Darkness!
That was all I could feel. A seemingly endless void of nothingness enveloped me as I floated in it, wondering what had happened to me after I closed my eyes in death.
“Is this what death is like?”
Suddenly, cutting through the darkness was an inexplicable light. The glowing illumination slowly covered everything, filling the void space with beauty.
As I feasted my eyes on the sparkles all around me, I found myself fading away into unconsciousness, something I didn’t think would be possible since I was already dead.
“W-what is… happening…?”
“Push milady!”
A voice startled me, causing me to try opening my eyes. I tried, but I felt something heavy surround me, making me shut it back tightly.
“Where am I?”
“Uarrrrrrghhhhhh!!!” A muffled scream sounded, making me startled and confused still.
Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled toward something. It seemed like a bright light at the end of a dark tunnel.
“Just what is happening to me? ”
The pained screams continued as I gravitated more to the light point.
The entire area around me felt like a tight space, warm and soft. I felt squishy liquid around me, making me ponder on what I could actually be experiencing.
I knew I was dead just a few moments ago, so how could I be here? Could this be…?
“Aaaaaaarrrghhhhh!!!!”
This powerful scream propelled me further to the light, and I felt something grab me and pull me even further away from the squishy room I was in.
The light became brighter until I left the darkness entirely behind and was brought into a new world.
“A-ah!” I winced, due to the intensely bright surrounding. It was as though I was seeing it for the first time.
Not only that, but my skin felt very irritable, because of the feel of the cool wind touching me when I had been used to the warmth and squishiness of my previous abode.
One thing was sure. I wasn’t dead!
“Hold on… what is this? Could it be…?!”
Now opening my eyes slowly, I looked around me to better understand the situation.
My blurry eyes became clearer with time and I could see distorted images of a woman clothed in white, carrying me gently.
“Congratulations, it’s a baby boy.”
What was she talking about? I glanced by my side and saw another woman clad in white. She looked at me adorably, making my disoriented mind begin to draw conclusions.
The white-clothed woman passed me on to someone who lay on a bed. I saw her weak face and tired smile as she looked at me with the greatest expression of affection I could ever remember.
“M-my baby boy…” She spoke, taking me from the previous woman.
As I was wrapped around in her arms, covered with neatly woven fabrics which kept me warm, I finally understood.
This woman was my mother.
The women clothed in white were her handmaidens who helped her in her childbirth.
And I? Well… I was the child.
That’s right. Even though I never thought such a thing was possible, especially for someone like me who couldn’t use magic, it appeared I had been proven wrong.
Right here and now, in this room… I have been reincarnated as a baby!
A few days passed since I was given birth to. My mother never ceased to amaze me, always cuddling me and being by my side for as long as I was awake. Even when I slept, her handmaidens watched me.
Even though I didn’t quite understand the language everyone used, by observing their gestures and expressions, I got a rough idea.
‘Its slightly different from what I’m used to, but it’s close…’ I reasoned.
It wouldn’t take me too long to fully internalize the changes made, especially with mother’s sweet bedtime stories.
I was unable to step foot outside the room I usually stayed in though. Trapped and with nothing else to do, boredom became my new friend.
Due to my lack of mobility in my immature form, I could only endure the humiliating confinement. Well, it wasn’t all bad.
My cradle looked luxurious enough. Laying on my back in the large cot, I felt very comfortable. It was different from the wooden contraption made by my previous parents.
The room also looked elegantly designed, and large.
‘My family must be well off…’ I thought to myself.
My mother, who watched me with dedication, finally fell asleep, allowing me to open my eyes and cease my pretense.
The handmaidens had left us alone as per the orders of my mother, who wanted some ‘alone time’ with her cute and adorable baby, a.k.a. Me.
Wearing a soft cotton dress, I stared at the ceiling and thought deeply.
What could have caused such a thing?
I had been reborn with my memories intact. This was something I never deemed possible. If it was something that happened to others, surely it would have been discovered by now.
After all, they would have applied their past knowledge in phenomenal ways. However, such a thing never happened.
Despite how hard I tried, all my thoughts ended in futility, as I couldn’t decipher the cause of my reincarnation.
As an intelligent mind who pursued knowledge, I could never be satisfied with a convenient answer like ‘coincidence’, but seeing as I couldn’t figure out the reason for the strange occurrence, I decided to shelf the thought and focus on another important factor.
Magic!
“In this life… am I inept as well?”
A small smile formed on my face as my body throbbed nervously. Whether or not I could actually practice magic and once again dedicate myself to it, I had to find out now.
“Huuu…” I heaved, closing my eyes in concentration.
In the past, one ‘Awakened’ when they turned ten years old. I went through the same process as well.
However, thanks to my research and contributions to the world of magic, I found a way to figure out the power hidden within an individual, even if it was a day after birth. Using a process similar to ‘Awakening’, a person could quicken the latent mana within them by injecting external mana into their body.
Of course, it would take some time for the ‘mana core’ to form. But, if one used this procedure at an early age, by the age of five, a mana core would have been formed already. This made the effort half of what it took in the past, and I was highly praised for this discovery in the past.
The problem was that this method only applied to those who had latent mana within them. Inepts, such as me, were unable to use this procedure to form a mana core.
In the end, it all depends on whether a person is born with the potential to wield magic or not.
“That’s enough of that… I won’t know until I try.”
Meditating within my cot, I tried becoming one with my body, feeling every breath I made and my little movements. Slowly, I could feel something move within me.
Blood vessels, internal organs… what else?
My pores opened up and sweat came out.
“This is harder than I thought…”
Of course, it would be! I only postulated this in theory. Since I was inept, I never used this method on myself, to begin with.
Still, no one knew of the process more than me. I wasn’t going to give in now!
~Gasp~
My eyes sprang open as I breathed heavily, I tried controlling the sounds of my gasps so I wouldn’t wake my mother.
My body ached slightly, and I knew why. The method was a little painful, especially since I was performing it on myself. But, I did it!
After undergoing the process myself, I knew the results…
“So that’s it, uh? I am…”