There were the soft sounds of the birds tweeting and chirping. A sound that welcomed a new dawn for many, but for some, it may be an entirely different matter.

In a two-storey wooden house, a young, svelte woman sat on her bed, wearing a simple sleeping gown. The rays of sunlight streamed into the room via the opened window. Her amber-coloured eyes gazed out the window, the bewilderment apparent in her eyes. The stark white curtains swayed to the gentle breeze, and the wind caressed her face.

Her long, silver hair that cascaded down to her waist fluttered to the wind. She tugged it behind her ear, only for her body to stiffen. Her amber eyes grew wide as she clutched at her hair, as if her hair was foreign to her.

Her eyes strayed down to her arms and wrist, staring at her creamy skin in disbelief.

"How long has it been?"

"Almost two weeks."

There were muffled voices coming from outside the bedroom door, making the woman gasp as she turned her head.

Her beautiful and delicate features were clear to see under the warm sunlight. However, with the sharp glint in her amber eyes and her hardened expression, her delicate mein ceased to be.

The young woman, who barely seemed to be eighteen, gave off a distant and cold aura.

She narrowed her eyes at the doorknob that started to turn, keeping a composed look on her face. Despite that, if one inspected closely, they would be able to see the panic and fear in her amber eyes.

The door was pushed open, and the person behind it sighed heavily. The young woman came face to face with an older version of herself, but the older woman possessed silver eyes instead.

There was an older man standing behind the woman, his amber eyes widening in disbelief. Whereas, the older woman dropped the tray she was holding in her hands, the items clattering noisily onto the floor.

"Oh, my darling Ida Wolfe," the older woman sobbed out. "You have finally awoken, our dearest daughter."

"Oh Ida," the older man, her father, joined in the hugging session, his voice hoarse. "Do you know how worried we were?"

"..."

Ida was completely silent. Her face was inscrutable and she did not move an inch, despite her parents hugging her as if she was their lifeline.

"...Ida, why aren't you saying anything?" Her mother withdrew, asking in concern. "Are you alright?"

Her father stood beside her mother, his appearance was neat, voicing his concern as well. "Tell us if you feel uncomfortable anywhere, hmm?"

The two of them assessed their daughter, and upon seeing their concerned looks, she blinked in shock.

For Ida, these two who were supposedly her parents, were actually strangers to her. After all, before she woke up, she was living in another life.

Not as Ida Wolfe, but someone else.

Moreover, she wasn't young and pretty like Ida Wolfe. She was almost forty years old, and her body was riddled with scars.

In addition to that, having parents and a family...

That was something alien to her.

Fortunately, it wasn't the first time she was flung into an unexpected situation.

"...what...happened to me?" Ida asked calmly.

"What do you mean what happened to you?" Her mother sighed in exasperation. "You don't remember? You were missing for almost an entire day, and returned home dead in the night with such a high fever!"

Her father nodded, crossing his arms. "You collapsed and after your fever was gone, you never woke up! It has almost been two weeks!"

Ida was stumped.

Why would the previous Ida Wolfe do that?

She thought to herself, before narrowing her eyes.

No, more than that, why am I currently possessing Ida Wolfe now?

Ida met the concerned yet frustrated looks of her parents, shrugging.

"I don't remember at all."

Her parents observed her, their frustrated expressions softening.

"It's fine, as long as you are back and safe, that's all that matters."

"Your mother is right, don't do something so dangerous next time, Ida."

"I understand."

Her parents left the room, not before her mother promised to bring her a warm meal. Her father assisted to clean the mess on the floor, the two of them leaving their daughter alone to rest.

"That girl, ever since she was young, she had always been quiet and distant," her mother sighed, her hand on her cheek. "Do you think she ran off because we did something wrong to Ida?"

"Honey, you should know our Ida by now, even if she is quiet and distant, she speaks her mind when she needs to," her father comforted his wife. "I'm sure there's another reason for our daughter to do something reckless like that."

The two of them allowed their daughter to get some needed respite.

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎

Ida stood in the bathroom, observing herself in the mirror. The bathroom was of simple design, and its size was just enough to fit the necessities of a bathroom.

The mirror reached down to her neck, and Ida fiddled with her silver hair that reached down her waist, as well as her skin which felt smooth to touch.

"Why am I you?" She sighed, crossing her arms as she furrowed eyebrows. "Ida Wolfe."

All of a sudden, flashes of memory hit her and Ida clutched her head. She widened her eyes, looking at herself in the mirror.

Her memory was coming back.

Now, she had the knowledge of who Ida Wolfe was, and how she lived until the age of seven.

The Wolfe family.

They were fallen nobles.

The Grenyth Empire, in which humans ruled and lived in, consisted of commoners, nobles and the imperial family.

It was only the nobles that were granted surnames, bestowed by the Emperor. Whereas, commoners did not have any surnames.

The Wolfe family was in debt many years ago, which led to the ruin of the prestigious noble family. Albeit, despite being fallen nobles, the memory of Ida Wolfe up till the age of seven has been happy.

Moreover, she realised that the personality of the previous Ida Wolfe bore an uncanny resemblance to hers.

Nevertheless, for the present Ida Wolfe, it was a foreign feeling.

She sighed once again, resting her head on her hand. Lifting her head up, she looked at herself in the mirror as she leaned against the wooden sink.

"Since things have come to this, fine," Ida wore a small smile on her face. "I'll live as you, Ida Wolfe."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

She died painfully in her previous life, so she knew there was no chance of going back.

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎

After washing herself up, she dressed back in her sleeping gown with an outer robe. There was one another thing that Ida needed to become accustomed to, and it was the clothes of this world.

Thankfully, recovering the memories helped her immensely. She didn't feel uncomfortable wearing such inconvenient clothes.

"Ida, come here, eat some warm oatmeal," her mother entered the room, carrying a tray to the old, wooden table. "Me and your father will be heading out to...settle some business."

"Business?" Ida questioned.

"Don't worry, we'll be back very soon," her mother forced a smile. "Take good care of yourself while we aren't here."

"Alright..."

Ida hesitated, but the word still came out naturally, much to her surprise.

"...mother."

Her mother widened her eyes, before smiling sadly at Ida.

Our sweet Ida.

That day, if you ran away and refused to come back because of all this...

"We apologise, Ida."

Ida frowned. "Why are you apologising?"

Ida couldn't think of anything wrong that these two loving parents of hers did to her.

"For everything."

Her mother left the room quietly.

Ida watched her mother close the door behind her, blinking slowly.

"...!"

Just then, there was another series of memories bursting forth from Ida's mind. She winced, clutching her head.

This time, her memories followed her until she was thirteen years old.

Unlike nobles who have servants, with a luxurious mansion accompanied by an ostentatious garden, the Wolfe family lacked those.

They lived in an impoverished area, sent here by the imperial family close to half a century ago. In the past, the Wolfe family had military prestige that was accomplished under the endless efforts of their ancestors.

Alas, the descendants squandered away the accumulated wealth. In addition to that, the prestige surrounding the Wolfe family began to decline, due to the slothiness and greediness of its descendants.

Hence, the previous Emperor, in an angry fit, sent them to the village near the border to the Wastelands. Under the pretense of guarding the border, the other astute nobles would know it was sending anyone to their deaths.

After all, the Wastelands were filled with nothing but monsters. These monsters were the horrific consequences of the war that took place centuries ago.

It was a common occurrence to receive news of villages, near the border, being attacked by the monsters. They would slip through the magical barriers from time to time.

The original Ida Wolfe seemed to have realised what her parents' meant by settling some business. It wasn't just simple business.

Surprisingly, unlike their selfish ancestors, Ida's parents were the prime example of "noblesse oblige". With whatever remaining funds they received from the Emperor to guard the border, and the remaining riches they had, they would spend it on helping the wounded villagers and guards.

If the previous Emperor and the nobles heard of this, they would have scoffed at her parents' actions. Fortunately, none of them cared.

Their family have always been scorned by other nobles. Along with having a bad relationship with the previous Emperor, it's no wonder no one would pay any heed to the Wolfe family.

"To think I would be brought to another world, just to fight for my life again." Ida scooped a portion of her warm oatmeal, eating it as she stared out at the clear sky via her window.

There were only a few things that perturbed Ida.

I know nothing of this world, and yet...

Why does the name "Grenyth Empire" seem so familiar to me?

Her thoughts were cut off as she continued eating her oatmeal, relishing at the taste in her mouth. It lingered on her tongue, and the oatmeal seemed to warm her heart.

She stared at the oatmeal, a surprised yet soft look in her amber eyes.

"It's...nice," she whispered to herself. "So this is what a home cooked meal tastes like."

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎

Three months passed.

Ida did not receive any short bursts of memories again. The memory of Ida Wolfe was perpetually stuck at thirteen years old.

Five years of memories were completely missing to her.

However, in the span of three months, Ida had grown attached to the villagers and her parents. Since the previous Ida Wolfe bore an uncanny resemblance to her personality, no one noticed the change in her.

They were kind and compassionate. Despite living near danger, where their lives could be lost at any moment, the villagers still lived their life to the fullest.

For Ida Wolfe, who had never experienced such warmth in her previous life, it was inevitable for her to get attached to them. Despite maintaining her cool and quiet mein, she wasn't as distant.

Ida was also relieved to know that in this world, corsets did not exist, and the clothes resembled that of the modern-day clothes in her previous world.

There were many things she liked about this world, except one problem.

"If a monster slips past the magical barrier," Ida muttered to herself. "There's no telling how many would die or get injured."

She lifted her head up, her silver hair gleaming under the sunlight. She donned a simple lilac-coloured dress, her sleeves reaching her wrist. There was a ribbon matching her hair colour tied around her waist, accentuating her curves.

Her delicate yet cold features, along with her silver hair was hard to miss. Her amber-coloured eyes scanned the people around the streets.

The village was small, and their camaraderie was great. Even if they were impoverished, they still led a happy and bright life. She could see the smiles evident on their faces, and the laughter of children and adults.

All of them here have treated her kindly.

By now, she considered all these people as her own.

Thus, it was only fair for her to repay them for the unconditional compassion she has received.

Before and even now, I have always kept my promise.

If possible, I will never allow my own people to suffer tragedies.

Ida narrowed her eyes, heading towards the direction of the magical barrier. Ever since "she" ran away and was missing for almost an entire day, her parents kept a strict watch on her movements out of fear.

Since her parents were in the clinic assessing the situation of the injured villagers, Ida was free to move as she pleased.

There were still many things Ida didn't know about this world. Albeit, there were some things she found familiar, not because of Ida's original memories, but because she had heard them somewhere before in her previous life.

That was another realisation that unsettled her.

She couldn't understand why she found it familiar.

Where have I encountered things about this world in my previous life?

Ida shook her head.

Her only focus was on the magical barrier now.

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎

Ida came to a halt.

"I was thinking how to find it since I have no knowledge about this world," she murmured out, blinking slowly. "But to think it would be this obvious..."

At the entrance of the village were two guard towers, and just a few metres in front, there was a mystical sight.

There was a steel wall that stretched high up, surrounding the perimeters of the village and even further, until Ida's eyes could no longer follow. The wall surrounded the entire Grenyth Empire.

Meanwhile, she could see the magical barrier as clear as day. There was a breach on the steel wall, as if an immense force crashed right through it. The breach was sealed up by a magical barrier, connected by two stone pillars. The pillars were carved intricately, and vines encircled around the pillars completely.

"Lady Wolfe, is that you?" The guard hollered from the guard tower. "Do you have some matters to settle here? You shouldn't be near the barrier."

Ida looked up at the guard tower, meeting the dubious eyes of the guard.

"Pay me no mind, I am simply here to sightsee." Ida replied.

She approached closer to the breach in the wall, wanting a closer observation of the barrier.

The guard gasped at Ida's actions, glancing over to the other tower.

"Hey Alex, keep watch alone for a minute, will ya?"

"Aye, aye."

The guard had a nondescript appearance with freckles scattered across his nose. He placed his hand on the fence of the tower, shouting out to Ida at the same time.

"Lady Wolfe, please don't take a step further!"

Ida paused, lifting her head up.

She saw as the guard vaulted over the fence, leaping down from the tower. His well-built body descended down, and he seemed unfazed at plunging himself to his own death.

All of a sudden, there was a gust of wind and a transparent body of a falcon appeared out of nowhere. It cut across the air, towards the guard, and its large body was enough to carry the guard on its back, letting out a piercing shriek.

Surprisingly, the guard did not sink through the falcon's transparent body.

Ida widened her eyes in surprise.

A sight like that, was something that never existed in her previous world.

The enormous, transparent falcon carried the guard all the way down to the ground, allowing him to land safely. Just like that, the falcon seemingly gave the guard a nod and it dissipated away, like a wisp being swept away by a gust of wind.

"Yes, this was it," Ida mused softly, only for her ears to hear as her amber eyes landed upon the guard in front of her. "The other thing I found familiar about this world."

She had seen an exact scene like that, but it was in the form of a description.

"Lady Wolfe, if it's the barrier you wish to look at," the guard bowed his head politely. "Please, allow me to escort you there."

Unwillingly, Ida allowed the guard to escort her to the barrier. Upon closer inspection, she realised that the stone pillars were bound to the gargantuan steel wall by the green vines.

With the gargantuan steel wall, Ida could imagine the size of the monsters that roamed outside these walls.

On the other hand, she noticed that the vines were shimmering in the light, as if something mystical had been sprinkled onto the vines. The stone pillars that were intricately carved shimmered in the same manner.

The barrier was a thin layer of bubble, it seemed so fragile yet it was the only thing that prevented the monsters from stepping into the village and the entire Grenyth Empire.

Ida knew better than to reach out and touch it.

"...?"

At that moment, she noticed something on the barrier. There was a minute crack on it, and if it weren't for Ida observing it intently, she would have missed it.

"There is a crack in the barrier."