The Ethereal Girl

Damien's room was gorgeous compared to Damien Ward's room during his time at the Ward Family.

That showed the difference between a small sized family and an imperial family. Even the imperial family's servant rooms would be seen as luxurious compared to families with lower status.

But what Damien didn't know was that those rooms were only for servants who had the topmost status compared to other servants.

His room had a single sized bed near to a corner with square-shaped windows. There was one small bathroom attached along with basic toiletries provided.

'Hm, I would rate this room a four-star based on the standards of hotels in the Earth.'

There were also some pills kept in a bottle on a table, and when he took a closer look, he identified it as Sustenance Pills, which will let the person go on without eating food for a specified period. And the period depends on the grade of the pill.

Pills are ranked from 1 to 9 as the pill's rarity goes up from 1 to 9.

It can be quite useful for servants if they don't have time to eat during emergencies or have extra work to do.

'Well, I would still prefer some tasty food rather than swallowing some pill. Don't tell me they are lazy enough to keep feeding me these pills. Or should I make my own food?' Damien pondered if there was a canteen like system.

He didn't think of buying any food because he was used to making his own food even when he was on the run in his previous life. He couldn't risk entering public places to eat unless he had to gain some information.

If it's made by his own hands, he need not worry whether someone poisoned it or not and also, he would enjoy it more.

'I guess I will take a bath later. I feel so tired right now. I should just take a little nap for now.'

Damien removed his clothes and jumped right on to the bed in his underwear.

—

The bright sky had already turned dark as the moon was shining in its full glory.

"Hey, you! Wake up!" An exasperated but melodious and childish voice resounded in his head.

"WHO??"

Damien abruptly opened his eyes and called out as he was startled by the voice in his mind. He instantly scanned his dark surroundings to see if somebody broke into his room.

He was always a light sleeper. During the last few years in his previous life, he always had at least 50 percent of his senses focused on his surroundings whenever he sleeps.

He had modified his daily habits and behavior such that he was always prepared for the worst.

A slightly strange feeling came from his chest. He looked at his bare chest and was surprised to see a white mark in the shape of a crescent moon lying on its back.

Suddenly a white irregular pyramidal-shaped crystal shot out from his chest.

It was floating in mid-air right in front of him. And a white shadow shot out from it, which seemed to take the form of a girl who seemed to be fourteen or fifteen years old and who was unbelievably beautiful to the point that even hermits would forget about their vows and be put in a daze under her presence.

Although her face was a bit immature and tender, every single feature on her snow-like face was exquisitely delicate and perfect beyond compare; moreover, it reached the pinnacle of indescribable perfection.

She had short and glossy black bob hair and was dressed in a snow-white dress, accentuating her dainty and petite body. 

Below her skirt's hem revealed two slender snow-white legs. Her almond-shaped sparkling black eyes had a sense of haughty but noble aloofness that came from the soul.

Damien was stupefied by the inexplicable things happening in front of him, especially when he saw the mesmerizing beauty in front of him. 

He felt the whole world went silent, and even the bright moonlight that illuminated his room seemed to darken and diminish to the point where he could not sense its existence.

Damien stared silently and dazedly at her. His body did not move an inch as his eyes seemed to be thoroughly fixed to a spot as if he had been petrified. Every part of his vision and every part of his soul seemed to be drawn in by a force he could not resist.

His heart was thumping so loud, he could hear its echo reverberating throughout the room. It was as if he was looking at his soul mate. And for some reason, he felt his heart was getting heavier.

"How long are you going to stare at this goddess, you pervert!"

Damien closed his eyes and violently shook his head as he got out of his daze, hearing the girl's irritated tone before him.

'I AM NOT A LOLICON! Damn, what would Sofie even think of me? Did I get charmed by a kid? Impossible!'

Damien found it ridiculous that he reacted so exaggeratedly at a little girl, not to mention a stranger. He had never been stunned like this before, although he had to admit that this girl was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

Damien took a heavy breath, tried to calm down with great effort, and opened his eyes towards the girl who was floating in mid-air and finally spoke: "Little girl...who are you?"

The girl looked at Damien and spoke in a tender but condescending tone: "Hmph, this powerful goddess is not a little girl. But how did this goddess even get stuck with a poppycock like you?"

"A poppy what? You are one rude little kid. Is this how you should speak to your elders? And what did you mean by saying you are a goddess?" 

Damien was incensed that this girl insulted him using a weird term, which for some reason felt like his manliness was being questioned.

"Pha, elder my foot! I am even older than your ancestors. Anyways, I don't know why I had to link my soul with yours, as my memories are missing along with my fragmented souls. Hence my current state. Nevertheless, I am still a goddess." The girl continued talking in a lofty voice with her nose in the air.

Damien's lips were twitching, hearing her narcissistic lines. He had already calmed down, but a few words stuck out to him from what the young girl just said now. 

Goddess...soul...memories.

'Am I really in the presence of a goddess? Do gods really exist? Or is this just some crazy girl who lost her memories...but she indeed has an otherworldly appearance. And she said that her soul was linked with mine? What nonsense is she talking about, and how did she pop out from that crystal?' Lots of questions were popping up in Damien's mind.

"Hold on a second. What is this soul thing you are talking about, and how exactly is it related to me?" Damien asked, trying to get answers one by one. He had heard of the concept of soul in his previous life as a philosophical thing but didn't really give much thought to it.

"What kind of a country bumpkin are you? You live in a cultivation world, and you don't know about souls?" The girl mocked.

"It's not like I would benefit from knowing anyway. I am a cripple, or are you too blind to see that, you cheeky kid?" Damien was pissed off hearing the girl calling him names as he tried his best to stay calm.

'I can't believe an annoying little girl provoked me.' Damien facepalmed inwardly.

Damien's previous self didn't bother about anything related to cultivation since there was no hope for him, and he didn't want to get depressed by learning the awesome things a cultivator can do.

"Sigh...fine, as the superior being, it's my duty to teach the mortals some fundamental knowledge." She said in an egotistical tone.

'Oh my god, how cringy. Well, as long as I can learn something useful, I can bear with it...I hope.'

"Well, the soul is the incorporeal essence of a living being. And the soul comprises the spiritual abilities of a living being such as reason, character, feeling, consciousness, qualia, memory, perception, thinking, comprehension of the laws, etc. And even if one dies, their soul will enter the reincarnation cycle to be born again with their mind as a clean slate without any previous life's memories.

"Of course, if their soul is destroyed, they would never be reincarnated. Right now, since my soul is fragmented, I have lost my memories, most of my abilities, even my spiritual body regressed to that of a child." She spoke displeased at her own situation.

She continued, "Also, because of my memory loss, I don't even know how my soul ended up getting fragmented or why I linked my soul with yours. But I do seem to have found out one fact. You are a reincarnated one, aren't you?"

"..."

Damien was in the middle of processing all this new information that he previously believed as if they were merely fictional things, and he felt some kind of pity thinking about her situation since he could relate to it as he also ended up in a pathetic state, including his memory loss.

But when she asked if he was a reincarnated one, he was dumbstruck at the fact how she managed to find out.

'So it seems my soul did really transmigrate. The reincarnation cycle, it seems, huh. So Sofie must have reincarnated too! But would she remember me? Is this all just a dream or…'

Damien was finding it a bit hard to believe in these new concepts of soul and reincarnation suddenly.

But seeing some kind of proof in front of him, he couldn't help but believe.

And he also felt sort of hope thinking if this girl could help him recover his memories or help him find out why he reincarnated that too with his memories intact.