He immediately crawled with his knees to follow the glowing ball in that small hole. He was careful not to hit his head against the low and jagged stone ceiling.

    It was quite faster than him. As their distance grew, the warmth and light it was exuding faded away, and so was the pleasant relaxing feeling it gave.

    The pathway wasn't that long, although it zigzagged a bit here and there. Soon, it opened into a wide chamber and Aqueo was finally able to stand.

    He covered his eyes because this one was lit so much brighter than the previous cave he was in. It took him a bit of time to adjust his eyesight. The source of light was coming from the lake not far from him. It seemed like the lake itself was shining.

    'The ceiling above the lake seems open. The sun must be shining from the outside.'

    As he observed the open ceiling, something falling in the air glinted, and as it fell on the water it made a sound that echoed inside the whole chamber. It sounded so unnaturally loud and the pleasant feeling Aqueo felt was stronger, although it still didn't compare to the warmth the glowing ball guy could give.

    "So that's where the sound was coming from."

    He looked around. This place wasn't just bright. There were plants all over the place too—with different colors of flowers and leaves. Some were even glowing.

    He looked for his savior. The little guy was already at the edge of the lake, just floating there.

    Rustles of plants and grasses sounded as he walked toward the middle of the chamber. Eventually, he reached the little guy, and as he did, the pleasant warm feeling came back.

    "Hey!" he greeted as he sat crossed-legged at its left side.

    The glowing ball was just floating there. Aqueo arched forward to look at its eyes to see where it was looking at. He was a bit surprised when he saw that the eyes of the little guy were a bit different. They were full of wonder and awe.

    "You look so wonder-stricken. Does that mean that you can feel emotion too?" he asked as he changed his position to spread his legs and anchor his two arms on the grassy ground behind his back.

    He didn't get a response just like before. Aqueo looked at where the little guy was looking, and he too was wonder-stricken.

    The part of the ceiling in the middle of the chamber, directly above the lake, unlike what he initially thought, was like a deep inverted pit. The topmost part was a tremendous white crystal, shaped like an inverted rocky mountain, shining brightly. Complemented by a few vines and flowers interlaced around it, it was such a majestic view.

    "It's so beautiful."

    It was so bright comparable to the light of the sun, and yet, Aqueo wondered, why was he not getting blinded by the light? Instead, it felt so gentle and comforting to his eyes.

    They just sat there for a little while, admiring the scenery above them, occasionally hearing the echoes of the dropping water. It came from the tip of the crystal. How it was making that unnaturally loud yet beautiful tone as it hit the still water was such a mystery to Aqueo, as well as the pleasing effect to his body every time he heard it.

    It was quite a while before Aqueo realized that he wasn't wearing his clothes before he died. The one he was wearing right now was different—a set of dirty looking brown shirt and trouser, a leather chest vest on top and two leather arm guards. He couldn't see it when it was dark in the other cave, and when it was finally bright he was seeking the warmth of the glowing ball. When he finally reached the glowing ball, he was wonder-stricken by this magnificent scenery and just dipped himself in that pleasant warm feeling.

    "What if...?"

    He immediately went nearer to the edge of the lake to confirm his suspicion. The lake was so still it was like a mirror. And a mirror was the thing he needed. He arched forward and looked at his reflection on the surface of the water.

    "Shit! Who is this guy?" His voice echoed.

    A black-haired and lightly tanned guy, this reflection wasn't him. This body wasn't his. Whose body was it?

    He was reborn into someone else's body. He thought it was still his because he was feeling pain all over his body and the last thing he could remember before waking up was the street accident that left him with a full-body injury.

    He tried to feel his pockets to look for anything that might identify the owner of this body. There was none. But something caught his eyes. Something was tied to his left ankle like a bracelet—a deep blue gem similar to the one he saw at the museum before he died.

    He took it closer to his eyes. Yes, it was definitely the same color of gem as the one back there.

    Before the accident, he was on his way home from the museum. He saw the same deep blue gem there. He was taking pictures of artifacts displayed behind a glass pane when he noticed this gem from afar, glowing. He approached it and observed it for a while to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He even took pictures. Eventually, he was compelled to touch it. And when he did, the glow inside the gem transferred to his finger. The light enveloped his finger momentarily before vanishing. Mildly panicking, he waited for something to happen to him but there was nothing.

    He was both afraid and excited. And when he was walking home, he was in a state of bewilderment, expecting something interesting to happen. His mind was in such a trance when the accident took his life.

    He wondered if seeing a similar gem tied to this body had any connection to what happened to him. Right now, he had no answer to that.

    He looked at the glowing blue orb happily gazing at the giant crystal above. He smiled to himself. He never felt this way before. This relaxing warmth from the glowing orb just felt so out of this world—his body just felt so light and at ease. He couldn't perfectly describe it.

    It felt like a blessing—his accident. The reason why he went to the museum at that time was to escape from his horrible life, even just for a day. He knew nothing of what could possibly be waiting for him in this world. But this beautiful cave—filled with the charm of the glowing flowers, majestic and even more so with every echo of the tone from the drops of the tremendous crystal, and the little guy glowing beside him exuding this extraordinary warmth—these things were, as if, telling him that his accident was a blessing. It must be a blessing.

    He had always been wanting to escape, or at least for things to go back to when he was still ten years old—when he was tireless and energetic and life was just all about fun—and stop the time there. Because the next years that followed opened his eyes to the cruel fate of an orphan like him in that world—to be exploited by human trafficking organizations.

    All the violations, being traded and passed around—those things plunged all his years until his death at twenty-two into a game of tag with depression, numerous sleepovers at the local detention center, and other stuff that were known to be interrelated with being a delinquent even though he wasn't one. He had always repeatedly convinced himself, 'I'm not a delinquent! I'm not a delinquent!' He didn't want to call himself that, he knew his own circumstances. But the people around him still did so anyway. It affected him so negatively until he realized there was nothing he could do about it so he just steeled his heart and tried to live with it.

    Wherever this world was. He wished to stay here, and never go back, whatever awaited him.

    Aqueo's gaze slowly shifted into a languishing expression, anxiously hoping that the feeling he was about to convey would be reciprocated. He smiled sadly and said gently, "Hey, little guy! Can we . . . stay this close . . . forever?"

    To his surprise, the glowing ball's eyes came back to that same expression of curiousness as it looked at him. But this time, its gaze carried an intensity that was telling him that it understood him, and he felt at that moment that he shouldn't speak and just wait for its answer.

    Then there was something that entered his body, and with his eyes connecting with the gaze of the glowing ball, he knew that it came from it. It felt strange as if the thing that entered him was thoroughly touching every inch of his being—including his thoughts and his emotions.

    The feeling didn't stay that long, for the little guy eventually withdrew what entered him. And a moment after, its eyes changed into the same expression it had when looking at the crystal above—one that was full of wonder and admiration—then a short tentacle-like arm emerged from its side, pointing at Aqueo.

    Aqueo understood what the little guy was trying to do, so with his right hand, he reached for its arm.