The Cyrla Realm - Rebirth

They say that after you die, the world ceases to exist. Don’t worry... Life is just beginning.

“Lily! Wake up, sleepyhead... you’d normally be awake by now!” I heard someone say. I felt someone trying to wake me up. I tried to push the hands away from the person who tried to wake me up and turned over in my sleep.

A vague black figure with a woman’s form appeared in a forest. “Lily.....” whispered a soft, mysterious voice. It send shivers down my spine in a negative way. “Who are you? Show yourself!” I said, a bit scared, swallowing for a moment. I heard a soft woman's laugh. The figure disappeared, and now I saw my brother standing about 16 feet in front of me. Wait, why is the child version of my brother here? The mysterious woman appeared again, pressing a basket into my brother’s hands and pushing him toward a house. -The house of our adoptive parents-. It was me who was in the basket as a baby.

My adoptive parents, Kaian and Diasa, told me that my biological parents had left us with them. My brother, Raiko, was 5 years older than me. Unfortunately, we don’t know much about our mother or father. Raiko said that he only remembers flashes of our mother. All we know is that her name was Marlesh. There was a rolled-up letter in my basket. Kaian and Diasa said we couldn't read that letter until we’re both over 18. Raiko is now 23 years old, and I will be 18 tomorrow. I hate my own birthday. I'm not the type of person who likes to be in the centre of attention.

“Seriously, sis… Mom says I have to drop you off at work. You'll be late like this..” the voice growled. “I was planning on to go train... If I get get punished-... ”

“Calm down, brother.. It's only 6 in the morning...” I mumbled, pulling the blanket over my head. I felt two hands around my ankles.

“It's almost 8 o'clock...” Raiko said, pulling me out of bed in one swift move. I was stunned by the sudden force. I sat on the floor, in my nightgown, looking at him confused for a moment.

“Wait, it's almost 8 o'clock? Whoa... huh?” I asked sleepily, rubbing my eyes and slowly started to wake up. Raiko handed me my glasses, and I put them on. His golden eyes twinkled at me. We always wondered if our biological mother or father had golden eyes. Raiko's eyes changed when he turned 18. “What?' I asked, standing up.

“You really are a derp sometimes.” he laughed while putting his hand on my head and rubbing my hair, making it even more tangled.

“Bro why! My hair!” I protested, and he laughed even harder. Raiko then pushed me towards the bathroom.

“Just hurry up, will you? I'll wait for you downstairs and prepare lunch for you to take with you so you have something to eat at work.”

When Raiko went downstairs, I undressed in the bathroom. My work started at 9 a.m., So I had an hour left. It was at the local library in one of the side streets of the main shopping street of Gelisias. It was a 15-minutes drive, so I didn’t understand why Raiko was so stressed. Of the two of us, he was always the late riser. I put my glasses on the sink and looked in the mirror.

I had white hair, just like my brother. My hair reached just above my buttocks. My eyes were dark blue. I had a normal feminine figure and was 5.6 feet tall. My brother, on the other hand, was like a giant compared to me. Raiko was 6.1 feet tall. Since he was 18, he'd been training a lot. In four years, he had gained a lot of muscle. Training had really become his thing in recent years. I, on the other hand, was more of the brain. I devoured books and enjoyed spending my time working at the library.

I brushed my hair and put it in a high ponytail. I washed my body, then put on put on a white blouse and black pants. I found sneakers under my bed and put them on after putting on my socks. I grabbed my phone and put it in my bag. I slung the bag over my shoulder and closed my bedroom door behind me. Raiko was already waiting for me downstairs.

“Here sis... Your lunch.” He gave me a package and a carton of milk. I nodded and put them in my bag. He put his arms around me for a hug and picked me up.

“Bro Oxygen! You really forget your own strength!” I shouted, laughing, and he put me down again. Raiko grabbed my hand and he pulled me outside to the car.

Once on the road, I stared outside the car window. I thought it was a shame that the journeys to work were always so short when Kaian, Diasa or Raiko wanted to bring me to work. I loved being a co-driver. Suddenly, I saw something running. It was blue and light transparent. It looked like a fox, and I think it was following the car. After a few seconds,09 the fox disappeared. I rubbed my eyes for a moment and looked again, but it was still gone. Maybe I hadn't seen it properly. Because I was so focused on the blue fox figure, I didn't notice that Raiko had parked the car at my work.

“What are you dreaming about now? You just got out of bed and dreaming again?” Raiko said, and the passenger door of the car opened.

“Waaah.” I shouted, feeling like I was falling out of the car, but I still had my seatbelt on. Raiko roared with laughter.

“Haha, very funny.” I hissed a bit and rolled my eyes as I took off my seatbelt and got out of Raiko's car. My brother shook his head laughing and wished me a nice day at work. I watched him as he sped away in the car. Dangerous much! I sighed and walked into the library with my bag.

I put the bag behind my desk and sat beneath the library floor to select books, checking if they were suitable for the collection. I started up my PC and adjusted my glasses.

“Good morning, Lily,” a man’s voice said. I looked up to see someone approaching.

“Good morning, Levi,” I replied, nodding slightly. Levi was ten years older than me and the son of the library’s owner. He had short black hair and pushed his glasses back onto his nose with a finger.

“Who was the one who brought you to work?” he asked curiously, placing a cup of coffee with milk and two sweets next to me. It was a habit Levi had taken up—one he apparently enjoyed. I wrapped both hands around the cup and took a sip while looking at him.

“Didn’t you recognize the car? How long have you known me?” I asked.

“Your brother? Since when does he drive a Dodge Ram?” he asked, frowning.

“For about two years now. He wanted that car for ages,” I said. Levi took a sip of his own coffee. He had always been a little jealous of Raiko. I never really knew why—must be a guy thing. “Thanks for the coffee. If you don’t mind, I’ll get back to work,” I said, smiling at him. He nodded and walked out of the room with his cup in hand.

I sighed, grabbed the first few books, and began entering them into the system one by one. I carefully placed them on a cart, and as the day progressed, it slowly filled up.

After lunch, I returned and continued working. I picked up an old, dusty book with a worn black cover. The moment I touched it, a jolt went through me, and I dropped it. Pain shot through my fingers. I bit my lip to keep from crying out. When I carefully opened my hand, there was nothing visible—no marks, no burns. I looked at the book again, hesitating.

Suddenly, I heard a whisper.

“Lily... Lily.”

I swallowed hard as fear spread through my body. The voice had come from the book. Slowly, cautiously, I picked it up again. This time, there was no shock. I held it with both hands, and to my surprise, letters began to appear on the front cover. I gently wiped the dust away with a cloth.

“Nytheris.”

That name sounded vaguely familiar. I turned the book over and studied the two clasps keeping it closed. Carefully, I opened them. The first page was entirely black. Then, the pages began flipping rapidly on their own until they stopped at a specific one. A drawing began to emerge before my eyes—forming itself as I watched in awe.

It depicted a goddess holding two children: a boy with fox ears and multiple fox tails, and a girl with cat ears and a cat tail. Below the image, there was a short piece of text. I grabbed a magnifying glass to read it more clearly:

“The legend of the children of Marlesh, the Goddess of Death. The Kitsune and the Neko—each embodying contrasting aspects of their mother’s immense power and personality…”

The text ended there. I stared at the drawing for a while. When I tried to turn the page, the book resisted. It snapped shut, and the clasps locked again. I sat there for a moment, the book resting on my lap.

“Nytheris…” I whispered the word several times. Why did it feel so familiar? I slipped the book into my bag.

“This needs further research—at home.”

By the time it was nearly 6 p.m., Levi and a few colleagues asked if I wanted to join them for dinner. I had often declined in the past.

“Come on, Lily! Celebrate your last few hours with us before you turn 18,” they urged, and this time I gave in.

I texted my brother to let him know he didn’t need to pick me up, that I was going to eat with colleagues because my birthday was coming up.

“Lily, come on! Let’s go!” I heard them calling.

I grabbed my bag and walked out of the library with my colleagues.