Warmth...
That was the first thing I experienced. Not pain. Not fear.
It was a soft warmth that surrounded me, like something from an old memory.
Light poured in the window—warm and golden—illuminating the room with a light I had never believed existed in the world I'd known. I couldn't catch my breath, couldn't even look, but I knew she had her arms around me. I knew her voice.
"𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘙𝘺𝘶𝘻𝘦𝘯…"
Her tone was infused with love, so abundant that it almost left me tongue-tied.
For love was something that I had forgotten long ago.
A few days have passed since I first opened my eyes to this strange yet beautiful world. I'm still trying to make sense of it all. The air is so fresh, it's feels almost tangible. The folks here smile openly, their eyes were free of fear. And for the first time in what seems like an eternity… I actually feel safe.
But I haven't forgotten. I can't forget.
The past adheres to me like a second skin scars that no time or magic can ever remove. And yet, in this tiny, fragile body, I feel something else quietly growing inside me. Is this feeling Hope?
Now, it's been 2 weeks since I was born, and the household is as busy as ever, and in the Ainsworth Family, there is only a single maid named Elza, and a bulter named Alfred, which I found strange for a family of nobles. But then I learned that the Ainsworths are a low-ranked countryside noble family, holding the lowest authority among the noble class.
But I didn't care about that. Perhaps because they weren't bound by authority, power and politics, the people here felt humble, warm and kind, unlike the people who I once knew from my previous world, where souls and conscience of people as a human were traded for money and power, crimes were committed without any regret or remorse, and all of it was masked as ambition.
My heart was quietly overjoyed to know that maybe, just maybe, in this second life... I can finally experience a normal, ordinary life without war- something my previous world never allowed me.
Two years have passed since I opened my eyes to this new life and with every passing day, I have begun to understand more of the world I now call home.
Time flows differently here softer, like a breeze through the golden fields. There is no sound of warhorns, no one trying to assassinate me while sleeping, no trembling and sleepless nights under bloodied skies. Only the rustle of leaves, distant laughter, and the scent of warm bread coming from the kitchen at dawn.
I can walk now, though my steps are still unsteady and more determined than perfect and graceful. The stone floors feels cold under my bare feet in the morning but I have learned to enjoy that too. And for the first time in 2 years I was allowed to go to the roof but accompanied by Alfred, and what I saw there can be called the most beautiful thing I saw ever till now, the lush greenery and wide farms, lands and rice paddies of our Ainsworth's Domain, the farmers working on the fields and mountain ranges in the far North, And one interesting fact, I kind of like the he contrast between the chillness of the floor and the heat of the sunbeams that pour in from the eastern windows. Elza says I always look like I am trying to have a conversation with the sunlight.
Elza is still the only maid in the house, a soft-spoken woman with honey-blonde hair usually tied up in a loose bun. Her fingers always smell faintly of mint and rosemary, and she hums while working which I like to hear. She treats me less like a noble and more like something she truly cares about.
Then there's Alfred—the old butler with a back straighter than any tree I've seen and eyes that have surely seen generations. Rumors are there that he and my grandfather were rivals back in the day and he was also my father's mentor in swordmanship. He reads me stories sometimes when the day slows down, his voice deep and measured, like an old library come alive, and I like spending time with him as he always treats me like his own grandson, which I never experienced before.
Today, something small, yet extraordinary happened.
It was late morning, and I had followed a white cat who stole my ball out into the courtyard. I liked the ball as it was the first birthday gift from my parents. I rushed forward, arms outstretched, but then I felt a strange feeling , a tension in the air like the garden itself was holding it's breath. Then the cat slipped and father stepped out from the opposite end of the courtyard as the ball was flying towards the flower pots and with barely a glance, he raised his hand and the ball froze in the air. But I noticed that no, not froze . Slowed..
As if the world itself has thickened around it.
He caught it with a single hand and smiled down at me. "Careful, little knight, that ball of yours has ambitions."
I stood there, wide-eyed, unable to respond. Not because of the ball, but because of what I had seen or thought I'd seen. For a brief moment, the air around Father's hand shimmered faintly, like heat above a summer road. The same kind of shimmer I had once seen around fire-wielders in a battlefield… but gentler and controlled.
That.. was magic. No sorcery.
I hadn't seen any signs of it since my rebirth. I had started to wonder if this world was really different from them one I knew, or if perhaps such powers were rare. But that moment confirmed it. It existed here too. It was here all along, I just didn't notice it. I think as I grow up and my senses gets sharpened and sensitive I can sense them more clear than ever.
Later that evening, as the sky blushed into twilight, Mykonos came into my dream. His eyes were tired but tender, and seemed to always carrying some weight that he never voiced aloud.
"You saw something today, didn't you?" he asked softly.
I nodded, unsure of what I was allowed to say.
"There are many countless things in this world, Ryuzen," he began, "beautiful, powerful things, hidden beings,... but not all of them are meant to be chased too soon. Sorcery, like fire, can warm or burn and you're still learning to walk."
I looked up at her, wondering what he meant about about those powerful beings ? But all I saw in her gaze was concern, not suspicion.
"You will soon come to realize about this world, when the time is right", he said. As he was slowing fading from my dream, he said , "Sorry Ryuzen, I..." and I saw the silhouette of a girl before waking up and after waking up I wondered what Mykonos was trying to say to me at the last.
I thought even here, in this world of peace and morning songs, the past does not let go so easily.
But maybe, it doesn't have to.
Maybe it's not about forgetting the fire, but learning how to hold it without being consumed.
Since then three years have passed and it was now time for the Quiquennium Harvest Festival, which comes every 5 years as I heard that at this time the harvest is nearly 10 times the normal amount which is said to be blessings from the Heavens.
That night, beneath the stars and the rhythm of distant drums, I made a silent promise to myself:
Whatever truths this world held and whatever my future may bring, I would protect the ones I cherish.
And so, the Sun dipped behind the hills and the Ainsworth Domain prepared to welcome a festival blessed by the heavens, the boy named Ryuzen stood unknowlingly at the edge of change.
For fate does not knock loudly, it arrives with quiet steps, during times of joy, hidden beaneath celebrations.
What the coming days would bring... even the stars could not yet say.
To be Continued...