6 New beginnings

'Figures there's no such thing as heaven,' thought Bruno as he stared at the abyss surrounding him.

'I would've thought that the abyss would be colder, but it seems kind of warm in here,' he thought to himself as he tried to stretch his body.

'Oh right, I don't have a body, I forgot. So this is my final resting ground? Am I stuck here for all of eternity?' wondered Bruno.

To be honest, the prospect didn't sound so bad. He could spend eternity resting in this warm place, and although it could've done with some light, he was okay with the darkness.

***

A few months passed by, and the once infinite abyss began to feel smaller and smaller. Somewhere along the line, Bruno could actually feel its walls.

'Kind of feels slimy,' he thought to himself before going back to sleep.

***

'What the, what's going on here?' struggled Bruno as he felt the void pushing against him.

'I can't even get to rest in peace?'

He was still surrounded by darkness, however, recently it felt as if he could feel his body. He knew that it must've been his mind playing tricks on him, but he was almost certain that he had legs.

'Oi, Oi, don't touch me.'

He felt the distinct feeling of something like a massive hand gently pulling on his head.

Before he could figure out what was going on, he was suddenly jerked out of the abyss, an intense bright light shining upon his eyes.

At the same time indiscernible shouts and cries rang in his ears, confusing him further.

The sudden flood of sensory information, accompanied by the fact that he could not even rest in peace overcame Bruno, causing him to weep.

{Wait, why am I crying?} he asked himself, but still he couldn't stop. It was as if it was instinctual behavior, it just felt right.

*"It's a healthy baby boy,"* said an old woman, before wrapping Bruno in a towel.

"What the hell is going on here? What kind of language is that?" shouted Bruno, however all that came out were more cries.

{Why is everyone so massive?} he thought as his vision finally came into focus.

He was in a wooden shed, and an old blanket had been wrapped around his body.

"I said what the hell is going on here," shouted Bruno once again, trying to push the old woman away.

However his arms felt weak, all he could do was lightly tap on the sides of the blanket.

{Huh? Wait, am I a baby?} he finally realized as the old woman looked him in the eyes.

*"I'm sorry Neel, it doesn't seem as if your child was blessed with magic. However it's still too early to conclude that now, perhaps the boy will grow a talent for it later on,"* said the woman, before placing the baby next to a woman lying limply on the bed.

"What the fuck! Why am I a baby?! Is this some kind of sick joke? A simulation? Y-Yes, that must be it, it's just a simulation," shouted Bruno.

*"It's okay baby, it doesn't matter if you can't use magic, I still love you,"* said the woman gently.

Although Bruno couldn't understand what anyone was saying, he could feel a comforting warmth radiating from the woman.

{That, feels nice,} thought Bruno, before falling asleep.

***

{It's been two months, and I think I've finally gotten the gist of what is really going on here,} thought Bruno as he hung from the harness behind his mother's back.

{I seem to have been reborn into another world. And as illogical as that seems, it's the only viable explanation. That, or my world finally learned how to use magic,} he thought to himself t as he watched his mother use wind magic to clean the house.

*"Aristo'*" she chanted, before a series of white translucent, circular disks floated in the air in front of her, rotating like clockwork.

{I never get bored of seeing that,} he thought to himself before breaking into an uncontrollable fit of giggles.

*"You seem to really like magic, don't you Arya,"* said the woman, a kind of sadness audible in her voice.

{It's a shame I can't understand their language yet. I've tried to cover as much as I could over the two months, but its grammar and structure is completely different from English.}

{Anyway, it seems Marcus succeeded in his plans. I died. But it's not that bad, at least I'm not a druggie anymore, and I haven't had a panic attack ever since coming to this world, so that's a plus.}

{With the magic in this world, there are endless possibilities. All I have to do is study it closely, and who knows, maybe I'll get to see Randy and my mother again.}

Although it wasn't healthy to be so attached to the dead, it was the only thing that Bruno could think about ever since he found out that magic existed in this world.

He had never truly made any other bonds, in all his best memories those two were the only ones he had ever loved. It was a sort of obsessive disorder he had, and perhaps that contributed to his panic disorder.

"Mom, dad's calling you outside," shouted a black-haired girl, who looked to be six.

{From what I can tell, that's my older sister. There are two other children in this household, both of them are boys.}

*"Take care of Arya for me while I head out,"* she said, before taking Bruno off her back.

*"Okay mom,*" she replied, holding the baby Arya in her arms.

Once his mother had left, Streya began talking to Arya.

*"I don't know why mom and dad had another child when we're already struggling as is. Sigh, but I have to admit, you are a cute baby,"* she said, before playing with Arya's nose.

{Stop it, this body truly is humiliating,} cranked Arya, but all that came out were a few unintelligible sounds.

{Stupid undeveloped larynx.}