Chapter 3. Grund zum Leben

Rasa's POV; Medical Quarters, Rasa's Room.

I woke up with pain wracking my body. There was almost no place that didn't hurt. Maybe my toes didn't hurt, but now they started to itch.

A quick inspection of my inner state showed that the tree was still there, firmly lodged inside the hole where my Soullink once was. It glowed with love on my mate's side, while my flower bloomed with mine.

My Chakra Core had a patched-up crack. There would be no Chakra training for me with a Core in such a state. I might really cripple myself if I tried. For now, I will have to use what I have. My reserves were meagre, tiny even for a normal child, if you take the ambient Chakra into account.

Still, something is better than nothing. I'll just have to refine my control. There are lots of fun things you can do with tiny, yet ultra-precise Chakra. It's usually just really hard to learn, like pushing a woollen string through a needle that's too tiny.

I might even have it easier. My tiny reserves made my string more akin to a tiny blade of grass.

Anyway, first I had to survive. There was no way for me to act like the girl who once owned this body. After all these years, I still didn't know if they overtake a dead body or kill the previous owner. Sometimes they're even like they're made out of air, with no history to their bodies.

I opened my eyes and saw a man staring at me. His eyes were bloodshot and had deep eye bags. He must have been staring at me for quite some time. He must be the father or someone who fills the same role. He was not looking happy, as if I had failed a test by not reacting the way he wanted.

He already had suspicions or confirmed them just now.

No woman was close by. Usually, it means a dead mother or something that keeps her away. I'd better not ask for her; he might ask questions I can't answer. I shouldn't try to lie. This body is too fragile to survive on my own.

Please hurry up, my love!

The man sighed sadly when I didn't say anything. "Is it as we have feared?" His eyes turned sharp and radiated controlled killing intent. "Who are you, what have you done to my daughter, and why should I not kill you?"

Darn, so only the truth will work? Well, most of it will be truthful.

"I don't have a name," I began and noticed how broken my voice was. The father of this body winced but didn't offer any water. "May I have some water?" I asked after a moment, explaining with such a sore throat would be painful enough. It shouldn't be dry as well.

He hesitated but did help me drink some water. My voice still hurt when I spoke, but not as if I were using sandpaper on them. "I don't really know. My mate and I used a technique to start again. It should have allowed us to be reborn, with our memories intact."

"I didn't know that we would overtake someone else's body. I also thought that my mate would be reborn with me. Instead, I woke up alone inside the body of a young girl, and not an infant."

"And where is my Rasa?" He asked calmly, rage held back.

"I don't know. There is no one here but me. There aren't even any memories, but there usually are," I noticed the moment I said that I said something wrong.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"So, you knew how to possess someone?" This time, some rage bled through his Chakra, making this body feel frightened. If I had larger reserves, I could have done something, but alas...

"Sure, it's easy once you've cultivated long enough," I half-lied with a shrug. I'm not sure if it's possible in this world, but I do know that a lot of worlds have the ability.

"How far along were you on the path of cultivation?" He asked, slightly taken aback. Maybe he's just now realizing that I might be someone quite old.

"Too bad I don't know the stages beyond the Heart Stage," I said truthfully. "I don't know exactly how your cultivation works. I was only able to read your beginner breathing book, something over the Lung Stage."

"What do you mean by 'your cultivation'?" Great, I've steamrolled him. Maybe I'll survive this. These cultivation idiots are always seeking more power.

"I seem to come from a different world. We don't cultivate our bodies by parts, but the whole," I explained. Again, some worlds do, others don't. I'm not sure about this one, there isn't enough Chakra around to train everything at once. Maybe there are places, just not where I am.

"Can you teach me?" He started to look eager, as I knew the trope always comes true.

Knowing that saying no wouldn't work here, I tried to do some damage control. "Not here. There isn't enough Chakra around us to do it. If I knew more about the breathing technique, I might be able to write a version that also strengthens the blood by breathing in."

He was quite eager to get his hands on a different breathing technique; it must not be well known. "What would you need?"

I gave him a helpless shrug. "I can't do much right now. I wouldn't be able to learn the technique myself, not as long as my core is this damaged. However, I should be able to come up with one that would work in theory. You just need someone to test it."

"How can I trust you? What if you give us a demonic technique? One that will benefit us greatly on the surface, but kill us from behind?"

Well, I would have done that, depending on their treatment. "While possible, it would be easy to see within one or two generations of young people. Just give a few of them my technique and compare them to the rest for a few generations. You are a clan, aren't you?"

He nodded slowly, thinking over my proposal. "That might work. If you haven't taken our caution into account. Isn't it you who is proposing these preparations?"

I tried to throw my arms in the air, but they only wobbled slightly. "If you argue like that, then nothing I can teach or give you will have any worth!"

He stared at me, then leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath. "You are right. You must understand that I am speaking to the person possessing the body of my only daughter." He looked up at me; there were quite a lot of emotions inside him.

I just couldn't feel them without Chakra. "I can't help you. I don't know what has happened to her, and you won't like what I have to say next." He visibly prepared himself for holding back.

"My mate is on the way. I will be found, and once that happens, this clan's survival will depend on my health."

"Are you threatening me?" He growled. "You take my girl from me and have the audacity to threaten me?!"

"No, it's a promise. This place, and maybe the whole country, will burn if I were to die or be in pain when my mate finds me. I would kill billions if they stand in the way of the killer of my mate." I said the last part with as much conviction as this tiny body could muster. I must admit, without any Chakra, it lacks quite a bit of gravitas.

He sagged into himself, looking like a boneless heap of misery. "My daughter is dead, her body possessed by an adult. If she were to die or come to harm, my whole clan will also die. Why should I trust you? How likely is it really to find you?"

"Someone must have helped me survive, or I would have been dead. Didn't you feel my emotions? I lost my connection to my mate, but they reached out from their side. They already have a lead." I at least hoped that was the case. I couldn't be sure and needed to study the tree more thoroughly.

He hadn't killed me. By now, it should mean that he won't. "You will be watched. An Elder will teach you and will allow what you can and can't read. You won't interact with our youths until we allow it, and you can't leave your abode without a guard."

"I don't hate you. I hate the circumstances of you being here. It might be for the best not to interact with me from now on." He was forcing himself to continue. "You will keep my daughter's name, Rasa. She has always been sick, and people shouldn't question too much if you stay indoors for a prolonged time."

He got up from his chair and walked to the door, stopping in its frame. "You have the name of my daughter. Do evil, and I will hunt you down!"

With him gone, I was left alone for a moment to think. I survived and will have to write some cultivation techniques these people can use, and I will have to wait for an indefinite amount of time.

It seems as if it will be quite some time before we can reunite. Our bodies should be of the same age. It will be hard being only 5 years old. Maybe it will be a week, hopefully not a month.

proofread by crypto