Feeling a sudden wet sensation on his forehead as it slowly spread to his cheek, Leo's tightly closed eyelids trembled slightly. 

A few seconds later, he felt another wet sensation on his forehead, running down to his cheeks once more.

Groaning softly, Leo opened his eyes slowly.

On the ceiling, there hung a woman with dishevelled hair, very pale skin, and the lower body of a spider.

Her black eyes stared at Leo as saliva drooled from her open mouth, revealing shark-like teeth. It landed on his forehead.

For a few seconds, they locked eyes.

'Nah, I must be trippin. I'll close my eyes for a while. By the time I open them again, I'll be awake for real.'

As he closed his eyes once more, Leo pondered whether it was high time he stopped watching horror movies before going to sleep, especially the demonic ones.

However, barely a few seconds had passed before Leo felt another wet sensation on his forehead. His heart sank as his body trembled.

With his heart racing at a rate that would put sports cars to shame, Leo slowly opened his eyes again.

The woman with the pale skin and the lower body of a spider remained in her eerie position.

Her black, sickly hair wasn't too long; in fact, it was just short enough that the tips didn't quite touch Leo's face, given the close proximity of their heads.

They continued to gaze at each other without any movement. 

Then, without warning, the woman's mouth suddenly stretched wide open as her head detached from her neck.

Leo let out a scream of sheer terror, his voice betraying his gender as he witnessed several rows of shark-like teeth expanding into his view.

In less than a second after his scream, darkness enveloped his vision, and he lost consciousness.

His poor heart couldn't bear the horrifying scene and gave out.

*****

Staring at the two unfamiliar yet strangely familiar women in front of him, Leo's lips twitched as he listened to their conversation.

"Bella, I've told you several times to have better control over your pet! I can't count how many times I've almost died from her pranks!" The older of the two women, with her hands on her hips, reprimanded the other female who appeared to be her perfect replica. 

Behind the younger female stood a black cat with green eyes, wearing an awfully human-like expression of guilt on its face.

The cat then turned its gaze toward Leo. When it caught Leo staring at it, the guilt in its expression deepened.

Leo's expression became even more peculiar after seeing this. 

Leo quickly averted his gaze back to the two women in front of him to avoid looking at the cat.

He couldn't adapt to this too soon. Perhaps later, but not at the moment.

Releasing a silent sigh, Leo quietly gripped his head with his two hands.

'I truly transmigrated.'

To think that something he had only read as a fantasy to alleviate his boredom back in his days at the orphanage had actually happened, and it had happened to him, no less.

Suppressing another sigh that was on the verge of escaping his lips, Leo turned to address the older of the two women before him.

"Mom," he called out, his voice carrying a hint of unfamiliarity, though not very noticeable.

"Don't blame Bella for her pet's actions," Leo stated.

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Just as the woman he had just addressed as "mother" opened her mouth to speak, Leo beat her to it and continued.

"Also, let's cut Lily some slack, shall we? She hasn't had a real chance to use her powers ever since she hatched, which was quite a long time ago by now. So, we can't exactly blame her for using them when she has the chance, even if they're... heart-stoppingly effective."

Hearing her son's words, Mia appeared to struggle with her response, opening her mouth several times before finally releasing a defeated sigh.

"Okay, I've heard you," Mia said to Leo. 

Mia then turned her attention to the other person in the room, his sister in this world, Isabella.

"Just try to have better control over Lily, okay? We don't want her pranks to go so far that she ends up hurting someone," Mia said softly, but the worry on her face was evident. She genuinely believed that if Lily continued to prank people with her illusion abilities, someone might actually get hurt.

In response to her mother's words, Bella nodded energetically, and her pet cat behind her legs mimicked her actions.

'I really don't think I can get used to that.'

Watching Lily's eerily human-like expressions only served to confirm for Leo that he had truly transmigrated to another world. He just didn't know how to react. 

It wasn't that cats on Earth couldn't exhibit human-like gestures; they could. But Lily was just too natural at it; her form was the only thing that seemed nonhuman.

After expressing her concerns to her daughter and giving her cat the universal motherly glare that signifies disapproval, Mia turned her attention to Leo.

"Freshen up for the day, son, and come downstairs. Breakfast will be ready soon," Mia instructed.

"Okay, ma," Leo replied softly with a nod.

Upon hearing his response, Mia left the room.

Mia couldn't help but feel that her son was acting unusually this morning. She surmised that Lily's prank must have been particularly extreme, and he needed some time to himself.

Isabella, too, had the same thought on her mind.

Once Mia had left the room, Isabella turned to Leo with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry for Lily's actions, brother," Isabella said with a deep bow, which caught Leo by surprise.

When Leo noticed Isabella's cat attempting to mimic her actions once more, he almost screamed.

'Can't you behave like a normal cat and just be cute!'

Leo wanted to shout this out, but he refrained. Besides not wanting to appear odd, he also had a lingering fear of the cat's powers.

Recalling the terrifying image he had seen when he first woke up, Leo's body shivered involuntarily.

Isabella raised her head slightly, noticing her brother's unusual behaviour.

"Brother?" she called out cautiously, her concern evident in her tone.

Leo quickly gathered himself, realising that he wasn't alone in the room, and responded to Isabella.

"It's okay, Bella. Don't be too hard on yourself. Go downstairs and help Mom with breakfast. I'll be down soon," Leo reassured her, gesturing for her to stand straight, a motion mirrored by both Isabella and her cat.

After convincing Isabella once more that he was fine, even though he was still quite traumatised by Lily's prank, Leo sent her on her way.

Now that he finally had some time to himself, Leo could focus on pondering his current situation.

When he had fainted earlier, after screaming and drawing his family's attention, he had experienced a short dream in his unconscious state. It was as if he'd been given access to the memories of the original owner of this body. 

Those memories spanned 18 years of existence.

Coincidentally, this body name was also Leo. However, this was the main similarity they shared. They differed in age, with this Leo being a year older and more attractive.

As Leo tried to make sense of the unfamiliar memories swirling in his head, making everything seem chaotic, he started to search for information about this world.

After some time, Leo managed to piece together a somewhat solid understanding of this new world.

Unlike Earth, this world was more advanced and had a unique feature: the presence of pets.

These pets were magical creatures with various supernatural powers.

But that wasn't all.

These pets had masters, known as tamers, who could control and command these magical creatures.

In this world, Leo's sister, Isabella, happened to be one of these tamers, and her pet was the black cat that accompanied her, the Phantom Ice Beast. 

This creature belonged to the demon family and possessed the ability to create illusions and control ice. 

What made Isabella's pet even more special was that its bloodline had mutated, making its abilities notably stronger.

This explained the strange sensation of feeling something wet on his face that morning, which had seemed so real. It had all been the work of the Phantom Ice Beast.

In essence, it was a very rare and powerful beast. 

While these unique magical creatures were originally referred to as beasts, they were called "pets" because of the bond and control established with their Tamers. The official title for individuals like Isabella was "Beast Tamer" due to this unique relationship.

Just as Leo was about to delve deeper into his new memories, Mia's voice rang throughout the house.

"Leo!"