"... this is... incredible!...." A voice emerged from my blurred consciousness.
In my blurry consciousness, I heard a voice murmuring in my ear. The words themselves were meaningless to me, but somehow I felt like I could understand what was being said.
"...experiment... seems like... works." The voice continued.
Still, I could only barely hear little bits of what was being said. All of this thinking was making me feel tired. Then a wave of drowsiness washed over me as I heard the final things that the person speaking said to me.
"...these memories might affect the experiment. Then I will just seal them. I could erase them, but in here they can only reach the level of Diamond. Maybe they can surprise me?"
The last words were a little hazy, but I still would not understand what it meant even if I did. I fell into a deep slumber and would only wake up a long time later.
In another place, a certain girl was currently looking up at her father with eyes full of anticipation.
She was Alice Mir Devir, the daughter of the Current Demon King Mars Devir. She was looking up at him hoping in her heart that he would for once have her in his sights.
"Tch, who let this brat out. Someone, take her back to her room." The man coldly muttered.
Unfortunately, her wishes were dashed as he said this. Although she tried to reach out to this person who is nominally called her father, she was held back by the guards who were nearby.
"But, um..." My voice whispered out.
Even as she tried to voice out to this unfeeling father of hers, the man simply turned his head and walk out of the room. Looking at the now empty hallway, she turned her head down and followed the guards as they took her back to her room.
Although her room was quite plain and basic without the expected glamour or color that a princess should have, it still would not make this girl's mood any better.
"What did I do wrong?"
The girl turmoiled within her own thoughts. Unfortunately, no words could be heard to answer her questions. The guards all emotionlessly walked away after closing the door of her room. Looking out to the window, she had once yearned to be like the birds flying freely in the sky, but even more than that she yearned for the simple presence of her father in her life.
Unfortunately, even if the birds outside had parents who would come and watch over their children, she had nothing like that. Ever since she could remember, even feeding was done by handing her a plate with exquisite dishes and aroma. But no matter how appealing a meal can be, how can it brighten an already dull world?
Today was the first time she had met her father in the castle for a year and once again she was turned down. Even all the guards in the castle looked at her emotionlessly and offered not even the lightest of conversation.
Curling into a ball in her room, she wondered what purpose did this life of hers have?
As she thought this, her mind was suddenly imprisoned in place. It was as if all time had stopped at that moment. Then a strange ball of light fell from the heavens.
The ball was at first a simple spot in her vision, but then it suddenly accelerated and collided with her chest. Although frightened for a moment, she eventually calmed down and accepted it.
"What use is there in worrying. It is not like anyone would care if I were gone anyways."
As she said that, she still braced for impact as the spot collided into her. unexpectedly, even if the spot of light flew in fast, she did not feel any change. Suddenly, in her soul's vision, a flash of color brightened her dull eyes. Suddenly she was transported into a wide spread wheat field.
Then she heard a voice call out to her.
"Alice! Alice! Can you hear me?"
Turning her head she saw a figure that seemed to have it's face blurred out.
"Alice, why are you spacing out? It's time to head home, Mom and Dad were both worried about you!" The voice of the blurred figure spoke to me.
Mom? Dad? Worried?
Hearing this combination of words, she was confused and did not know what to do or think.
Then her hands were grasped and she looked up to see the figure had reached out and grasped her hand in his.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
She simply let him drag her across the fields of wheat and past several small wooden and hay covered houses before arriving at one smaller than the others with a garden full of bright red tomatoes.
"Mom! Dad! I brought Alice back from the wheat fields!" The boy exclaimed to the family in the house.
From the garden, a figure similar to the boy except much larger in build rose from the nearby wheat fields and greeted the pair of siblings.
"You both are here! Don't worry, your mother is in the kitchen preparing Lunch. Why don't we come in and surprise her?" The presumed father spoke out.
"Absolutely! Let's go!" The boy said full of excitement.
I simply followed along. This feeling of family and warmth were rather foreign to me, but I did not dislike it at all. In fact, I almost wanted to sink into this illusory world if it were not for a sense of dissonance.
"Hmm hmm hmm!" The woman in the kitchen kept humming along as she stirred a large pot with a wooden spoon.
"Surprise!" Both Father and son jumped out from behind the cooking figure to scare her.
"Woah! Hey, no messing around in the kitchen! get back here!" The lady jumped in surprise and once seeing it was the two figures of her son and husband, she simply played along and picked up a clean spatula to start chasing the two around.
Laughing and frolicking around, the house was full of laughter in joy until the three found that one figure seemed to still be out of it.
"Alice dear, what are you thinking so hard about?" The mother asked.
"I- umm" My voice escapes me. The absurdity of the situation had overwhelmed my poor mind so I could not even speak coherent lines.
"Alice has been out of it ever since I found her. Do you know what's wrong?" The son asked his parents. Sensing the situation, I wanted to speak, but I felt like I did not want to disrupt this joyful atmosphere that this family had.
"Maybe your sister just needs a break. Bring her to her room for now." The jovial atmosphere of the house was dulled as I was pulled into an unfamiliar room.
Looking at the bright pink decor, I simply laid down on the bed in the room and thought about what was wrong.
Then from my subconscious a voice whispered to me.
"Isn't this the life you seek?"
"Who is there?!" I shout. It seemed like my voice was muffled and did not reach outside as there was no sound of anyone rushing in to check up on me.
"In the world outside, you have always wanted to seek his validation to no avail. Would you be willing to switch lives with someone? There is someone who wants to enter your world and they will do so using your body as you live in this ideal paradise for you. You can even ask them for a request in the real world!" The voice whispered into my ears.
The suggestion from the voice seemed to echo all over my body and tempt me as I listened to it. After thinking about it for a while, all the attachment I had to my previous life was my father and even that affection was growing thin.
"Can I really be allowed to live such a life?" I whispered. My voice was small but it still reached its target.
"Indeed. In this world, you will assume the role of the girl Alice. She was originally a stillborn child so you do not need worry about taking an innocent life. You will then receive the residual memories for this role and live your life as Alice in this small town for as long as you want."
"Alright. It's just... tell the one who will be taking my role to... find out why my father treated me this way. Just think of it as the final wish of a broken child."
"Understood. I will have your request passed over to him. Now live the happy life that you always wanted. I will only return once you truly seek death and then no more. Farewell, child."
Then it was as if nothing happened. But I knew that it was not a lie as memories of another child named Alice emerged in my head. After a while, I stood up from my chair.
Since I decided to be this family's daughter, I should not keep them worried.
Thank you voice, for giving me a chance to live the life I wanted.
Thank you and sorry for the one to assume my role. I wish you good luck in whatever pursuits you may seek in the future.
Standing up, I rushed out of my room to pat my brother on the shoulder.
"Hey, wait for me! I think I am feeling better now!" I exclaim as I rushed onto and hugged my older brother like an octopus.
"Woah! Alice, are you back to normal?" My brother asked.
I grinned, and the both of us laughed as I began connecting with this new family of mine.