I had barely slept the night before.
Tomorrow had arrived.
That simple thought was enough to make my heart beat faster.
Yet when I woke up that morning, something was different. I was still afraid, but this time, I didn't want to turn back.
Lyria was already waiting for me in front of the house.
Beside her stood a brown horse, equipped with a saddle and a few saddlebags.
I stopped in front of the animal.
— Are we really riding that?
Lyria smiled.
— That's generally how you ride a horse.
— Are you making fun of me?
— A little.
She crouched down in front of me.
— You'll ride in front of me. I'll stay behind you the whole time.
I looked at the horse.
Then at the road.
Then at the house behind me.
My heart started racing even faster.
Lyria held out her hand.
— You can do it.
I took a deep breath.
Then I took her hand.
A few seconds later, I found myself sitting on the saddle, right in front of Lyria.
She mounted behind me and took the reins.
— Ready?
I absolutely wasn't ready.
But I nodded anyway.
— Yes.
The horse started moving.
And the moment we truly left the house behind, something inside me tightened.
The fear came back immediately.
My hands clenched around the saddle.
My breathing grew shorter.
I looked behind me.
The house was getting farther away.
Lyria noticed.
— Breathe.
I inhaled slowly.
Then I exhaled.
— Again.
I did it again.
The horse moved along calmly.
Nothing happened.
No one was following us.
No one was looking at me.
There was no danger.
Only a road, an immense sky, and the steady sound of hooves against the earth.
After a few minutes, I realized something.
I wasn't panicking anymore.
The house had completely disappeared behind us.
And yet...
I was still there.
The farther we went, the more I discovered a world I had known only through my parents' stories and books until then.
I knew the surroundings were green.
But knowing something and seeing it with your own eyes were two completely different things.
Vast plains stretched as far as the eye could see.
The grass rippled in the wind like a green sea.
Fields covered parts of the land, separated by narrow dirt paths and wooden fences.
Farther away, I could make out hills covered in vegetation.
The sky was immense.
I could see birds flying overhead.
The sun was pleasant, and the wind gently stirred my hair.
I remained silent for several minutes.
I didn't know what to say.
It was beautiful.
In my past life, I had rarely taken the time to look at what surrounded me.
I had spent so much time shut away that even a simple walk could seem impossible to me.
And now...
I was riding a horse across a plain.
I could feel the wind.
See the horizon.
Hear nature.
— Well?
Lyria's voice brought me back to reality.
— Well, what?
— Do you regret coming?
I looked around me.
— No.
She smiled.
— I knew you'd like it.
— It's...
I searched for the right words.
— Much bigger than I imagined.
— The world?
— Yes.
Lyria laughed softly.
— And you haven't seen anything yet.
That sentence made me want to go farther.
I wanted to discover the cities.
The mountains.
The forests.
The other peoples.
The different kingdoms.
Everything.
But for now, I simply needed to enjoy this first outing.
After we had crossed the plains for a while, Lyria slowed the horse.
In the distance, a lake appeared.
The water shimmered in the sunlight, and the trees surrounding its shores gave the landscape an almost unreal sense of calm.
— Let's take a short break.
The horse stopped near the water.
Lyria dismounted.
Then she helped me get down.
The simple act of touching the ground almost made me laugh.
— Was that fun?
— Yes.
— Then you should be proud of yourself.
I smiled.
Lyria led the horse a little closer to the lake and removed some of its equipment so it could drink peacefully.
Then she turned toward me.
— I'm going to find some fruit.
She pointed toward a wooded area a little farther away.
— You stay here.
— Okay.
— Don't move.
— Yes.
— And don't do anything dangerous.
I looked at her.
— I'm only three.
— Exactly.
— That doesn't mean anything.
— It means everything.
I sighed.
— Go on.
Lyria smiled and headed toward the trees.
I sat down beside the lake.
I looked at the water.
Then the trees.
Then the sky.
I felt strangely calm.
I still had a slight tension deep inside me, but it was different.
I was no longer shut in between four walls.
And yet, I felt good.
I was quietly enjoying the sensation when a sound caught my attention.
Voices.
I turned my head.
A little farther away, four boys stood near the water.
They seemed to be about my age, perhaps slightly older.
Facing them was a girl.
She was in the water, near the shore.
The boys were making fun of her.
They were throwing little stones into the water at her.
One of them shouted something at her that I couldn't make out clearly.
The girl tried to move away.
But the four boys continued to surround her.
I stood up.
My first instinct was to call for Lyria.
But she was already far away.
I looked at the scene again.
The girl was afraid.
I could see it.
And something immediately reminded me of my past life.
That feeling of being unable to move.
Of being alone.
Of being afraid.
I clenched my fists.
Not this time.
I wasn't going to watch someone suffer simply because I was afraid to intervene.
I held out my hand.
My mana gathered.
A small stone formed out of the ground.
Then a second.
Then a third.
Four stones appeared.
I launched them all in a single motion.
— Ow!
— What the—
The four boys hastily backed away.
I didn't give them time to think.
Another stone struck the ground right in front of them.
They screamed.
Then they ran away.
I sighed.
— There.
I immediately turned toward the girl.
She was still in the water.
I ran over to her.
— Are you okay?
She didn't answer right away.
She was trembling slightly.
I moved closer.
— Are you hurt?
She nodded timidly.
I noticed a small cut on her arm.
Nothing serious.
But I knew how to heal it.
I gently placed my hand near the wound.
I concentrated.
A faint light appeared.
The cut gradually closed.
The girl looked at her arm.
Her eyes widened.
— You...
I pulled my hand away.
— There.
She stared at me for several seconds.
And only then did I really take the time to look at her.
She had short hair.
It was white.
Not gray.
Not blond.
White.
Her eyes were a beautiful jade green.
I had never seen anyone like her.
— Thank you.
Her voice was soft.
— Thank you so much.
I smiled at her.
— It was nothing.
She slowly climbed out of the water.
Her clothes were soaked.
She looked at her arm one more time.
— You use magic?
— Yes.
— You healed me...
— It was a small wound.
She looked at me admiringly.
— Thank you anyway.
Then she seemed to hesitate.
— My name is Alia.
She placed a hand against her chest.
— I'm three years old.
I smiled.
— Me too.
— Really?
— Yes.
She looked at me for a few seconds before smiling back.
— Then we're the same age.
I nodded.
— Yes.
At that moment, a voice rang out behind us.
— Ewen!
I turned around.
Lyria was coming back.
She was carrying some fruit in her arms.
She stopped when she saw us.
Her gaze moved from me...
To Alia...
Then to the place where the four boys had disappeared.
She frowned slightly.
— What happened?
I explained everything to her.
The four boys.
The girl in the water.
The stones.
The wound.
The healing magic.
Lyria listened without interrupting me.
Then she looked at Alia.
— Are you okay?
Alia nodded.
— Yes.
She looked at Ewen.
— He helped me.
Lyria smiled.
— I see.
She set the fruit down beside us.
Then she looked at Alia.
— Do you live around here?
Alia nodded.
— Yes.
Lyria thought for a few seconds.
Then she looked at Ewen.
— Do you want to invite her to our house?
I looked at Alia.
She seemed hesitant.
— Would that bother you?
Alia quickly shook her head.
— No.
I smiled.
— Then come with us.
She smiled back.
We eventually headed back home a little later.
Lyria mounted the horse again.
Alia rode with us.
I could feel her excitement whenever she looked around.
Mine too, for that matter.
But this time, my fear was much less present.
I had just discovered something I never would have imagined the day before.
A new friend.
A true friend.
And maybe my first outing was only the beginning after all.
For the first time since my reincarnation, I had gone beyond the limits I had imposed on myself.
I hadn't crossed a continent.
I hadn't discovered a great city.
I hadn't seen a kingdom.
All I had done was travel across a few plains on horseback.
And yet, for me...
it was immense.
Today, I had walked through the door.
And without knowing it yet, that door had just opened onto a world far vaster than anything I had imagined.