Agony.

She had no body to scream with, yet she still felt the pain of thousands of small knives cutting away at her. They ceaselessly went about their terrible work, tearing gashes in a body that felt like it no longer existed. Every second her surroundings grew colder and the pain more intense. At this point it was becoming unbearable, and she was having a hard time thinking anymore.

She knew she was going to die. There was no way to avoid it. The pain was simply that severe. Hopefully everything would work out in the world she’d just left behind. It’s not like she would ever know anyway. That wasn’t the way things worked. All she could ask for now was for the pain to cease.

Thankfully, it seemed like she was going to get her wish. Everything was slowly going numb. Soon she no longer felt like a piece of meat being chopped into bits for an evening meal, nor the cold that bit worse than the winds of winter.

If she wasn’t dead before, she had to be dead now. She couldnn’t move nor sense anything. How she was even conscious at this moment was beyond her. There was only one feeling that remained: emptiness.

She was utterly empty and so was everything around her, in a black void that held nothing but herself. Even time seemed like it has ceased to exist. Simultaneously she felt as though she’d been there but for a moment while also forever. As if this place had never been and would cease to be in moments.

Gently, a new sensation began to creep upon her: exhaustion.

The allure of sleep suddenly felt like an aphrodisiac, its invitation intoxicating. How easy it would be to embrace the slumber waiting for her.

At this point a thought crept into the teenager’s mind: the sleep she desired was oblivion. It made sense given she couldn’t feel anything and was in a black void. The sleep her ‘mind’ was telling her to embrace was actually the end of her existence.

Would drifting off into eternal slumber be so bad though? What was the point of existing in an eternal limbo of oblivion, clinging onto what once was while always fighting off the inevitable? Everything had its end. Hers was just sooner than most. She’d been unlucky, and that was that.

Yet she continued to cling to consciousness. Against her instincts, she forced herself to remain conscious. Something deep within her wasn’t satisfied and rebelled—a spark of refusal to accept her end that was quickly turning into a passionate wildfire.

Her ‘heart’ led the charge against her ‘mind,’ the desires clashing like a Fireball against the Water variation of Shield. Her resolve burned brighter and brighter. This was not where she would end.

She knew naught how to escape from this place, but that didn’t deter her. She was certain of one thing: she wasn’t going to give up her existence so easily.

Though she was formless, a warmth began to permeate her. The stronger her resolve grew, the warmer it became, like a gentle embrace, the likes of which she’d felt maybe a handful of times in her life. Despite having no physical form she tried to return the embrace, and felt a surge of energy coursing through her.

Focusing on the warmth, she continued to ‘embrace’ it while her will grew stronger still, to the point where she felt as though she could rip herself out of wherever she was and back to where she belonged.

The sound of fabric ripping followed by high pitched sucking sound followed her efforts. A jolt of movement accompanied the sounds.

Visions began to appear before her. Blue skies of grassy fields swaying in the wind. Sea birds soaring over glittering ocean waves. Children laughing in a city whose architecture she didn’t recognize. Two young mages dueling on a pier.

As suddenly as these visions began, they ended.

And the teenager awoke anew.

Awakening with a start, the girl splashed the shallow layer of water her head had been resting in about.

Her vision was heavily blurred, so she couldn’t make out much, but from what she could feel she was reclining against a sort of smooth rock whilst submerged up to her neck in water. The air was reminiscent of a fresh spring breeze with a heavy sweetness. The kind only dozens of flowers would bring.

The teenager inhaled deeply and allowed herself but a moment to savor the sensations that came with life, dull as they may be.

As she did, reality came further into clarity.

Though her vision was still blurred, she was able to tell she was underneath a large tree of some sort. The pink coloration helped narrow down what it could be as their were only a handful of trees with that abnormal kind of color. Her best guess was that it was a large cherry blossom tree. Beyond it, the deep blue sky lay just out of its reach.

Lowering her head, she studied her surroundings. Currently it appeared as though she were resting in some sort of spring. From the edge of the water onward was a large grass plain, filled with specks and smatterings of color, all gently shifting with the wind. In the distance was a forest, though the trees were relatively small, as if they were at a far distance.

Though she couldn’t see well, she could tell her surroundings were serene, as if they were a scene out of a book.

“Pretty, isn’t it,” a woman’s voice asked behind her.

Glancing over her shoulder, she took in the hazy visage of a woman sitting on a small boulder not far from her. Her black hair clashed with her light beige skin, and the girl thought she could just barely make out a smile, but most else was still fuzzy.

Of note was that the woman had an accent. Her instincts told that she’d heard something similar to it before, but she was uncertain as to where with her mind being the mess it was.

“I agree. My vision is blurry, but I can tell it’s a beautiful view,” she replied honestly, curious who this stranger that had been watching over her was.

Perhaps she was the one who’d resurrected her, though now that she thought about it, not being in a hospital and the lack of her charge’s presence made her doubt things were that simple. At the same time, fretting about the sudden realization wouldn’t help her. Finding out information on her situation would be for the best.

“A shame. It seems you’re still acclimating then,” the woman said before shrugging. “Give it a little longer; it’ll come. I bet you have questions.”

There were indeed many questions to be asked, but it wasn’t logical to think the woman would sit and answer all of them at once. Calming her brain, she focused on the important ones. She supposed carefully wording a question to figure out where she was without outright asking might be a good start. After all, she wasn’t entirely sure she was alive given her current surroundings.

“Is this the afterlife?”

“If only there was one,” the woman softly chuckled. “You’re very much alive right now, though I suppose that means you don’t recognize this place.”

The woman was correct. From what she’d seen so far, she could tell this place was utterly foreign to her. Somewhere that she’d never been before. However, if the woman was indeed telling her the truth, then there was a bright side in that she wasn’t dead some twisted reality. Anything was better than what she’d experienced before waking up.

“Unfortunately I don’t. Where are we?”

“We’re in Japan, near Kyoto.”

Gathering the fragments of her memories, she recalled what she knew about the city. It was Japan’s old capital and currently considered its ‘second capital’ depending on who was asked. Aside from her home country’s propaganda claiming it was a place where monsters and demi-humans lurked, she knew nothing about it.

“It doesn’t look anything like what I’d heard it looked like.”

The woman chuckled as she shifted about on the bolder into a more relaxed position.

“There are many stories throughout the world about us. That we’re savages living in caves, monsters lurking in the dark. I assure you it’s quite the opposite. We’re very friendly. I may not be the best conversationalist, but I do have good intentions.”

As the woman spoke, the teen’s vision continued to clear up and focus. She found herself mildly surprised at what she saw before her.

The woman’s midnight black hair was short and somewhat wild, matching with her rather carefree expression. She was wearing a tight-fitting blue shirt coupled with an azure waist sash that contrasted with a looser fitting indigo pants. A pair of scars covered most of the back of her left hand.

The teen’s other senses were returning too. She could now feel the humidity radiating from the warm water she was soaking in, smell several distinct species of flowers and hear the faint sound of rustling as the wind made it across the planes behind her.

Behind the woman she was speaking to were more flowers and grass along a sloped hill. While contemplating what to ask next, she slowly followed it to its peak and fell silent. The sheer size of what she was seeing left her speechless.

In the distance was the trunk of the tree towering above them. Its trunk had to stretch at least half a kilometer in diameter, and as she followed it upward she began realizing just how truly massive it was. It had to be at least ten kilometers high. She couldn’t even begin to fathom just how far out its branches reached with her mind reeling from the trunk alone.

“I see your mind’s regaining its clarity. Pretty big isn’t it?”

“What kind of tree grows this big,” she blurted out on instinct.

“I suppose it is a bit of a shock for someone who’s never seen one before,” she chuckled. “This is Esthra, a cherry blossom tree that’s nearing 10,000 years in age. We believe it’s the only one of its kind, as it’s tapped directly into the leyline below us. As you can see, doing so makes it has caused it to become massive.”

The teenager stared at the tree for a few moments without replying. Her mind was regaining its faculties and though her memories were currently unreliable, the knowledge she’d once had was quickly coming back to her. Even with the ability to think faster and more clearly, she was still struggling to comprehend the sight before her.

“I’ve never heard of a tree directly tapping into a leyline. I thought only mythics like Dragons could tap into a leyline.”

“Often enough that would be the case, though there are some exceptions. Think of it like this: there is always a Tree and the guardian that protects it. The Dragons in China have their mountains, which serve as their Trees, their home. This Tree is currently without a guardian, because it was killed a few hundred years ago. The Tree remained and was ‘taught’ to tap into the leyline similar to how vines can be taught to grow along surfaces. I’ll explain it in greater detail when you’ve settled in a bit as I know you’ve got a bit to process, but for now does that make sense?”

“I suppose I get what you’re trying to say. But if the Tree doesn’t have a guardian, who protects it?”

“My Enclave does, as well as the other demi-humans and humans who’ve settled Kyoto. We protect Esthra, and Esthra provides boons for us.”

The teenager stopped for a moment when she heard the word Enclave. As she recalled it, that’s what the settlements of elves were called. The sudden realization that she was talking to a demi-human who possessed far greater knowledge of magic than herself made her tremble in excitement and anxiety.

“You’re an elf then?!”

The woman smiled at her in acknowledgment. Gently brushing her bangs back, she revealed her pointed right ear, then let her hair return to its natural state.

“Yeah,” she answered. “I’m originally from an Enclave on the Eastern side of England though now I belong to the local Enclave near here. I assume you’ve never met an elf before?”

“No ma’am,” the teenager replied, fumbling over her words. “I-It’s an honor to be in your presence.”

The woman chuckled and waved her hand dismissively.

“Please, there’s no need to be so formal. This isn’t Europe where those stingy Hvítálfar lord over everyone,” she said before letting her hand drop back down to her side. “Especially since might be seeing each other often.”

The girl wasn’t certain what the woman meant by Hvítálfar, but the sound of their name made her think they might be snobbish.

“We might?”

“Mhmm,” the woman hummed. “As you already know you died. However, you didn’t come back because you were resurrected.”

The haze that had once covered her mind had now mostly cleared. Now that she was able to think straight, she found herself better equipped to continue the conversation with the woman before her, though things still felt weird, like there was a disconnect of sorts.

“As far as I know it’s impossible for someone to come back to life without a resurrection type of spell.”

“That’s because there is another possibility that’s an open-secret only here in the Kyoto region, so the likelihood you know of it is extremely low.”

Honestly, that made sense to the teen. She knew little about Kyoto from what she’d learned in university even though the one she attended was in a Tier 1 city. The fact that she knew more about the Niger Delta than a land across the sea was now very concerning.

“Go on,” she urged the stranger.

“You were reincarnated with Esthra’s help, a very complicated process that has resulted in your present situation. When you awoke a few minutes ago your vision was blurry and your senses were dull, correct?”

“They were.”

“That’s because you were being reborn. You see, the body you’re currently occupying has been forming over the last several days and finally began to take its shape today. You’re still getting used to it because it’s different from your original body.”

For a brief moment everything stopped around her. Instinctually she looked down at herself and sharply inhaled. Her skin was much paler than had been before she died, and there were no visible scars. Slowly she lifted one of her hands out of the water and brought it close to her, hoping that what she was currently seeing was some sort of illusion.

A close inspection of it revealed that she had no calluses like she’d gained through her harsh training. Additionally, her hands lacked all scarring that she once had, much like the rest of her body.

She had no choice but to admit that the elf was telling the truth. This wasn’t her body; it was a different one that she now occupied.

Now that she thought about it, her body felt different from what she was accustomed to. It felt more agile and light. Overall, it was her ears that really felt different. Quickly reaching up, she grabbed her ears and felt the pointed shape, confirming what she believed to possibly be true.

Her mind slowly processed what she was seeing and feeling.

She wasn’t human anymore, which meant no one would recognize her. Her breathing began to rapidly increase. What was she going to do? She couldn’t go home like this, could she? It’s not like anyone would believe who she said she was, as she looked completely different now.

Before the panic fully set in, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

The elf who had been talking to her was now crouched at the edge of the spring, a gentle smile on her face.

“I can tell you’re struggling to come to terms with your present situation by your expression. I know you need answers, but take it one step at a time. Some of the questions you have are probably going to be pretty hard to answer, and you might be the only person who can answer them. For now you’re alive, and that’s all that matters.”

There was a reserved motherly tone to the way the elf was speaking to her. While the woman wasn’t her mother, she was taking on the role of a motherly figure in trying to help her. She was right. There was too much for her to understand all at once. Time was the only thing that could fix some issues.

“Thanks,” she said softly.

“Don’t mention it. If you want, we could start making our way to the Enclave to make sure you’re properly acclimating your body, and perhaps help you figure out what’s next.”

For a moment the girl stared at the woman. She was incredibly friendly, even though she didn’t have any reason to be so. She couldn’t recall the last time a stranger had been so generous, if any she’d met had ever been.

“I’d like that,” she said shifting so that she was standing up.

The woman smiled and made a gesture with her hand, pulling out a towel from her ring.

“We’ll start by getting you dried off and then in a robe,” she said, offering the towel. “The name’s Orchid by the way.”

Taking the towel and wiping herself off with it, the girl began to say her name, then stopped herself as she mulled it over.

“Liang,” she said softly.

The name no longer meant anything to her. It was a relic of her past now, as was the woman who gave it to her.

Thinking straight in her current situation wasn’t possible. The more she thought, the more crowded her mind became. There was one thing she was sure of though: she could no longer go back, and she had no desire to go back either. While she wasn’t certain what the future had in store for her, she knew that with time she’d find the answers she was looking for. And so she would move forward.

After stepping out of the pool and drying her legs off, she held out the towel toward the elf.

“Formerly Kitty Liang.”