Chapter 1: One More Time

As a bright light enveloped my sight, memories of another life -a previous life- flashed before my eyes. So much information poured into my little six-year-old brain that it sent me reeling, almost like a bolt of lightning through my head. I'm not sure how long it took me to process all of that, but judging by the slow and loud ticking sound, what felt like hours was most likely only a few seconds.

Blinking whilst trying to keep my footing, I fought off a wave of nausea.

I, Velloa Imitheos, child of Ahkua and Hakoda Imitheos, am in the world of Gaea. Therefore, if my so-called 'memories' are true, this is the setting of the otome game 'Hera: Captured Hearts' and I am the villainess of the game. However, judging by what I was just told by my Father, it looks like I will also be taking on the role of one of the love interests.

I was in the middle of my magic elemental test. The bright light earlier was the glow of the crystal ball in which my hand was currently resting upon. Within the crystal ball, I saw a glowing sapphire-coloured liquid mixed with what looked like glittering black sand inside the magical device. I tilted my head up to look into the deep cerulean eyes of the scholarly-like person standing before me. Huh, so this is my Father. I think I inherited those eyes...

He gave me a placid smile as he looked from the crystal ball to me, then knelt to my height, allowing me to see the crystal better. Fascinated, my eyes widened at the sight of the blue and black 'things' move about in the crystal ball.

He pointed to the glowing sapphire liquid. "This blue light means that you have an affinity to the element of water just like the rest of us in our family." Pausing, he then pointed to the glittering black sand. "And this means that you also have an affinity to the darkness attribute."

From behind, a beautiful figure, who had previously been waiting patiently, stepped forward. And this is Mother... Looking at a certain area of her upper body, I internally joked. By all means, please let that chest be hereditary! "Velloa, you have a great amount of mana." Pushing her azure-lilac hair behind an ear, she spoke further. "You also have an affinity with the rare darkness affinity, however, having an affinity to two elements is even rarer." She reached out to hug me. "My child... You have so much potential." Squishy.

However, it would seem that there was more to come. Currently, my parents and I were standing near the entrance of the room. The door, with its dark steely frame, was just the first of many things in which contributed to the place's enigmatic atmosphere. The rest of the room was covered by onyx blackout curtains which surrounded the door in a semi-circle. Our only source of light were these mystifying glowing rune-like things on the slate floor.

Father handed the crystal ball to Mother then took my hand and led me closer to the curtains. "Velloa, do you remember what I told you earlier about the mark you were born with?" I nodded. "Good, then follow me."

The 'mark' he was referring to was the one located in the midst of my chest. It's quite hard to describe, but this shape looks familiar. Did I perhaps see it in my past life?

...

...

In any case, this mark apparently meant that I inherited the Imitheos family's 'forbidden art'. The basic explanation for a forbidden art is that it is essentially an incredibly powerful enchantment spell that is passed down the bloodline of the spell's creator. Any family which has a forbidden art is recognized as a noble in the Kingdom of Ogygia, therefore, my family are that of nobles; although, my parents have done great merits deserving of a noble status other than simply inheriting their ancestor's enchantment spell.

At any rate, the Imitheos family's forbidden art is quite disturbing in a way. Whichever ancestor that decided to come up with this creepy kind of magic must be insane... The forbidden art passed down to only one person, of each new generation, is a magic ability which allows the inheritor to take over a dead person's body as long as they are 'compatible' with it.

As for the 'body' that I get to use this ability on, my Mother was oh-so-kind to provide one. Trying to keep a straight face, I looked at the body floating inside what looked similar to those futuristic tubes from my previous life's memories. Except, remembering how my Mother explained this magical creation that she created, that 'tube' is called 'Gaea's Embrace'. It's akin to an artificial womb which isn't limited to keeping infant bodies alive but also fully grown adult bodies like my Father's (who had, of course, inherited the Imitheos family's forbidden art). Essentially, my Mother's creation is a type of physical forbidden art (as compared to the usual one which was only usable through blood inheritance), which goes to show that she isn't a Royal Researcher for no reason. Father, on the other hand, is the Kingdom's Spymaster, and with an ability like this, of course the Imitheos family is constantly able to have a person bestowed the role of Spymaster.

But... Doesn't that body look familiar?

An even deeper feeling of dread filled my body as I took a proper look at the figure within Gaea's Embrace. I checked not once, but thrice. I hoped I was wrong, but I wasn't... I knew who that was. The lifeless body right before me was known as Vain, one of the 'love targets' in 'Hera: Captured Hearts'.

Mother's voice interrupted my anxiety-filled thoughts. "Velloa, go ahead and see if you can make a connection. It's similar to the crystal ball, so simply make contact with Gaea's Embrace."

I had let my thoughts wander. Breathe. Don't think about this too much...

Walking up to the artificial womb, that was admittedly shaped more like a capsule than a tube, I couldn't help but see how red the liquid was. However, even with his eyes closed and with his body looking to be around the same age as mine, I could still recognize that this person was undoubtedly Vain.

Why aren't you alive?

Gingerly, I placed my hand onto Gaea's Embrace - then, almost immediately, Vain's eyes opened. My body instinctively flinched, but I still made sure to keep contact with the capsule. Then, with slow movements, most likely due to the red liquid, I watched as he moved to align his hand with mine. Hesitantly, I looked into Vain's electric blue eyes... As expected, I felt no life in them.

Staring into the lifeless eyes of Vain, I felt a certain warmth on the hand that was aligned with his, then, it quickly spread to the rest of my body. Suddenly, my vision was once again filled with a blinding light.

The feeling of warmth on my body became even warmer. Trying to calm myself, I decided that I would count down from three and then I would open my eyes. Three... Two... One. My eyelids felt heavy, but I persisted, and once I opened them, albeit slowly, all I could see was red. I glanced down at my hands, my sight was blurry, but from what I could tell, my hands looked different from what I remembered. I tried breathing in, but it was as if there were weights inside my very lungs. Then, without much warning, I felt a pulling sensation and a rush of coldness. Before I knew it, I was caught by familiar hands. My vision was no longer dyed in crimson and I was gasping, it was as if this was the first time I've ever breathed in air.

"The connection was a success. Well done Velloa!" I blearily looked up to see my Father's smiling face.

I just... I just switched bodies, didn't I? Despite my blurry vision, I could make out Mother placing my unmoving body -Velloa's body- into Gaea's Embrace. Let's not think about this too much... Yeah... That'll be my motto for the day. Do not think, just accept...

And with those thoughts, I passed out.

...----------CHAPTER END----------...

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***