So what exactly is magic?

Well. Magic magic, aka sorcery is another thing altogether and THAT is pure insanity. I didn't learn there was actual magic in the universe until much later in my journey. This wasn't along the lines of say… a certain book series set in britain. Where the magic goes from small little tricks to instant killing curses. But more along the lines of a video game. Where gigantic city leveling spells that could cause doomsday were within the scope of possibility.

I cast fireball. Roll 8d6. Something like that.

Uh. That's not relevant though. Magic in my terms, is really just aeon bullshit. Everyone is favored, or more in tune naturally to one of the Aeons. And while this doesn't necessarily mean your ideals or personality will line up with what your attuned Aeon (I think the correct word is path), more often than not it does.

Of course, you can also swap paths. But that's a whole other bag of worms to open up and frankly, I'm not a scientist. The last science class I took was some general ed course that I did just enough work to pass with a C.

I'm losing myself, again. Basically some people are more attuned to paths and are able to borrow power from said Aeon. Some people are less attuned and can't, essentially making them normal humans.

Get it? Got it? Good.

Remember this. It'll be on the test.

What test? It'll be a surprise.

Chapter 2. I realize that I'm me.

In my own not so humble opinion. My biggest strength was my intellect and ability to analyze situations. Keeping calm and moving forward was included in that.

I had done theater for an entire decade in the span of my school life. I stopped in college, but the number one rule had stuck with me even outside of that.

The show must go on.

This meant that no matter what happened. If a prop broke, someone got sick, people forgot lines, technical difficulties, no one showed up.

The show would go on.

Obviously this wasn't a concrete rule for amateur or student theater like the kind I participated in. But it was always imperative to at least treat it like it was. It was expected and considered rude to not. Some people didn't take things as seriously as I did, but I had another reason to do so. I felt a certain thrill after finishing a show. A moment of pride that I rarely felt. Knowing that I had given it my all.

On stage I always felt cold. Like my veins had chilled and everything evaporated until it was just me and my scene partner left. This left me ready for anything. Any hiccups would be dealt with and everything would work out.

Right now, with blood trailing down my cheek, I was in that mode.

My heart was thundering in my chest. I could feel my head spinning so quickly that I felt a sense of vertigo despite standing still. How was I supposed to act in this situation? I had never been in a fight before. How should I react? What should I do?

Nothing. This wasn't my fight. I could recognize that. I simply hid behind a corner of a building, away from the possibility of any ricocheting bullets.

Sampo moved forward, unbuckling some things from his belt. He waited for a bit before moving out of my sight.

I couldn't hear what happened next even if I wanted to, my ears were still ringing with adrenaline from my near death encounter. I waited with each moment stretching into infinity. It wasn't my fight. I had no experience. I would just be a hindrance. I repeated these last few lines in my head, convincing myself to stay out. Because I knew my place. Right now I don't need to take the stage.

Fuck.

Why was this happening to me?

I didn't know how long I stood like that, staying back like a bystander. But Sampo eventually rounded the corner once more.

"Yo. Care to help out with this?" He said to me.

I stared at him for a beat, before nodding. When I moved back onto the main site of the skirmish I was met with the unconscious forms of the three stooges and the commander of the silvermane guards.

Bronya, March, Dan Heng and… Stelle. I committed their faces to memory. It was an odd notion, considering I knew them already. But it was still worthwhile to do so.

My pulse was still rushing, but I had an inkling of what Sampo wanted me to do. This was only proven correct as he quite literally slung Stelle over his shoulder like she was a big bag of rice. He picked up Dan Heng and carried him princess style while I did the same with March. Bronya was balanced between the two of us, we basically were dragging her feet, a fact I should have felt bad for if I knew her better.

Surprisingly, March was light. Very light. I could have sworn she was made of feathers because I had more of an issue making sure I didn't accidentally snap her neck from stepping down too hard on the ground and jostling her than actually carrying her. Or maybe I was just stronger in this weird universe than my normal.

It's not like I really did any working out at home. The most exercise I got was when I went to the city and had to walk from place to place.

What if Not-Zenith was the person who worked out? Did I swap bodies with her?

Wait.

That was not a train of thought I wanted to go down.

If I wasn't me. Then who was I? Did I even look the same as before?

Such thinking caused anxiety to build within me once more. The adrenaline had long worn off as Sampo and I made our way back down the underground tunnel. Distracting myself with March's pretty hair only worked so well for so long, and the need to look at myself in the mirror only grew with each passing moment.

I could feel myself reaching a critical point before I forcibly distracted myself with other things. Like the future.

It was one thing to think about how I knew how things should go. It was another to think about how things went in the heat of the moment. I knew intrinsically that if I was in some sort of weird world where things followed the Star Rail storyline, everything would turn out alright. But with things in front of me, happening before my very eyes. It was impossible to dedicate a portion of my brain to that task. To recalling a story I had read once and barely thought about afterwards.

If my superpower was having an eidetic memory then maybe it was possible. As it was, I was just a normal human.

"Thinking really hard huh?" Sampo asked me.

I spared him a glance, my thoughts having been broken by the talking. "What happened to the no talking rule?"

"Ah well. That doesn't apply to me."

I scowled at him but Bronya's head separated us. My nose twitched at the faint scent of her shampoo. Her silver hair was distractingly pretty, even unconscious as she was. I felt creepy for noticing it.

"Hmph." I settled on instead.

"Ah there it is. The classic Zenith special."

I nearly stopped moving if it wasn't for the fact that we probably would have dropped Bronya if I did. For some reason I felt oddly offended. As it was I simply kept my mouth shut and continued to trudge forward. There were too many things to parse and process.

Like those medical supplies. We left them behind on the surface because of our additional baggage. Someone would have to go back up and get them. I had the feeling we needed them.

From what I could remember about the story. The underworld and overworld had been blocked off for at least a decade at this point. But Pela and Lynx were very obviously from the surface, meaning contact was being kept. It made sense to think about. The surface needed geomarrow since, if I recalled correctly, it was used in a lot of machinery or to create those heating machines. While the underground needed other things to survive. I never thought so deeply about it before.

Of course there was still contact. Belobog was a symbiotic city split into two. It could function without the other part but not for long.

"What are we going to do about those supplies?" I asked.

"Well someone's gonna need to go up and get them eventually. You should probably take the time to text someone now."

Great. Back on the topic of my phone. I hadn't exactly gotten a chance to take a few more guesses at the password. I'm sure by now the timer lock had worn off.

"...My hands are full." I deflected.

"You can put her down. She's not made of glass."

I sighed. "My phone isn't working." I confessed.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I'm having issues with it."

"Huh. I guess today is neither of our days."

You can say that again buddy.

To her credit. Natasha only paused for three whole seconds when we walked in with four unconscious bodies before she immediately went into doctor mode and ordered us to set them in various places and positions inside her clinic. If that wasn't a sign of professionalism and experience then I don't know what is.

Luckily for them. Them being the three trailblazers and the princess. None of them were really hurt besides a few minor scrapes and bruises. I suspected that even those were mostly caused by whatever method Sampo used to knock them all out.

It was hardly even fifteen minutes later when Natasha finished up with them all. Efficiency was the name of the game. I sat by and watched while Sampo gave a brief rundown of the things that happened. When she heard everything she was silent before nodding. Afterwards she turned towards me and approached. I winced, half expecting to be scolded for something I did.

But she instead cupped my cheeks with both of her hands.

"Huh?" I said (I did not squeak.)

I was more than a little mortified when I could feel the heat rush to my cheeks. Or how my heart started to pound in my chest, this time in a completely different manner than earlier.

"Your cheek is bleeding. Let me clean it." Natasha told me, gently wiping my cut with a swab.

Oh.

God I needed to get a grip.

"Thanks." I said simply.

Pretty women would be the death of me. It didn't matter what universe I was in.

Luckily, or perhaps simply mindful of what she caused, Natasha didn't mention anything about my reaction. Sampo snickered quietly in the corner. I ignored him.

I was practically forced into bed by the doctor. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't be alone. Even if no one was particularly looking at me and I had been reduced to essentially just another patient, I was too aware of everyone's movements. I've always been picky about such things unfortunately. I've never been able to sleep well with a partner unless I trusted them explicitly because of this too.

I was a mess. Physically and mentally. Being in a bed only seemed to highlight such defects. I wouldn't be able to sleep in such a situation so of course my mind decided to wander.

My first course of action was recalling things I could remember, but I quickly discarded that. It didn't matter what I could remember, could I even change anything? Did it matter if I could? Was my path set in stone or something I could forge. There were so many different parts to think about that trying to follow a specific timeline was useless, especially with how many things I already have realized weren't mentioned. Meeting Pela and Lynx was probably the highlight of that.

I could use what I recalled to help me, but I wouldn't let it guide me. I was myself, always have been and always will. I've lived my life in this way since I could remember.

Next I…

My mind blanked and I just let myself stay there in bed for a few seconds. I sighed.

I was exhausted.

If this was a few years ago. I might have given up on everything on the spot. I was out of my environment, out of my world. My universe. This wasn't a dream. I turned myself around a while ago. But this was something else.

I pushed myself out of bed.

I was exhausted but I couldn't just stay here. I had to move or do something. Otherwise my mind would wander into territory I didn't want it to.

More than it already did at least.

My movement didn't go unnoticed, as Natasha scolded me almost the second I got out of bed. But I was able to wave her off, saying something like how people in the medical profession are the worst patients.

An accurate statement considering how my ex was, who was a nurse. But it didn't do anything to stop the disappointed look Natasha gave me. Frankly, I wasn't quite sure if not-Zenith was actually a nurse at all or was just someone who helped out around the place, but I'm sure my message still worked.

Sampo had disappeared at some point while I was in bed, even if it was only a few minutes of laying down. I was about to follow suit, but stopped when one of the four people knocked out by Sampo started to stir. It was Dan Heng.

Natasha gave him a rundown of everything that had happened and explained to him where he was, something that was repeated when March 7th woke up soon after. I wasn't quite sure how long they had been traveling together but they seemed to come to a consensus pretty quickly and nonverbally about what to do, as the two of them set off outside of the clinic. I wasn't given more than a glance as the two of them passed by me.

This left just Stelle and Bronya under the care of the little clinic. Natasha passed the time by cleaning up whatever sort of tools she used to treat them, and I passed the time by watching her work. Occasionally there would be movement from one of the two, in which I would check over them, but at least a full half hour passed before the next one woke.

I was the closest person nearby when Bronya woke up, having moved over to check on her, which of course led me to receiving a rather harsh glare upon the lucidity of the woman.

"You. Do you happen to be working with…" She started off with a harsh tone of voice, one that quickly deflated. "...No, you aren't. I apologize for my accusation. Please tell me where I am."

I blinked twice in surprise. The tonal whiplash wasn't something I was really used to, but Bronya had apparently picked up something that got me off the hook of whatever she was accusing me of.

"We're in the underground. You're in a clinic." I told her. Natasha was… nowhere to be seen. She must have disappeared to go do something in the time that I wasn't watching. This left me to give a rundown of what had happened to the princess, in a manner similar to the one Natasha had given Dan Heng and March. She was surprisingly agreeable when I mentioned to keep the conflict to a minimum.

I suppose I shouldn't have been so surprised, considering who she ends up being and her actions to get there. But as I've said before, it's one thing to see it on a screen and another to see it in front of me.

After being explained the situation, Bronya, like the two before her, chose to exit the clinic. Just as the princess was about to leave, the doors blew open and in came a woman with long purple hair. Her outfit vaguely resembled a butterfly, and I knew immediately who she was.

Seele had chosen to appear.

The two women gave each other a side-long glance before Bronya stepped out. Seele didn't give so much as another look to her before she planted in a corner and crossed her arms. I assumed she was waiting for Natasha.

I waited around for the doctor to appear, and when she did I chose that time to make my leave. I wasn't sure if I could handle meeting another big character already. I could feel how my heart was pounding already and I hadn't even spoken to her yet.

As I passed by Seele, much like with Bronya, I got a single side glance and a nod. I responded in kind before the doors closed behind me and I was met with the underground once more.

I refused to admit just how long it took to get to my own apartment, but I would let it leak that it took more than an hour. I wandered rather aimlessly until someone that I knew apparently took pity on me and asked me what I was doing. I had to grit my teeth when I got a look that basically questioned my sanity, but they pointed me in the right direction.

At the very least, I had a mirror.

It was old, and cracked in multiple places, but it was clearly polished and did its job. It gave me a chance to actually look at myself and solve the mystery of who I was once and for all.

The answer it gave me was a little shocking.

I was me, body and all. I wasn't in some sort of different body or swapped places with some girl who was supposed to be me. It was me. The lone scar beneath my chin was proof of that. I had gotten it when I was young and split my chin open upon the concrete.

I reasoned that if my mind swapped with someone else, I would likely have scars in other places. But my skin was as it was normally. My hair, something that I took great care of, was still silky smooth.

Ugh. I didn't want it to get all worn out and gritty. A very stupid worry considering there were so many other things that took so much more priority than anything else. But it was easier to worry about the small things than having an existential crisis.

I shook my head. Too many things to think about.

The only real conclusion I could make was that I swapped places with whoever was from this universe. Or… I replaced them, rather. One of those two. There very clearly was another Zenith, one that was not me. One who was similar, but not the same. Close enough that no one had immediately noticed any difference, likely helped by the fact that I had basically improvised the hell out of everything up until this point, but not so close that no one noticed I was not their Zenith.

Then again it's a little unbelievable that someone you knew had been essentially body snatched. If that's what had happened.

Sampo had commented something about how 'that's the classic Zenith we all know.' Or something along those lines. Meaning I had been acting out of character up until then, but only just.

Going upon that thought process meant that I just needed to keep acting the same way and no one should overly suspect something was wrong. It wasn't as if I was acting that differently than I normally was back on Earth, perhaps a bit quieter and less snarky than I usually would be. But that was more because I was essentially trying to be a supporting character without a script. Everything I had to work off of was what others were saying and doing.

Star Rail was helpful, but didn't mean anything when it came to interacting with other characters. It followed Stelle, and when Stelle wasn't nearby then I was on my own.

I figure that if I simply keep acting how I am now, I could ease into being myself eventually. But the question that followed that train of thought was what did I want to do with myself after? Would I try to get home? Could I even get home? Was my Earth the same Earth in this universe?

I gnawed on my lip. There was a way to confirm such a thing, and conveniently the key was right in front of me earlier.

The Astral Express.

They traveled across the stars. If I could join them and visit Earth… that was easily my best chance to get back home. It was a really crapshoot plan, but I couldn't see anything else I could do.

God. After finalizing everything inside of my mind, I could once again feel the exhaustion of everything start to set in. Intuitively, I knew that it was rather late, but I still wasn't tired. I knew that if I sat in bed I wouldn't even be able to sleep, but the weight of everything was bearing down upon me in full force. I had to do something.

If I couldn't sleep I should at least familiarize myself with the place. I had done that a little when initially attempting to find my home, but having more than one point of reference was nice.

I didn't expect that only five minutes after I had started to explore the underground, I would walk face first into Stelle and Bronya, literally colliding with the taller of the two women. She was sturdy and barely budged when I walked into her.

"Hello there." The protagonist said to me.

"Hi." I replied back simply, making a conscious attempt to not seem utterly baffled at my (mis)fortune.

"Hello again." Bronya spoke.

The three of us stood there in silence before the not so quiet conversation between Natasha and who could only be Seele attracted our attention. They were around the corner, and I only approached them because I was swept into the moment by the other two women. It wasn't until a bit more listening in that I knew the contents of the conversation. The underground was lacking in medical supplies.

I realized then that the supplies from earlier today, the ones Sampo and I left behind to grab the quartet of people, were very much needed.

"Oh. I think that's my fault."

I didn't notice I said that out loud until four different sets of eyes settled on me.

Ah damn. Maybe I should have just tried to sleep instead.

Start: July 26. 2023.

End: August 5th. 2023.

Words 3827.

Hi. I still don't quite know exactly what I want to do with this. Buuuuuuuuuut let's just have some fun. I kinda want to get to Xianzhou quickly but I don't wanna rush through Belobog. Trying to develop Zenith's character a bit more. One thing about Belobog however is that SO MUCH HAPPENS in just the first two days of being in it. It goes day 1, meet Cocolia, day 2, BASICALLY EVERYTHING ELSE. Like do people even sleep on the second day? Nope. Anyways. Gonna have to stretch that out to a few more days or a week. Silly me, overanalyzing the passing of time in a game.