.
After saying that, Ren left without explaining what he meant.