Ah… it had been a brutal day .Work was draining—as always. I'm a Data Engineer in a mid-tier corporate firm, the kind of place where your soul is slowly chipped away by deadlines and meaningless metrics. And lately? I've been struggling to find a reason to keep going.
Ever since my parents passed away a year ago, everything's felt hollow.
My father was a Chartered Accountant, a man of sharp intellect and strict principles. My mother, a gentle but brilliant pharmacist. From childhood, I was immersed in their worlds—numbers, medicines, formulas, balance sheets. While other kids were playing with toys, I was learning how to calculate depreciation or balance a chemical equation.
And oddly… I loved it.Especially the evenings when Dad would sit me down and walk me through financial ledgers like they were sacred scrolls. I was obsessed with finance. In college, I was so ahead of the curve I crushed mock exams meant for CA aspirants. Back then, I thought I had it all figured out.
But now? Now it all just feels… pointless. What use is talent when the people who believed in you are gone?
I stared at the ceiling of my lonely apartment, the hum of the fridge in the background the only sign that the world hadn't stopped.
"Ah… Mom, Dad," I whispered into the stillness. "I don't want to live in this world alone."
If I had even one more chance… just one more moment to feel the warmth of a mother's hand, to hear the teasing tone of my father's laugh—I'd trade everything for it.
My chest tightened, breath shallow, mind spiraling.
And just like that… I passed out on the couch, thoughts tangled and heart unbearably heavy.
When I awoke, everything was… wrong.
I couldn't see. My vision was nothing but hazy white shapes swimming in a fog. My limbs felt stiff, my body weak. I tried to move—tried to speak—but nothing came out.
Then, I heard it.A soft voice—gentle, melodic—like a lullaby whispered through the veil of dreams. I forced my eyes open, blinking through the haze.
A woman was holding me.
Her face was unfamiliar. Beautiful, yes, but entirely foreign. She cradled me with a tenderness I hadn't felt in years, brushing strands of hair away from my face with delicate fingers.
Wait… what?
Why were my hands so… tiny?
Panic rose in my chest. I glanced down—or tried to—and saw small, chubby arms waving uselessly in the air. No, no, no. This couldn't be real. This had to be a dream. A hallucination. A breakdown of the highest order.
And the people around me—there were more now—were speaking in a language I didn't recognize. Not English. Not Hindi. Not anything I'd ever heard before.
Am I… a baby? Did I just get reincarnated… as a baby!?
The realization hit me like a freight train. My mind reeled, trying to make sense of it. The logic, the implications, the impossibility of it all—it didn't matter. This was real. I could feel the warmth, the touch, the breath of the woman holding me.
As I struggled to comprehend the absurdity, the woman—my mother in this new life, I suppose—pressed me gently against her chest. I could hear her heartbeat. It was steady, soothing… like a rhythm my soul had long forgotten.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
A man rushed in, panting, eyes wide with emotion. The moment he saw us, he practically sprinted to the bedside. Without hesitation, he wrapped both of us in a bear-like hug, his arms strong and trembling.
And just like that, I felt it. Warmth. Safety. Love.
It was overwhelming. My heart ached—not from pain, but from something far deeper. Something I hadn't felt in what seemed like an eternity.
It felt like… happiness.
I wanted to resist it. To deny it. To scream that this wasn't my life. That I didn't belong here. But… I couldn't. Not when the embrace was so full of warmth. Not when, for the first time in a long while, I didn't feel empty inside.
A tear slid down my cheek. Not from sorrow—but from a quiet, aching relief.
Maybe… maybe the gods had heard me after all.
Maybe this is my second chance. My chance to undo the regrets that haunted my past life. My chance to live, truly live, without the shadows of "what ifs."
As I lay there, embraced by strangers who somehow already felt like family, I made a vow to myself.
This time… I won't waste it.
Six Years Later
Six years have passed since the day I opened my eyes in this world.
It still feels surreal—waking up as a newborn in the arms of a strange woman, wrapped in warmth I hadn't felt since my old life. But over time, I came to understand. I had been reborn.
This is not Earth.
This is Veyradis—a world touched by history, shaped by old magic, and ruled by nobility.I was born into the House of Aldercrest, once a proud and powerful ducal line under the Kingdom of Eirenwald.
My name in this life… is Theodore Aldercrest.
We speak the tongue of Valmeric, a smooth, rolling language that I picked up quickly thanks to my early start—and, well, my former adult brain certainly helped.
But even as a child, I could tell… something wasn't right.
Yes, my family bore the title of Duke. We lived in a grand estate, had servants, and wore fine clothing. But the manor was weather-worn. Certain halls remained locked, unrepaired. The once-vibrant gardens were overgrown. Some of the silverware didn't match. I noticed the small things—mismatched ledgers, gaps in the storerooms, quiet tension in the eyes of the steward.
A decaying dukedom—masked behind the illusion of noble dignity.
We were noble in name… but slowly sinking in silence.
And yet, in this forgotten house, my parents loved me with a sincerity that cut through the dust and shadows.
My father, Duke Edric Aldercrest, was a man worn by years and stress, yet his eyes always softened around me. He taught me to read, shared stories of the realm, and carried me on his shoulders as if I were the last joy left in his world.
My mother, Lady Seraphina, was grace and kindness wrapped in silken poise. Her lullabies were the only magic I needed. Her hands were gentle, her warmth never faltered. I often caught her watching me with eyes full of sorrow—and fierce hope.
They didn't know it, but I had already lived a lifetime before this. I had walked through concrete cities, built digital empires, and fallen into despair.
But now… I had them.And I had this chance.
I may not have power yet. I may still be a child in this world.But I've seen enough—heard enough—to know the truth.
House Aldercrest is crumbling.
And if nothing changes, we will be swallowed whole by time, debt, and political vultures.
But I won't let that happen. Not to the people who gave me this new life. Not to the mother whose arms feel like heaven, or the father who still smiles despite the weight of a dying legacy.
In this world of faded banners and quiet magic, I will rise.
For my family.For this house.And for the future I couldn't build in my old life.
I will revive House Aldercrest.That is my vow.