Warmth.
It enveloped me like a cocoon—soft and suffocating at the same time. My skin was wet, slick with blood and other fluids, and every inch of my body screamed discomfort. My lungs seized as I inhaled for the first time, and without my consent, a wail burst from my mouth.
A baby's cry.
That cry… was mine.
No… no, no—what is this? Why can't I move properly?
My arms—no, twigs—flopped uselessly beside me. I tried to open my eyes, but the blinding light pierced through, forcing me to squint.
Sound was distant, echoing, like I was underwater.
"He's alive!" came a relieved cry, womanly and trembling with joy.
"He's… beautiful," said a deeper, calmer voice. "She would've been proud."
Their voices were unfamiliar, but something in the woman's tone felt comforting. Her trembling hands pulled me close, pressing me against her chest. Her skin was warm. I could hear her heartbeat—strong, yet rapid.
Selene.
That must be her name—my new mother.
No… not mother. Step-mother.
The memories came back like lightning—sharp and cruel.
---
A Life Forgotten
A sudden pain throbbed through my mind. In that instant, fragments of another life surged forward.
I saw my body—older, scarred, lifeless on a hospital bed.
My stepsister's face looming above, twisted with glee.
"You never even kissed a girl," she spat, watching the light leave my eyes. "You died the same useless virgin you were born as."
The sting of betrayal. Of loneliness. That cursed life had been a pit of disappointment and wasted desire.
And yet… here I was. Crying in the arms of a stranger. Reborn.
Not a dream. Not a hallucination. A second chance.
A new world. A new beginning.
---
The Naming
I was still crying, unable to stop. My underdeveloped vocal cords betrayed me.
"Poor thing. He's cold," Selene murmured, wrapping me in a silken cloth. Her tone was gentle, but her eyes… I caught a flicker of something else.
"But his mana…" she whispered. "It's pulsing wildly already."
A quiet gasp followed.
"He's overflowing," said the man—Leon, my father. "Even his eyes… they shimmer with fate."
I finally managed to focus.
Tall, dark-haired, crimson-eyed. A warrior's posture and a noble presence.
Leon Vance. My father.
Selene, his second wife.
My real mother had died the moment I was born, her name now only a shadow in this new chapter of my life.
"She would've named him something soft," Leon murmured. "But I'll name him something strong."
He looked at Selene.
"Mike," he said. "Simple. Bold. A name that leaves its mark."
Selene smiled slowly. "Mike… I like it."
She leaned down, pressing her lips gently to my forehead. And in that moment—
I felt it.
---
The First Glimpse of Power
Her touch lit a fire deep within me. Not affection. Not comfort.
Power.
Selene's breath hitched, cheeks flushing ever so slightly. Her fingers trembled where they brushed my skin.
"Did… did you feel that?" she whispered, almost to herself.
Leon nodded. "His mana reacted to you. Deeply."
But I felt more than that.
A ripple of emotion buried beneath her surface. Something primal. Forbidden.
Not motherly.
Not for her own child.
But I wasn't her child.
I was her stepson.
And I could feel it all.
---
[Skill Unlocked: Desire Sense – Lv. 1]
You can feel the hidden urges of those around you. The more emotional or intimate the contact, the stronger the reaction.
---
My lips curled—not into a smile, but into something darker.
So I wasn't just reborn.
I was reborn different.
---
The House of Vance
Time passed slowly in that infant body. My senses dulled, but my mind stayed sharp. I listened. I learned.
Leon Vance, once a knight of the High Order.
Selene, a court enchantress who gave up the royal halls for love—or perhaps ambition.
They lived far from the capital now, in a grand mansion bordering the wildwoods—peaceful, remote, and soaked in magic.
"He was born under the twilight eclipse," whispered a maid. "Only happens once every five centuries…"
"Such children are cursed and blessed alike," another added. "Overflowing with power. But dangerous."
Good.
---
Internal Monologue
In my past life, I died unloved. Untouched. Mocked.
But this world runs on magic. Emotion. Lust.
And I?
I can feel everything.
Even as a baby, I stir desire. What happens when I grow? When I master this gift?
"This time, I won't live in fear.
This time, I'll take what I want.
Every heart. Every body. Every soul."
Selene cradled me tighter, her breath brushing my ear.
"My sweet little Mike…" she whispered. "You're going to change the world."
Her fingers lingered too long on my cheek. Her thoughts betrayed her.
Curiosity. Warmth.
Desire.
My power pulsed again, stronger.
I closed my eyes and let the darkness cradle me.