Floating between two worlds, and free from her body, I attempt to enter her memories instead.

It was a bit simpler with her phone, imagining it was mine and treating it like I would every day.

Peeking into her memories is much more elusive.

How was my childhood?

I don't remember much from before the time my little sister was born. It's nothing surprising, I was four, and she became my favorite plaything.

No, wrong memories, those are mine, as in Leona's.

I want to peek into Alexandra's past.

How was my childhood as a cat girl?

New images surface into the blinding whiteness but come from much further away.

Right. She has a few decades of advantage over me, even if it doesn't show.

The first images have vertical bars over them.

She's in a cage? And traveling on an uncomfortable carriage.

There's no sound and everything's blurry, but I can make out a few things.

She wears chains, even inside the cage, and her body is tiny.

It's a childhood memory and not a happy one.

Wasn't she a warrior before becoming part of the Harem?

This looks like a slave's memory or a prisoner of war.

There is the warmth of another body pressing against mine, and it's a woman with similar features.

I can't make out her face through the blur of the image, but I can tell it's her mother.

If Alexandra is anything to go by, she must have been stunning too.

The carriage stops, and they're separated.

The events feel jittery as if someone hit the fast-forward button.

Lots of beatings and hardship follow. I never see her mother again.

Her memories are still full of her, she's thinking about the woman between tears day and night.

She plans to escape, but the chains are never taken off.

The food is abysmal, the bland taste still lingers on my tongue, even though I don't have a body right now.

The mind can play the strangest tricks on people.

She's alone in the dark, then with other children during the day.

They come in all shapes and sizes. I see different kinds of Beastmen I didn't even know existed.

Some have cat ears like her, others resemble dogs, bears, or strange mixes.

There are Orcs and other green-skinned creatures too. Some are larger, some smaller, but all wear similar chains. The only ones without them are humans.

All are adults, and all take despicable looks at her.

Even though the blurriness, I can see their eyes, and they disgust me.

It's not because of the memories she attaches to them.

I can also feel her anger, desperation, and fear, but it's different.

Some look with disdain, others with hatred, and some with lust. Those last ones are the scariest, but she gets off easy, thanks to her luck. It's the luck of a slave, rather than a Goddess.

They parade them onto a market, and someone buys her. The buyer is also a human but the memories show nothing of him. She escapes a mere two days later.

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There was a reason they kept her in chains the entire time. Once they're off, she's gone. Still, fending for herself in the wilderness is anything but easy for a child.

She's often hungry, chased by wild animals, cutting it very close more than once.

The only things she can catch are rabbits and rats. Hey, these do seem familiar.

The way she hunts. Did I access her memories without realizing it while I was out with Mabel? I employed the same method, relying on her insane speed and dextrousness.

It was muscle memory. Her harsh life in the wild doesn't last long. With all the jumps and fast-forwarding, it's difficult to tell how much time has passed.

I don't know how long I've been watching her memories either. How long did the previous transfer last? It feels like I've spent days watching her early life unfold already.

She runs into Orcs again. These aren't in chains, and they won't put her in them either. Once she's past her fear and suspicion of them, she remains with their tribe.

It's not easy when even the youngest Orc cubs can overpower her, but they can never catch up to her speed. By the time she's around Emi's current age, she can hold her own against anyone in combat.

Looking at the events from her point of view and not seeing her looks, it's easy to see the parallels. She got what she wanted, no matter the cost, or the dirty methods she needed to get them.

She is the same as my sister, and I love that tyrannic little ginger. Sure, her circumstances were a lot worse. My sister chose to shape up like that on a whim.

Alexandra had to, for survival and to fit into the new place. Now I can relate much better to the Beastmen Wildling too.

She still thinks of her mother, often sneaking out to try and find her, but the world is vast.

She might be familiar with the immediate surroundings and the forests she lives in. Including a few towns nearby, but that's not even a fraction of the country she's in.

When that tall, horned Beastman shows up to request a duel with the chieftain, she feels fascinated by him. I have a Deja Vu. Where did I hear this before?

A powerful dude fighting for the daughters of every strong tribe leader? And since everyone loves Alexandra in this tribe, they treat her like their own. This backfires.

The stranger beats the chieftain without using magic or breaking a sweat. He demands them to hand over Alex. She is furious and wants a rematch.

The stranger laughs, that's the sharpest image in all her memories until now. He's one handsome fucker, and even with all the hostility, her heart beats faster. Mine does too.

I know where this is going. But right as they begin to fight, I'm ripped away from the memories, and the whiteness fades away.

It's the chieftain's shack again, a different chieftain of a different tribe.

It's not even the same era. We both came from very far away.