01. In A New World.
"Your Majesty, shall we begin?" A beautiful female elf asked while walking towards a magic circle inscribed on the floor.
Her name was Hilda and she was known across the elven kingdom as the greatest healer among the elves.
Aside from being a popular healer in the kingdom, she was also the best friend of the elven queen.
"Yes," The elven queen replied with a nod before walking towards the magic circle as well.
The two began to chant a spell, causing the magic circle underneath their feet to glow with a purple hue.
As time went by, the ground underneath their feet began to tremble subtly as if the land itself could feel the magic coursing through their veins.
However, neither of them was bothered by this as their chant grew louder, with the words spilling out of their mouth like a river.
Dark clouds gathered across the night sky, twirling as if drawn to the magic circle like moths to flame.
In the blink of an eye, a bolt of purple lightning struck the magic circle, causing Hilda to be flung backward, tumbling across the courtyard like a leaf on a gust of wind.
However, the elven queen remained standing, unaffected by the shockwave caused by the lightning, and with a wave of her hand, a gust of wind blew across the courtyard, clearing away the dust while she searched for any signs of life on the magic circle.
Suddenly, a tiny, helpless cry rose from the center of the magic circle and Evelyn's gaze snapped towards the spot the baby was crying from.
"Yes!!!" Evelyn exclaimed excitedly.
She hurriedly lifted the baby into her arms before noticing Hilda walking towards her.
"Your Majesty, the spell? Did it work?" Hilda asked with a worried look on her face.
"Yes, it did," Evelyn replied with a smile right after she finished examining the baby's body.
Hearing this, Hilda sighed with relief. She was glad to hear that the spell had worked out without any side effects.
"Thank you so much, Hilda. This couldn't have been possible without your help."
"Anything for you, your majesty. But please, do not forget to take the herbs I recommended for you, it will help speed up the process of the lactating spell."
"I will. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. I'm forever indebted to you," Evelyn expressed her gratitude as a grateful smile spread across her lips.
"As your friend, it's the least I could do. So please, for now, focus on your baby and take him in before he catches a cold."
Evelyn nodded in understanding and was about to leave the courtyard when she noticed that the magic circle was still glowing on the floor, with the candles around it still burning.
However, Hilda noticed the look on Evelyn's face and could guess what was on her mind, so she reassured her. "Don't worry about the cleanup, I will take care of it. Now, please go in and take care of your baby."
Evelyn nodded with a smile and walked away with Orion in her arms.
She couldn't seek the aid of a maid because what she and Hilda were doing tonight was actually a secret, and no one but them knew of it.
Also, there was no one in the castle aside from them because Evelyn had given everyone in the castle a month off to spend with their friends and family.
She did this so that no one would know what happened tonight.
Evelyn continued to walk along the empty corridor leading to her bed-chamber. She couldn't wait to start a new life with her little baby.
However, while she was busy imagining a beautiful future involving her and her baby, Orion, who was currently in her arms with his eyes wide open as he gazed upon his beautiful mother, couldn't help but be stunned by her otherworldly beauty.
'Wow, she's really an elf,'
'Were elves always this beautiful?'
======
A few minutes ago.
Orion was on his way back home from work.
He was hurrying back home to take a nap while planning how he would spend his weekend as well, but while he was lost in thought, a truck suddenly appeared out of nowhere and the last thing he remembered was the truck barreling towards him before everything around him turned dark.
Orion had expected to feel pain across his body but this didn't happen.
'I was hit by a truck just now, and my body should be aching with severe pain, but it isn't,' He thought to himself.
He tried looking around but all he could see was utter darkness.
In fact, it felt like his eyes were closed shut.
He tried opening them but they wouldn't open.
He tried moving his limbs as well but the result was the same.
No matter how hard he tried to move, he just couldn't.
Suddenly, he felt something solid behind his back, accompanied by an indescribably warm sensation.
With every passing second, the heat at his back continued to rise in temperature and it now began to hurt.
He tried opening his mouth to speak but the only thing he heard was the gurgling sound of a baby.
'Wait a minute, is that me?' He wondered in surprise.
'No, it can't be..... right?'
He decided to keep quiet and surprisingly, the baby sound quietened as well.
He opened his mouth to speak again but instead, he heard the same gurgling sounds as before.
'Does this mean I'm a baby?'
'But how?' While Orion was wondering how this was remotely possible, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps heading towards his direction before he was swiftly lifted from the floor.
'I guess this means I've truly become a baby,' He uttered in his thoughts before hearing voices around him.
Orion tried listening to the voices but he couldn't understand what the voices were saying.
He tried listening again but suddenly, a blue screen appeared in his mind.
[Congratulations, Host, on your successful arrival into the world of Aethoria,]
'Aethoria?'
'I'm not familiar with such a name,'
'I guess this means I've truly been reincarnated into a different world,' Orion acknowledged this fact before noticing a new string of words appearing on the screen.
[The Elf System is currently at your service.]