After a long moment of his supposed death, Nil was woken to his senses by his own heartbeat, the very thing he'd himself felt stopping.
What's this? Ain't I dead? he thought in the darkness.
Scenes from just a while ago flashed through his head.
Did I not die from the fall?
Nil studied at a prestigious school where studying felt more like war than actual learning. Everyone was desperate to score higher than the next person as if their life depended on that.
But Nil was aloof from all this. He just wanted a "chill" life, admiring the beauty of the world.
That day, he was standing on the third-floor balcony during recess, thinking about life. Suddenly, a junior came up beside him and started climbing the wall.
"Wah-?"
Without delay, Nil hugged his legs, trying to stop him from whatever he was about to do.
But the boy's center of gravity was already inclined toward the fall, and most importantly he was wailing annoyingly, making Nil's head ache.
Nil's lower body struggled hard to maintain balance; his feet were already losing ground.
He had two options at that moment. One was to release the boy and grab the partition to stop himself from falling.
The second was to twist and push the boy into the balcony, compromising himself, as his own fall would become inevitable.
The first seemed safe, but the second was easier. It was easier to be moral than to drown in an ocean of guilt and crime.
With no time to think about his own safety, Nil chose the second. He pushed the junior boy hard into the balcony, making him hit the wall. But that only worsened Nil's balance.
He tried grabbing the partition, but his hands slipped, sending him falling from the third floor of the school building—upside down.
Everything after that darkened, and he found himself awake again.
Perhaps I hadn't actually died, he hoped.
Slowly, his senses returned. The numbness that had paralyzed him was finally gone. He opened his eyes.
Subconsciously, he expected to wake in a hospital room. But what he saw shocked him.
He found himself in a dark, dimly lit room. The scarce light sparkled gold, making Nil think he had actually reincarnated in a magical world like those in webnovels or manga.
Bullshit! I must have lost my mind after dying! he thought scathingly.
But why would I be left in such a room? he wondered.
His eyes landed on the thing beneath him. What he saw made him jump in his seat.
The source of the light was nothing but countless indescribable runes written in a circle. And he was at the center of the magic circle.
Have I been kidnapped by a cult? The random thought that had come to mind now became a real worry.
Desperate, he tried to stand up.
"Hello there."
Nil heard a sudden unknown voice echo through the room, jolting him up from the chair. He inspected the whole space. The room was empty, other than the golden neon circle underneath and the fancy wooden chair he had been sitting on.
Now seeing the chair, Nil realized it had the most intricate designs he'd ever seen in his life. But it wasn't the time to wonder about the chair, he thought.
"Who is it?" he shouted.
"Call me Corbenic," the voice echoed throughout the room again, sending creeps down Nil's spine.
What kind of speaker resonates this well with the room? Nil wondered, suspecting hidden speakers were laid throughout.
The voice continued, "I am the consciousness of Etam Castle—the Guardian, Caretaker, and butler of my master, whose body you are currently occupying."
Eh? Consciousness of Etam Castle? Me occupying someone else's body? Am I in a dream? Nil thought with an awkward expression.
"Hehehe. Lord Etam predicted this reaction from you, which is why he left a command:
'Try grabbing your ears.'"
"What?"
Puzzled, Nil did as the voice said, touching his ears.
His eyes bulged as he felt them. His mother had grabbed him by the ears many times in his past life, but never to the extent of making them pointy and sharp like an elf's.
"Feel proud, for you now have the sacred body of the finest—and the world's last—elf."
***
The door of the seemingly sealed room automatically opened. Still skeptical, Nil slowly stepped out.
Suddenly, a heavy wind blew against him, forcing him to guard his face and instinctively close his eyes. As he opened them, a beautiful scenery welcomed him.
In front of him was a bird's-eye view of a beautiful town. The brown sheds of the houses looked like brown squares, and the roads resembled strings of a spider web spread across the whole town.
It was the second most pleasing sight he had ever seen—next to his experience in airplanes.
It felt weird. He liked bird's-eye views so much, yet it was the reason for his death.
"By the way, what is your name?" the voice resounded.
"My name is Nil," he said.
"The otherworld people sure have strange names. Now do you believe in your reincarnation?"
Nil had already noticed his sudden bodily changes. He had become taller, unusually lithe, and his hands looked pale.
Curious, he asked, "Can you guide me to a mirror?"
"Here is the mirror." Much to his surprise, the walls transmuted into a reflective, mirror-like screen.
So this is the magic of this world, Nil wondered inwardly.
Looking in the mirror, he saw a beautiful lad staring back at him. Disbelieving, he touched his cheeks; the figure opposite did the same.
It was a strikingly beautiful man with long blonde hair, sharp and elegant features, and pointy ears that accentuated it all. Most importantly, in his rectangular eyes were two emerald orbs captivating enough to steal any onlooker's breath—even his own.
In his previous life, he'd had a little confidence in his looks. At least he'd looked presentable. But now, that worldview had shattered miserably. He was envious of himself, in a particular sense.
"Shocked, right? Our master is the most handsome in the whole continent—and perhaps in all the worlds."
Not a lie Nil thought.
Suddenly, a thought passed through Nil's head. "Hey! Can you read minds?"
"No."
"Then how are you guessing what I'm thinking?"
"It has all been written by my master."
"Eh?"
"Etam Maclagordh de Will, the Archmage of the Council of Sorcery, a bigwig and high member of the royal court of the Holy Kingdom of Aturn. He also has a name known only to a few."
"What?"
"The Visionary Sage."