Vorn was having a… strange day. He had woken up ordinarily enough, tired and in pain from his job in the mines. He’d first picked up the job at nine years old, much to his Uncle Burken’s chagrin, and he had just turned twenty yesterday. Burken had tried to make it an event, and Vorn appreciated that, he really did, but he was just too tired for a party. He was lucky to have such a loving man as his guardian… though it would be nice if he was more agreeable.
The main schism between them was the academy. Or the Academy of Magical Arts & Other Immaterial Phenomena. Didn’t that just roll off the tongue?
Burken was absolutely convinced that it was a waste of time. The fact that it was mainly populated with high nobles was not helping anything, either. However, the main sticking point was the price. Seven hundred and fifty Bright Cores. Roughly the equivalent of seven years of labor, and that’s assuming you have a Path and don’t spend a single Luminescent Core, or Lumie for short, on anything frivolous. No surprise visits to the healer, that’ll send you back a good few months.
Unfortunately for Vorn, entry into the Academy required that you didn’t have a Path or Class selected, and that made his expenses much higher than the average person. He was only making enough to barely nudge his progress toward his education every month. It felt hopeless, but if there was one thing about Vorn that nobody could disparage, it was his willpower. Or more accurately, stubborn determination.
But none of that was bothering him. He honestly thought about how hopeless his situation was more often than was healthy. Instead, it was a strange sense of foreboding, like a blade hanging over his neck, and it felt like it was about to drop at any moment. The presence felt more than he could ever be. Powerful.
Did he attract the attention of some ancient being? That would be just his fucking luck, wouldn’t it? Just a few years of work and he would accomplish his dreams, but no, some fucking unknown being was going to cut him down for no reason! Why was it always him!
He felt anger well up at his situation, but it was quickly quashed by the realization that it was just a facade. He was afraid. Terrified. Nothing he had ever felt had even come close, and he was around when his dad was angry. A level one-hundred-and-fifty man that was genuinely mad had been, hands down, the most scary thing he’d seen. And that paled in comparison to… This.
But… That would be ridiculous. No need to be irrational. There’s probably just a general or something going through town. That idea was quickly discarded, though. A general couldn’t feel this… indescribable.
Hells, maybe he was looking at this the wrong way. Maybe instead of a monster threatening his being, this feeling was a higher power finally looking over him. He had to admit, the power didn’t feel explicitly malicious, just… a lot.
His mother always told him to look at the bright side of things, and she was a much wiser person than him. Vorn smiled as he reached the mines. His mother was usually right, he really should have listened to her more when he had the chance.
Tearing his thoughts away from another depressing spiral, he got back to work. Mine, collect rocks, bring them to cart, mine, and continue mining. It was oddly relaxing. The breeze and sun on his skin were refreshing, and he had been mining for so long that his body wasn’t really straining like it had been when he first started. He was still sore, but that was an omnipresent feeling that he had long gotten used to.
Honestly, Vorn wouldn’t mind this job if it weren’t for his uncle and the twins. He loved his uncle, but the man was almost as stubborn as his nephew. Still, he was paid semi-well, and his uncle let him come in late so he could study in the mornings. The twins were another story, but he supposed that there was no such thing as a perfect job.
Suddenly, he could feel the foreboding blade that he was trying so hard to ignore came careening towards him, and it was descending fast. He looked up in fear, only to see nothing but clear skies. His eyes must be deceiving him because his spirit was quaking in fear. He knew deep down in his soul that a force of nature was arriving. Vorn frantically looked around, trying to see if anyone around him could feel it. No, everyone else was caught up in their own business.
Vorn tried to convince himself to calm down, but the sense of impending doom would not settle.
He checked his status, maybe he was coming down with something?
Vorn - Level 0 Human
Age: 20 | Race: Lunarian | Class - Unselected
Attributes:
CON: Locked
STR: Locked
AGI: Locked
DEX: Locked
WIS: Locked
INT: Locked
CHA: Locked
LUCK: Locked
Select a Path to unlock Attributes! Any day now!
Status Effects: Exhausted, Sore, Sleep Deprived, Impending Mortal Danger, Dehydrated
WHAT THE FUCK
Maybe put ‘Impending fucking death’ higher on the list!
OH nOO! I’m dehydrated! Whatever shall I do- WHO FUCKING CARES!
He couldn’t even call for help, his body so frozen in fear that even moving an inch would have been impossible. Then, it hit him, and at the moment of impact, he finally realized what was hurtling towards him. Another soul.
— — —
Rowan was having a strange day. First, he died, then he woke up in a divine realm, and now he woke up once more, but this time feeling sore, exhausted, and dehydrated.
Whoever owned this body before did not take good enough care of it. He made note that it would take him a few months to get this body to optimal conditions. Based on what Rowan could observe, he was a short, lithely built man with silver hair. His first thought was, ‘genetic condition?’, but the workers around him all had hair of varying shades of white as well.
He observed his surroundings with clinical detachment; it was important to not let adrenaline and battle instincts honed over years take over at the wrong moment. He learned that lesson the hard way after losing his first squad. A cool head was absolutely necessary when in an unknown environment.
“You okay there, Vorn? You just fell over suddenly! I keep telling you not to let yourself get so dehydrated!” A short, stout-looking man fussed over him.
“That fall must have rattled me, could you explain who you are and where I’m at?” Rowan asked in his usual deadpan tone.
At his response, the man looked disturbed, “I-I’m your uncle, boy. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I think it’s coming back to me. Sorry for worrying you uncle.” Rowan spoke, his features were expressionless and his voice flat.
His uncle, apparently, didn’t believe him and took him to the mine’s healer.
— — —
Burken was having an awful day. First, those awful twins made trouble for him deeper in the mine, nearly causing a cave-in, and then his nephew collapsed on the job! That boy, always pushing himself too hard.
Burken worried for him, he was too ambitious, always straining beyond his means. He had hoped some tough love might cause him to toughen up and accept reality, but if anything it made him push harder.
Turns out, the boy was plenty tough, maybe even to a fault. No, the real problem was his ambition.
But his goals were not what was worrying Burken, not anymore. The person that woke up in the mines was not his nephew. He could tell instantly.
Where before his keen silver eyes shone with determination and energy, now they were dull and analytical, with a disturbing undercurrent of violence. To say that it was upsetting would be severely underselling the experience Burken was having.
As if his eyes weren’t suspicious enough, the way he walked sold the rest of the picture. He had a trained gait, and his steps barely made any noise. He stumbled slightly, which would be normal for dehydration, but as he walked he became steadier and steadier, as if adapting. It all screamed danger to Burken, which was why he was leading him to the head guard he had hired for his mine.
Clearly, the imposter could tell that Burken was suspicious, and his body coiled. He was going to make a break for it! He… fell over?
— — —
Rowan could see the suspicion on ‘his’ uncle's face.
He knew.
This was why Rowan was never deployed for subtler roles. He was the hammer, and his contemporaries were the cloak and dagger. He could never fully grasp the rules of espionage and acting, it was beyond him in a way that he could never correct. And not for lack of trying.
That left him with a few options, none of them fun for anyone involved. He wouldn’t kill them, that would make him a monster, and he already walked a thin enough line. He may love violence, mindless violence at that, but Rowan would never hurt a person he deemed innocent. Or maybe he would have if he was ordered, but luckily he was never put in that position.
Right now, though, he had no orders. He was free, truly and completely, for the first time in a decade. That meant he had to listen to himself. It was almost a foreign feeling, but he didn’t hate it.
So, how could he escape while causing minimal injury? These people were miners, they had access to steel or steel adjacent tools, and they were strong. Rowan, on the other hand, felt weaker than he had in over ten years. He didn’t know if his skill could make up the difference, especially in a mine chock full of people.
He would have to take the chance though. If he moved suddenly enough, and with sufficient brutality, they would be too shocked to stop him. It wasn’t an option he would like to take, but a few broken arms weren’t really all that bad, right? He had broken his bones more times than he could count, and he always came back better for it.
Rowan’s body coiled in all the wrong places, filling him with a sense of revulsion for just a moment, and he attempted to take off towards the nearest miner… before falling on his face.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
He was still conscious, but it was almost as if he could feel something trying to take control.
“Who are you! What are you doing in my body!” Vorn screamed in his mind.
“I am Rowan. I was informed that the body I would be inhabiting would be empty. My apologies, that information was apparently false.” Rowan politely apologized.
“What!? I don’t care what you were informed of! Leave!”
“I would love to, unfortunately, that is not an option. I was granted your body through a deal with a Goddess, and she said nothing about a refund if I didn’t like it.”
“A Goddess? Of fucking course this would be my luck! A reincarnator!? Why does this shit only happen to me!”
“I was informed that your soul had a propensity towards the mediocre, so it’s not totally your fault. It seems you are just naturally unlucky.”
“First of all, rude. Second of all, fuck mediocrity! I’m going to be a mage! I don’t care what a Goddess thinks! Though.. if you're a reincarnator, why am I still here? Shouldn’t you have kicked me out?”
“Well…”
“There is something you're not telling me, isn’t there.”
“I may have been a bit… excited. I grabbed the Goddess’ arm before she was ready, and she seemed very surprised. I got overzealous and made a mistake, though I’m not sure I should be sorry about that. You survived, after all.”
“SO WHAT! Just cause I’m alive you get to take my body, free of charge? No, that’s not what’s happening, I’m in charge! This is godsdamned my life!”
“That’s irrational. We share this body now, and that isn’t going to change. We should start looking to compromise. There is a saying where I’m from, “two minds are better than one”, maybe we could accomplish your goals together. I am not against helping you. I don’t have any real goals yet, after all.”
“Really? Having a reincarnator to help me would be nice… what did you get reincarnated for, anyway? You sound logical, were you some great wizard! Or artificer! Or did you make fancy Outworlder tech!”
“I was a soldier.”
“What? What feat did you perform to be reincarnated then?”
“I took out an entire enemy fortress by myself with a grenade, a knife, and exceedingly reckless behavior. A battalion was stationed there.”
“How big is a battalion? I’m not familiar with the word.”
“One thousand soldiers strong.”
“That doesn’t sound all that great, you must have just out-leveled them. I guess it’s still impressive. You would have had to be a much higher level, so the mana must have been suffocatingly thin in an area with an army stationed there, no matter how low level.”
“What are Levels? And mana?”
“Uh, you know, magic? Classes? Paths? The System? Or did you call it something different where you were from?”
“Is that a feature of this world?”
“Hysperia’s Grace, you did that in a dead zone!? One without the System?! What are you!”
“A good soldier, I guess.” Rowan smiled internally. That memory was a great one. The blood, the ashes. The fire. He was only stopped when the entire facility collapsed on him. It was truly the best death he could have asked for.
“Gods! Of course I got one of the battle-crazed ones. I really am unlucky.” Vorn thought/said despondently
“It seems so. So, are you willing to compromise? We have been down for a few minutes now, and your uncle must be worried.”
“Sure, fine. I want the reins, though. It was my body first. We can work something out when I’m in control.”
Rowan knew Vorn could be tricking him, but trust was a two-way street. He would have to extend some and hopefully get some in return later.
He withdrew his control.
— — —
Vorn came back to his body with a splitting headache. His uncle was holding his sword to his throat as well, so that was strange.
“What did I do to piss you off this bad uncle? Normally you just yell at me.” Vorn asked. He wasn’t afraid, his uncle may be a bastard sometimes, but he would never hurt him.
“My boy? Are you truly back?” Tears welled in Burken's eyes.
“Huh? How long was I out? Why are you crying?” Vorn asked, confused. What’s-his-name should’ve only been in control for a few minutes, was he really that different?
“My name is Rowan.” What's-his-name said.
His uncle must have seen his expression darken, because he asked, “My boy, what happened! It was like you were a man possessed!”
“Well, funny story, it’s because I’ve become a man possessed.” Vorn said with a deadpan expression. It broke when he saw his uncle's concern.
“Listen, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you in your office.”
“You better! I thought I was going to have to kill my own nephew! I wouldn’t be able to live with myself!
“Well thanks for not killing me, I guess,” Vorn said with a smirk. The exasperated sigh from his uncle evolved his already wide smirk into a shit-eating grin.
“Hmph, maybe I shoulda. That imposter was less of a smartass.”
— — —
Vorn’s uncle was understandably stressed upon learning that his nephew had an incredibly dangerous soldier living in his head. There was nothing they could do about that, though, so it returned to a common topic of conversation. His future. Joy.
“Now boy, understand that when I say this it comes from a place of love, but have you finally given up on becoming a mage? You’ll never get a mage Class, let alone Path, with some legendary warrior living in your soul. His achievements will outweigh yours a thousand times!”
“For the last time, Uncle, I am not giving up on my dream! I will become a mage! Mother said that magic runs through our veins! I will not give up on our dream!”
“Your mother was a once in a generation talent! And she was a sorcerer at that! Why are you so dead set on this!” His uncle roared.
“She wanted me to be better than her! Maybe I’ll become a sorcerer later on, whatever, but she wanted me to have an education! To have a choice!” Vorn shouted back.
His uncle sighed, “Listen, boy, I just want the best for you. Your mother was an idealist, and you were her perfect baby, so she would never consider a world where you failed. That’s fine, and I loved that about her, but boy, I am not your mother. I am a realist. The chances of you carrying her talent in magic are practically zero. Your father was practically dead mana wise, and you know better than most that magical talent is paternal. I’m sure you have some potential, but I will not see you put yourself so deep in debt that you’ll never escape just to become a mediocre mage!” His uncle was breathing heavily by the end of the rant.
“Clearly this is a fundamental disagreement. I won’t be discussing this further.” Vorn said tersely, and then turned around and left.
“Boy!”
— — —
Vorn hated considering it, but his uncle may be right. He was putting it off, but he had to check his status.
Vor(*#@
ERROR
Row(*$*(
ERROR
TWO BEINGS IN THE SAME BODY
ATTEMPTING SEPARATION…
…
…
…
A gut-wrenching scream tore from their throat. It was as if someone had tried to pull apart their chest.
SEPARATION IS IMPOSSIBLE, PARTIAL SOUL MERGING HAS OCCURRED
ATTEMPTING TO COMPLETE THE MERGE…
…
…
…
This wasn’t much better, instead feeling like someone had compressed them until they nearly collapsed from the pressure.
FULLY MERGING SOULS IMPOSSIBLE, SOULS ARE FROM DIFFERENT UNIVERSES
INDIVIDUALITY IS RETAINED BUT SOULS ARE PARTIALLY MERGED...
UNIQUE ERROR: CREATING ERROR CODE…
…
…
…
ERROR CODE CREATED: 144321SUI
ATTEMPTING TO FIND A VIABLE SOLUTION…
…
…
…
SOLUTION FOUND!
USER CAN NOT BE A HUMAN AS HUMANS HAVE ONLY ONE SOUL
RECLASSIFICATION NECESSARY
SEARCHING FOR TWO SOULED BEINGS…
…
…
…
NONE FOUND
UNIQUE BEING RECOGNIZED!
DUE TO BEING A UNIQUE BEING, ADDITIONAL PROCESSING POWER HAS BEEN SECURED FOR ERRORS
UNIQUE BEING NEEDS A NEW CLASSIFICATION
USER(S), DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE?
‘No…’ Vorn ground out through the pain.
‘No.’ Rowan stated simply, the pain not bothering him much.
USER(S) HAS STATED NO PREFERENCE
GENERATING NAME…
…
…
…
POTENTIAL CANDIDATE: TWIN SOUL
CHECKING DATABASE…
…
…
…
NAME AVAILABLE!
CONGRATULATIONS, TWIN SOUL. YOUR INITIALIZATION WAS SUCCESSFUL! ELIMINATION OF FOREIGN BEING IS NO LONGER REQUIRED!
AS A UNIQUE BEING, YOUR SYSTEM WILL DIFFER FROM A STANDARD HUMANOID'S.
AS EACH SOUL HAS RETAINED ITS INDIVIDUALITY, IT WAS DETERMINED TO BE AGAINST THE CODE OF ETHICS TO FORCE A SHARED PATH.
UNIQUE BOON: TWIN PATHS
AS YOU ARE A NEWBORN UNIQUE BEING, THE SYSTEM HAS DETERMINED THAT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR BIOLOGICAL ASSISTANCE
BOON: GENETIC CORRECTION
UNIQUE BOON: SOUL CORRECTION
YOUR CHANCES OF DYING DUE TO INCOMPATIBILITY HAVE DROPPED BY 98%! CONGRATULATIONS!
UPDATED STATUS PAGE:
Voran, Level 0 Twin Soul
Race: N/A... Removing | Age: 0 | Class 1: Unselected | Class 2: Unselected
Attributes:
CON: Locked
STR: Locked
AGI: Locked
DEX: Locked
WIS: Locked
INT: Locked
CHA: Locked
LUCK: Locked
Unlock your Attributes by selecting a Path!
Status Effects: Renewed
“Voran? Is that a combination of our names?”
“It would seem so.”
“AH! What the hell, you sound so close now!”
“I would guess that the genetic and soul correction made our bodies and minds more in tune.”
“That seems plausible enough… but the implications of this…”
“It looks like cooperation is no longer a choice.”
“Hmm? Oh yeah, you’re right. No separating us now, for better or worse.” A nervous chuckle reverberated through their soul.
“I’m picking a Class, standby.”
“What? Wait no!”