I awoke with a gasp of breath as I opened my eyes with a struggle. I looked around and saw I was in a room of grandeur, and the bed I was on must have been a four-poster with silk sheets.
Trying to sit up, I realised I couldn't, as I was too weak even to lift my head. I grumbled, "That damn woman, how can I protect this planet if I cannot get out of bed?!" Suddenly, though, my 'cheat' appeared, as if on cue, like she was watching and enjoying my torment.
[ System Loading....]
[System Loaded!]
[ Memories of the previous owner of this body will now be installed.]
[This will hurt.]
"What do you mean-" I went to ask, but was interrupted by an excruciating pain that assailed my mind. In the next moments, fragmented memories like a slide show, and more importantly, feelings of the previous owner of this body came crashing down upon me like a tidal wave.
Funnily enough, this body was also called Caspian, and he was the son of the daughter of one of the seven virtues - Patience. Caspian had been bed-bound for most of his life; he had a weak constitution for an unknown reason that no one could figure out.
However, in a world that was based upon strength, especially among a higher race like angels, and as the grandson of one of the virtues, he was deemed a wastrel. He was susceptible to whispers behind his back, nasty rumours and even direct verbal abuse.
But the old Caspian could handle all that; it didn't affect him. But what did was his mother, she looked after him for many years before he fell into his coma. He felt lucky that his mother still loved and cared for him; however, he always felt guilty when he saw the pain on her face, as if she were to blame for his own weakness.
He wanted so badly to make her proud, to awaken a powerful class, to make a name for himself in the world, and to ensure that those within the nobility never looked down on him or his mother again.
As I came to from the memories that felt as if I had lived the previous Caspian's life in a flash, I wiped the tears that had fallen down my face away and pledged, "Don't worry, I will make sure to fulfil your desires, it is the least I can do after taking over your body. Rest in peace, Caspian..." I whispered at the end.
Then, I asked the system a pressing question. "How am I going to do anything while I am like this?"
[The one who has sent you here has given me enough energy to restructure your body into a vessel strong enough to withstand your own nature as a hybrid.]
[Shall I start?]
"Yes! Let's get this over with." I said, with impatience, from the memories, the awakening should be happening today, and I cannot miss it.
[Affirmative, this will hurt.]
"Again?!" I exclaimed, but soon, the pain was multiple times worse than before.
________
In the beautiful, manicured private gardens within the palace of the virtue of patience, a fairy-like woman sat and asked, "No changes today either?" to a maid who was pouring her a cup of her favourite tea.
She brushed her long silver hair behind her ear, her silver eyes following the maid's movements as she poured. The woman's demeanour seemed the epitome of calm.
"I am sorry, Your Highness, I checked in again and nothing. It might be..." She hesitated to finish her words.
Sighing, Sera spoke softly, "I know, everyone has given up on him, they had before he went into a coma." The maid finished her duties and excused herself, understanding her lady needed space.
Continuing to talk, she whispered, "He had to suffer for all those years because of me and my actions..."
Sera stirred the tea absentmindedly, seemingly trying to abate some guilt, "Oh my sweet boy, I saw the way you looked, so ashamed, so... defeated. I'm sorry." She lamented her weakness for only being able to watch him spiral emotionally and physically into his current situation and feeling partly guilty for it.
________
In Caspian's room, he was currently in a precarious situation. He hovered as a pool of chrome liquid in the air, the only thing left of him, until suddenly his body was made anew. A skeletal structure was the first thing to form, then blood, flesh and finally smooth pale skin. His hair regrew on his head until it reached his shoulders, Black as a raven and his eyes formed last before they opened, a void like purple.
Before his body fell down and hit the bed with a thud, "Fuck! That was the worst experience in my life, and I have already been hit by an interdimensional travelling truck!" Groaning, he pulled his naked form off the bed and walked in front of the mirror.
He smiled to himself, "This will do nicely, I would even say I am more handsome than on earth. Truly blessed, just like I always said to those idiots." He laughed, the sound smooth and rich. His face showed a slight melancholy when he thought of his friends, before it hardened, "No time for that, I am in a world where ruthlessness and strength rule, I cannot be weak."
Walking to the wardrobe in the room, he opened it and, surprisingly, found a few outfits that fit, putting on the black slacks and shirt with gold trim. His face lit up. "Must have been my mother who kept my wardrobe up to date."
A warmth spread within him that he hadn't felt before. He was an orphan on earth; his parents were killed when he was a child. It wasn't as if he suffered; his looks, along with the money they left, saw to that, but he always lacked that fundamental thing every child who doesn't have it wants, a mother's love.
"System, what can you do? Give me the rundown." He said, trying to distract himself from unsavoury memories.
However, before he could get an answer, the door opened, a maid had a tray in her hand, and when her eyes locked with Caspians purple ones, her face became red as a tomato, then the tray fell from her hands, "Y-young master! Youre... youre... awake! I must tell my lady!" She screamed, in part surprise and in part embarrassment, at her behaviour before rushing off.