I drifted through a pitch-black void filled with countless white particles, each softly glowing like stardust. It was like floating in a sea of stars.

  Although anxiety about my destination threatened to crush me, I was captivated by the sight. It was beautiful. More magnificent than anything I had ever seen.

  I remembered a picture of the Milky Way in a space encyclopedia I once read. If that river of stars truly existed, being swept along its currents must feel something like this.

  As I drifted, I felt a strange sensation—something massive in both quality and quantity flowing into me. It felt as though my very existence was being rewritten into something entirely different.

  My anxiety grew.

  Eventually, I must have neared my destination, for I emerged back into normal space. Before me, a planet came into view.

  I couldn't tell its exact size, but it didn't seem all that different from Earth. There were oceans and landmasses, and the presence of clouds suggested an atmosphere.

  However, there was one major difference. The entire planet was colored a pale emerald green.

  When I came to, I was standing on solid ground again, my body fully materialized. It seemed I had arrived.

  Looking around, I found myself in a vast, idyllic plain. As far as the eye could see, the ground was covered densely with the same knee-high grass. There were no buildings, no trees, and no sign of any living creatures.

  It was eerily quiet.

  Taking a breath, I smelled the faintly sweet scent of the grass, which was surprisingly pleasant.

  Checking myself immediately for any strange changes during the drift, everything seemed fine. My body and clothes were just as they were. I sighed in relief.

  But... my chest, still exposed from where he had ripped my shirt, remained the same.

  When the wind brushed against my cherry-colored nipples, they quivered, and the disgusting sensation of his hands flashed back into my mind. I shuddered.

  I was surprised at myself. Pathetically, it seemed the trauma had been carved into my heart deep enough for my body to remember it. My heart was still pounding. If I met him again, what would he do to me next?

  Just thinking about it made me freeze. I was terrified.

  Stop it. I don't want to think about him right now.

  I shook my head vigorously. I needed to switch gears.

  I looked down at my chest again. Not too small, not too big—a perfect size. Soft mounds shaped like bowls, tender as marshmallows. The valley between them was damp with sweat, emitting a slightly sweet scent.

  It felt incredibly strange to see actual breasts attached to myself. Normally, a guy would get turned on seeing something like this, but strangely, I felt no lewd thoughts at all. Somewhere in my mind, a part of me felt that having breasts was natural.

  But was I okay with this? That was a different issue.

  No one was watching, but walking around with my chest exposed felt bad for my mental health. The combination of the torn clothes and my breasts reminded me of him every time I looked down. And besides... it was embarrassing.

  Come to think of it. Back then, he was controlling my body, so I couldn't move freely. But now, I should be able to transform as I please.

  In that case, there was no reason to stay a woman any longer. He said the transformation was instantaneous, like flipping a switch. I smiled bitterly at the fact that my thoughts kept returning to him, and closed my eyes.

  Focusing on "transform, transform," I strangely became clearly aware of something like a mental world.

  I see. This was a bit like the dream I had been having lately. A female body and a male body existed within a pitch-black space. By focusing my will, I could select which body to inhabit, much like choosing a character in a game.

  Of course, I chose to become a man.

  In an instant, a shock like electricity ran through my entire body. When I realized it, my body had returned to the familiar one I had used for sixteen years. Slender, but reasonably muscular.

  The swelling in my chest had receded, and checking between my legs confirmed that it was back where it belonged.

  "Ah—ah—"

  My voice was back to normal too. It was naturally high-pitched, but it was definitely my male voice. It really was instantaneous.

  Without his ability, that "Interference" or whatever, transforming didn't seem to be a hassle. Ah, what a relief. I was worried I'd have to writhe in agony every time.

  That sensation, like my whole body being violated... Ugh. Remembering it just made me more embarrassed. Enough. Time to switch gears. More importantly...

  I really came to another planet.

  Looking up, the sky was the same pale emerald green as the planet's color. A star very similar to the sun was illuminating the sky brightly.

  ...What should I do now? How am I supposed to live?

  Ideally, this was a question I should have considered back on Earth. But Japanese society had rails laid out to some extent. As long as you rode them, you could live a normal life without worrying too deeply. So I hadn't thought about it much.

  I didn't need to. That normal life was enough for me.

  But now that I've been thrown into this unprecedented, bizarre fate, "normal" is no longer an option. That much is clear as day.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  To be honest, I'm pretty despairing about that. Even now, I strongly wish I could just live a normal life. But I didn't intend to keep asking for the impossible or escaping from reality. It wouldn't change anything, as frustrating as that is.

  I've already said goodbye to Earth. I have to live strong. I have to intend to start a new life here, in this faraway land.

  Decided. I can't just stand around in the middle of nowhere. I need to find a way to survive. First things first, I need to find where people are.

  ...Though, I don't see a shadow of anyone right now.

  Wait. The assumption I implicitly made might not be correct. This is a different planet. There's no guarantee humans exist here. Thinking about it, it's doubtful if intelligent life even exists. And if it does, there's a high probability it looks nothing like humans.

  Right. Because Ena and that guy looked like normal humans, I automatically expected people to be here. But they might be the exceptions.

  Come to think of it, I haven't been conscious of it, but the fact that I can breathe normally and stay alive right now isn't something to take for granted either.

  Does this planet have an atmosphere similar to Earth's? If so, the color of the sky bothers me.

  The sky's color comes from sunlight scattering through atmospheric particles. If the starlight and atmospheric composition are almost the same, shouldn't the sky be the same color? But the reality is, the sky is different.

  I'm an amateur, so my guess might be wrong, but it's reasonable to think either the wavelength of the star's light or the atmospheric composition—or both—are different.

  ...No good. My worries are flying everywhere; I can't organize my thoughts.

  Anyway, I don't know anything. Information. I need information on everything. Just because I don't know, a single careless action could lead to disaster. I don't know right from left. There's plenty of potential to mess up.

  But with no one around, I can't get information without moving. In the end, racking my brain won't help. I have no choice but to walk until I find something.

  How long have I been walking with those thoughts? The grassland continues endlessly. Not a single landmark in sight.

  Thanks to the glaring direct sunlight—or rather, the light of that sun-like star—I'm drenched in sweat.

  Is there nothing here? I'm thirsty. I want water. I'm getting hungry. But no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find food, let alone a person or even a shadow of a creature.

  Eventually, the sun went down, and exhausted from walking, I collapsed on the spot and slept. From the next day on, I just kept walking.

  But to state the conclusion: there was nothing.

  The sun rose and set. By the time this cycle repeated four times without food or water, I had finally reached my physical limit.

  Once, unable to bear the hunger, I picked some of the grass growing everywhere and tried eating it. But not only did it taste terribly awful, it just gave me diarrhea and made me lose more water. I haven't touched it since.

  I can't... move anymore...

  I finally collapsed. My body had no strength left. Am I going to die here? Without understanding anything, in a place like this?

  I was foolish. Trying to get information? That was putting the cart before the horse. I painfully realized that above all, I needed the pure strength to survive.

  If you don't land near a settlement like this, you are forced into survival mode. The place I landed first was a grassland, so maybe I was still lucky.

  If I had landed in a desert, or deep in a sea of trees... Or worse, on the ocean where there is no land. I would have died helplessly.

  That's right. This isn't peaceful Japan. In another world, anything can happen. I can't survive if I stay weak. I made a resolve. If I survive this, I will become strong. Strong enough to handle a predicament like this with confidence.

  But—it seems it's over.

  Closing my eyes, scenes from my life flashed back. Is this what they call a revolving lantern (life flashing before one's eyes)?

  Memories from when I was small. My mother and father, who are no longer here. Those days were fun. Lenks. He always played with me. I wanted to see him again. Hikari, Mirai. Where are they now? What are they doing? Are they doing well?

  Suddenly, my eyes felt hot.

  Everyone. Before I knew it, everyone disappeared from my side. Why did I end up alone? Why do all the people I love disappear together? Without saying a word.

  Tears overflowed. At some point, I had no real family, no one I could call a best friend. I was always alone. I was lonely.

  That's why, afraid of being hated by someone, I lived inoffensively, deceiving the helpless loneliness in my heart. Hoping to one day find ordinary happiness again. I worked hard in my own way every day.

  I didn't think I was unhappy. I didn't want to think so. Thinking that in the future, I would make it on my own... just thinking that was happiness enough.

  And yet. To be thrown into a place like this without knowing why, and to die without anyone knowing.

  Haha. Alone until the end, huh? It fits me. Tragically, it fits me. Damn it. I'm so frustrated...

  For some reason, the faces of Ena and that guy floated in my mind. Those two seemed to have been on a long journey already. Then surely, there must be a power to deal with a situation like this.

  A FabL possesses the power to overturn the logic of this world. He said so.

  If I could overturn logic, I wanted to do something about this situation. But I know best that I don't have such power.

  That's right. He also said my ability was a ridiculous (joke) ability. As if it were useless.

  Yeah. That's right. It's a joke ability!

  Half out of desperation, I activated the ability. My hair grew fluffy and long, and I felt the sensation of my swelling chest being pressed against the ground. Dressed once again in a form suitable for tears, I wept in grief.

  What's the point of transforming into a woman like this?

  Whether man or woman, I'm just a human in the end. I just became an indecisive, funny freak. To live in another world... I was just too weak...

  But then, in my despair. Strangely, I noticed a tiny bit of strength returning to my body. Wondering why, it hit me.

  Right. I heard on TV or something that in extreme situations, women have better endurance. Maybe that's it.

  I didn't activate the ability with a plan. It was just a coincidence, done out of desperation. But I thanked this wonderful coincidence. For the first time, I thanked this ability.

  It seems I can still live.

  That fact brought hope back to my heart, which had almost given up on life. If that's the case, I'll struggle until the end. I won't drop dead yet!

  I survived further. Until the sun set and rose one more time, I survived well. The time I bought by becoming a woman became the difference between life and death.

  [Alice POV]

  I was on my way to Sacris on my beloved bird, Aln. Sacris Magic Academy. I couldn't wait for my new life there, so I was flying straight over the Lasil Great Plains toward my destination.

  Still, there really is nothing here. No wonder they call it the Plains of Death.

  Land riddled with magical pollution where normal creatures can't live, and of course, humans can't use.

  They say long ago, there was a great magic empire here. And a massive magic experiment failed, resulting in this. A strange place where only a useless weed called "Kissa," which adapted to this environment for some reason, grows densely everywhere.

  That is the Lasil Great Plains. A boring place.

  While thinking such things and looking down casually, I found something unbelievable. I doubted my eyes. No way!? Someone collapsed in the middle of a place like this!?

  "Aln, land near that person! Hurry!"

  We descended in a panic, and I ran over.

  Lying on her back was a cute girl. She looked about the same age as me. Rare black hair, and... strange clothes. They looked like men's clothes. And there were signs that her chest area had been ripped off.

  What on earth happened to her? I tapped her cheek lightly and called out.

  "Are you okay!? Stay with me!"

  There was a faint reaction. Thank goodness. She's alive. But she seems incredibly weak.

  "Wa... water..."

  "Water! Got it!"

  I hurriedly took out the spare canteen I happened to have, opened the lid, and offered it. I didn't think I'd use it, but I'm glad I brought it.

  "Don't drink too fast, your body is weak! Drink slowly!"

  She listened to my advice and drank the water slowly with trembling hands. After drinking until the canteen was empty, she seemed relieved. She fainted.

  "I can't leave her here. Let's take her with us. Aln, it'll be a bit heavier, but are you okay?"

  Aln chirped as if to say, "Leave it to me." Reliable as always. Thanks.

  And so, carrying the mysterious girl with me, I headed for Sacris at full speed.