Chapter 2: Prelude: Waking Up One Day [1]

Numbness, a sense of powerlessness spreading through her entire body.

An Mujin felt as if she had slept for a century; in her daze, she couldn't muster even a shred of strength.

The only thing she could do was open her eyes and stare blankly at the ceiling.

She was like a newborn infant, just born into this world.

The sudden sea anemone was like a dream, surging through her mind in an instant.

She had originally only gone out to execute a mission, never imagining that an accident would occur.

The sudden onset of the storm had swept her up in it; even with her Wood-element superpower, she had been unable to escape this accident.

However, she should be grateful that this sea anemone had not taken her life, but had instead given her a chance at rebirth.

In her past life, she was An Mujin, codename Mu Mao. In this life, everything was still an unknown to her.

...

"Mu'er, my Mu'er!" A wailing voice drifted into her ears, so heart-wrenching that An Mujin's eyes couldn't help but follow the sound.

Turning her head, An Mujin blinked her eyelids slightly. Her face was pale and her lips were cracked; she looked so weak that she seemed to lack any sign of life. However, from beginning to end, her eyes held a calm expression.

She watched the woman before her, who was squatting on the ground, holding a half-dirty handkerchief to wipe away the streaming tears.

"It's all Mother's fault for harming you, my Mu'er, my poor Mu'er."

The woman's wailing grew louder. Her hair was disheveled and her head hung low, with crystal-clear teardrops sliding from the corners of her eyes, making her look somewhat wretched.

Perhaps because she was lost in her own world of grief, she didn't notice.

An Mujin had long since woken up and was watching her with wide eyes.

It was because the woman's wailing had caught An Mujin's attention that she finally began to seriously observe her surroundings.

Is this... a woodshed?

Moving her body slightly, An Mujin's brow furrowed deeply. Why did it hurt so much? Even moving felt incredibly strenuous.

An Mujin's slight movement triggered a series of sounds, causing the woman squatting on the ground to suddenly stifle her cries, her eyes widening as she stared at An Mujin.

"You're not dead?"

The woman tidied her disheveled hair, wiped the tears from her face, and suppressed her expression of grief. She suddenly stood up and rushed to An Mujin's side, looking at her with a sense of disbelief.