A girl aimlessly walked in the long and cramped hallways, which were empty and lacked the children who scuttled to and fro that played. The smell of sweat and filth usually found in an impoverished orphanage was absent. Instead, an overpowering smell of blood stained the air in the small and modest institution.
Arriving next to a window, being illuminated by the blood red light, she looked at the 2 moons that hovered beyond the clouds. They were red. Her ivory hair that reached below her stomach was dyed in an anonymous crimson light as she stood looking out the window.
"A dream, must be another bad dream."
She spoke solemnly, as if to wake herself, she cupped her face and slapped her sterile white skin. Nothing happened, and it only left a red mark on her beautiful face.
"Oh my, how dreadfully realistic a dream I am having."
The empty halls were filled with her dry laughter, but quickly went silent. Finding no humor in her situation, cold sweat trickled down her back. Feeling uneasy, her legs felt weak. Looking for a place to rest, the pit of her stomach seemed to grow deeper as she walked further in the dimly lit Orphanage. Translucent red lights peeked through the windows that lined the hallway.
Stale air filled the hallway, and not a single particle of dust or lint drifted. Walking while bathing under the light of the moon, she seemed quite calm all the while ignoring the mysterious piles of flesh that littered the wooden and damp floor. Crimson paint sprayed the floor and ceiling, with bits and pieces of flesh stuck on the walls, but she didn't give it another look as she stumbled to the end of the corridor. A door half opened, as if begging her to go inside.
"Oh yes, a mysterious door at the end of an endless hallway, a cliché thing indeed."
Scoffing while having a wry smile as she opened the door nonchalantly, the body of a woman slumped lifelessly next to the bare feet of the woman as if she were leaning against it. She had a large gash on her chest. Blood stretched out from the corpse, and pools of it gathered at the girl's white feet. Not even flinching as she stepped over the body. What a realistic nightmare.
Inside the small room was an oil lamp placed neatly on the edge of the table, against the corner of the room. Large shadows danced as the fire inside the lamp swayed. Across from the table was a bed that had its sheet haphazardly arranged. The room felt empty and yet strangely familiar to her. A mirror adjacent to the bed was framed and hung above the floor. Even in the poor lighting of the room,
she could clearly see the reflection. A beautiful girl with snowy hair wearing a cotton tunic dress reflected in the mirror. Incongruities with the look he was used to, his real name is Satsuki Naako, being around 160cm, he was short even compared to the average height of men in his country. on top was black hair that was combed back; he was average at everything. Yet the reflection showed an impossible image, and she couldn't help but assume that it was just a dream.
"I see, indeed, this must be a bad dream. Although at this point, I should be waking up now, right? Usually, the reveal happens around the end of the novel…"
She talked jokingly, but her wry smile earlier was gone. As if trying to jinx what's going to happen next..
"Hahahaha, I get it. It's those double dream things, right? I thought that trope was a bit overdone, though, maybe I should tone down a bit on my novel reading and do something proactive. Like getting a girlfriend or something like that…"'
Waiting patiently at the doorway, he half expected to wake up on his soft mattress in his college dorm room, but nothing happened. The silence was too much for her to handle, and she finally blew up.
"c'mon!!! that trope wasn't supposed to go like that?! What's the point of showing a mysterious door and letting it be anticlimactic? That would be like setting up the antagonist and then killing him off-screen. Like what?! Hello? Don't you care for the feelings of the readers?!?"
Screaming at the top of her lungs, she gasped for air after letting all of the stress she had been bottling up from when she first found herself in her current situation. onto the small and thin bed, she put her face against the pillow. She stubbornly stayed buried into her pillow but begrudgingly stood up and sat down onto the creaky bed. Naako has already read so many light novels and watched anime with the same premise that she easily accepted her situation. The first action that the protagonist always does is the most influential one. I think
The first thing that Naako did after calming down was to think about the light novels and anime she had watched with a similar premise to she was in.
"There wasn't a God or a Goddess that greeted me when I came into this world either. So I can rule out the possibility of me being reincarnated, although it's possible that I didn't remember too, so I really can't dismiss the possibility…"
Re-reading her favorite light novel before she slept, those memories were still vivid in her mind. Even so, she couldn't help but entertain the possibility of her being reincarnated.
"I hope I didn't die like, dying in my sleep or something like that. I wasn't a very active person and ate only junk food all day. Surviving with cup ramen and a ton of energy drinks and coffee every day, on top of that, I always stayed all night binge-watching anime and movies. I wouldn't be that surprised if I died by a heart attack or stroke."
That idea deeply depressed her, doing nothing with her life except reading and watching shows. Naako didn't even remember anyone that she could call a friend, she sighed in exasperation.
"If this is not some dream, then the only possibility shows itself, I was transmigrated into this world, but I do have some clue where I might have been transported into."
Standing right up, she walked towards the mirror to get a closer look at herself. The wooden floor creaked at every step she took. As she was an arm's length from the mirror. Golden eyes that glinted with confidence, milky white hair that reached her thighs, and a face that seemed to be sculpted by a skilled artist. Although it was juxtaposed by the worn-out, potato quality dress that wrapped her body down to her ankles.
"Indeed, as I feared, my physical appearance looks identical to that person."
Nodding her head, she seemed to come to a realization, then she froze, her shapely eyebrows furrowed. She thought about the world she was transported into, specifically the light novel that she seemed to transmigrated to. 'New Star Horizon: A New Departure'. Started in 2034. She read all of the 48 volumes and thought of herself as a veteran fan, as she had already read the web novel version of it. Although the series has a light-hearted tone across the volumes, sometimes the series becomes really serious and dark in certain parts of the story. Vainglorbia The Detested. One of the seven witches who terrorize the world in 'New Departure'. Many villains that the main heroes face.
"Didn't she die like, a really horrible death?"
'New Star Horizon: A New Departure', or 'New Departure ' for short, was a story that was a typical isekai too, having a total of 5 main characters that was summoned by 5 different nations in order to defeat the goddess of darkness, Leceath.
She thought and remembered the other important characters in the novel. the main supporters of the Leceath are the Seven Witches. It brought some memories of the first time they were introduced in the novel, she smiled at the nostalgia when she first read the 'New Departure'. Recalling that their main goal was, she felt a sense of excitement. The main goal of the witches is to resurrect Leceath and spread the darkness she creates to the end of the globe to make a utopia for the witches. In short, they're the main villain of the story. Although she didn't see them as villains who needed the hammer of justice to strike them down. Naako was more familiar with the witches and even liked them more than the main characters.
"In the novel, Vainglorbia was killed by all of the five of the heroes, her life ended volume 46. Although it seemed that I was transmigrated to this body when she was still young, though maybe it was just the start of her villainy."
Another possibility floated in her brain.
"Although there's a chance I was just transported into a new world while being inside Vainglorbia, the orphanage and the bodies (I ignored). And the most evident proof, the bright red moons outside the window, all of these are pointing that this world was in the light novel, 'New Departure'.
Although maybe that was just a coincidence. Naako remembers in the novel that the backstories of all seven witches weren't explicitly shown, especially Vainglorbia, but it was implied that at least she joined the seven witches at a young age, after massacring everyone in the orphanage. That took place a decade before the main storyline happened, where all of the heroes were summoned.
"Basically, I was in the past, before the main story happened, it seemed that the seven witches were still incomplete? I think there were only four witches who were active right now. Although that may be too soon to say it was. I still haven't gone outside to compare the things I remembered in 'New Departure'. So maybe the first thing I need to do is gather information about the outside world and see if there's any variation in the light novel I read."
Even though Naako had a plan in her mind. Something still needs to be addressed, even if she didn't want to acknowledge it. Her eyes were back at the mirror, sweat dripped down her sharp, angled chin.
"I need to do something about this body!!! Ughh! Her chest is so heavy its gonna make me develop my hunchback posture in the past!!!'
Lifting her breast, a little bit of pressure was relieved, though the sensation of touching a woman's chest, a big one at that, almost made Naako excited, it was soon replaced with disappointment after she fondled her breast more.
"~ Wow, I thought it would be more enjoyable, maybe if I pinched my nipples, maybe then I'll feel something."
Naako's fingers desperately followed the order of her foolish mind and only made her yelp in pain after pinching her nipples.
"Ouch!!! That doesn't feel good either… maybe I anticipated more, but it's just like my actual body, well, that's a bit disappointing."
Realizing her grip on her chest, she examined her body in the mirror and returned to her little exploration of her body after forgetting that foolish and absurd scene from earlier.
"Although I already suspect, my manhood is gone. The weird emptiness in my crotch wasn't just my imagination, but it isn't like I'm using it that often either, so I guess it didn't really affect me that much. But something really urgent, urgent to me at least, but how can you pee with a woman's body?"
In this world of magic and witches, even if the technology was advanced with the help of magic, it couldn't replace the luxury of plumbing and sanitation of the modern world.
"Maybe if I were a man, then maybe I could tolerate it, but I'm a woman for crying out loud!!! How can I even pee in peace with a body that isn't even mine, and in a world where washing your hands with soap and water was the height of luxury?!"
Naako wanted to cry. No, she was about to cry as tears started to form and roll down her cheeks. She wanted to curse the being that transmigrated her here and asked for the reason why. No matter how she felt, she knew that complaining about it wouldn't change her circumstances. Bouncing back at her feet, she thought of the only thing she could do right now.
"Well, it doesn't matter, at least I have a normal body, unlike protagonists in other light novels being reincarnated as monsters."
Naako finally somewhat bounced back and gained her previous cool. her mind now clouded with another urgent concern than a personal one.
"That was all my earlier concerns addressed, and now the main meat of the topic that I wanted to confirm more than anything else."
In Naako's mind, this was the most crucial thing she needed to confirm besides her original objective. This will determine what her future actions will be going forward. Naako resolved herself as she looked forward. This will be fine, I think, even if the worst happens, I can somehow deal with it.
she stood somely in front of the mirror, and as if praying, her voice meekly sounded barely audible, but it had a conviction and a strong will that backs the soft voice.
"I use my right as the most prideful being in this world; Rights of the weak, Glass Ego."
Her voice boomed as she raised her hand forward as if to command an invisible being in front of her. Her domineering voice with her drop-dead gorgeous look that can make a super model feel envious was something out of a scene from a painting. Seconds passed, and nothing happened, and fifteen seconds had passed, and nothing. She sweating as she fully concentrated and closed her eyes, as if to pray. It was almost five minutes when she first uttered those words like a spell, when it seemed that the worst possible situation was about to be real, someone or something had responded to her prayer, she sighed in relief.
Even though at first glance nothing happened, and in fact nothing did, it wasn't the change in the room that Naako was anticipating. When looking more carefully, it was so subtle that even if one was actively looking for it, they would still miss it. As if to demonstrate, she swung her hand sluggishly in front of the mirror. A simple vertical chop that swung down above her head, that attack, or could it still be classified as an attack? Her frail and thin arms seemed to struggle to even hold her hand above her head, and the force that she swung with was truly pathetic. Her cute and docile look, she looked like she wouldn't even hurt a fly, even if she wanted to, she was literally incapable of it.
If Naako wanted to kill a fly, it was more likely that the fly would overpower her and snap her twig-like arms with ease. Even at first glance, her weak body was noticeable even to a blind person. If other people were to see her swing her arms, they would be concerned about her hurting herself against the air particles in the air. A normal person wouldn't even notice the resistance that air makes, but for the incredibly weak and comically pathetic body of Vainglorbia, it was like moving in a thick, viscous liquid; she quite literally had to swim through the air whenever she wanted to move her body. So it was peculiar for her to swing her arms. Only able to walk an eighth across the orphanage before she collapsed in exhaustion, her physical capabilities were nothing; it was almost admirable to see Vainglorbia swinging her hands despite knowing the shortcomings of her body.
But sometimes, reality is stranger than fiction. As she was about to complete the trajectory of her arms, an impossibility occurred. As her arm was almost completed the vertical chop, the air in front of her was disturbed. The space around where her arm passed was unsettled, as if an illusion was occurring; the space warped like a mirage. It was clear to see even in the air, the space was wrapping, like disturbing the reflection of a surface of water. Like a domino effect, the distortion spread, tailing the trajectory of her hand, a part of the world has shattered. The law of physics and common sense was thrown out of the window as the anomaly stood, as if mocking the ones who created the rules in this world.
"Yup, that checks out. I'm glad my ability still worked."
As if expecting this, Naako said to himself with a smile on his face. Being satisfied with the result, she nodded her head contentedly.
"Well, one of my last concerns was answered, and I can finally start my plan to know if I was in 'New Departure'. Or not. Oh, almost forgot."
As if remembering something important. Naako looked back at the floating distortion in space, behind it was distorted, like bending the light, the walls were warped and stretched in impossible ways, and the mirror wrapped around itself. She looked in amusement and commanded out loud.
"Release."
She didn't need to say it every time, but said it anyway. The distorted space, as if having listened to her, moved in order to fulfill its master's wish. The space, as if time had finally flowed, moved forward, and slashed the mirror vertically in two. It moved faster than can be deemed normal, and the air was cut; the sound of howling wind sounded where the space was distorted. The blade of wind swept through the mirror, a sharp sound of something going at incredible speed was heard, it not only split the mirror but also the wall behind it, not even that, but the part of the orphanage was sliced vertically as well. The small institution for taking care of orphaned children was shocked by an unbelievable and vigorous rumbling. The orphanage suddenly fell silent in the presence of such overwhelming and terrifying strength.
"With the same ability, I killed. No, Vainglorbia killed all of those orphaned kids and the adults who took care of them with ease. Now that personal safety is secured, with this overpowered ability, I'll at least protect myself."
A fragment of a stranger's memory flashed in her mind as if it were her own. The screams of the people she killed still echoed in her brain, yet she looked at them with a despondent look as if it wasn't her problem.
Walking out of the wrecked room, she searched for the exit while passing the corpses that were scattered like laundry. Seeing the bodies of men, women, and even children that lay coldly on the floor, which was wet with their blood. Naako didn't even look twice as she stepped over their entrails, internal organs, and brains that splattered her way. The smell didn't even bother her, although she didn't like the stench, but she could stomach it. At that fact, she was even surprised how calm she was in the situation. Despite reading countless light novels and watching many anime with the same premise, she still lived in modern-day Japan. So it wasn't possible that Naako, who lived in a peaceful world where she was detached from violence, let alone the gory scene before her, was able to stay so calm as if these were a normal everyday occurrence. Like walking in the park, she didn't even bother to think about what she was doing, as if thinking about it was meaningless.
"I can see this body has more perks than I thought. I guess being desensitized to death was part of the villain package, I suppose."
Naako is a peace-loving otaku and was a normal human with morality and a sense of justice like an average Joe. Her life was completely normal, except she struggled to fit in with others, but other than that, nothing dramatic happened in her life that could permanently affect her psyche. So it was unsettling that she was so calm in a situation where others might feel unsettled, yet she stayed cool as a cucumber.
A door appeared in front of her after passing all of the decimated bodies, with the ability 'Glass Ego'. Vainglarbia's body that was supposed to be weak was able to return to a normal degree of physical ability that was expected of her age.
"I see it looks the same as I suspected."
The moon glowed brightly with the color of blood that illuminated the path ahead of her. Despite being in the middle of the night, it was oddly bright outside. It was enough that one could walk outside without a source of light and still see ahead of them. The orphanage was smaller than she had expected, and the side of the building was half-crumbling. Where she sliced the mirror. Being surrounded by the forest, the orphanage was snugly placed in the middle of a clearing where laundry was still drying in the breeze.
A dirt path that leads out of the orphanage and goes through a conspicuous forest. The tree line was dense and seemed unending. The black-barked trees marked the edge of the forest, the trail that came out of the orphanage led into the maw of the arched roots and branches of the obsidian black tree, with its thickness being several times larger than the circumference of the waist of several men. The branches twist like the legs of a spider along the path, threatening to snatch any children who stray from the path.
"This might take a moment if I were to walk. So maybe I should just cut through it."
Relying on Vainglorbia's memory, she recalls a village a little way across from the forest, although she didn't remember going there in person. But one of her memories, an orphaned boy, talked to her about a village with a shop and market in the village center. He tagged along with one of the adults to help carry the supplies from the village to the orphanage.
His face and name were oddly familiar in her mind, but when she saw him again, he was bisected in half. The way he talked to her and how he helped walk her to the table when it was dinner. Feeling nostalgic about events that didn't happen, something unknown in her heart lurched. Shaking her head as if to dispel her uneasiness.
"Memories still foggy and vague, but my memories of my ability seemed clear to me."
Vainglorbia stood in silence, concentrating. She closed her eyes and tried and funnel strength into her legs. Her body was wrapped in a clear white mist. Shimmering and drifting like an ethereal fog. Then she said under her breath.
"Rights of the Weak, Broken Mirror"
Her legs were slightly buckled as she placed her hands behind her back. As if letting out an arrow from its bowstring. She shot out. The ground below her caved in and left a crater where she stood. The only thing she did was leap forward, and yet it produced a terrifying result. The wind roared in the air by an incredible force. The forest was disturbed by a loud sound from something that soared above.
"!!! How does someone stop this again?!?"
Vainglorbia flew in the air with incredible speed. Everything around her moved faster than she could look at. The scene below was getting farther and farther away from her, the wind screeching in her ears.
One of many abilities that Vainglorbia possesses. 'Glass Ego'. An ability that makes the users unaffected by any and all outside forces. Ultimately, making her body indestructible. That alone isn't enough to make her fly in the sky. This is when 'Broken Mirror' was used. being able to ignore one of the laws that govern this world, as if it were kowtowing for the broken reflection that Vainglorbia showed in her mind. She used the 'Broken Mirror' and ignored Newton's first law of motion, accelerating at the top speed without any buildup. This essentially made her a ballistic missile going at speeds that can shred human bodies into pieces.
It let her freely ignore the laws of this world, not only being able to affect her own body it could also affect things outside her body, unlike 'Glass Ego' where the ability is permanently fixed to her body. She could make objects she threw go faster without slowing down, or make objects vectorless to make them float on their own. This was only a small way that 'Broken Mirror' can be applied.
"As much as I figured, this ability is certainly tricky to use…"
Still going through the air, the sight of the village was near the horizon. Squinting her eyes, she saw a simple village.
"I suppose that's where I should head first, but it's also night, so I doubt somebody would be outside at this hour…"
As she wondered what to do, the village came into view. Huh? Why are there so many people?
Barely seeing anything ahead in the dark, only being helped by the glow of the two moons, she faintly made out the silhouette of at least a hundred people walking on the path ahead of her.
"I got a bad feeling about them… maybe I should hide for now."
An anonymous feeling swirled inside of her as she saw a small group of men heading toward the village in the night. Thinking quickly, she suddenly stopped in mid-air, using 'Glass Ego' to stop in her tracks while gliding through the air. Gravity took hold of her as she fell silently to the ground.
"It's too risky to show myself, maybe I should be on the cautious side while I trail them at the back."
She crouched down in a nearby rock beside the dirt path. Peeking her head curiously as she observed the group of men armed with weapons and wearing armor heading to the village. Vainglorbia, unaware that this night would be its last living memory of them. By some unseen design—or perhaps the hunger of forgotten gods—the armed men, the villagers, and every soul from the surrounding hamlets slipped into the shadow of history. No graves, no final cries, only silence. The earth kept no record of their going, and in time, even their names faded like breath on a cold wind.