1 Lu

As Kin opened his eyes, a splitting headache attacked him making him growl with pain. He tried to massage his forehead to decrease the pain. However, his hands didn't touch skin but wood. Lu was confused but the pain increased in intensity and he had no time to think.

A rush of memories invaded his mind. A forest… A lady… A new home… And Garo Town. His name was no longer Kin, but Lu. Then he remembered his death on a hospital bed in his 'previous life', making him sigh.

'It seems the disease has finally killed me. Was I given a second chance?' Lu's thoughts trailed off until he noticed the pain was no longer there. Lu sighed in relief and looked around.

It was a bedroom made of wood with two beds side by side, with only a small table with a candle above separating them. There was a shabby mirror beside the other bed. Lu could see his reflection in the mirror looking back at him. He felt his mouth dry and he thought he was having a nightmare.

With trembling hands, Lu got off his bed and leaped across the other bed reaching the mirror. He slowly reached his hands to touch his face and inspected it…

'Is this… a mask?' Lu tried to remove it but didn't find any straps to untie. So he tried to forcefully take it off and he couldn't as if it was glued to his face. His heartbeat rose and memories started coming back. Since he first remembered, this body owner was never able to get the mask off.

Lu was terrified of this and he pulled the mask harder. Another wave of headache came the more he tried to take off the mask. However, Lu's mental state was unstable and he didn't think straight. Then it hit him… If this mask was glued to his face, what would happen if he used force to take it off? Lu was now even more terrified and was about to let the mask go but the door opened.

"Lu, don't!" A lady in her mid-twenties wearing a green robe with a belt in the middle came rushing through. Her hair was black and she had green eyes making a color-match with her robes. Her chest was well developed and it was neither too small nor too big. Furthermore, her skin was jade white and Lu had to admit that he has never seen such a perfectly proportioned face even though Earth didn't lack superstars.

"You can't keep doing this! You know it'll only hurt you!" The lady, named Jasmine and the one who took care of Lu, held his wrists and pulled them down as she shouted at him with a teary face. Lu went silent and he blankly stared at her beauty.

However, to Jasmine who only saw two mask-holes that were pitch black instead of eyes, Lu's look felt sorrowful, puzzled, and lost. Her tears left her eyes as she tightly hugged Lu with her head against his chest.

"It'll be alright… I promise you Lu… We'll find a way to take it off and you'll get to live normally. Uh Huh…" She started sobbing.

Lu was dazed but he couldn't help but feel warm. There was someone to take care of him in this world. Someone who cared and would cry about him. Even though Lu was terrified of not having a face, he felt fortunate to reincarnate into this body. He raised his hands and hugged Jasmin back, causing her body to flinch then relax. Her sobs slowly disappeared until she was okay again and raised her head.

The two black mask-holes were still the same but now Lu nodded. Although he looked calm, Lu was paranoid inside as he realized he couldn't speak as well because of the mask. The mask was a simple wooden one with only two holes for vision. It didn't have a mouth or a nose. Although he tried to speak and felt his mouth moving, no voice came out. He wondered how he was able to breathe.

At this point, Lu simply sighed inwardly as it seems this life was also a disabled one, although better than the last. Jasmine now recovered and brushed Lu's black hair and smiled. "We'll get through this."

Lu simply nodded again. He knew what she meant. Because of the mask, Lu was shunned and bullied as a demon in Garo Town. Although it was called a town, it was larger than average towns and had many establishments. However, Lu couldn't move around as people either chased him away or kids threw stones at him. This had to do with the legend of the evil goddess who filled the continent with darkness. The goddess's army wore masks as well. Since then, people wearing masks would be looked at with contempt

But Lu and Jasmine knew the mask didn't look anything like the goddess's army. As the mask depicted in the books telling the story looked nothing like Lu's. His mask had eyes, while theirs didn't. Their mask covered half of their face with their mouths shown, but his mask didn't. It was unrelated but how can uneducated people be aware of this? They only hated all masks because of the Church of Truth labeled them as signs of deception and corruption.

Nonetheless, Lu was determined to remove this mask and live his life. And even if he couldn't, he would simply live his life alone in a far place. Well… not entirely alone. Lu looked at Jasmine who now stood up and adjusted her robes and helped him stand up. He vowed to protect her and always be with her. Although he was a different person, he has inherited the previous owner's memories and feelings. However, he also wanted to protect her and be with her as it was the first time he felt such care from a person.

"Are you alright now?" Jasmine asked with a smile that made flowers bloom and dance. Lu simply nodded and headed back to bed. Jasmine saw this and tucked him in bed before she blew the candle and slept on the other bed.

Lu remained awake gazing at the ceiling and started reviewing the memories he just acquired. Although he couldn't get out of the house, Jasmine told him and taught him everything he needed to know since he was young.

His name was Lu. He'll become 18 next month. According to Jasmine, she found him when he was 10 in the woods with his mask on when she was 16. She took him back to her house and he woke up a day later. He didn't remember anything other than his name and birthdate. And ever since then, she took care of him. She lost her parents when she was 15 and inherited this house. They died while hunting in the woods. She picked up their profession and started hunting as well to survive. That's how she found Lu.

This world was different from Earth. Here, Numen existed. It referred to an energy source generated by the world. This energy existed everywhere and in many forms. It had a wide range of functions but people used it to evolve. Yes, evolve. According to the legends Jasmine mentioned, some Numen Masters could change the geographical structure of an entire city with a finger. However, those were just legends. People just used this energy to get stronger in this world.

This kingdom was… This kingdom… Lu started dozing off and then unknowingly fell asleep. In his sleep, he dreamt of looking at his new body from above. Furthermore, he was inching closer ever so slowly. After a lengthy period, His face came into contact with the mask and his whole being was sucked in.

Moving the branches away, Lu found a small cave opening at the steep end of the mountain range. Even though the sun shone into the cave, it was still pitch black. Lu didn't want to go in but a voice kept calling for him. Lu knew he shouldn't go inside but his body moved on its own. After traveling through the darkness, Lu could see a dim grey light at the end. He inched closer and closer.

The cave grew larger after Lu reached the dim light source. In the middle of the chamber that greeted him, there was an altar with a statue of a headless woman's body. Beneath that statue was a woman praying zealously and mumbling something. As Lu went closer, the woman stopped praying and turned around. She had a beautiful white face that was as pure as winter's snow. Her eyes, however, are closed.

Lu was relieved and was about to walk closer. However, the woman spoke before he could do anything.

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