“Well, if I need something to show off my mysterious and edgy side,”
“This sword is more than perfect for it.”
“I doubt Dad will notice this nearly broken sword.”
Rekulai was very excited as he carefully wiped the hilt with a rag.
Walking down the corridor of the house, he passed by his sister’s room and flashed a smile at the window. Then, black magic power spread from beneath his feet and wrapped around him.
The magic power trembled, and he vanished from the spot, making a stylish exit.
Magic coating combined with simple high-speed movement and space magic really was cool.
At least, that was what Rekulai thought as he stood in the forest outside the manor.
Bright moonlight fell upon him, illuminating the boy’s fair face.
Mixing blood with magical herbs, he drew the so-called magic circle on the ground. Rekulai held the pitch-black Broken Black Sword in both hands and stepped into the circle one step at a time, chanting the invocation beneath the moonlight.
“Sword loved by no god, soul that rejects death, heed my call.”
“My name is Rekulai Katrana.”
“Moonlight overflowing, covered by night, my blood as ink.”
“Under threefold witness, sign a Contract Ritual with me!”
“My blood shall be thy sheath.”
“My name shall be thy monument.”
The so-called Contract Ritual required one’s soul to resonate with the sword. A specific secret art was used to pour magic power into the blade and forge a Contract Ritual with it.
As for the vow and the so-called magic circle, those were just settings Rekulai had randomly made up to add a sense of ceremony.
Come on, didn’t this feel incredibly dashing and cool?
But according to the setting, he was supposed to forge a threefold Contract Ritual with the sword. What should the final vow be?
Rekulai mulled it over for a moment.
At that moment, everything around him grew quiet. Beneath the bright moonlight, only the wind danced, lifting fallen leaves from the ground and brushing against his cheek.
Ah… this would do.
“You are my past life, and I am your present life. We will never abandon each other. One day, you will awaken, and I will not betray you, turn away from you, or forsake you.”
As soon as the words fell, the magic circle Rekulai had casually scribbled on the ground suddenly emitted a purple light.
The radiance shone so brightly that even a farmer returning home late, hundreds of meters away, was startled. Trembling with fear, he thought he had encountered a ghost and ran off shouting.
Rekulai also found it strange. By all logic, shouldn’t the sword be the one glowing?
Could it be that because the magic circle had been mixed with his blood, the circle itself glowed when the resonance occurred, with him acting as the conductor?
That was the only explanation.
However…
It was really too cool.
The glowing magic circle, the Broken Black Sword, and himself strolling through the circle in the middle of the night.
The Broken Black Sword was covered in dense cracks, and red points of light spilled out from within the fissures. As the light of the magic circle weakened, the Contract Ritual was completed.
“Done.”
Rekulai swung the long sword. He could clearly feel the changes within it, and his joy was written all over his face.
Holding the sword felt as if his body had grown an extra limb outside itself. That natural sense of control made it feel like a part of his own body.
“So this is what it feels like to resonate with a sword.”
“I just don’t know what improvements it brought to the sword.”
If this made him stronger, he would be delighted. Of course, he would not mind if it granted him no additional abilities.
This feeling of resonance between a person and a sword was wonderful.
With a gentle swing, the surrounding air filled with densely packed silver threads. They were extremely fine, but even the slightest pull could instantly shred the substances suspended in the surrounding air.
“Nanoscale Thread Cutting, huh?”
“This sword improved my control over magic power.”
“Although I would have reached this level sooner or later… Still, excellent! The Knight Passing By is officially making his debut!”
This year, Rekulai was nine years old.
Late at night, after completing some basic training, he went to sleep early.
Although he needed very little sleep, that did not mean he could go without it.
Maintaining a healthy sleep schedule was also one of the required courses for a Knight Passing By.
“Sigh.“
In the silent space, someone let out a sigh.
He did not know how he had fallen asleep.
The steps beneath his feet gave off a faint purple glow. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a magnificent palace.
The palace had no roof, and the sky above was pure white, without stars or a moon.
Shallow water covered the floor, reaching past his ankles. It was as cold as iron.
He looked down.
A person’s face was reflected on the water’s surface.
It was not his own.
It was an exceptionally delicate face, with fair, tender skin. Beneath the shadows of the palace’s stone pillars, it looked like an untouched piece of white porcelain.
The eyebrows were very faint, the outer corners of the eyes slightly upturned, and the eyelashes unusually long. When lowered, they cast faint shadows at the corners of the eyes.
The cherry-red lips parted slightly, as if the person were about to say something but had swallowed the words at the last moment.
A head of black hair spread across the water’s surface, gently swaying with the current, like someone had accidentally spilled a pool of ink.
The girl wore a thin black gauze garment, through which faint starlight and flowing golden light could be seen. As ripples spread across the water, the specks of starlight seemed to come alive, dancing with the black gauze like a galaxy.
“…..”
He raised his hand.
The person in the water raised a hand as well.
The hand was slender as a jade onion, with smooth, clean knuckles. There were none of the calluses he had developed through years of swordsmanship practice.
“This is wrong,” he said.
The instant the voice left his mouth, he froze.
It was not his voice.
It was clearer and softer, with an ending that rose gently, like a delicate string that continued vibrating after being plucked.
He covered his mouth.
The girl in the water covered her mouth too.
He lowered his hand, and the girl lowered hers.
He took a step to the left, and the girl took a step to the left as well.
He suddenly turned around, a rare flush spreading across his delicate face. But the water’s surface shifted with him, and the reflection continued to face him directly.
It was an extraordinarily beautiful girl.
“I am not you,” he said through clenched teeth.
Yet his voice remained unfamiliar and soft. Even he felt that it did not sound like something he would say.
He took a deep breath, as if giving himself an order, and spoke to the reflection in the water.
“I am Rekulai Katrana, nine years old, and I am a boy.”
The girl’s lips moved slightly.
The girl spoke as well.
The entire palace was silent, so silent that he could hear his heart pounding nonstop.
The sensation below did not lie. It was empty, utterly lacking any sense of security. His thighs rubbed against each other, skin brushing against skin, without the slightest unfamiliar sensation.
An emotion called shame suddenly surged through his mind.
“The setting shouldn’t be like this.”
“How can the elegant Knight Passing By be a cute girl?!”
Rekulai’s ears burned all at once. They did not redden gradually. Instead, the heat spread from his ears all the way down to his neck, becoming so intense that he could feel it himself.
“Shut up!”
“Even… even speaking is so soft.”
“Don’t stutter when you speak! That’s not how a powerful knight should talk!”
“–!”
He wanted to curse, but the words reached his lips and were swallowed again.
Because he discovered something truly terrible.
At that moment, the girl in the water was just like him, standing quietly without offering any resistance.
She did not put on airs or try to defend herself. Only her flushed cheeks revealed her feminine side.
How had he become a girl?
Rekulai tried to calm himself down.
But how could he possibly calm down?
Actually, girls could be cool too, right?
Ah.
What was he thinking?
Rather than feeling inferior because a boy had become a girl, Rekulai’s shame came entirely from the fact that the knight he had become was not cool enough.
“It smells so nice.”
The words had not come from her.
She felt slightly surprised, only to discover that someone was holding her around the waist. A hand lightly tapped her lips before slipping into her mouth and gently touching her tongue.
He felt softness against his back.
A woman with smooth purple hair gently rested her head against his shoulder, embracing him from behind.
“Little Rekulai is so cute.”
“Who are you?!”
“You, who can heal curses, have a flustered side too?”
Rekulai certainly would not admit that his current position was embarrassing. He was being held gently by the woman while she wantonly played with his tongue.
Slightly annoyed, he lightly bit the woman’s finger with his teeth.
She released him and scolded him in a coquettish voice.
“What a bad temper.”
Rekulai immediately composed himself.
You are Rekulai Katrana, and also Zhou Yexun. Even if you have somehow become a girl, you cannot let your mind fall into disorder.
Your goal is to become a qualified knight.
Very good.
“Hoh, how interesting. You were able to bring me here.”
Rekulai spoke calmly.
“What a strange person. It’s a pity my time is limited.”
Rekulai broke free from the woman’s embrace and crossed his arms.
“Miss, can you tell me your name now?”
“Vellis.”
“All right, don’t look at me so doubtfully. I have to leave now.”
The scene before his eyes began to resemble a mirror developing cracks, while his heartbeat grew increasingly intense.
Rekulai suddenly woke from the dream.
Seeing his own flat chest, he let out a sigh of relief.
“What a strange dream.”