Aurora's POV
I was swimming in the dark. I felt it around me.
For a second, I felt nothing. No pain, no noise, no thought. Just an infinite void extending in all directions. No matter how much I struggled against it, I could not open my eyes.
Then, boom, a flash of light and it grew, pulling me from the thick mire.
A sharp gasp broke free from my lips as I shot upright.
My eyes flew open, and I was no longer sprawled on the cold asphalt, my body broken and lifeless. No flashing ambulance lights, no frantic voices.
Instead, I stood in a sprawling chamber, suffused with an otherworldly radiance. The air shimmered with liquid moonlight, and columns of marble hiked into an endless star-filled sky, and the ceiling was strange. It was high and vaulted with elaborate carvings
Where was I?
I took my feet then and somehow managed to stand and my breath came in short, heavy gasps, trying to understand what was around me. The ground beneath my feet was smooth, glowing faintly as if it were filled with light itself.
Wisps of silver mist floated, curling as if the air was alive with whispers. The scale of it all left me feeling giddy.
A voice, deep and melodious, shattered the curtain of silence. "You have awakened at last."
I whirled around, my heart racing in my ears. She stood in front of me, calm and serious.
Long silver hair fell down her back, violet eyes bright with some unearthly brilliance. She wore an anemone gown spun from what appeared to be the night sky itself, stars winking within its strands.
"Who are you?" The voice that croaked back was hoarse, barely a whisper. "Where am I?"
The woman stepped nearer, eyes sharp but soft. "I am.Solene, the Moon Goddess. And this," she waved toward the heavenly expanse surrounding us. "...is my dominion."
The words rushed over me, like a tsunami, leaving me gasping.
The Moon Goddess? It had to be a dream. A coma-induced hallucination. Yes, definitely that.
"I can't be real," I muttered, shaking my head. "I was…I was dying."
"You did die," Solene said, gently correcting him. "Your mortal body died in your world."
I staggered back. "No…No, it can't be…."
Solene's eyes softened, and I realised there was no space for lies in them. "Aurora, I know your deepest sorrow. Your pain is undeniable. But your work is not done."
A cold wave of discomfort washed over me. "What do you mean?"
At night, she raised a hand, and it happened. The moments from my life sprang into view. I saw flashes of my history, my pain, my solitude.
Then, the vision shifted. I pictured myself determined, uncrushed, commanding more power than I could imagine. A warrior. A force to be reckoned with.
"You are my heiress," Solene said. "Fated to walk between worlds, to balance the scales of fate."
I sucked in a sharp breath. "Heiress?"
Solene nodded. "I have watched you, Aurora. But the world was brutal for you, and you never gave up. You survived, even when destiny itself wanted to shatter you. That is why I have chosen you."
My mind reeled.
None of this made sense. I wasn't a warrior. I was a girl who had gotten beaten down, forgotten, thrown away like a piece of trash.
"What if I don't want this?" I asked, hearing my voice shake. "What if I just want to rest?"
Solene's eyes were old with the wisdom of ages. "You have a choice. But if you accept, you will be given a second life, a new chance. One with power, with purpose. But it will not be easy."
I clenched my fists. A second chance. An opportunity to find what lay beyond the broken girl who never mattered.
"What do I have to do?" I inquired, the faintest trace of determination finding its way into my voice.
Solene smiled a knowing little smile. "You're protecting someone for three months. But I'll have to warn you. That will be a challenge and also there will be a lot of misunderstandings. Can you do that? Will you accept this work for another chance of living as a human?"
My heart pounded. I sensed something welling up in me. It felt powerful yet terrifying. It was exhilarating.
"I agree," I said, sealing my fate.
Then Solene threw up her hands, and the light around us heightened. A torrent of energy washed through me, hot and bright and shocking.
I yanked in breath as my form rose from the floor, light skimming over me like a chrysalis. The very fabric of my being felt like it was unraveling, rearranging, transforming into something existentially new.
Then, just as quickly as it started, the energy fell in on itself. I fell to soft ground with a startled yelp.
My limbs shaking from the raw power still thrumming through me, I blinked, disoriented. Something felt…off. My body felt odd, lighter, more condensed.
I tried to get up but something was wrong. My limbs had failed to move as they should. My line of sight was nearer to the ground, my senses heightened in an alien kind of way.
"What the —" I stopped mid-sentence as I saw my reflection on the shining floor.
What stared back was not a girl, nor a warrior. But a cat. A little white fluffy cat with blue eyes and pink nose.
My heart stopped.
I tried to scream, but only a pathetic yowl came out.
Solene eyed him with amused laughter in the vast chamber. "Ah, yes. I should have mentioned the curse."
Curse? What curse?
"It's more of a penalty. You can't help anyone in a human form at least until you pass this trial," Solene spoke. "Your human body is already broken and you need time to get a new one," she blabbered.
I was panicking. She didn't mean that. She had to be joking. I opened my mouth to speak but she interrupted.
"You have to do this or you'll lose your chance at being a human. Do you understand?" She asked.
I gulped and meowed.
"Oh, I forgot. You need to communicate," she said and pointed her hand at me. I felt a tingly sensation on my nose and I opened my lips to complain.
"Are you kidding me?" I shouted.
"No," Solene answered. "Remember, normal humans can't hear you except animals of course and spirits."
Panic surged through me as I stumbled on four unsteady paws. My tail—my actual tail—lashed behind me. My fur bristled as I gaped up at the Goddess, who was clearly enjoying this far too much.
"What have you done to me?!" I demanded, but all that came out was another feline sound.
Solene crouched down, reaching out to scratch behind my ears. I swatted her hand away, horror mounting.
"You have much to learn, little one," she mused. "This is only the beginning."
The beginning? Hold on a damn minute.
I was trapped. In the body of a cat.
My new life had just begun and it was already a nightmare.