CHAPTER 201: SEPHRINA [1]

Darkness.

There was endless darkness that was void of anything around Akamir.

’What is happening?’

Akamir said out loud, but no words came out of his mouth.

He tried to move, but then he felt nothing, no limbs or legs.

Panic began to crawl its way to his mind as he frantically looked around him.

But all he saw was endless darkness.

’What the hell is happening?’

Akamir tried all he could, but there was nothing to attach to him.

He couldn’t feel, couldn’t touch, and neither could he touch the sea of darkness.

It was like his consciousness was floating in an endless dark space.

’Naymoi?’

Akamir called the woman, but he got no response.

When he tried to sense her... he couldn’t even find her.

Akamir forced himself to calm down as he tried to remember his last moment.

’The Greater One was... she attached her tentacle to my body.’

Akamir instinctively tried to touch his back but couldn’t reach the part.

’...What the hell happened?’

Fear took hold as Akamir began to panic once again.

’Did I die?’

He couldn’t help but wonder as he drew in deep breaths.

Only then did he realize he couldn’t even breathe.

’....Did I really die?’

Akamir began to move his body or try anything of that matter.

...Anything that could confirm his existence hadn’t been erased.

’...Wait, the crown!’

Akamir drew in a deep breath though he couldn’t, before he summoned his crown.

In an instant, a crimson light shone in the place, and in the next instant, Akamir felt relief.

With the crown over him, he finally understood that he wasn’t dead yet.

’...Then what is this place?’

Time passed, but in a state of nothingness, it was hard to even guess whether it was going by fast or slow.

Finally, Akamir felt something... there was a sudden jolt in his arms.

A few seconds later, another jolt occurred on his chest.

His vision began to turn lighter and lighter as the place faded away.

Another wave of panic hit him when he saw endless clouds above him.

’....Wait.’

Only a few seconds after his vision returned did Akamir notice the place.

He was laying in a field of flowers where there was nothing else.

Akamir stood up, but the flower plants were enormous as they reached his face.

’....No.’

Akamir only then noticed.

The plants were the same size; it was him who had shrunk in size.

Akamir froze.

The flowers swayed gently in the wind, towering over him like trees.

Each petal was as big as his head, the stems thick as pillars.

’This... isn’t normal,’ he thought, brushing his hand against a stem thicker than his torso.

’Huh?’

Akamir then noticed his hand, which was that of a child—nothing like before.

’What is going on.’

Akamir couldn’t even make sense of the current situation as he stared at his hand without any words.

"Wait, no...."

Akamir mumbled as a terrifying thought crossed his mind.

’Did I transmigrate once again?’

That thought sent a jolt of lightning past his spine.

’..No way.. no that’s not possible.’

Akamir denied the possibility as he looked around the place to find a way out.

"Akamir!"

"Huh?"

A voice suddenly called him, startling the boy.

"Wait, that voice...."

Akamir mumbled as he had heard the voice before—though it sounded young now.

He quickly turned and rushed toward where the voice came from.

"Akamir!"

She called him once again, this time more panickingly than before.

"Where are you??"

Akamir began to run through the dangling flowers.

He kept on running until—.

"Ouch!"

His body collided with something soft.

Akamir rolled on the ground before he balanced himself.

He quickly turned as he looked at the one calling him.

The girl was holding her knees as she glared at him.

"Why did you bump into me!?"

"..."

Akamir couldn’t reply as he looked at the young girl.

She looked like she was only ten with a small baby-like face.

Her hair was long and golden in colour that shimmered in the sun.

....Her elongated ears twitched as she stood up once again.

"...Sephrina?"

Akamir mumbled, looking at the child.

The child blinked in response. "Yes?"

"Wait, what is going on...."

Akamir asked, unsure if he should ask her about this.

The girl tilted her head in confusion. "Why are you acting weird now?" she asked. "Didn’t you say you will play with me?"

Akamir frowned hard. "...I did?"

"Yes, you did!" she replied, her innocence clear on her face. "Now come with me!"

Akamir couldn’t even refuse as she quickly grabbed his hand and began to lead him out of the place.

He was too shocked to even say anything.

"Is this some kind of prank?"

He mumbled, and Sephrina gave him a weird look. "What are you saying?"

Akamir stumbled after the small girl, his tiny legs struggling to keep up with her energetic pace.

The massive flowers parted around them, their petals brushing against his cheeks like soft fabric.

Every step felt wrong.

The ground was too springy, the air too sweet, and his body... his body felt far too light.

Sephrina kept tugging at his hand without a care in the world.

Her golden hair bounced with every step, catching the sunlight in a way that almost hurt to look at.

She finally stopped when they reached a small clearing.

There, in the middle, was a pond so clear it looked like glass, reflecting the endless sky above.

"Sit here!" she said cheerfully, pointing at a flat rock. "I’ll go get the flowers we need."

Akamir sat, more because he didn’t know what else to do than because he wanted to.

He stared at his reflection in the water— A boy.

No more than eight. Pale skin, dark hair... eyes wide and unfamiliar yet familiar.

"...This isn’t possible," he muttered under his breath.

The reflection wavered when a ripple passed through the pond.

"How is this face here?"

Akamir mumbled as he stumbled back on his hips.

Because the face he saw was the face of the real Akamir.

The one who was the king of an Empire.

Akamir was so confused that he just sat in his place without even moving.

Sephrina quickly returned with a handful of flowers as she placed them in front of him.

"Make it!"

She said, her happiness clear in her voice.

Akamir tilted his head. "Make what?"

"The teria you offered me before!" she replied, her eyes wide. "Wait, are you not going to make it?"

Akamir opened his mouth to refuse but thought against it.

’...What if she ran away, leaving me alone here?’

Like it or not... she was currently the only one who he was barely familiar with.

’...Let’s just get this over with.’

Akamir let out a sigh as he began to knit the flowers together in a circle.

It was hard at first, but when Akamir noticed he could use mana, he began to make it faster.

Akamir’s fingers moved with surprising ease once the mana flowed.

The stems bent just how he wanted, petals aligning neatly without tearing.

Sephrina watched him closely, her chin resting on her knees.

"You’re faster than last time," she said, smiling.

"...Last time?" Akamir asked without looking up.

"Mm-hm. You were slow before. Clumsy." She tilted her head, her golden hair sliding off her shoulder. "Did you practice?"

Akamir didn’t answer.

He was too busy piecing together what she said.

Last time? Did that mean... this wasn’t the first time this version of him was here?

He tightened the weave, forcing his thoughts to slow.

"Done," he muttered at last, holding up a perfect flower crown.

Sephrina’s face lit up as she took it. She placed it on her head and twirled, the sunlight catching in the petals.

"It’s just like before!" she laughed. "Now we match."

"...Match?"

She pointed at his head.

And only then did Akamir notice — a crown of flowers rested there too.

’...I didn’t make this.’

His hand hovered near it, but the moment his fingers brushed the petals, a strange warmth spread through him.

Memories that weren’t his flickered at the edge of his mind — laughter, running through these very fields, the sound of Sephrina’s voice calling his name in a way that felt... safe.

He quickly pulled his hand back.

"This is weird," he muttered under his breath.

Sephrina didn’t notice. She was already skipping toward the pond again.

"Come on! We have to be back home before the sun sets!"

Akamir tilted his head as he looked up at the sky.

The sun was close to the horizon; almost half of it was gone.

’But it was afternoon just a while ago.’

Akamir was getting more and more confused as Sephrina began to lead him out of the place.

She was surprisingly fast this time as she moved through the field with ease.

Before long, Akamir and Sephrina stood at a small, cozy house close by.

The door of the house opened up, and a fairy quickly rushed out.

"Lili!"

The small Sephrina quickly rushed towards the fairy, grabbing her.

But...

Akamir’s eyes were solely on the man who walked out of the room as well.

"....Velyrian?"