A harsh light woke Elliot. His eyes fluttered open—his phone screen glowed white.
What's going on? Why is there a message on my screen?
He leaned closer.
---
W£ - once @#ai^, wish you go0d lu(k in your journey.
---
The message glitched across the screen, flickering in and out of view.
Before Elliot could react, a black substance burst from the screen and wrapped around his hand.
The black pixel-like material seemed to slither up his arm, slowly engulfing his whole arm.
What's happening
My arm, I can't feel it
The pixels were turning his arm numb, and slowly his whole body. But it didn't stop with just him; it started to devour everything around him. His room got transformed into a pixel domain.
Soon, he stretched his neck as far upwards as possible.
The pixel had gotten to the base of his neck.
There has to be a way to stop this
Sadly, he couldn't stop what was meant to be inevitable. The pixels slowly slithered up his neck, engulfing his head in small black cubes.
The only thing left uncovered was his eyes, which were all he could feel now.
This is impossible, I must be dreaming.
The pixels started to invade his eyes, slowly covering them in a black shield, which shattered his theory of a dream as a sharp pain rang out from his eyes.
Imaginary hands rubbed at his eyes as he tried to use arms that no longer existed.
He could feel tiredness grabbing him, but he tried to hold on to no avail.
[Welcome Use...]
...
As he was dreaming inside a void of nothingness, he saw a mirror; in its reflection was Elliot but not as he knew him.
Instead, there was a young boy around 13 years old, with purple hair and striking ice-blue eyes staring back at him.
Elliot's hand instinctively reached out towards the mirror, and the boys did the same as if they were being controlled.
Sparks flew from the mirror as their hands touched it. The surface of the mirror started to ripple and made a faint humming noise. Before a force started to drag Elliot into the mirror, with nothing he could do to resist
The next second, he was sitting up straight in an unfamiliar room. It reminded him of the fantasy architecture he had seen in games.
The room was covered in fancy decorations and portraits. The room had a cold tone with white and blue adorning the walls and ceiling. In the middle of the room, above the fireplace, there was a crest.
In the middle was a white fox curling up into a ball, holding a sword in its mouth. This reminded him of something he had seen before. His memory stirred, trying to figure out where he is.
He tried to stand up and leave the bed, but his legs were weak for some reason, and he just caught a look at himself in the mirror.
This wasn't Elliot; that was not the man he was. He was a child. Not with his signature black hair like before, no, violet hair fell over features almost too refined to be real.
His brain stirred.
Maybe I'm dreaming, that would make sense.
That was the only reasonable outcome, everything that he remembered happening to being covered in pixels to being swallowed by a mirror, to waking up in a new body. It could only be a dream. He must have wanted to be in Nythor Conquered that badly.
Ah
The Frostbloom family
Elliot had recognised the crest finally, and it all started to click.
But why would I dream of being a random side character who dies later
Then the answer hit him
A sharp pain rang out through his skull as memories started to flow in.
...
Memories played in Elliott's head like a movie on 3x speed. Scenes flashed before him one after another.
One moment was when he was first learning to walk, and another was the first time he swung a sword.
The memories didn't all flash through at once; they had a will of their own, a level of importance. Sometimes, slowing down to show details. Like the news of his brother failing the awakening trial. With his lifeless eyes staring back as he was swallowed by the dark mana.
This was how humans awakened to mana; all people had to go through it, but it was known to be difficult, and only a select few would ever actually pass it. This happened when a child turned 14.
Next, it slowed down fully. No longer flashing through, one scene stayed for a long time. It was his dad, Albert Frostbloom, leaving the estate in battle gear. There had been a commotion on the border, and he needed to fight.
Sadly, he never returned, leaving Elliot to break down and struggle for months on end. No brother and now no Father. He had no mother as she died during childbirth. A young child was left to rule one of the most powerful families in the world.
He had to struggle to defend the borders and the people who trusted the family, all while being 9 years old.
Yesterday, the boy had stood before his mirror, the same mirror Elliot had touched, and decided he was done
The scene shattered. Pain speared through Elliot's skull as two lives collided, his and the boy's memories grinding together until he couldn't tell which life was his own.
Elliot tried to resist having the foreign memories implanted in him. But there was nothing he could do against it.
Soon, the pain died out, and Elliot was left in a heap on the floor with sweat dripping off him. Not letting himself be defeated by the pain, Elliot forced himself to get back up and walk towards his desk.
He needed to note down everything Elliot does in the game.
-----
Elliot's life in the game
- Awakens after the trial
- takes over properly as the duke
- leaves the academy early due to issues in Frostbloom
- leads his family to push back the Nythor
- sacrifices his life for Alex(the mc)
-----
He let out a tired exhale as he contemplated what he was to do next, how was he even meant to plan for an event less than 24 hours away? In which the original couldn't prepare for as he was too busy being Duke.
*knock, knock*
Elliot quickly scrambles back into bed to not shock the maid about to enter
A maid with brown hair and green eyes walked through after a couple of seconds of waiting.
Her eyes quivered for a small second before returning to normal.
"What are you doing awake this early, my lord?"
"Just nervous, Alice, you know what tomorrow is." The name of the maid he had never met before flew out of his mouth without thinking about it.
"You need to rest, sir. you need to pass the awakening tomorrow," Alice was walking towards the window to open the curtains. "We al-"
"You can stop there. I know the outcome if I fail, I don't need reminding again." His tone came out strong, like a true noble. "Now help me get dressed."
Alice quickly moved to assist Elliot with getting ready for the day ahead.
Elliot was surprised by how much the memories had already affected him; he should hate the idea of a random woman helping him get ready, but it was natural.
This isn't me anymore. I'm not in control
"Alice, bring me my breakfast in an hour."
"Yes, sir," Alice responded on the way to the door.
Soon, the door slammed shut, and Elliot was left alone with his thoughts again.