Chapter 1: Awakening in Two Worlds
Albert Evergreen opened his eyes to the warm embrace of a humble cottage. Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting a gentle glow on the wooden furnishings. Outside, the branches of towering trees swayed in the breeze, their leaves whispering tales of ages past.
*Where am I?* Albert wondered as he sat up, the surprising ease of the movement catching him off guard. He glanced around, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. The room felt comforting, and a sense of peace settled within him.
"What the hell?" Albert muttered, running his hands through his hair. Surprise took him as he looked at his hands, finding them young and strange yet undeniably his. Everything felt real, too real. "Am I hallucinating or dreaming?" Albert pinched his arm, the sharp sensation confirming the reality of the moment.
"How did this happen? Why?" Trying to piece together the events that led to this moment, Albert recalled walking down the street to get his mail. He saw a kid chasing after his rubber ball across the street, and without hesitation, he jumped to pull the child out of the way of a speeding car. However, in the struggle, he lost his balance and fell into the street, surrounded by darkness. Simultaneously, he remembered as Aiden, hurrying to climb a tree to check on baby owls before his father arrived. A misstep, a fall, and darkness enveloped him once again.
*Two lives, two worlds.*
Am I Albert or Aiden or both? Looking into his memories, he can remember both lives, but he was almost certainly sure he is Albert in Aiden's body. A sound at the door and then opens, "Albert, you're awake!" Ronan exclaimed. "Did the momma owl chase you off? Are you scared of owls now?." Ronan said it with a teasing chuckle.
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"No, I haven't gone up that far. This is my friend Ronan or Aiden's friend Ronan? Wait, do I have two personalities? Can I Albert, and Aiden be friends? Can I friend myself? Chuckles, I think I'm enjoying this way too much."
Hearing Ronan clearing his throat cut his line of thinking. ”So you’re in?“. “Huh? What? What are you talking about?”. Ronan sighed. “I swear you have the memory of a goldfish. Next week will be the Eldorian festival. We need to leave tomorrow if we want to make it in time.”
Thinking about it, Albert remembered the festival; it's every five years where people from all the towns and cities around Eldoria come for the events. Aiden always wanted to go; last time, his father declined because he was still too young. Now that he is in the [Copper] of his cultivation, he can go and certainly not participate in the combat events. Hesitating between settling down for a few days to figure out what the hell is going on and feeling the urge to go. Perhaps a journey would help me make sense of this.
"Alright. I'll need to pack and get ready. Leaving after breakfast?," Ronan nodded.
After Ronan left, Albert got out of bed feeling a light headache, surprised that the fall didn't kill him, or maybe it did kill Aiden and now my spirit lives here, chuckles. I have to figure out what's going on but first, I wanna run! He didn't feel this energized in decades, or maybe ever. Going outside and seeing the giant trees of the forest, a wide smile appeared on his face. I wanna die here and close his eyes. “No! I wanna live here” and went for a run around the farm; this is life, marveling at how strong and fast he can run without losing breath. He can feel the energy coursing through his body. Thinking about it, he could remember from Aiden's memory its [Ethereon] and he can use it as fuel because Aiden, like many people his age, has reached the [Copper] of cultivation, allowing him to cultivate, cycle, and naturally recover [Ethereon] and store it in his core just below the navel as fuel. He needs to cultivate and cycle, then condense the [Ethereon] in his core before upgrading it to [Silver]. [Silver] cultivators are able to use the energy to enhance the body and senses. Aiden doesn't know much of the specifics of the next stage because he isn't anywhere near getting there.