Chapter 1: I've Crossed Over, But I'm in a River

"Gurgle... gurgle..."

The sound of rushing water echoed in her ears, while bubbles rose and burst around her, accompanied by a strange gurgling sound.

Ye Lili felt as if she were drowning in a nightmare. She struggled in pain, but no matter how hard she fought, she couldn't break free. Her senses were slipping away, her strength fading, as though a heavy stone pressed down on her chest, forcing her deeper into an endless fog. Yet, the sound of flowing water remained clear in her ears.

Who am I? Where am I?

A wave crashed over her, and the icy river water slapped her face. Ye Lili shivered and finally opened her eyes.

"This is... gurgle gurgle cough cough!!"

The current swept her forward. Before she could make sense of the situation, she tried to speak but swallowed a mouthful of the foul-tasting lake water. 

Struggling, she seized the moment to take a deep breath as the waves churned around her, desperately trying to keep her head above water. She waved her arms and cried out loudly for help:

"Help! Help me—!"

The words that escaped her lips weren't in a language she recognized. This wasn't anything she had ever learned, yet it came out naturally—a language called "Ruen," a fact that began to spark her understanding of her current situation.

She had thought her voice would be drowned out by the roaring water, but she realized she knew a small spell. It made her voice loud enough for nearby people to hear. Sure enough, it wasn't long before uniformed figures rushed to the scene. They carried strange equipment that Ye Lili didn't recognize and fished her, soaking wet and suffering from hypothermia, out of the river.

"Not even a lifebuoy... What if I didn't even have the strength to grab it? I'd drown for sure..." Ye Lili muttered weakly before passing out from exhaustion.

...

"(Indistinct, jumbled voices...)"

"Miss...?"

"...Miss, can you hear me?"

Ye Lili's eyes snapped open. She found herself wrapped in a thick blanket, with two uniformed officers standing nearby, their expressions filled with concern.

High noses, sharp features—Western faces...

As she regained consciousness, a splitting headache struck her. Foreign memories flooded her mind, cutting through her nerves like needles, stinging her brain. Instinctively, she curled up, clutching her head in pain.

Her suspicions were confirmed—she had indeed crossed over to another world.

The original owner of this body was named Astella Mischka, a second-year student at the Georgina Grammar School in Backlund. She had lost her father at a young age, and her mother disappeared ten years ago, leaving her to be raised by Martha, her mother's former housekeeper. Tonight, Astella had jumped into the Tasok River, choosing to end her young life.

As for her motive for suicide, the deep-rooted despair and pain of the original owner were so intense that Ye Lili "remembered" them almost instantly. It filled her with both shock and a sense of eerie understanding.

—This world had supernatural powers!

A few years ago, Astella had found notes, documents, and gemstones left behind by her mother—strange materials and objects that emitted unusual vibrations. 

Through reading and research, she had learned about the existence of extraordinary powers in this world. Ordinary people could consume potions and gain abilities that surpassed human limits, advancing step by step.

"Hermes language," "Path of the Divine," "Acting Method," fragments of hidden history... All of this surged into Ye Lili's mind, intensifying her headache.

Astella had discovered that her mother, a seemingly ordinary middle-class woman living in Backlund's Chorwood district, belonged to an ancient, cursed family. This family had once been prominent during the ancient Fourth Epoch but had fallen into decline due to a strange curse.

The starting point of this family's "Path of the Divine" was Sequence 9: "Apprentice."

Driven by the desire to find her mother and uncover the past she had never known, Astella followed the instructions in her mother's notes, becoming an "Apprentice." She advanced to Sequence 8, "Trickmasters," a year ago, after digesting the potion using the "Acting Method." However, she also inherited the family's strange "Full Moon Curse," hearing maddening, indescribable whispers during the full moon and blood moon, which made it impossible for her to resist losing control. After barely surviving the last full moon, she had already shown signs of losing control.

With no hope left, and as her mother's fate grew ever more uncertain, Astella decided she didn't want to die as a monster. On an ordinary night, she had walked through the walls of her house and jumped into the Tasok River.

"What a tragic life... No friends at school, and she suffered some unfair treatment as well..." Ye Lili sighed inwardly as she pieced together the fragments of Astella's memories.

After a moment, she raised her head and spoke to the officers. "Thank you so much for your help. I was walking by the river when my hat blew into the water. I only meant to retrieve it, but I slipped and fell in. I felt a bit dizzy earlier, but I'm feeling much better now."

"That was careless," one of the officers remarked, then advised with concern, "The river can be dangerous at night. Please be more careful in the future."

Ye Lili nodded earnestly, her words sincere. The officers, satisfied with her response and noticing her clear-headedness and polite demeanor, escorted her home once she had changed into her partially dried clothes, then took their leave.

...

Ye Lili pressed her hand against the wall, and her figure turned translucent, rippling like a reflection in the water. When her form solidified again, she found herself inside—back in Astella's room.

"Amazing…" she marveled inwardly.

This was the core and only ability of Sequence 9 "Apprentice"—opening doors. As a Sequence 8 "Trickmasters," she also possessed a variety of minor, though not particularly powerful, tricks. The sound amplification spell she had used to make her cries for help audible to those on the riverbank was one of them.

"No real combat power… just slightly better than an ordinary person in terms of physical fitness…" she mused idly. "As for the full moon whispers... I have no clue. The original memories are just fear and pain. Just recalling them makes my body tremble and my head dizzy…"

"Sigh, I wish I could help you, but it's so difficult. I'll just pray I survive the next full moon first…"

"As for my crossing over… Now that I have supernatural powers, I'll keep an eye out for clues. The people here look no different from those in my world, and even the architecture resembles old Western styles. Could this be a parallel universe? Based on the notes from Astella's mother, Sequence 5 of this path is called 'Traveler,' and it allows one to traverse the Spirit World, appearing anywhere in this world. If higher Sequences can cross parallel universes, that wouldn't be too surprising. If this really is another civilization or parallel universe…"

"For now…"

She had no choice but to take over Astella's identity and continue living.

After showering, Ye Lili changed into dry clothes and lay down in bed. The crimson moonlight filtered through the curtains, reflecting in her eyes. She turned over and closed her eyes.

As a student at the grammar school—equivalent to a high school student in her original world—even though she had jumped into the Tasok River tonight, swapped souls, and died, she still had to wake up early tomorrow and catch the subway to school.

"I barely survived high school, and now I have to repeat it…" she muttered, before falling into a deep sleep.

...

The next morning.

Astella sat in the classroom, dipping her pen into the inkwell as she worked through her notes.

The original owner had been an excellent student, with high hopes of getting into Backlund University next June. Now, having inherited her body and fragments of her memory, Ye Lili spent the morning catching up on grammar, history, and mathematics, managing to grasp about seventy or eighty percent of the material.

Before leaving for school, she carefully reviewed Astella's personality and habits to ensure that none of her peers would notice anything out of the ordinary. Fortunately, Astella didn't have any particularly close friends. Even Martha, who had raised her, was more of a caretaker than a companion.

Reclusive, quiet, often lost in thought, muttering to herself, or feeling depressed—traits that had made her somewhat of an outcast. Ye Lili guessed that Astella may have suffered from depression or bipolar disorder due to her parents' long absence and the subtle bullying from her peers. Not to mention, the consumption of potions often led to instability and madness.

The simple social dynamics made it easier for Ye Lili to pretend to be someone else. Drawing on memories of her own awkward teenage years, she embraced her role as the enigmatic loner, putting on a convincing performance.

During class, she took notice of a particularly intriguing historical figure—Roselle Gustav, the former emperor of Intis, known as the "Son of Steam."

This Roselle Emperor had left a huge mark on this world's history. He had invented the steam engine, pioneered new trade routes, and, as the Republic of Intis's consul, led military campaigns, subjugating neighboring nations before restoring the monarchy and proclaiming himself "Caesar."

And then… he died. Astella marveled at his legendary life and was almost certain that

 she had found another clue.

Roselle Gustav's diary—written in Chinese, the characters identical to those from her home world.

This diary had been discovered by archaeologists several years ago and became a hot topic of study. At first glance, the characters made no sense in the context of this world's history, but a few learned scholars from Intis had managed to translate and interpret sections of it.

"This Roselle Emperor—could he have crossed over like me?" Ye Lili pondered.

...

During her studies, she took notice of a particularly remarkable historical figure—the former emperor of Intis, Roselle Gustav, known as the "Son of Steam."

Emperor Roselle left an indelible mark on the history of this world. He invented the steam engine, opened new sea routes, and, as the consul of the Intis Republic, led campaigns across all directions, subduing neighboring nations one by one. He eventually restored the monarchy, declaring himself "Caesar."

And then, he died. Astella couldn't help but marvel at the emperor's legendary life, and she was almost certain—Emperor Roselle must have been a traveler from Earth too!

After all, beyond his monumental political achievements, he had also "invented" various games like poker, Gwent, and chess. In the literary world, he made significant contributions as well, authoring famous works such as the novel The Count's Return and the play Romeo and Juliet—both of which had a 100% resemblance to classic literature from her original world.

Most intriguingly, many of the emperor's mysterious notebooks had survived, written in a language he had personally devised. It was rumored that these notebooks contained secrets of unimaginable value, drawing countless linguists and mystics who tried to decipher them—so far, without success.

"It seems like there are quite a few classmates in that school club for mysticism enthusiasts who are also trying to decode it... Ah, of course." Astella flipped through one of her notebooks and, sure enough, saw numerous Chinese characters and Arabic numerals neatly copied down.

She suspected that Emperor Roselle had likely been a high-ranking beyonder during his lifetime. His notebooks undoubtedly contained hidden, high-level historical information, and perhaps even clues—or the truth—about transmigration!

As the bells rang, students gradually dispersed. Astella packed up her books, closed her notebook, and headed toward one of the activity rooms at the school.

Today was one of the twice-weekly meetings of the school's Mysticism Club, and as a member, Astella needed to attend.