Chapter 2 - Superpowers?!?!

'What… is happening…' Dolian thought with difficulty. He felt as if his body was wrapped around by a giant pair of arms, his vision was blurry, and it was as if he was soaked in blood from head to toe.

Just as he tried to breathe, he felt that his lungs were restricted by something strange, and by sheer instinct, opened his mouth wide.

"UWAAHHHHHH!" A loud shrill cry resounded as he felt his body's respiratory system churn with strength, and oxygen rushed into his lungs causing his belly to expand.

'Why does… everything… feel so strange…' Dolian felt his mind was sluggish to the point that he wanted to sleep and just leave everything to fate.

After dying from a car crash that might have even traumatized him, he suddenly found himself in such a strange situation that he can't even begin to process. Dolian felt his sluggish mind struggle to think a few words, let alone have the energy to understand what was going on.

If Dolian had to describe it, he would say that the process was excruciating and scary, but his mind was way too lethargic to even care what was happening around him. Unable to hold it in any longer and maintain his lucidity, his blurry vision slowly turned darker and darker after each irrepressible blink until finally, he saw nothing but pure darkness.

Just like that, his consciousness slipped away as he fell asleep peacefully amidst the sound of clamoring and murmurs.

…

"Congratulations, Miss Hope." A man wearing a doctor's attire happily said as he held a baby bathed in blood in his hand.

Surrounding the doctor were numerous assistants, each happily smiling at the weird-looking baby with scrunched-up skin and wrinkles, while also congratulating the woman named Hope who lay on the bed.

Hope was a woman with long blond hair and strange golden vertical irises. She wore a patient's gown that was cloaked in sweat, while her face appeared disheveled as if she has undergone tremendous pain. But even with her messy appearance, none can't deny her beauty and motherly presence as she stared affectionately at the weird-looking baby held by the doctor.

"Can I touch him, Doc?" Hope asked when a petite hand came swooping down and caressed her affectionately.

Turning her head around, she saw the love of her life, the man who she married, and the father of their child, Ayumu Tatori.

Ayumu was of clear Japanese descent, with pale white skin, black hair that covered his entire forehead with rounded bangs, and surprisingly, also had golden eyes but were not vertical slits. He has a small and petite build unlike his wife's tall and even muscular build.

If the husband and wife were to be put side to side with one another, one would easily guess that Hope was… the dominant one, to say the least.

"Are you okay, dear?" Ayumu asked in worry, and his wide, child-like eyes turned similar to that of a puppy causing Hope to grin slightly.

"Don't worry. I'm fine. Besides, I'm more worried that I won't be able to hold my newborn baby boy already." Hope eased her husband's worries and turned to look back at the doctor.

Noticing her gaze, the doctor nodded his head and said with a smile, "Of course, though do be careful. I've heard numerous rumors about your strength, Miss Hope."

Hearing the doctor's serious warning, Hope blushed in embarrassment and said, "Sigh, unfortunately, this mutation of mine came with the full package."

"Hehehe, I'm not saying it's a bad thing, at least you can better protect your child with the dangerous world out there. But I don't think you need more protection as you two are such important figures in the public space."

"Hmm, I guess you're right, but it's better to be safe than sorry, isn't that right, hon?" Hope looked back at Ayumu—her husband.

"That's right. Even though you have a powerful body, we are still specialized personnel for matters regarding the mind, not combat. So let's hope that no accidents would occur to our child or family." Ayumu nodded his head before he then stared at the doctor who approached Hope and carefully gave her the cleaned baby into her hands, now wrapped in a cozy warm blanket.

Staring at the baby she held, Hope grinned widely and said softly as if whispering into the baby's ears, "From now on, you are…"

"Dolian Tatori."

Hearing his wife's whisper, Ayumu chuckled and said, "Let's hope he's more like you, unlike his weak father."

Chortling softly, Hope looked back at his husband and rebutted, "Even though you're not that physically capable, your heart is stronger than any of those two-bit heroes I have met."

Rubbing the back of his hand, he stared around carefully and saw that the doctor and assistants were already doing their own thing. Deciding that it was the right time, he swiftly leaned forward and kissed his wife on the cheek, then bashfully retracted his face while his cheeks turned rosy.

"Aww~" Hope teased with a smile, "You're so sweet."

…

The sound of sucking resounded in a silent room as a pair of mother and child can be seen resting on a reclined sofa. The woman had long blond hair and golden vertical eyes, giving her a unique presence.

Staring at her child who had closed eyes, Hope smiled in glee and carefully caressed the baby boy, "You're just so cute!"

Upon hearing the woman's voice, Dolian slowly opened his closed eyes into slits and saw through his blurry and even dull vision that lacked vivid colors a woman with noticeable blond hair and unique golden eyes. Feeling her breast being sucked by him, he replied with a strange gurgle, "Gwah"

"Aww~" Hope chuckled and caressed Dolian's large head, "You understand mommy, right?"

"Abwah," Dolian responded with the same strange sound that he could muster.

After that, he once again closed his eyes and the room fell into silence.

Now finding himself regaining more of his energy with his mother's breast milk, Dolian couldn't help but think more deeply inside his still developing mind and thought, 'I really am reborn.'

'From what I've heard, I'm already in the year 2155, more than a century after I died.' Dolian continued sucking autonomously, suffusing his mouth with milk that gave him more energy to think.

'It is a mystical experience to have consciousness as a baby, but it is as I expected. My ability to think has been hampered down, while I also lack the energy to do other things other than sleep, piss, shit, drink milk, and other activities.'

'This world also seems not as technologically advanced as I first thought from what I can see within the explored confines of the house. Even though there are some futuristic gadgetries here and there like that cool holographic table or pen-like hologram books, it's not as advanced as I would expect a hundred years into the future.'

'Another thing to be grateful about is that I seem to live in a family that speaks English, although my mother does have a British accent to her words. Because of that, I have been able to gather more info while passively drinking milk…'

Just as he was thinking more and more, his sucking started to slow down, and Hope noticed this slight abnormality of his. Looking down at her child, she noticed that he has fully stopped drinking her breast milk and lay there, slowly breathing in a calm and relaxed manner.

Smiling softly, she stood up with surprisingly great balance and carefully placed her sleeping child in his crib.

…

Opening his eyes, Dolian stared at the ceiling with an unbothered stare and softly opened his mouth, "Gabwa!"

Even though he shouted inside an empty room, he trusted in his mother's acute senses that he continuously noticed the past week after his rebirth. So without surprise, he heard the sound of footsteps echo out outside the door, and the metallic door slid open with his mother walking in.

"Good morning, Dolian." She walked up to him and slid her arms between his back and the cradle. Slowly picking him up from the cradle, she cooed him into a comforting hug and rested him on her body.

Blinking his eyes, Dolian yawned and watched the world around him move swiftly as if he was on top of a giant's shoulders.

'Oh, how joyful it is to have the ability to move.' Dolian wistfully sighed inside his mind while enjoying the comfortable warmth of his mother's embrace.

'So this is what it's like to have a mother. Miracles really do happen. To be both an orphan and not at the same time is quite literally breaking the boundaries of normal logic.' Turning his head to the side, he inspected the interior of his home and appreciated his parents' sense of aesthetics.

"Dolian, your uncle Albion is coming today," Hope whispered into Dolian's ears and his interest was piqued.

'Even though she said uncle, it appears that he's not my biological uncle and more of a close friend of both of my parents.' Dolian assessed with the limited amount of info he could gather with his dulled mind and senses.

Showing his clear curiosity just like what a child should do, an act he was slowly mastering throughout the week to make sure he doesn't expose himself as a reborn person, he found himself descending the familiar flight of stairs toward the living room below them.

Finally, he arrived at his house's living room which was neither too overly designed nor too minimalistic. There were high-quality couches, metallic silver tables with holographic features, TV screens embedded into walls, and tons of books and bookshelves scattered throughout, giving the place a neat but messy vibe.

Some books were on paper, others were strangely metallic, and others were inscribed in pen-like items that stored them digitally. And one thing Dolian noticed throughout the past week was that both of his parents had tons of books about psychology and the human mind, along with their daily talks and terminologies he was familiar with, he assessed that they were probably psychologists, psychiatrists, or other careers related to the study of the mind.

'Is this an arrangement of fate? Does destiny itself want me to master the arts of the human mind?' Dolian sarcastically jested when all of a sudden, he heard a loud ding from their door.

In the next second, just as Dolian turned his head, he saw the door slide open and his father walked in with a strange man following right behind him.

At a glance, he instantly saw the most unique thing about the man: his pair of rainbow-colored eyes that shimmered under direct sunlight. He was a tall man, even taller than his mother, and had looks that would even make him a direct superstar in showbiz if he wanted to.

After his preliminary inspections, he quickly noticed the aura the man suffused. It was as if even if storms and calamities struck him, he would remain standing tall without fear. It was the aura of those who are strong and confident with their abilities, standing at the direct pinnacle of the world.

But as if that aura never existed, the man's eyes widened as he saw the cute baby boy in Hope's embrace and rushed forward with hurried steps, crouching down and staring at the baby boy at equal eye level, "Woah! So you're the cute little guy I've kept hearing from your dad back there."

"Heh, so your parents' genes did create a national treasure. Just look at you!" The man cooed with an amicable smile, "You're just so cute!"

"You better not use your looks to your advantage and break the hearts of women and men out there, okay? You might not know this, but your father almost fell to the dark side back at high school if I wasn't there with him."

The man blabbered on and on without pause, instantly shattering his illusion of being strong and dignified.

"You're annoying as always, Albion." Hope sighed while shaking her head.

Albion smiled and stood up straight, "You know me. I can't stand being all so uptight to the public, so I need to let loose once in a while otherwise I would stress myself to death."

"Are you really saying that when you have one of the best psychologists and psychiatrists on Earth right now besides you?" Hope snorted.

"Oh you," Albion rolled his eyes before leaning forward and whispering into Dolian's ears, "Your mother is just the 'best' because of her quirk. If she doesn't have it, she'll just be a two-bit psychiatrist-"

"Hey! Watch what you're saying to my child, okay?" Hope smacked Albion on the hand as he cowered back and hid behind Ayumu.

"Hey! Stop your wife already!" Albion shouted and pushed Ayumu forward.

Smiling wryly, Ayumu said with a helpless look in his eyes, "Calm down, dear. You don't want to accidentally drop our child now."

While calming down his wife, Dolian, who was in the middle of all the ruckus, couldn't help but frown slightly upon hearing the term "quirk."

'It's that word again. Why do I keep hearing that word these past few days.'

As if Albion noticed his frown, Albion crawled forward and smiled, "Are you feeling bored?"

"Well, why don't I show you the almighty quirk of your uncle right here."

Grinning mischievously, Albion's eyes glowed like magic, and a pen on a nearby table beside them flew up into the air, and then floated right in front of Dolian's awestruck eyes.

"Hehehe, surprise?"

'Huh?'

'Is… this real?'

'Is he actually making that pen float without physical touch!?!'

'Am I in a dream right now?!'

'Wait… quirks!'

'Are quirks just another term for superpowers in this world?!?!'

'Supernatural abilities exist in this world?!?!?'

AN: This chapter has 2320 words.

You know what's more supernatural? It's how I'm still writing even after all this while. I should really take an official break in summer.

Also, Dolian was much more humane in the early chapters than I remember because boy did he undergo psychosis when that fateful 4th birthday arrived.

Anyhoo, BE SURE TO PS, COMMENT, AND REVIEW.

(March 11, 2023 - 471st day of writing)