Getting up off the ground, Serena took off her backpack to open it up. What greeted her was an empty void that was too much like the darkness she fell into, and that devoured all she knew, and she grimaced.

"Way too soon," she said, her voice bitter.

Shaking herself from the doubts, she reached in while visualizing the pair of glasses that had been on her bedroom desk. Within a second, she felt them materialize in her hand. She put them on, adjusting the eyewear carefully, before taking out the feather hairpin and gloves.

The hairpin was next to be equipped, though her curly hair decided to be a pain in the process. The harvest gloves were soon equipped as well, and Serena finally pulled out a staff that she could bash people's bones in with and double as a walking stick. Satisfied, she returned the backpack where it belonged and decided to do a health check before proceeding.

As looking around revealed there was nothing wrong with her sight, Serena stretched her limbs to see if there was any lingering pain. Finding none, she moved to check her hearing next. There wasn't any ringing or popping noises either so she figured everything must be working properly. Next came the smell test, which turned out fine, then taste, and after checking her tongue and mouth, she found no abnormalities. Finally, she checked her body temperature, which proved normal, and proceeded onward.

A quick scan told her that she didn't appear injured anywhere, though she did notice a strange mark on her forearm that looked similar to a handprint that might belong to a humanoid. It seemed to be fading already, however.

"Whatever was sending out those emotions and pain is a humanoid?" The possibility of that made sense, but to have that much potential strength was frightening to consider. Even more than the craving for mana and power she felt mixed within the emotional onslaught she survived.

It was gravely weakened, and starving for some kind of sustenance, whatever it was.

Perhaps it would be better to think about that when in a safer place, she thought, her eyes gauging the time based on the position of the sun above. It's late morning, though I suppose I'm lucky that there is only one sun in this world.

Lowering her gaze, Serena decided to test her mana to see if there was an issue. And it was there that she had noticed the first major issue other than being transported to some unknown destination.

Her mana was wrong. From the feeling to the sheer amount that would make it nearly impossible for her to easily manipulate without trial and error, everything was off.

Her mana had never been more than a tiny flame, one that she shielded and used carefully to stretch as far as she could. Compared to the rest of the noble members of the Hidden City, the amount of mana she did put her in the lowest caste of their species.

But now she couldn't quite feel her heartbeat or even her mana. To make things even more unnatural and terrifying, all she could sense was darkness within her. Writhing as if waiting for her command, she couldn't feel any sign of life. It was as if the shadows had consumed her organs, and she had been hollowed out.

That can't possibly be right...can it?

She tried to calm down and focus, but her mind wouldn't stop racing. She tried desperately to locate her heart, and she didn't even want to think what this meant for her brain.

"Calm yourself, girl! You're going to pass out otherwise, and you don't want that. Not until we figure out what is going on."

Serena snapped back to reality at the sound of an unknown male's voice. Looking around, revealed no one was there, and for a moment she wondered if her mind had simply snapped under the pressure.

But the voice sounded again, and she realized she hadn't imagined it. "I'm inside you."

This time, the voice sounded like it was within her mind more than anything. As if it knew exactly how she was thinking about every detail and was able to react accordingly.

No matter, she thought, trying not to panic. "I'm pretty sure I never gave a strange man consent to be inside me. So get your ass out!"

"It is not my ideal situation either," he said cooly.

Serena scoffed, her anger bubbling over. How dare someone invades her privacy and personal space?!

And worse yet, she didn't know him or where they were, so why should she trust his words? Why shouldn't she just keep searching for answers?

After taking a deep breath, she calmed herself and asked, "Why are you here?"

He chuckled softly, and the sound echoed through her skull, causing her head to ache. But rather than give way to worry, she smiled. It was a cruel, malicious thing, promising pain if she didn't like the answer.

His answer surprised her. "Because I need help, silly girl. And you desperately need mine as well."

They sat in silence for a while longer before Serena spoke again. "How do I know you aren't lying to me?"

A pause. Then another laugh from the other end. This one sounded different somehow; less mocking and more genuine. He seemed to genuinely enjoy speaking with her, which confused Serena even further because she had no idea who he was. And then she remembered: he was inside her.

"Define inside me," Serena demanded, her voice rising slightly.

"I am not physically inside you, clearly," the man replied, his voice so dry and cold that she looked away awkwardly. "My interaction with you has caused some unforeseen things to happen that have led to us crossing paths. While I managed to escape with my soul and mind largely intact, our little spat has left us bound, and myself far weaker than I already was." He trailed off, seemingly unwilling to expand on the information.

For once, Serena decided to let the silence linger. Instead of demanding to hear more, she focused instead on figuring out what exactly happened between them.

Her brother was linked to what happened, and the being connected to her was the one that tried to drain her to regain some amount of presence of life itself.

Somehow, she started to reverse the process, and that led to a flash of light and her ending up in this backwards woods.

"You were under the effects of a False Life spell of some kind. When we had come into contact the sustained spell was destroyed. In time, it will reveal more of what you potentially are," the man continued when she remained silent. "I do not know for how long but it was a constant drain on your mana. It also affected the natural growth and improvement to your body and soul in regards to mana manipulation."

That explained why her magical base was crippled. However, she would have realized if a long term spell had been-

Her scarlet eyes widened in horror as the realization of what the being meant dawned on her.

Her brother would have been the only one she knew who was capable of such a thing, and to make her believe and live in such a way was horrifying.

She'd been tricked by her own loved one! If he lied to her about this, what else did he trick her with...

"What is this False Life magic," Serena asked, ignoring her growing fury at her brother.

Another pause and she could tell he wanted to ask questions back but held himself still. After several minutes passed, however, he finally began to speak. "False Life Magic is an ancient art that falls under both animancy and necromancy. In the case of Animancy, it is about altering the living to make it seem different from what it is. In the Necromancy branch, it is used to give the dead and undead the appearance and function of life."

Serena blinked slowly, her mind slowly turning over the information to see if there were any loopholes or doubts about what he was saying.

As much as she hated admitting it, the truth was clear. Her brother, whom she thought she knew better than anyone else in the entire world, had deceived her. She wasn't sure why, but she felt betrayed.

It took a moment for her to realize something though.

"So what am I? Alive or dead?" Serena asked after a few moments. "I know that I never died, so how can that be?"

When the man responded, she expected him to say yes, only for her to find out later that they needed each other. When he said nothing, however, she frowned. The man paused and then shook his head.

"I am lacking the knowledge of what you are, though that will be discovered with patience and investigation." His tone softened considerably as he added, "If this is a new revelation for you, you likely went through believing you were mortal until this moment. Your soul and mana will heal naturally given time and proper treatment. There should be no lasting damage to being under the False Life spell for such a long time."

A chill ran down Serena's spine. She hadn't known that she was undead before now, and the mere idea of it frightened her. She rested a hand on her chest and tried once more to find another sign of life. After a few moments, she was surprised to find a very faint heartbeat, or close enough. It sounded like it was coming from far away.

Not wanting to think too deeply about it, she changed the subject slightly. "You mentioned that we would need to help each other to survive. I don't even know who you are."

"For now, you may address me as Ravana," the man replied calmly, his voice low. He didn't seem bothered by the fact that she might not be alive. It was like everything was below him, and he was only interested in getting results. "I do not see why I should tell you anything about myself. Few would even be able to recall ancient legends of me, to begin with."

That gave her nothing to work with. All she knew was his name.

"We will speak more about this when we are alone again," Ravana said, before falling silent.

"Who are you talking to?" A woman spoke from behind her.

Serena whirled around and saw two pixies, one male and one female. The female one was several inches smaller and her wings were a deep blue color and resembled a dragonfly. Her pale skin was tinged blue as if she had drowned, and her short bob was the same color as her eyes and wings. Her companion was about a foot tall and lean in build. Jade green scales covered his body in unusual parts, which fit well with his pale skin. A long serpentine tail in the same scale hue flicked back and forth, reminding her of a whip. His eyes and long hair were the same color as his scales and his dragon-like wings were rather formidable for his small size. They wore clothing that was made from fur, scales, or plants.

Of course, I had to run into Fae. At least they were lesser fae so it would be easier to get out of this.

"I'm talking to the man in my head," Serena said, her tone sarcastic. She was still in an emotional place, but the easiest way to compartmentalize the mental break she was on the verge of was by dismissing its severity in some way. This seemed like the best option at the moment.

The little pixie raised her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide. "What do you mean by that?"

Serena placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the tiny woman. "You don't have to act like I'm going to eat you." She let that linger for a moment, her smile nasty and cruel. "I don't eat people, but the man in my head does."

And the little fae lass flew off like Serena was going to try and grab her and toss her into her mouth.

The sheer absurdity of this situation was enough to make her laugh. And maybe cry a bit, because it was all just so ridiculous.

Everything was just so wrong, and she didn't know where to start with finding a way to stabilize her life. Unlife? Whatever this is...

Light laughter joined her hysterical one, the bell-like sound clashing and pulling her from her moment.

She rubbed her eyes with her sleeve and then looked at the source of the sound.

The little dragon-like pixie was only a few inches away from her. His mischievous grin grew as he realized he had her full attention.

"You are interesting." He nodded as if this was something that would shatter the world. "I think I like you."

Serena felt that she had long passed the amount of crazy she could handle in a short amount of time, but it seemed there was no way off this ride.