Pain. That was the first thing Evan felt when he opened his eyes. His head throbbed as if someone had smashed it with a hammer. He instinctively raised a hand to his forehead, but stopped halfway when he noticed something strange. His fingers were small. 'What the hell?' Evan stared at his hand for a moment before slowly sitting up. He was on a wooden bed in an unfamiliar room, with a small desk against one wall and an old wardrobe in the corner. Sunlight streamed through the window, lighting up the dust drifting in the air, and even the rough stone walls looked as though they belonged to another era. Was he dreaming? He pinched his arm. It hurt. 'Okay, so either this is a very realistic dream, or something has gone seriously wrong.' Before he could investigate further, a sharp pain shot through his skull. "Argh!" Evan clutched his head as a stream of unfamiliar memories flooded his mind. He saw a little boy running through a village, eating at a wooden table with his family, and playing outside with other children. He heard a woman's gentle voice and felt a man's rough hand resting on his head. Faces, places, and fragments of everyday life appeared one after another, none of which he had ever experienced himself. They came too quickly to process, and all he could do was grit his teeth and endure it while his head felt ready to split open. Fortunately, it didn't last forever. After what felt like an eternity, the pain subsided, leaving him sitting on the bed with sweat running down his face. He took several deep breaths before trying to organize the mess inside his head. The memories were not his, yet they felt real. He could recall the boy's daily life, his family, and the village where he lived, as if someone had taken another person's entire childhood and forced it into his mind. Evan looked down at his hands again. Small fingers, thin wrists, smooth skin. Then he glanced at his legs before slowly turning toward the mirror beside the wardrobe. 'Don't tell me.' He hurried out of bed and nearly stumbled when his feet touched the cold floor. His body felt strange, and even walking demanded more attention than he expected. After steadying himself, he approached the mirror. A young boy stared back at him. The boy had fair skin, messy hair, and an ordinary face that still held the softness of childhood. He looked around ten years old, perhaps a little younger than Evan had been in his previous life. Evan raised his hand, and the reflection followed. He pinched his cheek and pulled. "Ouch." 'Well, this is definitely not a dream.' He stared at the reflection a while longer before letting out a quiet sigh. There was no point pretending he hadn't noticed the obvious: whatever had happened, he was no longer in the body he remembered. But that wasn't the only strange thing. The memories had also given him the boy's name. Evan Hayes. It was exactly the same as his own. 'What a coincidence.' He couldn't help finding it amusing. Of all the names in the world, he had ended up with the same one. Still, a matching name explained nothing about why he was here or what had brought him to this situation. According to the memories, Evan Hayes lived with his family in a small settlement within a kingdom. The world was unfamiliar, but the details seemed convincing enough: wooden houses, horse-drawn carriages, and people dressed in clothing reminiscent of medieval Europe, with no cars, modern buildings, or electronic devices. In other words, this was certainly not the world he remembered. Evan returned to the bed and sat down, rubbing his forehead as he tried to piece things together. Unfortunately, his memories of his previous life were little help. He couldn't recall how he had died, and the transition between his old life and this one was nothing but a blank. 'Have I been transmigration into another world? Seriously?' The possibility sounded ridiculous, but the evidence was right in front of him. Unless someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to fool him, accepting the situation was more reasonable than inventing increasingly absurd alternatives. Besides, panicking wouldn't change anything. He had a functioning body, a roof over his head, and a family whose memories he could access. It could have been worse. He could have awakened in the middle of a forest, surrounded by wild animals, without even knowing his own name. That would have been troublesome. Of course, he wasn't about to accept every memory without question. He still needed to understand his circumstances, determine whether the information in his head was reliable, and figure out what kind of world he had landed in. For now, gathering information was the sensible choice. Just as he was considering his next move, the bedroom door opened. "Evan? Are you awake?" A young girl stepped inside. She had long brown hair tied in a loose ponytail and wore a simple dress that reached her knees. At around twelve years old, she was only slightly older than his current body, yet her expression suggested she had already grown tired of dealing with him. His older sister. At least, that was what the memories told him. She walked toward the bed, but her expression changed when she noticed his pale face and damp forehead. "Why are you just sitting there? You look terrible. Does your head still hurt?" Evan looked at her without answering right away. Her face matched the one in his memories, and even the way she spoke felt familiar. Even so, being fussed over by a complete stranger who treated him as her younger brother was something he couldn't quite get used to. He quickly adjusted his expression and forced a tired smile. "A little, but I think I'm fine now." His sister didn't look convinced. She stepped closer and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, then withdrew it. "You slept for so long. Mother told you to rest, but I wanted to check on you anyway. At least the fever's gone." Evan resisted the urge to pull away. He wasn't used to being treated like a child, especially by someone who looked barely older than him, but acting strangely would only invite questions. Until he understood his situation better, the last thing he needed was for his family to grow suspicious. "I'm just tired," he said casually. She narrowed her eyes. "You'd better not be lying. If you get sick again, Mother will blame you for not resting properly." 'This little girl talks like she's my mother.' Despite the thought, Evan kept smiling. "Got it. I'll rest." Apparently satisfied, his sister turned toward the door, only to stop after a single step as though she had remembered something. "Oh, right! Mother told me to call you when you woke up. Breakfast is ready, and Father already left for work. Come downstairs before the food gets cold." She opened the door wider and waited for him. Evan glanced around the unfamiliar room one last time before standing. He still had plenty of questions, but sitting alone and guessing at the answers wouldn't get him anywhere. If he wanted to understand this world, he would have to start by learning about the life he had inherited, and there was no better place to begin than with his own family. He followed his sister into the hallway, quietly taking in his surroundings as they walked. 'A second life, huh?' His expression remained calm, but his mind was already turning over the possibilities. 'Let's see what kind of place this is.'

Transmigration