Volume 1: Chapter 1 - Rebirth

/// Kiyotaka Ayanokoji ///

A plethora of colours invaded my eyes, a blinding light that stole my sight from me. My pupils contracted and dilated, trying to adjust to the new sight. The static white in front of eyes was replaced by a man looking excitedly at me. His eyes were black with glasses adorned over his slightly chubby face. He looked at me and downwards. The pair of glasses were thick enough to act as a bullet proof shield.

"Congratulations Ma'am and Sir, it's a healthy boy", the man with glasses spoke as I felt him take me down and place me in a warm embrace.

Wait, huh? This doesn't make sense. What does this mean? A healthy boy? Me? What does that mean? I tried to move my hands but in vain. My motor control was almost non-existent. I wanted to move my hands but all I got was a slight flail.

"Oww, he's looking for his mama already", A man said from my right. Turning my head in his direction I saw a huge smile over his well shaved face. His hand reached for me. My hair stood at the edge... wait, I don't have hair. My mind started blaring alarms at the incoming danger. My eyes remained fixed at him despite the weird sensation and clobbering heart.

But instead of what I thought as a frontal assault I felt a gentle poke at my nose. My eyes blinked a few times, baffled at his response. His smile grew even further as he poked my cheeks and nose a few more times,

"Hello there, son. I'm your father. Can you say dadda?", the man said, followed by a slight giggle.

"He was just born, Rey", a honey tinted voice said. I looked around, observing my environment. The place looked shabby with lanterns that provided light. It looked like a mediaeval era place and the glasses man who was the first one I saw in this place was the doctor.

There were many absurd things going on. First of all, my supposed death... that I am unclear of. Secondly was this rebirth or in more simple terms reincarnation. The most absurd theory of reincarnation was not only proved correct but also, I was the subject. Now the real question remains; Was I reincarnated by myself or was it someone else's doing?

Reincarnation was a heavily debated subject. The transfer of soul not only from a single medium to another but also to another world. But the sheer absurdity of the concept made it confined only to stuff made for delusional teenagers- Anime. However, it seems like it wasn't all folly when they talked about the essence of life which was the soul. Somehow my soul remained even after me dying and somehow overcame the singularity that destroyed the fabric of time and space, and I was brought here.

However, it was still uncertain that this place was the same earth as before or another world altogether. I could understand the language just well. But judging the lip movement I could discern that this definitely wasn't Japanese. Nor was it any other language I knew.

I looked up as I saw myself being transferred from one embrace to another. The sight of the woman holding me came into view. Long auburn hair fell on her face, a few beads of sweat still lingered on her forehead. Her face was beautifully sculpted. Her brown eyes looked at me with a feeling I never observed or felt before. Was it what they call the "Motherly Affection", or was it something else? The feelings were so foreign to me that I decided not to pay any significant attention to it.

However another mind numbing question rose in my mind. Was the blinding light I saw before the opening? No wonder the innards looked all familiar. Before I could scrutinise my own situation any further, I felt a sudden strain on my brain. The first ever since I left the white room. That's when I realised it. I had reincarnated into a new born. The amount of thinking I had done in the little time after coming out was more than even an average person can handle. For the first time in hopes of feeling something that I never felt before I let myself fall into a deep slumber while remaining in the warm embrace of the woman who's my mother now.

—---------------------------

It's been a few weeks since my... reincarnation. The extremely miniscule amount of control over my own infantile body had left me unable of any movement. Hence most of the time was spent in the crib, staring at the roof. Although it wasn't the best thing to stare at, it was the only thing available to me for now. So my routine mostly consisted of sleeping, being fed, thinking about what era I had ended up in and sleeping.

Due to the limitations of this body because of its immaturity, I get tired very quickly. I couldn't get enough time to formulate my plans accordingly. However, I am still concerned about this place. Where have I ended up? Because the actual language spoken here isn't the one I know. And I was taught every language. Is this even earth?

—---------------------------

It's been a few months and I am finally able to crawl. I won't say that I am particularly proud of doing something as mundane as this but it's still good to see that I can at least move from one place to another and not just be confined in the crib like an animal.

After being able to crawl I was finally able to crawl my way to the nearby mirror that laid on the ground without a frame. Sitting in front of it I saw my reflection, seeing myself for the first time. Long auburn hair spilled down on a pair of sapphire eyes. My name was Arthur Leywin, son of Reynolds and Alice Leywin. Although it's going to be a little hard for me to have a peaceful life with this kind of family, I'll have to adjust and keep up with them for now.

My face was as stoic as my previous life, apathetic with no smile or innocence a child my age should have. However, despite my aloof expression and behaviour towards my new parents, they would still indulge themselves in weird habits of hugging and kissing me to their heart's content.

Human nature is really strange.

—————————————

Crawling slowly I tried to make my way towards the library. I had finally determined where the books that I needed were. While trying to sneak through the vigilant patrol of the woma- , mother, the door snapped open as a figure rushed inside. With the same stupid smirk on his face he walked inside, shouting.

"I'm home", he almost yelled. However, the corner of the table collided with his thigh. The table skidded crashing into me as I fell on my buttocks. It wasn't exactly painful. Just a minor scrape on my knee. However, the exaggerated reaction from my mother was what caught me off-guard.

"Reynolds!" She screamed at him and ran in my direction. "Don't worry, Art, mama will remove the pain." She said in a gentle manner. However, when I was expecting a bandage wrap or one of those manipulative chants where parents make the immature brains of child believe that the pain has gone, I saw her hand gleam in a light shade of green.

Humans' minds can be manipulated into thinking something that isn't even real. Like the experiment with the blindfolded man. However, I wasn't a toddler mentally nor was I handicapped in any way. Still the pain was subsiding. It wasn't just a pure mental effect. I could see the physical changes as the minute scratch from earlier started repairing itself. In a matter of a few seconds the scratch was gone.

It was a strange phenomenon and an act still not achieved by science. Furthermore even if it was possible theoretically, it would require extremely advanced machinery, not a wave of hand. Thinking logically it should've been impossible. However, deeming something impossible was against my own beliefs. Everything was possible, given the correct circumstances and methods. Now that my reincarnation was a proof of an abandoned theory, this phenomenon of healing was what made me theorize.

This place wasn't earth... rather a magical world.

—-------------------------------------

Sitting inside the library I rummaged quickly through the books that laid sprawled over in every direction. With my training from white room, I was able to read the majority of books in a single day. Somehow, I understood the text. Although it was foreign language, one that I had never seen before, I could still understand it, further solidifying my theory of someone else's intervention in my reincarnation.

The books covered a wide variety and now I knew most of the knowledge about this new world. According to the books the place I was born in was a continent named Dicathen. It was a mediaeval world. I understood it after my mother started to take me outside. However, the strange thing here was there was no mention of any other continent. Whether it was a lack of intellect or resources, the possibility of another continent was really high.

The other books were based on the magic system used in this world. People who used magic were called mages. This meant not everyone was able to use magic. To be able to use magic, people needed to go under a natural process called Awakening. The ratio of awakened mages to ordinary humans was 1 out of 100. Hence the chances of awakening largely depended on the parental heritage.

However, On earth I had learned that nothing was impossible. Just because awakening happened naturally, it doesn't mean that it can't be artificially engineered. The possibility of awakening artificially was completely there, however it was still not considered by anyone. Or rather the requirements of this task were too much to actually make it happen.

To live a peaceful life and a life without any problems, I needed to awaken. This world was similar to my past one. However, this one wasn't a diplomatic country. It was based on royalty. So if a noble or royal wants, he could disrupt the flow of my peaceful life. To avoid that I needed enough merit and power.

Letting out a slight sigh I relaxed by resting my back against a wall,

"It's going to be troublesome."

----------------------------------------------------------

It's been a few days since I started to do multiple experiments with myself and the so-called 'Fuel' of magic called "Mana". The awakening procedure involved the formation of a mana core near the sternum. After its formation, it is purified by mages by meditating, advancing their core.

The natural formation of my core would not be before I become 11 years old. However, waiting until then and just dilly dallying would waste my time. Wasting time here was the last thing I wanted to do. Sitting in the library with my back against the wall, I closed my eyes.

I always wondered. Did mana have its free will? Or was it a part of another predetermined programme like the sun and solar system? If it had some free will then can I manipulate it into doing my bidding? To form a core for me- contradicting the natural order.

I closed my eyes, focusing on my environment. Mana was a natural phenomenon. It existed everywhere. I just had to detect it somehow and manipulate it into moving towards my core, forming it. I felt my brows twitch and muscles tense as I directed my unalloyed attention at my environment.

The sounds of birds chirping, dad practising, mom washing dishes, whooshing of wind... everything was muffled and then vanished completely as more and more of my attention was directed towards the pre-mature forming of my core.

My pitch-black dark vision was suddenly tarnished with brightly glowing motes of white. I willed my will into it and they started trembling before assembling the mana inside my body already, towards my sternum.

I had finally done it. Although it required a lot of theories that were rejected, they didn't matter. All that matters in the end is that I succeed. As long as I succeed, I don't care about anything else.

And whoever tries to disrupt my struggles for a mundane life... I will crush them.

(A/n Ship: Yandere Ayanokoji x Freedom x Simple Life)