My eyes flickered open, groaning as I struggled to regain my bearings. A cold numbness clung to my body, and I blinked against the soft flurry of snow falling around me. The air was biting, stinging my skin, and I could feel the dull throb in my head—like someone had tried to shove the entirety of an encyclopedia in there all at once.

I pushed myself upright, stumbling on my feet as if I'd forgotten how to stand. Twice. Great start. My gaze wandered to a pile of garbage near the alley wall, spotting the jagged remains of a shattered mirror leaning against a dumpster. A broken reflection for a broken mind. Fitting. I let out a dry, humorless chuckle, grimacing as a sudden wave of pain surged through me. At least my body was still healing. That much hadn't changed.

I staggered over to the broken mirror, kneeling to get a closer look. Not that I'd see much—vampires don't exactly cast reflections, I reminded myself before glancing down, fully prepared for the empty glass. Instead, I froze. Blue eyes stared back at me. My blue eyes.

What…?

Shock coursed through me. I hadn't seen that face—my face—in months. I leaned in closer, my heart pounding in my ears as I scanned the rest of my reflection. No fangs. No red glow. Growling under my breath, I reached up to my mouth, almost hoping to feel the familiar sharpness. Nothing. Those bastards cured me.

The Gods had taken away my vampirism.

I let out an angry breath, frustration bubbling up inside me. I worked hard for that! My hand clenched, shaking slightly as I stared back at the reflection. But wait… Something else was off. My face. I—looked younger. A lot younger. Like I'd just time-traveled a couple of decades back.

Sixteen again? The thought was absurd, but there it was, staring back at me. What the hell did they do to me?

As my fingers brushed over my head, I flinched as they met something solid. Something… unnatural. Horns. Moose horns. Sticking out near the top of my head. My eyes narrowed in disbelief. Faunus? I gritted my teeth, growling under my breath as realization set in. They took my vampirism and turned me into a Faunus? What kind of sick joke—

Before I could spiral further into anger, a faint, familiar mechanical whirring filled the alley, and my helmet—the one they'd taken—folded up over my head, locking into place around the horns. Huh… neat. The HUD blinked to life, flashing familiar but altered data across my vision.

"Thanks, Ben! I've already studied the changes they made to us!"

That voice. I couldn't help but smile as the warmth of Edna's familiar tone filled my mind. A scan of my first wife's soul, preserved within my armor. She made it through. Despite everything, she was still here with me.

Before I could respond, the sharp crack of gunfire rang out nearby. Shouts, followed by a small explosion, pulled my attention away.

Instinct took over. Forgetting any further shock or frustration, I bolted toward the mouth of the alley, skidding to a stop as the scene unfolded before me. Civilians, panicked, surrounded by towering black monsters. Grimm, a voice whispered in the back of my head, filling in the gap. Three soldiers stood in defense, but they were outnumbered and struggling to hold their ground.

I didn't think. My trident was in my hand before I'd even realized it, its weight feeling both familiar and strange. Focus. There'd be time to worry about the trident later. For now, I needed to fight.

Sliding under the first Beowolf, I stabbed up, feeling the blade sink deep into its chest before ripping it free. The soldiers' gunfire took out the two next to me, but there were more. Always more.

I turned, moving with practiced precision. My trident found its mark as a Beowolf lunged for a soldier, its jaws snapping shut inches from my face before I drove my weapon through its skull. Without missing a beat, I kicked off from its body, using the momentum to land on the next, crushing its head under my boot.

Again. And again. Until the last one stopped moving.

Panting, I turned to assess the scene. The civilians were shaken but alive. The Grimm had begun to disintegrate into smoke, their presence fading into the cold air.

"Good work, kid," one of the soldiers said, making his way over. He couldn't have been much older than me—well, me now. "But I'm gonna need to see your Hunter I.D."

I blinked, my helmet retracting instinctively, exposing my confused expression. Hunter I.D.?

That must have been the wrong thing to say, because the soldier's face shifted from approval to weary exasperation. He muttered something under his breath about paperwork before straightening. "Right. Okay, I'm gonna need you to come with me. You're not in trouble, but with all the White Fang activity in the area, we need to make sure everything's in order."

White Fang? Paperwork? This was starting to sound like a whole mess of trouble I didn't have the patience for. But the guy didn't seem like he was about to give me a choice.

I sighed, nodding as I fell into step beside him. Guess I was about to get a crash course on this world's laws. One thing was clear: I needed information, and fast. Whatever the hell Remnant was, it had its own rules, and I had a feeling this was just the beginning.
A.N.
The world Ben comes from is far my advanced than the average dnd world, yet still far behind the modern world! The extent of this will be shown as the story progresses!