1 Beginnings

"What's that accessory that you have on your head, dear?", asked the young mother in curiosity.

She trained her eyes onto the blood red lotus-like flower attached to the side of her youngest daughter's hair. The flower's petals were thin and long, and were affixed with a thin red ribbon. Even though it looked pretty and brimmed with vitality, it exuded an underlying maliciousness from its colour.

The young girl was taller than most girls her age. She had straight long hair with straight bangs and red eyes. Her chin was pointy and her face made her look more mature than she was for her age.

"Ah, this?", the young girl pointed at the lotus on her hair, "I found this in the forest when I went to collect river water. It smells good and I thought it suited me well. I've never seen it before, I think it's a new species.", she gently smiled.

She was pleased with how beautiful it was. Out of all the other flowers and other plants in the forest, this one was the most unique. She couldn't help but pluck it and tie it as an accessory before she got back home.

The young mother expressed some shock, "Aka, you shouldn't go around touching plants you've never seen before! In our region, the wildlife around here is safer than most places, but that doesn't mean everything is safe. What if it had harmed you in some way?", she berated worriedly.

Aka wiped away the smile and showed apologeticness on her face, "Sorry mother, I won't do so again.", inwardly though, she thought with an unobservable scowl, "You always treat me like this. It's just some flower. Do you think I'll eat it and die or something? Get real."

"As long as you understand, dear. Help me with the washing up.", Aka's mother resigned her angry demeanor seeing as Aka admitted her mistake.

"Sure."

Aka moved to the kitchen. She poured the river water that she had brought in just moments ago into a large washbasin, and grabbed a piece of clothing out of the basket beside her before getting to work.

"Ha… I miss washing machines. What a piece of work this is.", she pitifully laughed to herself as she shook her head.

This wasn't her first life. She was originally a school girl working tirelessly for her exams and her family, then one night she went to sleep and never woke up back in her own bed.

Instead, she woke up to being birthed!

The crazy situation of being born fully conscious with an awareness of a nearly grown adult was so mind-scarring, she had lost her previous life's memories soon after.

As she grew up and her mind started to develop, she began to remember her previous life. Once she was 12 years of age, she became fully aware that this was her second life.

"Why am I here then? Had I died? Was this reincarnation? Aren't I supposed to lose my memories after that sort of thing, why do I remember my previous life?", many questions were left unanswered as she contemplated that day.

To many people, ending up in another world might be the ultimate dream to achieve. To end up in a world perhaps more interesting than Earth. Especially considering that this world even had monsters and magic.

But to Aka, it was a curse. It was not that she had a bad life. To be honest, it was perfectly fine with balanced laughter and sorrows.

What got to her was that she will never see the people she once laughed and cried to ever again. She remembered their faces, their names, their personalities. Friends and family she had placed care in will never be given her care again.

How were her friends and family right now? Perhaps they had already conducted her funeral and buried her six feet deep under.

The fact that she remembered them gave her endless anxiety. How upset were they? How upset was she for not being able to chat with them ever again?

Very.

That was why it was a curse. She should be able to continue living without worrying about such things, but she had no choice but to remember them.

What was good about keeping her memories anyway? It was in no way useful here.

She lived in a small village filled with wooden and stone houses, they looked like something out of a medieval film. And this village was situated on the western side of the continent, away from the capital and away from the monstrous danger from the east, making it a very quiet and safe place to live in.

In this world, magic existed. Monsters from the east could use magic naturally, however not all humans could use magic.

One had to be born with the aptitude for it. And those babies who were born with the aptitude were equivalent to being born with a golden spoon and a wondrous life ahead. Only about 1 in 1000 people were born with aptitude, and there were different qualities and ranges of aptitude to consider. However, even having the most terrible aptitude would grant a successful life.

Aka was not one of those gifted people. She was a commoner like the rest. Her expression turned grim as she thought.

"A normal person in my previous life, and a normal person in my current life. Minus washing machines and other such useful appliances. All I'm doing is manual labour that would just be a few presses of buttons and some time waiting back on Earth."

It was like eating at an all-you-can-eat delicious buffet daily only to land on crunching on crackers and glugging on milk for dinner. Once you are aware and have experienced a more worthwhile option, you can't help but to compare.

As she was depressingly thinking, washing the clothing and putting it to one side, Aka's mother burst in with great excitement on her face, clutching a letter in her hand.

"Aka, great news, your sister will be visiting us in a week! We should prepare our best love for her when she arrives.", she laughed with a great deal of excitement and obvious affection.

"..."

Aka didn't reply as she scowled with a vengeance into the basin water, her hateful glare stared back at her. It was uncontrollable. Luckily, she was facing away from her mother, and she did not see Aka's facial expression.

Correcting herself, she turned her head with a smile, "Sounds great.", was all she could muster before turning back to her washing.

"Ohoh, I can't wait to see my eldest daughter again. It has been a while!", Aka's mother beamed as she left the kitchen.

"Ao…", Aka muttered.

Ao was Aka's eldest and only twin sister. Her father had died when he was at the front lines in the east, and her brother that she had never even seen before was also reported dead.

With this, only Aka, Aka's mother and Ao remained in the family.

The reason Aka despised Ao so much was because of one reason.

She was gifted in magic!

Ao did not only have the aptitude, the quality of her aptitude was overwhelming. It made the whole village bow towards the sun and moon to thank the heavens for this blessing!

With just her very existence, Ao would guarantee that the village would be funded and protected by the capital's might. Any would-be beast tides would be scouted out and eliminated by the village's mages and warriors. In fact, most beasts were driven out the vicinity of the village, allowing someone as weak and defenseless as Aka to travel to the stream and back with no complications.

Ao was someone who was heavily praised in the village. In the whole of Ao's young life, she was cherished and had many friends.

When she came of age, at 16, she had left this small place to move to the capital. This was to study at the magic academy there and make use of her inherent gift to prosper!

When the capital's envoys had asked if she wanted to work at the frontlines in the east, she had publicly replied that she wanted to learn magic to protect her hometown. She wanted to show appreciation for all the love that the village gave her.

This had truly solidified the heart's of the people. With Ao's ability, this small and incapable village could turn into a bustling city in many years!

So why did Aka hate Ao for being gifted in magic? Ao is clearly a good, heartfelt person, right?

The problem was comparison.

Who was Ao to the people? She was their saviour, someone who will shine brightly amongst the stars.

Who was Aka? Ao's sister.

That's how she was known. Not by 'Aka', but by 'Ao's sister'.

Nobody knew her. In school, when Aka watched Ao being surrounded constantly by people, all giving her their attention, whilst she herself was being completely ignored and solitary... it made Aka… jealous.

Behind the mountain that was Ao, Aka was standing in the mountain's shadow. She did not even have the right to make her own shadow. It made her bitter inside.

They were twins, born just minutes apart. Aka felt like she was supposed to have that gift of magic!

What other purpose was there in remembering her past life than to use it together with great magic power to make the whole world tremble in her wake?

She was supposed to be one to have that gift of magic! It was supposed to be all her's, but she stole it away!

Aka clenched her fists as she glared into the water basin. Her red eyes glinted with malice.

But soon, her face returned to normal. Her clenched fists unclenched and her eyes relaxed. She sighed as she picked up the next piece of clothing.

"So what? No matter how much I hate her, it isn't going to return my rightful gift back. That thief will keep it and I will have to accept it.", Aka reasoned with herself.

In the end, it was Ao who was succeeding as a magician and it was she who was a giftless reincarnator living a normal life.

Without the gift of magic, how could she dare to be ambitious? What else could she do other than work and wear pretty things?

Looking into the reflection of the basin water, Aka was reminded of her lotus head accessory that she impromptu made. She truly was satisfied with it; it fit her very well.

Aka eventually finished washing and hung the clothes up for the bright sun to dry. Accomplished, she went back to the door to her room and was just about to enter before she heard her mother calling for her, "Aka! Come here!"

She furrowed her brows as she went to her mother helplessly.

"What do you need mom?", Aka spoke as she entered the kitchen.

"Dear, can you buy us bread? We seem to have ran out. I will give you a couple of silvers.", the mother replied with remnant cheerfulness from earlier as she pulled out 2 silver coins out of her pocket.

"Of course, mom.", Aka accepted naturally.

It was very typical for Aka's mother to push tasks and such onto Aka to handle. Though Aka wasn't fond of it, she did not want to reject her mother.

If she turned out to be a bad daughter, how would people see her compared to Ao? They would totally slap on an 'unfilial' to her title of "Ao's sister".

She was already compared to the point of obscurity. The last thing Aka would want is to turn that obscurity into infamy, and so she tries to be the best she can be.

She took the money and left the house with nimble footsteps. She walked briskly as she moved to the local bakery.

Aka lived right in the heart of the village, where it was bustling with activity.

It wasn't like this two years ago. It was a fairly quiet place with only a few on the road at a time.

Now though, after Ao's declaration of protecting this place after she graduated the magic academy, many small families from elsewhere heard about it and preemptively moved. These families were numerous, forcing development of the village rapidly with newly constructed houses and roads to accommodate them all.

The government of the capital did not stint on supporting this development, and so the village was more comparable to a town.

As she passed by, Aka eyed at the well at the heart of the village. There was a line of people queued up with guards in silver armour keeping order.

The one whose turn was next would hand money to the guard and they would reel in water from the well using a bucket and rope. After collecting a certain amount, they were barred from gaining more.

Thanks to the influx of new people entering the village, the well that was being used to supply everyone's needs for clean water was actually at the risk of becoming dry!

Due to this, the lord of the village placed both a max number of litres for one family and a price to pay. If one wanted to free unlimited water, they would have to travel to the nearby river and carry as much water as they could.

This was why Aka had gone to the forest and came back carrying buckets of water from the river rather than use the village's well. Not to mention the queue.

Seeing how long the queue was, Aka let out a 'phuh', "Why waste money when you can just walk to the river?", Aka's 'money conserving nature', or put in another way, stinginess, originated from her previous life as a university student. It was unimaginable for her to spend so wastefully when there was a better alternative.

She shook her head to do away with these thoughts and focused on reaching the bakery.

Going around the centre and through a street, Aka entered an inconspicuous looking building. Upon entering, a small bell 'ting'ed and the sweet smell of cooked dough invaded her nostrils.

The interior was fairly small with displays of different variants of pasties and breads. An old woman with gray hair and obvious wrinkles sat behind the counter on a stool, who was quickly informed by the bell that there was a customer.

"Smells good as always, granny.", Aka spoke first and opened up with a smile.

"Haha thank you, if it isn't Ao's sister, Aka, how can I help you?", the granny laughed and stood up.

"I'd like the wholesale bread. Two loaves.", Aka raised two fingers to emphasise.

"Okay. We do not have any reduced wholesale loaves today, so the price will come to 1 silver 20 coppers.", the granny mentioned the reduced items as she knew Aka always asked for any reduced items if they were available.

Aka nodded and handed over 2 silvers.

Money worked simply in this world. 100 coppers were 1 silver, and 100 silvers was 1 gold. Most folk only ever get to work with golds, but there was also platinum after 100 gold.

In this exchange, Aka would get two loaves of bread and 80 coppers as change.

"Sonny boy, fetch two wholesale loaves!", the granny turned around and yelled at the door behind the counter.

"Will do!", a young male voice sounded from the back of the building.

The granny leaned over slightly to Aka before conversing, "So did you go to the stream today like you usually do?"

Aka gave a slight look of confusion, "Of course. Why?"

The granny looked left and right before she whispered, "I shouldn't really tell you this, but since you are part of Ao's family, I should inform you. There's been some recent monster sightings around the path to the river."

Aka's eyes widened in shock, "Monsters??"

"Shh, hey, keep it down.", the granny put a finger to Aka's lips. She retracted her finger as she continued, "Yes. I got it from the lord's friend's son who comes here often this morning. Apparently, the monsters are of blood path."

"...blood path monsters? How did they end up here?", Aka whispered back.

"Who knows. Your cute accessory reminded me of this information, so I thought I should tell you for the future. Though the guards have probably already handled it, you might want to avoid going to the river for the next few days.", the granny informed seriously.

"...Thanks, granny.", Aka understood why this information was not leaked. There would have definitely been a big panic about this if it were known.

Blood path monsters were known to be one of the most detested, insidious and evilest branch of monsterdom for humanity. Just by the nature of blood path magic, they were extremely powerful. In addition, they typically work not with explosive firepower, but with slow acting damages that would leave the person unaware that they were affected, before it was too late.

There were stories of entire villages close to the east becoming ghost towns overnight, because each and every one of the inhabitants were infected with a certain blood magic that killed them instantly simultaneously.

With such a strong magic path, humanity and its magicians have attempted to create such magic too. However, their efforts were fruitless when over the years they have only achieved limited effects. No magician in history ever had an aptitude for blood path, so the conclusion on it was that it was only a monster type magic path.

"There will definitely be mages secretly protecting me when I leave the village for the river, there will be no issue, even if the blood path monster issue hasn't been resolved.", Aka evaluated to herself.

The lord of the village seemed to have no intention of informing the populace of the monsters, or even make up an excuse to block people from going to the river, so the only logical conclusion was that mages were protecting the path to the river.

The door behind the counter slammed open as a young boy with blonde hair strode in with two loaves of bread in hand, finishing the secret talk between Aka and the granny.

After transacting, they said their farewells as Aka left and headed home.

"...Blood path monsters…", even though Aka convinced herself that there was no issue, her heart couldn't sit still about it.

"Whatever. I'll be fine.", she dismissed her feelings as she continued about her day.

…

The sun had set and the moon had raised. It was time to sleep.

Aka was sitting on her bed dressed in her white pajamas. A lit lamp on her bedside table illuminated the moonlighted room in a yellow glow as Aka reached for a hand mirror and looked at her appearance.

Red eyes. Black hair. Red lotus head accessory.

"Time to take you off, lotus.", Aka muttered as she proceeded to take off the head accessory.

She fiddled around with the accessory but… it was not budging? It was as if it were stuck.

"That's weird. I'll untie it then."

She maneuvered her right hand to untie the red string binding the lotus and the hair together whilst using her left to hold the hand mirror. In the hand mirror, the string was untied easily, and in her hands was the red string.

"What…?", the lotus was still stuck.

In an attempt to find the part where it was stuck on, Aka felt with her fingers around the lotus. She touched the rim the lotus, then moved down onto the underside of the lotus, feeling her way down.

She felt the stalk with her finger. Continuing down and…

Her scalp?

She just felt her scalp.

Aka's heart skipped a beat.

She tossed aside the hand mirror and rushed to the bathroom, where there was better lighting and a wall mirror.

She quickly lit the lamps in the bathroom and raised her hair up.

What she saw would make her unable to sleep that night.

The stalk of the red lotus had grown and took root in her skull.