X765
The village of Hearthspire slept beneath a blanket of stars. The air carried the scent of damp earth and woodsmoke, the quiet broken only by the occasional hoot of an owl or the rustle of leaves in the wind. It was an ordinary night in an ordinary village—until a newborn's cry pierced the stillness.
In a small cottage at the edge of the settlement, a woman gasped, her sweat-dampened hair clinging to her face as she slumped back against the pillows. The midwife, a short woman with hands roughened by decades of work, chuckled as she cleaned the squalling infant.
"A fine, healthy boy," she declared, wrapping the child in a blanket before passing him to his exhausted mother.
Mira, her long black hair tangled from hours of labor, gazed down at her son with a love so fierce it eclipsed the pain. Her blue eyes, usually bright with laughter, now shimmered with tears as she traced a finger over the baby's tiny, wrinkled face.
"Hello, little one," she whispered, voice raw with emotion. "Welcome to the world."
One Month Later
A baby lay in his cradle, staring at the wooden beams overhead.
"What… the hell?"
The thought was sharp, clear—completely at odds with the infant body it originated from.
Memories crashed over him like a wave: A classroom. The scratch of a pen on paper. The weight of textbooks in his bag. His name—r#*&$. He'd been Ren, a student sweating through his A-Levels, dreaming of university, of a future—
And then?
Nothing.
And now… this.
He tried to move, but his limbs refused to obey properly. Tiny fists clenched, unclenched. A gurgle escaped his lips when he meant to curse.
"I'm a baby. A gods-damned baby."
The door creaked open, and a familiar silhouette filled the doorway—Mira, her hair tied back in a loose braid, her face softening as she spotted him awake.
"Oh! My little love, you're up already?" She crossed the room in quick strides, scooping him up with practiced ease. "Were you having a nice dream?"
r#*&$. —no, that wasn't his name here, was it?—stared up at her, his infant mind racing.
"Dream? Lady, I wish."
But all that came out was a coo.
Mira laughed, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "So chatty today! Come, let's get you fed."
As she carried him to the hearth, Ren's thoughts churned.
"Okay. Okay. Reincarnation. I've read about this. But why? How?"
His eyes darted around the cottage—simple, but clean. A wooden table, a few stools, herbs drying from the rafters. No electricity. No modern comforts.
"Fantasy world? Medieval?"
Mira hummed as she settled into a rocking chair, adjusting him in her arms. Outside, the wind sighed through the trees, carrying with it something… strange. A whisper of something more.
Ren stilled.
"Wait. Did the air just… shimmer?"
His mother didn't seem to notice nether did he.
"What the hell am I supposed to do now?"