[art can be found in paragraph comments]
[all art in this book is drawn by me unless it is said that I did not draw it]
Aster sat up, his violet-undertone black hair frazzled, resembling that of a bird's nest. His head swivelled around, trying to make sure that he was in fact, not in his bedroom anymore. He felt around the ground before rubbing at his eyes with his sleeves.
He got up and brushed the sand off his legs and his backside. He looked around and wondered if he was dreaming. He crouched and poked at the grass, before deeming that no- he was not dreaming.
Aster wanted to start sobbing when he realized this. He had no phone, no novels, no parents, no home. What in the world was he supposed to do!?
He frowned as he wandered around the pretty but maze-like rose garden. He observed the roses with a small smile on his face, his earlier fear momentarily forgotten.
He realized that these roses weren't only in the red category. These roses had many different shades of color, all of them seperated and sorted by color. There were white, red, pink, orange, yellow, gold, lavender and all these colours came in different shades varying from vibrant, light to dark and greyish. Some of them even had a mix of both.
He kept walking around, looking at the roses with a happy expression on his face. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a rose bush that was seperated from every other one, standing at the end of a pathway, that had a fountain at the middle of four paths. He realized this bush had dark purple roses with a hint of bluish-black.
He watched the flowers with unconcealed interest. He wondered how someone could grow a rose like this. And when he smelled it, it didn't have a single whiff of food coloring. So then how did they grow a rose as pretty as this naturally?
He looked up at the sky that was starting to darken- most likely falling into evening. He got up and kept walking, trying to find a way out and praying that he would not get even more lost than he originally was.
But fate didn't like him, just as much as he didn't like them.
He stopped in his tracks when he got back to the same(?) place he had woken up in. He was going to go back the other way, when he spotted a lady in a dirtied white dress tending to the roses. He saw her pour in water and brush her hands against the roses.
He gulped and started walking as quietly as possible the other way, which was to keep walking. He had expected to end up at the fountain and rose bush again, but now he was in a garden full of drooping lilies of hundreds of shades.
He panicked inwardly as he looked around. He started walking quickly, the stones on the path crunching underneath his shoes.
Soon enough, night had fallen, and Aster was very, very hungry. He sat on a patch of grass that didn't have flowers and sighed before looking up-
Wait. What the hell?
"…"
There were two moons. Two moons.
He yelped when he realized this, his face turning terrified. He took in deep breaths, remembering the practice he was taught to do when in a disaster- which was an understatement for this situation.
Hell, he was nine- what was he even supposed to do? Sure, he had read enough novels to know that he had just isekaied into a different world-
But this was different! Living a novel and reading one were completely different! He was screwed- what if they had magic? Swords? Assassins? The list could go on endlessly.
But then he realized the main point.
'Oh god.. I.. I didn't die did I?'
He was appalled at this thought. He most certainly did not want to leave his parents and keep them worried for their son who didn't reply back after going to bed.
He hadn't even gotten the chance to say goodbye. "Fate" was just cruel to the countless people who had ever experienced anything similar like this. How many people aside from him had 'died' in their sleep for some weird isekai or transmigration?
Sure, he wouldn't care if he was an adult like those main characters of this specific genre- but he was a nine year old in both this world and the other. Then he had the most important thought, looking around for something to look at his reflection. He knew that he certainly had his old hair, but what about his looks? But then he looked down, noticing his school uniform on him.
He concluded he probably was still in his old body but instead of wearing the pajamas he fell asleep in, he was wearing a grey cardigan on a white shirt with a crimson tie with white stripes, and a dark grey set of trousers with white socks and black sneakers. Or in other words- his school uniform.
He didn't like this anymore. He liked reading isekai, not get isekaied.
He was a kid. He didn't want any of this. He wanted to go back. He wanted his mom and dad.
Aster didn't even realize he had started crying until his chest hurt and the tears became a small but steady stream.
He let out quieted sobs as he aggressively rubbed the tears away with his sleeves- the reality of his fucked up situation finally hitting him.
He shook his head. He got up, steeling his resolve and giving himself a new goal. Since he certainly wasn't finding an exit, he decided to try and find someone who could help him, but to do that, he needed to know what novel, game or movie he was in.
He crossed out most of them- since they certainly had only one moon if he wasn't mistaken. Either that- or they had a fake and real one that was already destroyed.
Then he realized it. He had just been reading it before going to bed! How could he forget? Of course it was "New Beginnings"! This was the iconic garden he had wanted to ask the author to post! A small tentative smile bloomed on his face when he realized he could see his favorite char-
Wait. Go back a bit. WAIT. THIS WAS THE GARDEN HE'D BEEN TRYING TO SEE-
That meant he was in the royal garden. And he was a stranger in the garden.
Oh no.
What if they decided to execute him!? What timeline was he even in!? Has the war started? Was he going to go to prison? Surely they wouldn't do that to a small meek nine year old? Was he going to die right after dying..?
As he sat there, his thoughts torturing him- the noise of grass crunching underneath feet made him look up. There stood a pretty boy with fair doll skin and pale green eyes. His white hair was short but long at the back, pulled into a low ponytail. His attire was neat and ironed.
He stared at Aster for a moment as a lady caught up with him. The lady had short light brown hair with reddish-brown eyes with gold-rimmed glasses and was holding a book and a pretty fountain pen.
He gulped as he stared at the two, all three of them dumbfounded. Then Aster spoke in a small voice-
"Who are you?"
The boy raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that question as the lady let out an offended squawk and before she could open her mouth, the boy lightly tapped her shoulder, effectively shutting her up.
"And why should I tell you?" the boy retorted with an arrogant but clear undertone.
The boy wasn't looking down on him, but he wasn't planning to stoop to him either. From the looks of it, he had just ended up in the face of a ten year old, and not any ten year old, a member of the Royal Family- Sphinx.
"Take him for questioning." the boy told the lady calmly.
"Wait wh-"
The lady nodded curtly and took out a pretty stone- and before he could even finish saying anything, a bright light flashed across the garden.
Then it all went black.