The cell was a cavern of gloom and frost, its air thick with a chilling bite.
A girl in a tattered prison garb stirred awake, her snow-white hair cascading like a frozen river, her rose-red eyes swirling with a haze of confusion and wonder at the unknown.
“Achoo!”
Noi sneezed daintily, her delicate frame jolting as she realized the oxygen once pumped into her lungs by a ventilator had been replaced by a gritty, dust-laden sludge that scratched her throat and tickled her nose.
Her long-dormant mind sputtered to life, and she brushed her hand against the uneven stone slab beneath her hips.
In her memory, this should have been the smooth, sterile surface of a hospital bed, complete with an operating console.
Instinctively, Noi slapped the wall beside her shoulder, searching for the call button to summon a nurse, but the icy stone under her palm drew a helpless sigh from her lips.
“This isn’t a hospital…”
Her murmured words echoed through the cramped cell, slipping past the iron bars and fading into the void beyond.
She froze, startled by the sound of her own voice—a crystalline, melodic tone that didn’t belong to the hoarse rasp illness had left her with.
Her shackled hands, heavy with iron, reached for a shard of glass on the floor.
Leaning against the bars, she angled it to catch the flickering light of a candle suspended outside the cell, and her reflection came into focus.
Familiar… yet not mine.
Noi stared, transfixed.
The white-haired girl in the glass mirrored her every move with uncanny precision: a puzzled tilt of the head, a tuft of hair swaying like a bewildered antenna.
She pinched her cheek, furrowed her brow, stuck out her tongue—and the reflection obeyed without flaw.
Well… I guess this is me.
Had she ascended to paradise?
Was this a dream?
Or perhaps the hospital had turned her into a test subject, transplanting her consciousness?
Surely she hadn’t traveled somewhere else… had she?
Thoughts tangled and raced through her mind like wild currents.
Just then, a translucent blue crystal screen flickered into existence before her eyes, shattering her reverie.
[Energy Low. System Entering Hibernation Mode.]
Reading the words aloud, Noi reached out to touch the screen, but her fingers passed through it like mist.
Could it be controlled by thought?
Focusing, she willed the command “Close System”, and the screen vanished.
It was eerily similar to the “systems” described in novels, though whether she’d been reborn on Earth or whisked to another world remained a mystery.
She toggled the system on and off, confirming her mental control, then unleashed a flood of questions, commanding it to “Explain”.
[…]
“What’s with the dots?” Noi pouted, breaking her queries into smaller pieces and asking one by one.
The system, however, remained stubbornly silent.
Useless thing.
But…
Her fingers tightened around the glass shard, and with a casual flex, it crumbled to dust.
This body was “strong”.
Noi sprang to her feet, bounding around the cell with a vigor she hadn’t felt in years.
The lightness, the power—it surged through her like a forgotten friend.
Since falling ill in her first year of high school, her world had been confined to a hospital bed, her memories painted in the sterile white of ceilings and the flicker of fluorescent lights.
Her last recollection was being wheeled into surgery, a breathing mask strapped to her face.
And now… here.
In her past life, Noi had been abandoned by the world—a vibrant, colorful bubble she could only watch from the outside, yearning to belong but always pushed away.
Her cold nature and lack of empathy hadn’t helped.
If not for the thin thread of morality holding her together, she might have ended her life long ago.
Death, after all, was the simplest knot-cutter.
But now, freed from her frail shell, she wanted to live differently—to feel deeply, to express truly.
She didn’t fear death; she only wanted a life that mattered.
Lost in these thoughts, she was jolted by strange, guttural voices from beyond the cell, speaking in a language she somehow understood.
“This woman’s got curves in all the right places, and that face—pure perfection. Lucky you, getting guard duty. Got any complaints?” (Goblin language)
Noi’s mind reeled.
She could understand them?
“Bosses keep pushing for more output. The shadow spiders are finally producing steady mucus, but the kid replacing me is some scrawny goblin. What if something goes wrong?” (Goblin language)
“Scrawny or not, he’s better than your twiggy self. Besides, you’re the only one who picked up human speech from that elf swindler. The chief wants you to figure out how this woman fell from the sky. Find out who she is—make sure she’s not some clan heiress.” (Goblin language)
“If she’s not, don’t let her die. The chief wants to have his fun with her first, heh. You know how it goes—after he’s done, it’s our turn.” (Goblin language)
“Fine…” (Goblin language)
The first goblin’s dragging footsteps faded into the distance.
Noi lay back on the cold floor, her crimson eyes half-lidded.
No time to worry about what world this was.
Escape came first—she had no intention of becoming their plaything.
The new guard, tasked with this “important” duty, hauled a battered redwood chair to the cell’s edge and collapsed into it, green sweat beading on his brow.
Noi, feigning sleep, watched through slitted eyes.
A plan formed.
“Cough, cough!”
She sat up, wincing theatrically and clutching her shoulder. “It hurts…”
The guard’s eyes flicked to her, momentarily entranced by her frail act.
“You hurt? Is it bad?”
“I… I can’t see the wound, but my shoulder’s killing me.”
She met his gaze, tears glistening at the corners of her rose-red eyes, her lips pressed into a trembling line.
“Hang on, I’ll get you some medicine.” Panicked, the guard fetched a tribal poultice and fumbled with the keys to unlock the cell door.
He felt a prickle, as if her eyes were locked on the keys, but a glance around showed nothing amiss.
Noi lowered her gaze, her lashes veiling her intent as she scooted back, feigning reluctance.
Then, as if steeling herself, she looked up, her voice a soft plea: “Be gentle, okay?”
“Y-yeah, sure.” Her voice, clear as a bell, sent a shiver through him.
He slowed his movements, unaware of her arm slipping around his neck with the grace of a serpent.
The motion was so light, so deft, it was hard to believe she wore heavy shackles.
Too late, the guard realized his mistake.
A sharp pain exploded at his neck as the chains snapped tight, crushing his windpipe.
“Gurgh!” His eyes bulged, his long tongue—meant for vile deeds—lolling out, drool flying.
His sinewy arms clawed at her, but her grip was iron.
The crimson-eyed girl stared down, her earlier fragility gone, replaced by a chilling smile.
Excitement danced in her eyes—she was “savoring” this.
Her slender frame unleashed a terrifying strength, her foot slamming into the goblin’s knee, forcing him to the ground.
Her bare foot pressed against his skull, her chained arms yanking upward with ruthless precision.
In moments, the goblin was a wreck—tears and snot streaming, his loincloth stained with yellow, his resistance broken.
“Done already?” Noi’s smile bloomed, radiant and chilling.
Her delicate hands, so deceptively soft, had nearly claimed their first kill.
Her blood sang, her heart thundered.
This thrill, this rush—it was the spark her barren life had craved.
Snapping out of her daze, she steadied her breathing, her cheeks cooling.
She rifled through the guard’s belongings, claiming the keys and a folded letter.
With a creak, she unlocked the cell door and stepped out—her first step into the world of Tria.
Then, her newfound curves betrayed her, and she pitched forward, face-planting into the dirt.
“Ouch…”
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