Chapter 1- Waking up

…

The city of Kor, June 5, 2003

The night is as peaceful as they come in this small and quiet city.

The bustling scene hours ago in the morning was now gone, and only the almost empty streets with a few vehicles going to and fro and the street side night vendors selling their goods could be seen.

This small city, with a population of no more than two hundred thousand people, is neither an industrial nor a commercial city, but it became the center of the province as it is located in the middle of the provincial area.

In this small place in Phil Country, a young man named Curt Nilfiem lives. He lives a normal and yet full life with only a part-time job in a convenience store which is enough to provide him with three meals a day.

Today, he is now turning 22 and it is his birthday.

He is currently putting a happy expression on his face, always showing his broad smile. The reason for this is because, for the first time in his life, he is going to celebrate his birthday with his girlfriend Jenny Mae Lee. Today is also a very special day for him, not only because it is his birthday, but also because his girlfriend has finally accepted his invitation to see him and visit his small apartment.

Curt Nilfiem was feeling lucky to have the young woman as his girlfriend. This is because Jenny Mae Lee is not just an ordinary person, she is an extraordinary individual with extraordinary powers. She is one of the elites called Espers.

Espers are special people with unique powers. They have the ability to use and even control one of the 5 elements of this world, which are, fire, wind, water, earth, and wood.

As an elite Esper, it was supposed to be impossible for Jenny Mae to have a relationship with Curt as the two have different statuses in life. Espers are treated like a celebrity or a god, so how could she see a plebeian like him?

But in a twist of fate, the two accidentally meet in the capital city of the country of Phil.

At that time, she was in trouble and Curt helped her. After they experienced trials and tribulations together, with a couple of dates and meetings, plus, they also discovered that they both lived in the same city, a good feeling had developed. And with that, after a month of courtship and dating, they became an official couple.

Curt was very happy at that time, even when Jenny asked him to hide their relationship because of her unique identity as an Esper. As a person in love, he immediately agreed and their relationship continued until today.

The night was young, Curt finally went home to his small rented apartment and celebrated his birthday with his girlfriend.

They had just finished eating dinner but, unlike most couples who would usually say sweet words while cuddling, the relationship between Curt and Jenny was a bit different... They are only like 'normal friends'.

Although he had the audacity to woo her, he didn't dare go over her so-called... 'boundaries'.

And so, after a little chat about anything they could think of, Jenny enters the only room in the small apartment.

Curt, on the other hand, gentleman as he is, decided to give his room to his girlfriend. He slept on the sofa in the small living room. He didn't complain or anything, he just slept with a contented smile on his face. He already felt contented and elated that his girlfriend had finally stayed near him.

That night, unknown to him, a small vortex slowly opened a few feet just above his head. It began to twirl around like something was about to pop out from inside the void in the center of it. Then from the middle of the vortex, a thin wisp of smoke suddenly came out like a snake and slowly crawled in the air towards his head.

While sleeping peacefully on the sofa, Curt didn't know that something was about to invade his consciousness. The thin whiff of smoke stretched out from the small vortex in the air and suddenly entered Curt's mind.

The once smiling expression on his sleeping face suddenly faded as he became expressionless, and then his face changed into different expressions. With knitted brow, small beads of sweat started forming on his forehead.

The expressions he showed were varied. Sometimes he would look like someone who is thinking hard with a knitted brow, sometimes he would look like someone who was surprised by something, and then his expression would turn so sad that even tears would escape his closed eyes.

Deep within his mind in an unconscious state, a large amount of memory data is being downloaded from somewhere deep within the void.

It continued for about an hour and then everything went silent.

Deep in his mind, the two memories slowly merge and are arranged properly as if a large jigsaw puzzle was completed.

While this is happening to him, the vortex, along with the thin whiff of smoke, slowly disappears.

And as soon as everything turned back to normal, Curt slowly opened his eyes as he worked up in a dazed. His expression this time is a mix of confusion and understanding as his brain slowly acclimated itself to the new memory he has. This also made him feel a bit dizzy and a bit disoriented for a short time.

"What is this? What… what just happened?" he muttered in confusion.

He seems to have a memory not his own, but this memory seems oddly familiar, as if he already knows and experienced it before. Then his eyes darted towards the white closed room door as his heart was suddenly filled with some unknown mixed emotions of deep longing and pain.

Right at this time, he wanted to rush in and open the door to see the woman who was oddly familiar in his memory. Two figures intertwined in his memory. One seems to be from some ancient land and the other from the modern world.

Then he recalled a memory of the time when the two of them were together, her sweet and beautiful smile and her words of comfort and love for him. The feeling was so intense that his heart began to beat wildly.

But before he could think of anything else, his expression showed pain as he recalled how he lost her. It was like the end of the world for him at that time. The loss, the pain, nothing seemed to matter after he had lost her. In his mind, all he wanted was to end his life, as without her, his life had no meaning, no purpose.

But something, some deep feeling of comfort in his heart prevented him from doing anything dangerous. And so, following that feeling with hope in his heart, he lived his long life alone, without the woman he loved. Though that was the case, he knew that the feeling came from her. It was her spirit that comforted him all along.

Hundreds and thousands of years had passed, and one day, it was finally his time to follow his love. He knew that she was waiting for him on the other side. He gladly looks at the sky and slowly closes his eyes and thinks of the woman that meant the world to him. Though he waited for many years, her face and memories are still vivid in his mind as he watched their time together often.

He could not wait to see her again, to hug her, to kiss her, and to tell her that he truly loved her.

After a short reminiscence on that memory, he suddenly realized something.

The desire in his heart was slowly quelled upon realizing that the woman he had yearned for many years was not the same person anymore. They might look the same, but she is not that person. Their aura and disposition are different.

However, even if he knew that, he couldn't help himself but to want to take a peak inside the room. But this idea seems to have jolted Curt back to his senses.

"What the heck was that? Those were not my memories? I mean, when did I ever... live like that?" Curt muttered in confusion, as he could not believe what he just saw in his mind.

He suddenly felt wetness in his cheeks as tears slowly poured out of his eyes. He wiped them with a bit of confusion. In fact, he was truly surprised by everything that was happening.

"Am I... being possessed by a ghost?" he thought with a shudder running down his spine.

"No, no, this cannot be," he muttered, still a bit confused.

Suddenly, his consciousness became clear as if some spell was cast towards him where he immediately recovered his senses.

It was a subconscious reaction for him as he recited some cryptic words in his mind.

He immediately knew that it was the memory that made him do so. Although that person in his memory was a very passionate person when it came to his feelings, he did not succumb to his nature and was very calm and collected. This calmness came from the cryptic words he had just muttered. 

If not for those words, that person might have already committed suicide after he had lost the love of his life.

"Sigh, what is happening to me?" he thought after he calmed down.

After calming down, Curt realized that the memory in his mind contains deep and profound experiences of a powerful being. It was almost unfathomable and some were even vague.

"Do I need to do something to be able to open the vague ones?" he muttered while trying to analyze what he had just discovered.

With a sudden realization, he looks at his body and discovers that his current body is a bit frail and weak. He almost immediately understood something. His body is weak and frail, if the memory serves him right, he needs to get stronger to remember more.

It's like a painter who needs to continuously paint to finally reveal the whole picture in his mind.

"I need to work hard then..." he muttered with a glint of determination in his eyes.

Plus, the current Jenny in this world is still a powerful woman just like in his memories. So, how could he, as a weak man, be worthy of her?

And so, with that resolve, Curt closed his eyes.

Since the two memories are melded together, two characters are currently controlling Curt's emotions. The first is the original Curt, who is weak and feeble but is very lucky and persistent. The second is a powerful being who is calm and composed, yet passionate and has already lived for thousands of years in another world.

As these two memories had combined, he knew that he would not be the same person as before. His change would not be abrupt, but he knew that this change would help him improve his life and prove his worth to the woman he once loved and is currently loving.

To start on this new journey, the first thing he needs to change is his current physique.

"This body is terrible... I need to do a lot of work here." He muttered as he began to look around and try to feel his surroundings.

"This planet's atmosphere is good… the amount of energy in the air is really rich. I guess this would do," he muttered as he carefully absorbed the energy in the air while muttering some incoherent words.

As he did, he could feel something warm entering his body following a familiar pat through his veins.

The raw energy slowly enters his spirit meridians, nourishing them little by little. He subconsciously controls the flow of energy in the air. He did not know how this was happening, but as he wiled it, the energy followed.

He became too absorbed in the process that he forgot the flow of time.

All he felt was excitement as he felt the small and subtle changes that were happening inside his body. The warm energy he felt entering widens his spirit meridian. Then the excess energy slowly revitalizes his physical body.

…

The sun rises in the sky as it spreads its glorious rays all over the face of the land. Inside the small bedroom of a small apartment, a young woman lay sleeping in bed snoring lightly with her mouth slightly open. The bed cover and the pillows were in disarray as the woman's figure was sprawled all over the bed.

It seems that she likes to move around while sleeping.

If Curt could see her now, the image he had of her that she was a cold and an unfeeling woman would surely change. Because right now she is showing her vulnerable self.

Her snow-white was exposed in the air as her shirt seemed to be ruffled and in disarray.

Even the two white lumps of flesh can be seen peeking from the wide stretched collar of her white t-shirt.

As the sun's rays enter the room, Jenny Mae slowly opens her eyes and wipes the drool off her lips. She stretched her arms and yawned, but then she suddenly stopped.

Discovering that she was not in her own room, she suddenly felt panic-stricken.

"Damn it, stupid, stupid, stupid," she cursed herself in a low voice as her eyes darted all over the place as if trying to find if something was wrong in the place.

"Did... did he dare to enter the room?" she thought as her eyes darted at the locked doorknob.

Upon seeing that everything was fine, she patted her bulging chest that was moving up and down as she heaved a deep sigh of relief. Jenny immediately jumps out of bed and quickly fixes her clothes and the bed. After checking that everything was in order, she could not help but look at herself in the mirror on the wall.

She looks at herself and frowns for a bit. Though she is confident in herself, as a woman, she still desires to look more beautiful. But she could help but feel a bit of helplessness as she saw her ordinary-looking face.

Her phoenix eyes and short eyelashes make her look just like any other normal young woman out there. Then the same question she would ask herself every time she looks in the mirror pops up in her mind.

"He would always say that he likes me because of my eyes, does he really like me for who I am or is it because I'm an Esper? Is that the reason why he worked really hard to get my attention?" she muttered as she frowned and looked at her face in the mirror.

She might be a powerful Esper, but she could not deny the fact that her boyfriend, though frail-looking, is a very handsome and attractive guy.