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Chapter 7 – Eyes that See, Mind that Thinks
The world was... loud.
Not the roar of battlefields Ray once knew, but the soft chaos of life—baby giggles, distant animal calls, rustling wind through old wooden shutters. For most babies, the world was a blur, a haze of shapes and sounds. But Ray was no normal infant.
Lying on his soft crib carved from old beastwood, Ray blinked up at the ceiling, tracing the grain in the wood with unnerving calm for a one-year-old. His thoughts were too sharp, too aware. His soul—his true self—was a man who had died, burned away in a world of steel and sorrow.
Now, he was Ray.
Again.
And he was... pissed off about the diapers.
"This is hell," he thought, sighing inwardly as a fly buzzed past his tiny nose. "No, correction: Hell had more dignity than being wiped with a warm towel by a maid humming love songs."
But he was learning. Watching. Absorbing.
His new mother, Elira, visited daily—bright-eyed, strong-shouldered, and always smiling. Her presence calmed even the chaos in his mind. She often held him while humming lullabies in a language his old world never knew.
And his father—Dran—was a beast of a man. Literally. Towering with a fighter's gait, wild black hair and a scar crossing one eye. He trained every morning with twin wooden swords, and Ray had memorized every movement.
Even now, lying in the crib like a proper useless infant, Ray watched the rhythm of his father's footwork from the corner of the nursery window. One day... he'd copy that. But better.
His twin siblings, though...
"Rayyyyy!" a squeaky voice rang out.
And then she was there—Lyra. His sister. Small, loud, and always covered in dirt. Her twin, Lark, followed a step behind, clutching a stick like it was a divine artifact.
Lyra poked Ray's cheek and burst out laughing.
"He looks like a potato!" she declared with pure authority.
"I'm keeping him," Lark whispered, eyes wide. "When he gets big, he'll fight for me."
Ray mentally sighed. And people feared demons. Try dealing with hyperactive siblings when you're secretly twenty-seven inside.
But... he didn't hate it.
Despite the strangeness of this second life, despite the diapers and forced naps, despite the strange new magic-infused world...
Ray felt something deep in his chest. A seed.
Not the necromantic kind. Not yet.
Hope.
"System," he thought, eyes narrowing, "I know you're out there... watching. Waiting. You picked me. You gave me that Domain. Show yourself, already."
But the System stayed silent.
No blue screens. No sarcastic remarks. Not yet.
Ray's eyes flicked toward the distant horizon visible through the window. Somewhere out there... the world waited. And he'd be ready. One day, these tiny fingers would summon armies.
For now?
He clenched his tiny fist.
Step one: survive potty training.
---
WantChapter 8 – Whispers in the Cradle
Ray woke up screaming.
Not from fear. Not from pain.
From anger.
Something had entered his mind—something cold, mechanical, ancient. A voice that didn't speak in words, but in commands. For a second, it was like lightning had struck his soul.
[System Integration: 1% Complete.]
[Initializing Host's Soulframe...]
[Adjusting to infant neural pathways...]
[Warning: Host memories are too dense. Partitioning.]
Then it vanished.
Gone. Silent.
Ray stared up at the ceiling of his room, chest rising and falling like any one-year-old child.
But inside? Inside he was on fire.
"System," he whispered through his thoughts, "Don't tease me. Come back."
Nothing. Not even a sarcastic comment.
He grunted and rolled over—at least, as much as a baby could roll over. There was no one in the room, but his instincts screamed that something had changed.
He felt watched.
---
Hours later, after a meal of mashed roots and goat milk that insulted his old self's dignity, Ray was resting in his crib again when it happened.
A soft ding.
A sound that should not exist in this world.
Then... light.
A translucent screen appeared before his eyes—only he could see it, floating in the air like a ghost.
> [Welcome, Ray.]
[System #15 Binding: 8% Complete]
[Temporary Access Granted.]
[Warning: Host body too immature for full interface.]
Ray's breath hitched.
And then the voice came.
Not some boring AI. Not a monotone drone.
A bastard.
"Oi, brat," the voice said, dry and bored. "Took you long enough to grow a brain."
Ray blinked.
"...Fifteen?"
"Boom. You remembered. Points for you," the voice said. "Now, shut up and listen. You're still too small to do anything cool, but you're on the path. The Domain? Still there. Locked. Quests? Not yet. Shop? Pfft, dream on. For now, just stay alive, cry a little, and stop shitting yourself every three hours."
Ray couldn't help it. He grinned.
In his crib, to any outsider, the baby was just smiling up at nothing.
But in his mind?
He was meeting his old friend. His only real companion.
"Fifteen… you son of a glitch," Ray muttered under his breath.
"Missed me?" the System said, smug. "Yeah, you did."
---
Chapter---
Chapter 9 – The First Spark
[System #15 Sync: 15% Complete]
[Memory Partition: Stable]
[Host Soulframe Integration: Active]
[Domain Access: 0.1% Unlocked]
Ray's heart raced.
Even that tiny percentage—0.1%—was enough to make him feel something open inside him. A thread. A whisper. A path.
In his vision, the interface flickered. A new option appeared at the edge of his awareness:
> [Enter Domain? Y/N]
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
The world twisted.
---
He stood on grass. Real grass. Wind blew gently through silver trees, their leaves glowing with soft blue light. A sunless sky pulsed overhead in hues of lavender and gold. It was peaceful. Warm. Endless.
This was not a realm of death.
This was his domain.
And it was beautiful.
"...Not what you expected, huh?" Fifteen said, his voice echoing across the sky.
Ray turned slowly, scanning the hills. In the distance, he saw it—a gate. Giant, ancient, and shut with black roots climbing over it like veins.
"Behind that?" Fifteen said. "That's the fun part. But you're too weak. Still wearing diapers. So, baby steps."
Ray clenched his tiny fists. Even as a child, his will was clear.
"What can I do now?"
"Hmm. Good question. Let me give you a present."
A flick of invisible code passed over Ray's body. His skin shivered.
Then—*
[Summoning Node Acquired: Tier 0 – Bone Spark]
[Basic Material Available: Infant Spirit Residue, Ambient Mana, Memory Dust]
[Would you like to attempt a summon? Y/N]
Ray grinned. "Yes."
He reached out instinctively, and the world responded. The grass before him twisted into bone. Light sparked.
From nothing—something formed.
It was tiny. Wobbling. Barely a foot tall. A skull floated above a fragile spine, no legs, just hovering bones held together by pale-blue soul mist.
It looked up at Ray.
And saluted.
> [Summoned: Lesser Soul-Wisp Skeleton (Tier 0)]
[Loyalty: Absolute]
[Name: ???]
Ray couldn't help but laugh. His first soldier.
"Let's call you... Bone-Bug."
The skeleton clattered cheerfully.
Behind him, Fifteen groaned. "You're really naming your first summon that?"
"Yes."
"...We are so doomed."
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Chapter 10 – A Spark in the Cradle
Ray's eyes snapped open.
The Domain faded from his vision like a dream. He was back in his crib, wrapped in soft blankets, surrounded by wooden toys and the faint scent of baby powder. Outside the window, birds chirped. The world looked normal again.
But Ray had changed.
Deep inside his chest, a thread of energy hummed. His link to the Domain—the spark—was still there. A pulse of mana. A presence. And in the shadow under his crib, something moved.
A faint clatter of bone.
"...Bone-Bug?" Ray whispered.
From the dark, a pair of blue lights blinked back. The little skeleton—no bigger than a cat—peered at him with glowing sockets and gave a quiet salute.
Ray smirked.
> [Summon: Bone-Bug – Stable]
[Mana Cost: 0.4/s – Sustained Link Active]
[World Integration: Partial – Hidden from Non-Magical Detection]
[Loyalty: Wagging Tail Mode]
He grinned.
The undead wasn't bound to the Domain. It was real, and it had come through with him.
That meant he could summon in the real world—if he was careful.
"...Fifteen," Ray whispered mentally. "How much mana do I even have?"
The reply came fast.
> [Host Mana Pool: 9/10]
[Recovery Rate: 0.05/sec]
[Note: You're a damn infant. You'll get better.]
"Thanks," Ray muttered, then turned his attention to Bone-Bug. "Let's see if you can crawl."
The skeleton clattered across the wooden floor, slow but silent. It vanished under a dresser just as the door creaked open.
His mother stepped in.
"Ray?" she cooed, smiling. "Oh, you're awake already?"
Ray froze. Bone-Bug was right there.
She walked toward the crib, leaned down, and gently picked him up. Her warmth, her smell—it hit him like a wave of nostalgia. The old Ray had never known this kind of care.
But behind her back, Bone-Bug peeked out of the shadows, tilted its skull, and gave Ray a quiet thumbs-up made of finger bones.
He barely stopped himself from laughing.
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