"Uh, practice? Astris? What is she talking about?"

  Those same questions lingered on Yuzuriha's lips, not loud enough for Marcille to catch but loud enough to hear herself speak.

  She was capable of speech…again!

  For some reason she couldn't speak earlier, as if something was choking her by the throat.

  No, that would be an extreme example…Yes, it would be better to say that something was holding her voice back.

  'This really sucks, there's so much I don't know. A lot of things keep happening to my mind and body. I suddenly know information I shouldn't and I have no control over this body'

  'What is happening to me?!'

  Yuzuriha wanted to shout out loud but held herself back. Currently she was walking with Marcille to the bedroom, leaving Leo and Willow to clean up the dinner table.

  Marcille held her by hand as she guided her across the apartment.

  It was only then that she began to notice how calloused her older sister's hand was. She could feel the scratches on her knuckles and the uneven skin from healed blisters.

  'In my opinion, it's unbecoming of a lady to have such strong and rough hands. They feel like those from that construction worker I used to work with. Whenever a deal was sealed, we would shake on it. They feel like that'

  'Makes me wonder what kind of job she does. Something with manual labor should be about right. But I have to acknowledge how gentle she's holding on to mine'

  Her hand was rough and strong, yes. But it was also…warm and gentle.

  ?? Information on 'astris' has been collected. Would you like a detailed explanation???

  Yuzuriha's body twitched involuntarily as she heard that sudden voice, it nearly made her stumble. Mostly because it was too familiar.

  'The Voice of God?!'

  She quickly turned her head around but that proved to be useless for obvious reasons. And the voice usually came at the back of her mind so she was probably the only one who could hear it.

  ?? Would you like a detailed explanation???

  'There it is again. The last time it contacted me, it went silent the next minute.'

  ?? Would you like a detailed explanation???

  ?? Would you like a detailed explanation???

  It was repeating. Like some mind record skipping on a broken turntable.

  'Ah, should I accept? But wait'

  "Yor? Are you okay? Could you be sick?"

  Marcille's voice came from beside her. Her tone had softened, concern quickly coating every syllable as she asked about her health. She even went down to Yuzuriha's level, placing her palm on her head to check her temperature.

  'Ok, that's a bit of an overreaction. Is she normally like this? I got to make up an excuse quick'

  "If you're not feeling well, we could—"

  "Bathroom!"

  She said that so suddenly her voice tore through the hallway. But she didn't concern herself with that and did a follow up.

  "I, uh…bathroom. I need the bathroom. Now. Badly!"

  Marcille didn't answer immediately and Yuzuriha didn't wait for a reply. She spun on her heel and speed walked away without a destination in mind.

  Yuzuriha slightly raised her arms like a malfunctioning doll. She had been to the bathroom once, guided by Willow but she didn't know this apartment that well.

  'Where is it? Where is it? It should be around here somewhere'

  Fortunately, through her enhanced sense of her smell and hearing she could tell that her hand found the right door, and she slammed it shut behind her.

  She leaned against it and took a deep, shallow breath to calm her pounding heart down.

  ?? Would you like a detailed—??

  "Shut up! I get it already. Just who the hell are you?!"

  That repetition of the same sentence was really starting to get annoying. Her outburst was warranted, but that made her feel bad after because she had just…

  'I just yelled at God'

  A cold shiver cut down her spine so sharp she immediately went on her knees and bowed her head all the way to the tiled floor.

  "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Please forgive me God!"

  Yuzuriha gave her sincerest apology while scraping her forehead on the cold floor. After everything that happened to her, she had a firm belief that divine punishment was definitely real!

  And she didn't want any of it.

  However, for a while, there was only silence. God must have been angry at her or took offense in how she responded.

  And so, Yuzuriha raised her head and decided to try again.

  "Look, I'm sorry for lashing out on you, but you were really getting on my nerves back there. Sometimes I get annoyed easily, but how about we try again?"

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  God didn't respond. She frowned.

  "Well, I can't blame you. But could you at least tell me who you are? I feel like referring to you as God seems to be jumping to conclusions"

  In all honesty it was a ridiculous notion to begin with. Out of billions of people in the world, why would God talk to her all of a sudden?

  Was it because she died? Was this how reincarnation worked?

  Yuzuriha had a lot of questions but no answers. She sat there on the floor for a bit before deciding to leave.

  Marcille would probably get suspicious if she took too long and so, she went on her feet and just when she was about to pull open the door…

  ?? I am what you refer to as…the Voice of God??

  It spoke and she was right! But Yuzuriha kept her cool. Taking another breath, she asked.

  "You are God? But as in like…a voice in my head?"

  ?? I am more than that. I am Sawatari, a bound Manifestation assigned to support your cognitive and combat development. Think of me as a personalized intelligent interface with selective world data. Your assistant ??

  "My assistant?"

  Hearing the word reminded Yuzuriha of her former assistant at Ichimonji International, his name was Ichiji Hyoma, nice guy, but he wasn't the focus here!

  For unknown reasons, she now had an assistant.

  "Sawatari, huh? You responded when I said astris, right?"

  That name was strangely Japanese, but she didn't press on that. There were other matters to press on.

  ?? Correct. It was a valid query. So, I offered my services ??

  "And can you explain it?"

  ?? I can. Would you like a detailed explanation now???

  Now that she had calmed down, Yuzuriha exhaled slowly through her nose for the last time and spoke.

  "Yeah…sure. Go ahead."

  ??Astris is a metaphysical force which exists in all living and nonliving things. It functions as both internal and external signature, enhancing biological processes, enforces dominance hierarchies through presence, and enables limited interaction with environmental resistances??

  Sawatari began her explanation, but Yuzuriha was struggling to wrap her mind around it. From what they said—Wait.

  'Wait. From what I'm hearing, Sawatari's voice is that of a woman, albeit a bit computerized. So, your pronouns will be she/her! That takes care of that. I really hope this country doesn't have gender wars'

  With that settled, Yuzuriha resumed her train of thought about what the Manifestation had told her.

  'Alright let's see. She said astris is some kind of force which exists in everything, right? Kind of like ki, mana, or spiritual pressure from anime. Ok, that simplifies that…'

  Spending some of her time with Haru watching anime did have its merits—Yes, even a busy woman like her did make time to spend with her kids. But that's besides the point.

  After processing what she just said, Yuzuriha's brows twitched and she took a nervous swallow.

  'Comparable to ki or mana? But wouldn't that mean…this place is…it has magic?!'

  That confirmed something that had been recently on her mind. That she was indeed…

  '...In another world'

  Even though Yuzuriha didn't know much about international stuff, she wasn't so isolated to the point she didn't know a single country outside of hers. And she had definitely never heard of a country called Tinsel in the south.

  Also, the existence of magic—called astris in this world, only further proved her theory. Her old world did have magicians and whatnot, but they didn't really have 'magic', they were just tricks honed through years of training and practice.

  "Oh my God. I've seriously reincarnated in another world!"

  Yuzuriha excitedly shouted at the top of her lungs but immediately blocked her mouth with both hands.

  'Ahh, did anyone hear me?!'

  For a moment, Yuzuriha felt anxious. After confirming that nobody had heard her, she took a deep breath and exhaled, relief washing over her.

  Now then, back to the reincarnated in another world dilemma.

  As incredible as that was, it still didn't do her any favors. Especially not in this handicapped body.

  In other words, what was the point if she couldn't even see it?

  "Cheh! Of all the—oh wait, Sawatari, I have a question.

  Why do I know some things already though? About this country, uh, kingdom—Tinsel?"

  Even without being told, Yuzuriha would get a stream of sudden information flowing into her mind as if she had always known it. This happened on two separate occasions, the first knowing a bit about Leopold and this kingdom, Tinsel.

  ?? Residual data. Most likely inherited from your vessel ??

  "Huh, vessel? You mean the girl before me?"

  ?? Yes. The original inhabitant of this vessel. Your predecessor. The one whose flesh you now inhabit. She retained local cultural knowledge before expiration ??

  "Wait. So those sudden floods of information from earlier, those were the memories of Yor?"

  ?? Correct. Stored subconscious fragments. Overtime, you would have attained everything she has ever known ??

  Yuzuriha was too stunned to speak, her legs gave out, and she slid to the floor, sitting down with her back against the door.

  'Memories. Left behind'

  So, she was slowly receiving the thoughts and memories of someone who had recently passed. The same person Yuzuriha had walked into her skin like it was an old dress left behind.

  That analogy hits harder now more than the first time.

  "...I-I, this wasn't—I didn't mean to—"

  ?? Intent is irrelevant. You are the current operator. As such, I serve you now ??

  'Serve me now?'

  This was confusing. It was too confusing. Why her of all people? Why did she get picked to have something like this?

  Was this how the world functioned? Did Leo, Willow and Marcille also have something like Sawatari ringing inside their heads?

  'Ahhhh, so many questions but no single answer! This is so stressful. It's giving me a splitting headache!'

  Yuzuriha rubbed her head, expressing her conflict internally to which Sawatari didn't acknowledge. She was either rude or just didn't hear her.

  At any rate, this changed everything.

  "Serve me huh? Alright then, Sawatari. I have another question"

  She muttered after calming herself down.

  "Can you tell me everything about this world? Like its systems, rulers,supernatural hierarchies and whatnot?"

  Learning everything about this world early on would be useful, especially in the long run. However, Sawatari took a moment of silence before responding.

  ?? Negative. My data access is limited to what you or your vessel currently knows, beyond that I am functionally useless. I lack universal insight ??

  Yuzuriha's brow twitched.

  "Huh, then what good are you?!"

  If she was only limited to what she currently knew then she was just as clueless as she was. That wasn't really helpful at all!

  The only useful thing here was that she also knew what Yor knew, the problem was that information only came in fragments. Possibly through triggers.

  ?? I am a conduit. I learn as you learn. I am ever evolving ??

  'Ever evolving? Meaning it gets better the more it learns, like a supercomputer!'

  Yuzuriha lowered her hands with a knowing grin etched on her face. Her eyes stared down at the tiled floor she couldn't even see. Her fingers were trembling.

  Yes, it was true that she understood basically nothing about this world—other than she already knew— and that made it exciting.

  Her trembling wasn't from fear…it was from excitement!

  "Sawatari, let me get this straight. If I want to understand this world…if I want to explore every corner of it, dig deep into what makes it tick…you'll help me do that?"

  ?? Affirmative. Your curiosity is the ignition key to my advancement. Ask, and I shall seek. Learn, and I shall grow ??

  Yuzuriha laughed under her breath. Back in her old world, she not only couldn't, but she also didn't have the time to explore and learn much about it.

  She had always wanted to travel the world but was too restricted. Right now, in this other world, it was a chance.

  That sense of aimlessness. The fog that had been clinging to her ever since she arrived—lifted just a little.

  "Ok, that's it then. In this world, I want to survive, to live. Not for revenge or a superficial reason like that. But because this is my second chance and I want to do as much as I can. That's enough, right?"

  'Also, I should probably get some revenge for Yor. It's only fair since I've possessed her body'

  As soon as Yuzuriha announced this—KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

  "Yor, what are you doing in there?! Who are you talking to?!"

  "Eeep!"

  Yuzuriha's heart almost leapt out of her mouth as she immediately jumped to her feet. That voice came from Leo.

  "I—nobody! I'm talking to myself!"

  "Whatever, I need to pee! You've been in there forever!"

  Yuzuriha blinked.

  "Oh, really, it's been that long? I mean, sorry! Just a sec!"

  She called out in a panic, fumbling with the lock—for obvious reasons.