I looked at the mirror, lost in observing my face, not out of vanity, but because, at first glance, it felt like I was staring at a stranger.
It was a disorienting, intense experience, and in some ways, even unsettling.
The young, slender face with olive-toned skin revealed a quite handsome guy, with high cheekbones, deep sandy-colored eyes, thick long eyebrows, and a medium-sized, slightly aquiline nose.
He had thick, wavy dark brown hair that reached his shoulders, nearly covering the rounded ears with tight-fitting lobes.
"Is that… me?"
Staring at that face for a long time brought back some of my memories.
"I guess... actually, I think so." I agreed with a bit of regained confidence. "Maybe just a little more attractive than I remembered... they must have altered my face a bit too."
"And I don't think just that…"
I took off my shirt, revealing a lean and well-defined physique.
"I don't think I ever had such a toned body... and my height too, I feel taller… actually, how tall am I?" I asked the air.
<
replied a slightly robotic female voice out of nowhere, making me nearly jump.
'Who is talking to me now? Have I finally gone crazy and am hearing voices?'
"G-Got it… thanks, whoever you are…" I said to who knows who or what.
<
"U-understood… and who are you exactly?" I asked the mysterious voice.
<
Among the strange things that had happened to me that day, that was probably the least absurd, so much so that I wasn't even very surprised.
"Mmh… so I'm supposed to name you?" I asked.
<
I began massaging my chin, thinking of a name worthy of alien tech.
'They're called Etheralith, right? I guess I could name It something related to their name…'
I tried to think, draining the little mental energy I had left, then gave up on originality. I decided to go with the first name that popped into my head.
"Etha, is that okay?" I asked.
<
It said it in a tone that imitated a human voice far too well, enough to embarrass me and send a chill down my spine.
"P-please, don't call me master again… it's weird," I mumbled.
<
"Not me! What the hell…" I raised my voice, extremely flustered, turning toward... toward where? It's not like I knew where the voice was coming from, it seemed to wrap around the whole room, with no clear origin.
<
"Elías is fine."
It might've been a little weird to have alien technology call me by my name, but definitely better than 'master'! Way better!
Just thinking about it again gave me goosebumps.
<
"Good… from now on, could you only respond when I say your name? So I don't have a heart attack."
<
"Stop, stop… I meant that figuratively."
<
"Uh…" A doubt crossed my mind. "Are you going to listen to and record everything I say all the time, or only when I specifically call you?" I asked, suspecting the first was more likely.
<
'I guess it doesn't even need to hide it…'
I sighed, then started to panic a bit.
"What do you mean, record what I do? Does that include video?" I asked.
<
Its answer left me baffled.
"Everywhere?!" I asked, a bit agitated. A bit embarrassed too, thinking It might record me even in awkward moments.
<
I chuckled sarcastically. It said it like it was some great mercy to not completely invade my privacy.
'Wait…'
"What do you mean by… my needs…?" I asked, frowning.
<
"I see…" I said, clearly embarrassed, understanding what it meant.
<
"Enough! Please…" Talking about this with a robot felt too weird.
<
"Stop! Quiet… that's enough…" I cut It off.
Sighing, I turned to look at my reflection in the mirror again. I only now noticed that, in the top right corner, there was a glowing blue circle that seemed to invite me to press it.
Clicking the luminous button, which turned out to be touch-sensitive, the surface of the mirror came to life: a stream of text began to scroll, and more buttons lit up around my reflection, as if the glass was scanning my face.
"Mmh, Etha? What functions does this mirror have?" I asked.
<
"I see…"
I clicked the glowing button near the reflection of my hair, and right after, a carousel of small images appeared, showing my face with a variety of different hairstyles to choose from.
"If I click on one of these images, will my hairstyle change??" I asked, a little doubtful, a little intrigued.
<
Looking at my reflection, I had to agree my hair was a bit too long.
'Did I really wear it that long before?' I asked myself, but couldn't remember.
I chose an image that showed me with slightly shorter hair, not short, but not long enough to touch my shoulders either.
After clicking the image, the mirror lit up entirely in blue, which in turn illuminated my entire face.
Strangely, the light didn't bother my eyes.
A few moments later, the mirror's glow faded, and now reflected my face with the hairstyle I had just selected.
'Incredible…' I couldn't help but examine myself from various angles, surprised.
A long yawn convinced me to head to bed. I left the bathroom, the light turning off automatically behind me, and laid down on the soft bed, with clean white sheets and a comfortable pillow.
I had no strength left to think, nor to stay awake. As soon as I hit the mattress, I collapsed into a deep sleep.
.
.
.
The next morning, after a quick breakfast and greeting my new housemates, I found myself in Ari's office on the second floor of the building. A modestly-sized room, almost completely empty except for a massive dark wooden desk, two chairs of the same color, one behind the desk where she sat, the other in front, where I sat, and an exotic plant in a pot in the corner. The white, glossy walls reflected a bluish light projected by a central chandelier shaped like a seaweed strand.
"I see you've already used the mirror in your room," Ari started the conversation, pointing out my new haircut.
I nodded with a slight smile.
"You seem calmer than yesterday too, I'm glad," she said next, and she truly seemed pleased about it.
It was true, actually; maybe thanks to my restored mental energy after a good night's sleep, I felt less paranoid than yesterday, though I still had brief moments of panic now and then.
"Anyway, the reason I've called you here today is… we need to talk about some important things that concern you," she explained. "As I told you yesterday, during your long sleep, your body was attuned to the Ka, and because of that, something new should have awakened within you: your Soul Mirror, an innate ability that everyone has, unique to each individual, and that defines us as living beings."
"I see."
Even though what she said sounded like something out of a fantasy novel, I went along with it. By now, it didn't make much sense to be shocked by every strange thing I'd experience from here on out, and besides, the idea of having a special ability, like a video game character, kind of thrilled me.
"Oh, Ari, before we continue, I have a question… Yesterday you said I slept for 15 years, but how come I haven't aged? I mean… did I age or not?"
That morning, looking in the mirror, this question came to mind. And besides, Ari had told me I was 19, but that number sounded familiar, like I had already had that age before the hole in my memory, which I attributed to the Etheralith invasion.
"Biologically, you're still 19. That's because the technology we used to put you to sleep doesn't cause biological aging," she explained briefly.
I accepted her explanation, it had already seemed like the most plausible answer anyway.
"Do you have any other questions, or can we focus on your Soul Mirror?" She asked. She seemed a bit anxious about it.
"No other questions for now."
"Great, then activate your bracelet."
Slightly embarrassed, I said, "TioTio."
'Why did they choose that name…' Said quickly, it sounded almost like birds chirping.
The virtual scroll unraveled before my eyes.
"Now press info and stats."
"Alright."
After pressing the button, the display on the scroll changed.
The new virtual page in front of me was divided into two sections: info and stats. In the info section, some of my personal details were written, such as name, age, height, family of origin, and more, along with a photo of my face beside that information.
Then, I began reading the "stats" section.