The faint light of dawn filtered through the cracks in the rooftops, casting long shadows on the dusty ground. The air was icy, and the stillness of the environment felt oppressive, as if everything were suspended in time.
In the middle of a dirty alley, lay the lifeless body of a beautiful young boy. His skin, pale as marble, and the stiffness of his body suggested that death had already claimed him.
But then, a drop of dew descended from above and fell onto his face, sliding down his cheek. His eyelashes trembled, and his eyes slowly opened, as if waking from a long sleep. Supporting his hands on the damp ground, he rose clumsily. The cold morning air assailed him like blades cutting his skin. Around him, the world seemed to spin, distorted, as if he were submerged underwater.
"Where…?" His voice broke on the attempt: rough, weak, as if it hadn't been used in days. It even sounded strange to his own ears, as if it weren't really his.
He gathered all his strength, pushing himself up; he lost balance several times but finally managed to stand.
He looked around, disoriented; he didn't know where he was or how he had gotten there, nor did he even know who he was at that moment—only a vast white void flooded his mind.
He looked at his body, completely strange and unknown; his hands were too thin, with long, bony fingers. He wore a ragged, dirty tunic; his long hair was disheveled, and he didn't even have shoes. He seemed to be about ten years old but was in a deplorable state, noticeably malnourished, so his development might be affected.
He looked down the alley, seeing the street lit by the sun, full of pedestrians and carts. He tried to take a few steps to get out of there, but he was totally uncoordinated, as if his muscles wouldn't respond. And then, without warning, a sound arose in his mind: —[Anomaly detected. Cognitive pattern unstable. Presence of external memories confirmed. Initiate stabilization protocol?]
The clarity of the voice startled him. He couldn't identify its origin, but somehow it seemed familiar, like the voice of an old friend.
"Yes… stabilize."
He barely thought it. He wasn't even conscious—it was more like a reflex.
At that moment, something changed completely; the tender, innocent face of the boy turned cold. A vast amount of information filled his head but didn't overload him; it was perfectly ordered, and in just an instant, it was fully digested.
He remembered everything: his name was Ethan, and the body he inhabited was indeed not his. His last memory was his apparent death; he didn't know how he had arrived there, but he had also absorbed the boy's memories, so he knew this world was not the same as the one he had lived in before. Unlike his own, here there was no technology; the level of development was similar to medieval China, but there were mystical factors not found in his world. According to local stories, there were special beings here, like beasts and demons, as well as so-called cultivators—humans capable of manipulating the spiritual energy of the world to their advantage.
As fascinating as this world was, mundane humans still belonged to the lower class; poverty was very common. Such had been the life of the body's original owner, worn down by misery and pain. He didn't even have a name; he had been abandoned as a child in a remote, forgotten village called Qīngyè (青叶). He suffered from an unknown ailment that consumed him from within: a persistent and sharp cold that covered his skin with painful frost, as if his own blood were slowly freezing.
"Perform a deep and comprehensive body scan," he said, this time with perfect clarity.
The voice answered instantly:
—[Scan initiated… Processing…]
A silent hum filled his mind, as if tiny gears were turning behind his thoughts.
—[Scan complete. Nutritional status compromised. Significant muscle mass loss. Signs of mild bone atrophy and reduced intestinal absorption. Vital functions stable but in delicate condition.]
[Unidentified cold energy detected. Penetration level: deep. Anomalous internal temperature drop observed. Structural impact ongoing, progressive.]
[No complete solution found in database. Constant monitoring and medical evaluation recommended.]
Ethan closed his eyes for a moment. The diagnosis was worse than he had imagined—not only the body's innate illness but also the secondary effects of constant malnutrition since early age.
The distant sound of wind moving a rusty door interrupted the stillness. He looked around; the alley looked like a crime scene—completely empty and silent. Ethan decided to move; standing there wouldn't solve any problems. He needed to find a solution—first and foremost, food and shelter, a warm place to help dissipate the cold, and no less important, a thorough bath; his body smelled even worse than a rotten egg.
With difficulty, he took his first step out of the alley. His legs trembled, and each movement sent another sharp pain through him. But he forced himself to continue.
Luckily, his muscles soon released their stiffness, greatly improving his pain and mobility.
The world appeared uncertain, hostile, and unknown; he still couldn't stop.
Not yet.