The ground beneath me felt soft, squishy. The world around me was dark, like a cold, endless shroud. My mind raced a mile for a minute. There were infinite questions in my mind.
Where am I?
What happened?
Is this my supposed second life?
It certainly is disappointing.
The silence stretched, only to be broken by a sudden rush of air as I fell. I tried to break my fall, but my limbs failed uselessly, as if they had no muscles at all. My stomach twisted with every second. I want this roller coaster ride to stop.
Finally I landed. Hard. Breath had long been knocked out of me. The ground beneath me felt…warm and soft? Seriously, where am I? Stop gatekeeping, Azelarion.
A blinding light shone into my eyes. Ahh, I can't see. This is so troublesome. Can I just go back to my old life? Reine isn't there any longer, but it's definitely not as boring as this. This is sooooo boring!! I want to go home. Lily was going to cook ham for me to sample. Where's my ham?
Everything blurred into a haze or burning red. All at once, the noise crashed into my ears like a thunderstorm. So loud! Everyone shut up. Where the hell am I? Just send me to heaven at this point. Second lives are boring.
I tried to scream for Azelarion to take me back, but all that escaped from my mouth was a small, pathetic wail. What the hell was that? Not cool at all. This is starting to get annoyingly interesting. Something about this place has captured my attention.
Muffled voices started to form words.
"Congratulations, sir, ma'am! He is a healthy boy!"
Wait…what?
Damn.
Is this what I think it is?
Was I…just born??
Nooo!!! I would need to go through all that boring stuff again, unable to express my feelings of disgust! No one likes you to tickle babies!! It's freaking painful!
So this is what it is. Reincarnation. The most classic of reincarnations. Rebirth.
Sigh, new body, new looks. I hope I at least look as good as I did on Earth.
Observing my surroundings, I realised one thing. I could understand their language! Could this mean I am reincarnated on Earth? That's amazing! Then why did I have to meet the water goddess, fire god, and you know, the others?
Well, by some miracle of fate, here I am, babbling in baby, completely able to understand everyone. That's a relief, though, because it would have been awkward if by the age of three I was still struggling to talk to my parents.
Opening my eyes was harder than I expected. My eyelids felt like they were weighed down by platinum. I don't recall opening my eyes being this troublesome. Even for a legendary assassin like me, those infant eyelids felt like lead. But after what felt like a century of squinting and blinking, the world finally came to focus.
My eyes were flooded with distorted colours and shapes. Faint, wobbly, and painfully bright. It was impossible to make sense of anything. How do babies see things?
For the record, this is the longest I've concentrated on something. This world has really captured my attention. It is not every day you see me trying so hard to do something.
A man stood in front of me. He looked like a doctor, though I use the term generously. Long grey hair fell from his scalp and chin. He wore glasses so thick that they could stop bullets. HAHAHA!! But the worst part was he wasn't even wearing a doctor's coat!
Where the hell am I?
The next thing I realised was…we weren't even in a hospital.
What the hell is this place?
The room—no, the cult's weekend project was filled with dimly lit candles scattered across the floor like some sort of poorly thought-through ritual. The stone walls were carved with different symbols, and strange symbols were drawn across the ground, faintly glowing in the flickering candlelight.
And then I turned…
Calling her mom should be fair.
She was stunning. Auburn hair tied neatly into a bun. Her skin was pale and flawless under the candlelight. She had pale lavender eyes, and lashes long enough to sweep across my face if she wanted. Her lips were soft, pink, perfect. And somehow…she radiated warmth. Love.
My tiny infant instincts screamed to cling to her. Is this how babies are supposed to love their mother? Because damn, I was sold.
Then, I glanced right.
Dad.
He wore a small smile as he gently looked on at me. From his expression, I could tell he was a rather stoic person. Except around his family, of course. His ice-blue eyes sparkled with warmth as he studied my tiny face. Dad had white hair. It was completely white, and yet, it still looked good on him. It didn't make him look old at all. In fact, Dad looked absolutely handsome.
"Hey there, little one," He said, crouching down. His giant finger stroked my face tenderly. "I'm your Dad."
"Honey," Mom frowned. "He's your first child! You should show more enthusiasm! Talk to him more."
"Okay…" He said reluctantly. "Little one, your name is Hoshikawa Hoshino. It means Star River. With this name, we hope you'll always find light to guide you, and the courage to keep flowing toward your dreams, just like a river beneath a sky full of stars." He smiled.
"Gaa…!" I cooed.
I'm glad I was born in a nice, warm and loving family. No more family issues or complications in this life then. That's amazing!
I observed my dad. His ice-blue eyes, angular jaw, high cheekbones, and white hair neatly combed, it made him somehow look elegant and sharp. Do I look like that too? I hope I'll grow up to be a man more attractive than he is.
Right now, he's just a man more attractive than average. That's nothing compared to my previous life. In my previous life, I was the hot and popular kid! I'm going to regain my past glory in this life too, whether fate likes it or not!
"Kawa…" Mom welled up in tears, as a breathless smile took over. She gently placed her pinky in my tiny hand. And I gripped it tightly. I do not want to lose her. Having one complete family is enough for me.
The doctor excused himself. "Please continue resting for a couple of days, Mrs Hoshino, and if anything happens to Hoshikawa, please let me know."
Interesting.
Hoshikawa. A befitting name for me. In this life, I definitely want to be able to chase my dreams without anything standing in my way.
~~~~~~~~~~
Days, weeks passed.
And holy hell, I realised something over these past weeks. Babies have no control whatsoever over their limbs. Their fingers were just useless pieces of sticks, and their legs just flopped around out of my control. The worst part was that I had no control over my bodily functions! The hell? Curse this life!
Oh, and turns out that cult room was my parents' bedroom. The world itself had been stuck in the past. There was no electricity, no modern comforts. Only a small town called Starhaven. That's where we lived, according to Mom's stories.
But I was so wrong.
My mother, Liora Hoshino, showed me that this world was not just all dirt and old. The night I fell on the stairs was the night she showed me that magic in this world existed. She healed the scratch on my leg—not with a band-aid, not with a boo-boo kiss, but with glowing hands and a humming green light.
My father, Renar Hoshino, was equally absurd. I watched him trying his best to impress me with a big display of fire bullets and water spears. Wow, this world is sick!
I waved my tiny hands in awe, though I expected him to be unimpressed by my tiny gesture of praise.
Instead, he laughed softly and walked over to the window.
"Kawa…" He smiled, resting his palm on my head. "If you train hard, you'll be just like me someday."
"Gaa!"
My father, though, quickly shifted. His features changed. Cold, calculating. He unsheathed his sword. Blue flames engulfed the blade, swirling, magical and deadly.
And then—
Two fire-breathing wolves, Infernox, attacked.
With one clean strike, Dad skillfully killed the two of them. No blood. Perfect technique. And then, he patted my head again.
"You have it in you," He said, gazing at the magnificent blue sky. "I believe, one day you'll become a man stronger than me."
Wow, my dad's so cool!! He's so inspiring! I can't wait to work on magic!
"My, there you go again, Renar," Mom reprimanded. "Go clean up the mess you have made in the courtyard this instant!"
She turned to see me watching them silently.
"Worse! You killed them in front of Kawa! How could you?! He's too young to see these things!" Mom sighed.
"But—" Dad argued.
"No 'buts'! Hurry up and clean up the courtyard!"
Dad reluctantly picked up a pail and cloth. Splashing the water on the bloodied grass, he cleaned it with a cloth.
Mental note: Never anger Mom. Never.
~~~~~~~~~~
Night fell upon our small town, Starhaven. And this time, it was Dad who put me to sleep.
From my many days of living with Dad, I have learnt one thing. Dad was not very good with children. While putting me to sleep, he would tend to talk to himself instead of talking to me. And it's always about politics. But I remember this night very well.
"Kawa," Dad said gently. "Power is rarely earned. It is inherited, stolen, or hidden. Those who inherit it call it destiny. Those who steal it call it ambition. However, those who hide it…rarely call it anything."
I clutched his finger tightly.
"Which one do you think we are?" He asked, mostly to himself. "If I were to say which one, I think we are the hidden one. Because right now, in this household, we have something so great, so powerful that everyone is after it. That's why we must hide it well, and prevent people from stealing it."
"Gaa?"
What?
What does our family have that is so powerful?
I thought we were a mere commoner family.
"Power mostly comes from status and talent," Dad said. "But we have neither. Only a small amount of talent compared to those of nobility."
Dad looked at me. My eyelids were closing.
He chuckled to himself, then said quietly, "So we should stay away from them. If we are facing a battle we cannot win, we must learn to run. Learning to run away is far harder than persevering…"
My eyes closed, and my head turned blank.
What was Dad talking about?
Yawn, I'm so tired. It's fine. I'll figure it out tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~
Life in this world had quickly turned into a mix of awe, wonder, and excitement. Each new day held its own interests.
Weapons were everywhere. Crystals existed. Magic was real, not just some mere fantasy. My parents were simultaneously terrifyingly strong and warm at the same time.
Currency was simple.
100 Copper = 1 Silver
100 Silver = 1 Gold
100 Gold = 1 Platinum
Power and wealth determined status. Soldiers and mages ran the land. It was not much different from my old world, except that this time, I had no control over my own body.
And yet, I knew one thing.
I would master this body. I would control my muscles. I would control everything.
Because in this world… the game had only just begun.