Reincarnation…
It's such a fascinating concept that is mostly used in the Euro-Asia world religion—pertaining mostly to Buddhism and Hinduism.
During one's lifetime, a person gains karma by the actions that they have condoned, be it good or bad. Once their life has ended, the accumulated karma gets to decide the next life of the soul. Either a life of luxuries and wealth… or one of eternal suffering.
But I never thought such a situation was going to happen to me once I died...
Even as I finally narrowed down my current situation, I still couldn't believe it.
Once again, I tried to move this newborn body, but was still unable. Furthermore, there are three unfamiliar people in the room that I have no disclosures of—other than the couple being my potential parents.
"Relax... overthinking this won't help."
I slowly began observing my surroundings with the limited mobility my head could do. There's not much detail that can tell me where exactly I am at the moment. The most I can tell is that I'm either residing in the Medieval Europe Era in modern earth, or that I have travelled to another world in the same basic timeline.
As the newborn continued to think about his current situation, the woman who was holding him worriedly gazed at his face. Despite just being born, the baby was already wearing such a frustrated face.
"I think he's hungry... let me try and breastfeed him." The woman slowly began removing part of her clothing to try and ease the baby's supposed hunger.
After the consistent thoughts, I opened my eyes, unaware of what was currently happening, before I saw the breast of the unknown woman getting closer to my face.
Wait...
Getting closer?
Wait–Wait–Wait–Wait–Wait–Wait!
Wait a minute!
Don't tell me that I'm about to be breastfeed?! Even if I am an emotionless doll, I will undoubtedly feel some sort of shame!
...
Will I...?
Maybe not...
No—Wait! That's not the point!
Even at this moment, the unknown woman continued to slowly bring me closer to her chest. I tried to come up with as many counterplan to prevent what is about to happen, but to no avail.
Just as I was about to make physical contact, a sudden idea popped in my head.
With this final push, the newborn suddenly began crying as loudly as he could. The woman holding the baby got surprised and retracted, bringing the baby down to check what was wrong.
"This... This is embarrassing..."
Caressing his soft baby hair, the woman quickly looked at the doctor with worry. "Oh dear... Doctor, can please check to see if my child is in any sort of pain?"
The doctor who was waiting silently on the side of the bed nodded before she carefully picked me, and carried me away to a nearby changing table.
She gently placed me on top of the table, and began to inspect me—seeing if there was any visible injury, while gently poking me for any internal injury that she couldn't see.
After a while, she quickly stopped before looking back at the couple.
"There seems to be nothing wrong—"
But just as she was about to finish her sentence, she catched a glimpse of my open eyes, and just stared at them without ever blinking. After a long long minute of just silent eye-contact, she slowly got closer to me—checking to see if what she's seeing was real.
After finally confirming, she clenched her hand and let out a silent scoff before retracting her gaze. She then began walking towards the couple with a stoic expression.
Gazing at the woman first, she then looked at the man before bowing politely.
"Your Grace, there seems to be something odd regarding the newborn..."
The man stood there motionlessly—gazing coldly at the doctor in front of him before tapping his finger on the hilt of the sword.
"... Is there something that we need to be worried about?"
The doctor quickly nodded. "There's something regarding his right eye, but..."
After hearing the incomplete sentence from the doctor, the man slowly began walking towards me.
Once he finally stood right in front of me, he carefully stretched his hand towards me before gently placing his fingers on the side of my face, staring directly into my eyes without blinking—just like the doctor did, but with a gentle smile.
"... I see. Is it regarding the blindness in his right eye?"
"... Although his right eye does look blind, that doesn't seem to be the case."
Hearing those words, the man turned his body around, tilting his head with slight confusion. As he continued to think to himself while stroking his chin, a gust of wind gently hit the nearby window.
From what seemed to be a signal, the doctor's blue eyes shimmered for a bit before she calmly continued on with her explanation.
"The pupil still seems to react with the surrounding light. The color of the eye is also unusually pure-white, rather than milky-white that signifies blindness. Although it seems impotent for me to say... his eye might signify the Blessing of the Mana..."
Mana? Isn't that the concept in fictional stories regarding magic and such?
So my suspicion of traveling to another world seems to be correct then. But the problem now is knowing just where exactly I am at the moment.
The man's eyes twitched as he heard those words, slowly letting out a sigh before gazing at me with worried eyes. "The Blessing of the Mana..." He nervously tapped his finger on the side of his forearm. "Is there any way to disprove it?"
"One way to see if the baby is blessed by the mana is to use mana itself. As we know, mana isn't visible to the naked eye, and can only materialize in solidified form such as magical spells. But if he's able to view and feel mana in its natural state... then he indeed has the Blessing of the Mana."
Once again, the man's eyes twitched as she slowly gazed back at the doctor."... But isn't it fatal to expose large amounts of mana to a newborn...?" He slowly began walking towards her. "If he doesn't have the Blessing of Mana... then he'll surely die."
All of a sudden, I could see a black mist enveloping the man in front of me, causing the doctor to shake with fear.
I was also no exception. The more I gazed at the condensed darkness around the man, the more I felt the immense pressure crushing me.
I quickly glanced at the woman on the bed. She's been looking at the situation with slight discontent, but doesn't seem to be affected by the condensed darkness.
Is this only being directed to the doctor and me....? But why would he exert such intense pressure to an infant—his own child?!
The man's blood-red eyes glowed before he grabbed hold of the hilt of his sword. "If something bad were to happen, then you'll surely know what will happen to you?" His cold eyes narrowed down even more. "... Especially considering your reason for being here."
The doctor's eyes quickly widened before she keeled to the ground—trying so hard to gasp for air, only to be crushed down by the pressure even more.
My vision began to dwindle, and my senses began to disappear, just like they did before I died.
If this continues... I will definitely die again...
The woman in the bed quickly noticed the dire state of the baby. She desperately leaned forward from the bed—even in her exhausted form—and yelled to the man with all her might.
Just like a mothers instinct…
"Laurence! Something wrong is happening to the baby!"
The man stopped his threatening attitude towards the doctor and quickly looked back at me. He finally noticed my dire condition, and ran towards me while still emitting that dark pressure all around.
The closer he got, the more suffocating it became.
He then picked me up into his arm—still releasing the threatening pressure—before desperately glancing at the keeled doctor.
"D-Do you know what's happening for him to suddenly start acting like this?!"
The doctor forced her head up, despite her body shaking from immense fear, and stammered her mouth open before finally answering back.
"T-The aura that you are emitting is also considered a formation of mana...! If he does have the Blessing of the Mana… then even if you target your bloodlust, magic, or aura to only one person specifically... He can still sense them...! The amount of pressure... you are releasing... can kill the baby...!"
After hearing those words, the man went into complete shock, and the pressure around him finally subsided while I desperately breathed in.
The doctor also gasped for air before slowly forcing herself up. The woman in the bed, after finally knowing the current situation, couldn't help but direct her anger towards the man.
"Laurence... Is what the doctor is saying true?"
The man didn't respond. He could only continue to stare at the ground with utter shock—thinking to himself about what would've happened if not for the doctor's words.
She let out a sigh after not receiving a response from him before rubbing her forehead with slight frustration.
"... I'll take that as a yes." She then glared back at the man—her voice more colder than before. "Could you please bring the baby back to me and leave? The doctor and I will decide the name for the child."
The man quickly raised his face—showing such an anxious and pleading face to her while he reached out his hand to her.
"No! I-I can't leave you alone, it's not safe—"
"Can you please... leave the room after you safely deliver the baby to my arm? I am very angry with you at the moment. It'll make me slightly happier if you were to also reflect on your actions after you leave."
His face then turned solemn. After a long moment of silence, he finally nodded and quietly made his way towards her before gently handing me down on her arms.
He then walked towards the door, and once he opened it… he took a quick glance at the doctor—his eyes shimmering red once again—before excusing himself out of the room.
The woman let out a solemn sigh as she stared at the closing door before gazing at the doctor.
"I'm... sorry. I know that my husband treated you horribly when you did nothing wrong. Please, I give you my sincere apologies in my husband's stead.
The doctor looked at her unimpressed, and continued to remain stoic. "... It was no trouble, Your Grace. You don't have to apologize to someone of my caliber."
"Please don't say that! Although my husband did indeed act rashly today, he isn't a bad person. He is truly a kind person who gave the world to me. He... just has a hard time trusting people. So I apologize once again."
The woman looked at the doctor with a smile so endearing that it could make any man and woman fall for her.
But even so, the doctor couldn't help but look at the woman with slight disdain before looking at the window, and up at the setting sun that was slowly being consumed by the midnight sky.
"... I'll try and see His Grace in a different way."
Unaware of her intentions, the woman just let out a small chuckle at her response. "Like I said, there's no need to be polite with me."
The woman then placed her hand on my head. Her warmth slowly coursed through my skin before she began to gently stroke my head—smiling at me as if I'm her one and only treasure...
Slowly... she brought me closer to her, and gave me a lovely kiss on my forehead before smiling warmly once again.
"May happiness follow you through your path, and guide you to a future filled with peace and tranquility..."
She then began singing an unknown, yet beautiful, lullaby.
The more I heard this lovely song, while feeling the warmth of her hand over my head, the more at peace I felt...
"This... This doesn't feel bad..."
As she continued to caress my head, I felt my eyelids becoming heavier and heavier—forcing me to close my eyes.
I don't necessarily feel tired, yet... for some reason, I want to sleep...
This body... is quite needy it seems....
But even then, I couldn't help but look up at the smiling woman once again.
The warmth of this woman who is now my new mother... Can I continue to live in this moment, even if it's a dream...?
Even if it's just a dream... I just want to ... feel this moment...
✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦
"Your Grace, the baby is asleep now. Would you be deciding on a name here, or would you like to take this moment to rest?"
The woman stopped singing the beautiful lullaby, and gently removed her hand from the baby's forehead.
She then began to think deeply about the name she should give her child.
A name with a special meaning. A name that will make this child that she's holding feel happy, and give him the courage to face the unknown.
"... Lysander."
"Is that the name you wish to give him, Your Grace?"
The woman smiled and nodded. "Yes. It is a name that my husband and I decided on. Although I did say that I was going to decide on the name myself... I didn't want to make my husband feel bad."
The woman looked at the sleeping baby once again, and smiled even more happily with the name she decided on for the baby.
The doctor looked at the woman coldly once again before slowly closing her eyes, and forcing out a subtle smile. "It is a beautiful name, Your Grace."
The woman let out a small chuckle. "My husband said the same thing."
But after a moment of fleeting tranquility, the woman's eyelid began to feel heavy. She began dozing off—opening and closing her eyes over and over again before—letting out a quiet yawn. But she dared not to move a single inch of her body, so as to not disturb the sleeping baby.
"... Your body has accumulated a lot of stress while delivering the baby, Your Grace. Both your mana and body have been depleted to their lowest point. You must rest well in order to not make His Grace worried."
The doctor's blue eyes shimmered once again while looking coldly at the woman, who began to feel even more tired for some odd reason.
"I... I guess so... do you mind taking the baby... to his room for me...?"
Upon hearing those words, the doctor's plan was set in motion.
"Yes, Your Grace. I'm happy to help you with your needs."
She carefully picked up the baby from the woman's arm, who then fell asleep without a care in the world.
"... Sleep well, my lady."
The doctor then looked sadly at the baby in her arms, who was also sleeping so peacefully, just like the woman in front of her.
"A child with the Blessing of the Mana..."
She shook her head, and began walking out the room without making a single sound. She continued to walk through the empty hallway, seeing no servants or guards around like planned, while still carrying the sleeping baby deep in her arms.
She then walked past the room that was prepared for the young child, and just continued to walk forward with no end—her face shunned by the dark hallway.
As she walked by a window, the appearance of the bright, full moon caught her attention.
Its illuminating light slowly reached down to her, and gently covered her whole body with pity. The doctor stopped amidst her track, and just stared back at the moon with utter sadness.
The full moon is so white... and full of life.
Oh, how it reminds her of that person's face...
Her eyes slowly turned tired, and slightly dead. "... What a pitiful person I am."
She slowly closed her eyes, and stood there motionlessly for a long, silent moment before making her way down the hallway once again.
It's always been a human philosophy that when the night sky reaches its peak—
The time to ripe has come.
Someone will perish on this unfortunate night...
The so-called doctor looked at the child in her arms once more with a troubled expression. Her footsteps became heavier and heavier as her troubled expression then morphed into grief.
She stopped amidst her track once again, and for once… smiled bitterly.
"... I have murdered a lot of people. Grown men, young women, noblemen and the likes..."
She then looked back at the midnight sky with a mourning gaze. So many windows were in store, yet not a single one of them could show the full image of the sky in front of her.
"But I have never killed a child..." She then looked down at the dark, empty floor. "You truly are blessed by mana, young child. That sleeping spell would've killed a normal infant due to its high concentration of mana..."
She closed her eyes, and held the baby tighter on her arm.
"But it's still a shame… It would've been easier for me if you just died without me using such undignified means." Her saddened eyes continued on as tears began to form underneath her eyes. "I... I just don't have the courage to kill you... not when you were just born..."
She lets go of one of her arms, and places her open hand near the baby's face. "But I have already come this far. If... If I can complete this mission, then I can finally escape from that place with her..."
The woman began to mutter some inaudible words. She went as slowly as she could—trying to delay the death even by a few seconds for the pitiful child that was chosen as the victim.
A black mist emerged from her hand and began to engulf her whole hand. "I'm sorry, young child. I cannot atone for this sin, but I'll make sure to give you an instant death—"
But once she was about to finish her spell, the same man from the bedroom appeared behind her, and was about to strike her down with his sword.
"...?!"
The woman quickly dispersed the magic she was casting and extended her hand to the man. A new magic circle appeared before her, and took on the form of a blue-colored shield.
The rebound from the collision pushed the man and the woman away from each other.
But without a moment to lose, the man drew his blade once more, and quickly positioned it in front of him, while his blood-red eyes could only stare coldly at the woman who was holding his dear child.