“No, mama, don’t leave me!” I yelled as my eyes flashed open.

Where am I?

I blinked my eyes a few times to try to gather my bearings and sit up. Somehow, I had made it into my bed.

2:33 A.M.

“Huh.”

How the fuck did I get here?

Every inch of my body ached as if I had been put through a meat grinder. My skin felt as if I had been laying on the surface of the sun. Everything had its own little pains to the point where even my nostrils were sore.

“Owwwie.” I groaned while taking in a deep breath of what smelled like burnt polyester.

“Why am I naked?”

That's when it all came back to me.

I got struck by lightning! There was magic, and I’m some sort of homunculus!

But mama is. . . I need to get up!

I jumped out of my bed and immediately fell on my face when something wrapped around my leg. When I reached down to untie myself, I found that I was tied up in my own hair.

At some point in time, the golden hair had grown to giant hairy boa constrictor levels, and I was being constricted. After a few moments of additional mind-numbing pain, I lifted myself off the ground and carefully rearranged my hair in a way that I could actually walk.

Despite the excruciating pain I was in, I also felt a strange energy buzzing within me. It was as if a whole new world of possibility had opened up, and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of magic I was capable of. Would I be able to shoot lightning from my fingers like Mama, or perhaps transform into some kind of mahou shoujo? Mama had mentioned something about "activating my core," whatever that meant. She had been pretty tight-lipped about everything during the tuning. I really did let her get away without providing a decent explanation!

I approached the mirror, taking a deep breath as I prepared to see the transformation that had taken place. At first, the girl staring back at me seemed completely identical to how I had left her, with her modest teenage curves and a bit of soot from the ashes of my favorite sweats. Yeah, my hair cascaded down my body like a golden waterfall, but I was like naked Rapunzel, and to be honest, it looked pretty good. Not that I planned on keeping my hair this long, of course. But the most surprising thing was that, aside from the odd pointy ears, there wasn't a single burn or mark on my skin. It was almost as if the lightning had never even touched me.

"Wait, what?!"

I reached up and grabbed my ears. They were pointy! Not cartoonishly pointed, but like. . . maybe Legolas-level.

I could live with that, no who am I kidding–– this was insane.

Suddenly, bright blue lines appeared all over my body. They glowed for a few seconds, releasing shimmering particles into the air. Then they began to fade, like paint being washed away with water. I blinked my eyes a few times. Was I still asleep?

“What am I?” I whispered to myself.

A moment later, the markings were completely gone.

“You're my daughter, of course.”

I turned around and saw Mama standing at the door, her arms folded across her chest.

“Mama!?” I said, surprised.

“How do you feel, my dear?” She said, taking a step inside.

“I feel like I got hit by a truck.” I said, still staring at my body.

“That's to be expected, my dear. Activating your magic core can be quite taxing." She said apologetically.

"What exactly did you do to me? Those marks— that was magic, right?" I asked.

"Yes, my dear. A self-healing spell." She regarded me for a moment with an analytical gaze.

"As I said earlier, you are a magical construct, but whereas before, your core was separated from the rest of your body, now it is fully integrated. It could take some time to adjust, but soon you'll have access to a host of magical abilities." She explained.

I looked at her incredulously. "A magical construct? Like a living spell or something?"

Something about the words "magical construct" felt even more dehumanizing than "homunculus."

“I don't like the sound of that.” I spoke.

“Don't worry, my dear. I have already prepared you for this.” She smiled.

“I don't really understand.”

"In a manner, yes. You are the living manifestation of a spell. Via my magical formula and Everlyse's divine essence, you were given will, purpose, form, and soul." She gave an affectionate smile. "You were not made in my womb, but to your mother and I, you are simply our precious daughter."

A wave of love and warmth washed over me as mama spoke, reminding me that she knew me better than anyone else. Even though my body was going through some major changes, I knew everything would be alright. But she’s sick. She’s dying. . .

I pushed the thought away and shook my head, unwilling to engage with that line of thinking. It was time to change the subject.

"Well, this is definitely not what I expected when I woke up this morning." I said with a hint of amusement. "Could you give me a haircut?"

She reached over to my face and wiped some soot off my cheek.

"I think you may need to take a bath first dearie." She smirked at me. "By the way, do you feel any better?"

The pain was completely gone.

"I feel fine. . ." I confirmed.

"Good. It seems that your self-healing function works quite nicely. although, I suspect that as is, it is a bit too conspicuous, isn't it?"

I could see her eyes plotting out ideas to incorporate into future tuning sessions.

"I'm going to take a bath," I said, fleeing from the room before she got any ideas.

"Lyn! Don’t take too long, we’re leaving before sunrise," mama shouted behind me.

******

After I washed the smell and dirt off my body. Cutting off the hair was not as complicated as I had envisioned. Mama quickly cut my hair to my regular length and set off to make breakfast. By that point, it was barely past 3:00 AM, so I soaked in the tub till my skin turned bright red and wrinkly.

The moment left the bathroom, I was immediately struck by a powerful olfactory sensation.

It was a sublime bouquet of caramelized apples with savory notes of wood and smoke enveloped my olfactory nodes. The enamoring array of odors uplifted my spirits and animated my body.

Bacon!

I ran to my room and put on my (previously second favorite) favorite pair of sweats.

I made my way to the kitchen and sat at the table just as mama placed a steaming stack of pancakes in front of me and sat down next to me. I couldn't help but notice there was a letter labeled "To my Sister-in-Craft, Kaminagi-san."

"Who is Kaminagi-san?" I asked, while digging into my breakfast.

"She's the one that Kumiho-sama found to take care of the temple while we're away," Mama replied, grabbing a piece of bacon from the platter in the middle of the table.

"What do you mean?" I asked, taking a bite out of a perfectly crispy piece of bacon.

"Well, when we first came to this world, Kumiho-sama appeared in my dreams and offered us a place to stay in return for taking care of the temple. I imagine Kaminagi-san had a similar experience."

I nodded, feeling grateful to Kumiho-sama for looking out for us. I wans't looking forward to waiting 100 years just to give her a proper thanks.

“Why are we leaving today mama? I thought we didn’t need to go until next week.” I asked, hoping for a satisfying answer.

“There’s no time like the present Lyn.” She said with a wink.

I eyed her suspiciously. Everything was happening too quickly, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t excited for the journey. We were going to another world. What do I even pack?

“What do I even pack, mama? Besides, how are we getting there?”

When mama said we were going to another world, I got the impression that it wasn’t in the “planetary” sense, so probably not a spaceship but––

“Pack three full sets of clothing and two days’ worth of bare essentials, but no more than you can fit in a backpack. As for how we’re getting there, well… We’re going through a portal.”

She pondered to herself for a moment as if she were unsure how best to explain.

“We’re going to the Dungeon Nexus. It’s an infinite plane with portals to other worlds. From there it should be a two day hike to get to our destination, Hel."

“Dungeon? Hel??” I said questioningly, visions of traps and monsters popping into my head.

“Yeah.” Mama smiled. "The dungeon is chaotic and dangerous, but as for Hel, it's a marvelous place. You'll love it.”

I looked up at her, expecting her to continue her explanation.

“You’ll see.” She said, giving me another useless wink.

With a sigh, I nodded and went back to my room to get ready.

After some deliberation, I decided to bring a set of sweats, a nice-fitting blouse, a pair of shorts, and three sets of underwear. It wouldn’t be enough for a long trip, but after stuffing in some makeup and a toothbrush my bag reached its limit.

I changed into a hoodie-skirt-tights outfit, a classic for any weather, and double-checked my possessions before resigning myself to leave my room for what would probably be the last time.

As I closed the door behind me, I let out a quiet breath and called out to mama.