Lena died.

She remembered the numbness, her body falling into a never ending abyss of darkness.

But seeing a woman paced in front of her as she opened her eyes, did not make any sense. Was she dreaming? Did she survive after all?

Lena opened her mouth only to flinch from the pain in her throat. She never knew a throat could feel this dry.  Frowning at the realization that she could not feel her limbs, confusion laced through Lena's gaze. Why was she still alive? She tried to sit up, but the searing pain in her ribcage made her freeze. 'It's broken?' She thought inwardly.

The line in between her brows deepened.

This action however, did not go unnoticed by the woman. Turning towards her, the woman paused, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as she walked towards Lena. "Daughter? Lena?" The woman's eyes turned gentle as she examined Lena's body. "It's alright. It won't take long now. You'll feel better soon." Her lips morphed into a sad smile.

Seeing Lena only stare at her, the woman continued, "I will get you some water, alright?" She gave another smile before standing and walking towards the small rectangular table inside the room, the familiar squeaking sound of the floor followed her steps. Not long after, she returned with a bowl and a spoon.

"You broke your ribs. So… sitting up might hurt you. Here, let me feed you the water instead." Carefully, the woman used the spoon to transfer the water from the bowl to Lena's mouth. "I told you not to protect me anymore," the woman's voice was full of guilt. "I can handle your aunt. Just— just stop protecting me. Lena, ah… I am your mother. I am sickly, but I can still protect myself. It is my responsibility to protect you, not the other way around."

"Do you want more?" the woman asked. In response, Lena was forced to shake her head. What she needed was some time alone. "Do you want to rest?" the woman, claiming to be her mother asked. In response, she nodded.

"Alright, then… I will come back to feed you dinner." A kind smile was on her face before she leaned down to kiss Lena's cheeks. Seeing Lena flinch at the contact, the woman's eyes instantly watered. "Have a good rest, Lena," she uttered, quickly turning her back on her daughter. Without waiting for another second, the woman left the small, wooden room, closing the door behind her.

Seeing the woman leave, a sigh escaped Lena's lips. The buzzing in her head seemed to intensify. Soon after, the throbbing started. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying her best to contain the pain in her head using a…. 'Wait…'

Lena's eyes flew open as realization hit her. She could not use a talisman!

Once again, she closed her eyes, as she tried to access her magic. For a few seconds, Lena fell into confusion. The magic she had inside her was far from the magic that— Was she in the wrong body?

Lena's eyes went so wide you could clearly see the black specs of her gray orbs glinting against the lighting of the small room. She transmigrated into another body! Lena concluded after examining her magic for the umpteenth time.

Transmigration was not a new concept to Lena as she had studied it before along with reincarnation and multiple universes. She gulped. She could feel her face losing all its color.  If she transmigrated into another body… did that mean she was in another timeline too?

Her eyes wandered inside the room, desperately looking for something that could point her to the current date or time. There was no calendar in the room, no clock was visible either. Just what kind of room was this?

Still frowning, Lena closed her eyes again. The buzzing in her head should be the memories of this body, the original memories the woman owned before her death. What she needed to do was open her consciousness to receive those memories. Slowly, hundreds if not thousands of memories started to flow inside her.

She could feel them swim inside her consciousness, intensifying the throbbing in her head. Her mouth opened into a silent scream, sweat trickling down her forehead. Lena fought the urge to touch her head. She knew it would only cause her more pain.

"Patience," she uttered.

She tried to access her magic once again, hoping it would somehow help her with the pain.  'This body is weak— too weak.' A hiss escaped her lips as she kept her eyes shut. She knew how a single movement could easily send ripples of pain throughout her body.

Seconds turned into minutes, then into hours. To Lena, it felt like forever. She gritted her teeth in silence as her brain processed all the memories she received from this body.

"2000 years," she mumbled as she opened her eyes.

Staring at the blank ceiling, Lena started to consolidate the memories. Two thousand years had actually passed after her death. How was that even possible? Why was she even here after all those years?

Lena once again closed her eyes. She didn't know how many hours had passed since she woke up, but she was sure that receiving the memories had affected her core or in this era, psyche, the source of everyone's magic. In fact, it even affected her injuries as her broken bones were beginning to mend.

Opening her eyes, Lena let out a deep sigh. She had actually transmigrated into a body of an eighteen year old woman named Lena Hou. No wonder this woman's magic was almost close to non-existent. After all, humans only awakened their ability to create talismans when they turned eighteen.

It seemed that despite the technology that the government discovered in years that had passed, they were still not able to alter the age when people could develop their ability to change the structure of atoms. Unfortunately for Lena, this woman was not as privileged as her previous body.

Born in the slums of Hua City, Lena Hou was struggling to survive with her mother Hou Yingying. "How unfortunate," she uttered before the sound of glass breaking reached her ears. Ignoring the pain in her ribs, Lena jolted up. Her eyes turned wary.

Flinching, she struggled to stand as she hoped that the magic in her body would repair her broken bones faster. She hissed. Never in her entire life did Lena experience this state of weakness before.

A painful groan escaped her lips as she staggered. She was about to curse when another sound of glass being shattered echoed.

"Hou Yingying! I already told you! If you can't pay up, then let your daughter marry a rich man for some cash!" the shrill voice of a woman followed. "If you won't pay me tomorrow, I will personally get your daughter and sell her as a slave to the black market!" the woman continued.