NEW LIFE
Power.
What is power, really?
Is it the strength to crush mountains with a single blow.
Is it the authority to command millions of soldiers with a word.
Is it ruling over an entire continent, deciding who lives and who falls.
Or is it reaching the throne of the so called god itself.
People argue endlessly about it. Warriors, kings, scholars, even monsters.
Yet none of them ever ask the most important question.
Where does power come from?
Everything has a source. Fire, water, life, death. Even the endless has a beginning.
And if even infinity has a source, then power must have one too.
The world trembled the moment that truth took form.
Not with thunder.
Not with divine light.
Not with prophecy carved into the sky.
But with the cry of a single newborn child.
At that instant, something shifted.
The seas stirred, as if disturbed by a overwhelming presence.
The ground resonated with a pulse older than history.
The sky itself felt heavier, like it was watching.
No one noticed.
No god descended.
No kingdom celebrated.
No alarm was sounded.
Yet every living being, every creature, every unseen entity felt it deep within their existence.
A presence had been born.
A child who would one day search for the source of all power.
A being who would not be bound by land, sea, or sky.
A soul that defined what it truly meant to be great, to be strong, to be absolute.
The one who would become known as
The Infinite Source Mage.
"Light…"
"Bell! Hey, Bell!"
"Bell... whos... that..."
A ringing voice echoed in his ears.
"HEY BELL, WAKE UP!"
He suddenly jolted awake and shot up from the matted floor, causing his head and vision to blur. "Argh... I shouldn't have stood up that fast."
Lost in his thoughts, the orphanage lady suddenly grabbed his ear, pulling him back to reality. Her voice rang out, sharp and full of frustration.
"Hey! I didn't raise you here just so you could slack off! Go and chop some wood out back, and you better not let me catch you slacking again, or you'll be doing chopping duty for an entire week!"
Still confused, Bell looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. After a moment, he adapted to the situation and silently nodded. As he walked toward the back, his eyes wandered and caught sight of a wooden sign that read "Nina's Orphanage."
He then looked at his own hands and froze. They were small, fragile, and undeniably the hands of a child.
"Am I in someone's body...?" he thought to himself as he stepped outside, behind the orphanage.
"What happened... Why am I in a child's body? My powers and magic seem to be gone... It's like I either got reincarnated or cursed."
He retrieved an axe and a few pieces of wood to cut. But as soon as he gripped the axe, he realized the weight was too much for his fragile new body.
Frustration seeped into his thoughts.
"Ugh... how is this body so frail and weak? If only I could just..."
Bell closed his eyes, attempting to tap into his methods of harnessing mana. But to his shock, he found himself completely devoid of any magical energy.
Confusion clouded his mind.
"Huh? What? I don't have any mana? No... that can't be possible. I, the one who uncovered the truth of all kinds of powers, can't even gather mana?"
Bell sighed deeply and decided to use a very traditional and old way of gathering mana. He tried to draw what little energy he could from the surroundings. Sitting on the ground, he closed his eyes, took deep breaths, and focused his mind, hoping to pull in even the smallest trace of magical essence.
Unfortunately, the village he now resided in had an incredibly low mana presence. Bell could barely absorb anything, yet he managed to gather a small amount.
He inhaled, and as he exhaled, the tiny mana he had collected rushed through his arms. He then grabbed the axe lying on the ground, and thanks to the mana, he could finally hold it in the proper form. He began chopping the wood as he was tasked to by the orphanage lady.
However, his mana reserves were small. He couldn't continue for long, and by the third log of wood, his mana had completely drained. The weight of the axe became unbearable, causing his trembling hands to give out.
"Tsk."
He let go of the axe and looked around. The back of the orphanage was surrounded by fences, though they weren't very tall. They were made of weak, old wooden planks. Fortunately, there was a small broken gap in the fence, just wide enough for a child to crawl through but too small for an adult.
Since Bell was now in a child's body, he crouched down and crawled through the broken fence, making his way out of the orphanage.
As he walked around, he noticed the village was unfamiliar to him. The layout, the buildings, even the faint aura of mana in the air were all different. That was strange, since he had traveled across many lands and could remember every place he had ever been. Yet this village... he had never seen it before.
But nonetheless, he sprinted out of the village and ran toward a wide grassy field. As he looked around, confusion filled his eyes. The surroundings were unfamiliar, nothing looked recognizable to him.
Bell let out a heavy sigh and muttered to himself, "Let's just do what I came here for."
He then sat down on the grass, closed his eyes, and began gathering mana from the air around him. Fortunately, the mana outside was abundant, and it flowed into his body with ease. After a few moments, he had gathered enough mana throughout his entire body. He focused the mana into his brain and formed a clear image in his thoughts, an image of a glowing holographic screen.
A sudden "ZZIP" sound echoed, and Bell opened his eyes.
In front of him floated a glowing system screen. It contained his personal information.
CURRENT STATS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name - Bell
Age - 9
Gender - Male
Race - Human
Attribute - None
Old Title - The Greatest Mage
(locked)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Strength: 5
Speed: 5
Vitality: 5
Intelligence: 87
(Locked)
(Locked)
(Locked)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hm, alright. Now it's clear to me that I've definitely been reincarnated into this frail boy's body... but why? Ugh... why do I have such fuzzy memories..."
He sighed and looked around the open field. The wind gently brushed against his face, and the sunlight warmed his skin, making him feel a little more refreshed.
[image here] (comments)
Bell stood up and made his way back to the village and the orphanage.
When he reached the back of the orphanage, he grabbed the handle of the axe and channeled mana throughout his entire body. This time, it wasn't only his arms, but also his legs to help him maintain strength and balance.
He continued chopping wood for hours until the sun began to set. Then, from a distance, he heard his name being called by another boy from the orphanage.
"Hey! Come on! The orphanage lady said it's time for dinner!"
Bell sighed, dropped the axe, and relaxed his mana flow.
The boy who had been watching asked curiously, "Did you use mana?"
Bell turned toward him and replied, "Yeah."
The boy pointed to the large pile of neatly cut wooden logs. "Did you do all that?"
Bell blinked. "Yeah?"
The boy's eyes sparkled with amazement. "Woah! You can use mana? That's so cool! I saw it flowing all over your body!"
Bell looked a bit surprised. No ordinary kid could notice mana flow like that. Yet this boy saw it clearly.
He asked, "What's your name?"
The boy smiled brightly. "Oh, my name's Marc! Nice to meet you, Bell!"
Bell tilted his head slightly. "Wait, how do you know my name?"
Marc chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, who wouldn't? The orphanage lady was yelling your name out loud this morning."
Bell gave a small, embarrassed laugh. "Right... anyway, let's go. She's calling us, remember?"
As they walked back inside, they found the orphanage lady standing near the doorway. Beside her was a small child, holding onto her skirt tightly and hiding behind her
"Marc, Bell, this is Nelly. She will be part of our family now in this household, so treat her well," the orphanage lady said warmly.
She then crouched down to meet Nelly's eyes and continued, "These two will be your brothers from now on, okay? If you need any help, just call them anytime." She patted Nelly gently on the head before standing up to prepare the wooden plates for dinner.
Marc walked up to Nelly and smiled to make her feel comfortable. "Hey, little sis. I'm your big brother Marc, okay? So just call me if you need any help."
Nelly nodded shyly, her small hands fidgeting with her dress.
Marc tilted his head and asked, "How old is little Nelly?"
Nelly looked down at her hands and raised six fingers.
"Aww, Nelly is six years old? I'm nine years old, same with your brother Bell over there, although he's just a few months older," Marc said proudly.
Hearing that, Bell looked confused and asked, "Wait, what do you mean by a few months older? When exactly is my birthday?"
Marc and Nelly glanced at each other before turning back to Bell. Marc frowned slightly. "You don't know your own birthday?"
Bell froze, his face showing awkward silence, before the orphanage lady's voice called out from the other room, "Dinner's ready!"
Marc smiled and took Nelly's hand, walking her toward the table. Bell followed quietly behind them.
..
…
After dinner, Bell and Marc remained seated as the orphanage lady held Nelly's hand, guiding her to her bed and preparing her for sleep.
Bell turned to Marc. "Hey, so when exactly is my birthday again?"
Marc blinked and looked surprised. "Wow, you really don't remember? Well, your birthday is on one of the luckiest months and days ever."
Bell tilted his head slightly. "Luckiest month and day?"
Marc nodded proudly. "Yeah, your birthday falls on the same day The Greatest Mage was born. Year 5845, Vernome, Day 45." The Sacred Month - symbolizes the birth of the Greatest Mage, celebrated for 45 days.
Bell's eyes widened. "Wait, so what year is it today?"
Marc laughed softly. "You really sound like you've got memory loss or something. Anyway, today's year is 8745, Ranyuja, Day 19. The Month of Beginnings - marks the renewal of the lands."
Bell thought deeply to himself . "Since those are the names of the months then this continent is definitely the Demanas Continent….wait….. year 8745???? last time i remember the year was 8724..could it be that.. 21 years has passed..then what happened to my body…my original body…"
Lost in thought, Bell began to space out. Marc waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, Bell?"
Bell blinked rapidly and regained focus. "Ah, sorry. You seem pretty knowledgeable about this stuff."
Marc puffed his chest proudly. "Of course I am! I'd read every book I could find about magic and its history, especially if it involves my idol."
Bell smiled faintly. "Your idol?... Don't tell me it's..."
Marc grinned. "Yup! The one and only, the greatest mage in the world!"
Bell let out an awkward and slightly embarrassed laugh before asking, "So what happened to that great mage?"
Marc's expression darkened slightly. "Ah... he kind of disappeared twenty-one years or so ago. And even now, there hasn't been a single trace or clue about him. Everyone already assumed the worst... that he died."
Marc took a deep breath, shaking off the sadness from his face. "But I believe he's still out there. I know he isn't someone who would just disappear without any reason."
Bell looked at Marc's determined expression, and it reminded him of himself back when he was young, filled with that same fire and conviction toward magic. He couldn't help but smile softly. "Ahh, I see. Well, I'm sure he's out there somewhere. I can guarantee you that he hasn't disappeared."
Marc smiled warmly at Bell before letting out a yawn. Bell chuckled a bit and said, "You should go get some sleep first."
Marc nodded, standing up from his seat. "Alright. Goodnight, Bell." He gave a little wave before heading to their room to sleep.
As soon as Marc left, Bell's expression turned serious. He sat quietly, lost in thought, the faint flicker of the candle beside him reflecting in his eyes.
"Sigh... so this is it. This is where my new beginning starts? Hah... all of my achievements, powers, titles, and tools, all stripped away from me, and now I'm starting again from the very beginning as this orphanage boy... haha..."
His serious look slowly shifted into a sluggish, drained expression. "Aughhhh... damnit... well... at least I still have my knowledge of how things work. I can just rebuild everything from scratch."
Bell called out the system using his thoughts and a holigraphic screen appeared infront of him:
CURRENT STATS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name - Bell
Age - 9
Gender - Male
Race - Human
Attribute - None
Old Title - The Greatest Mage
(locked)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Strength: 5
Speed: 5
Vitality: 5
Intelligence: 87
(Locked)
(Locked)
(Locked)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~