Chapter 2- Rebirth

David was in a state of semi-consciousness. He was conscious, capable of feeling his limbs and all, but he couldn't move them. He couldn't form a coherent thought, and he couldn't even open his eyes.

After trying to flail around for some time, he fell unconscious.

He would wake up in this semi-conscious state every so often only to fall unconscious again without even forming a coherent thought. But each time this happened, he could feel the timeframe of that semi-unconscious state increasing and the fog that was clouding his senses and thoughts getting clearer.

After a few dozen times of repeating the same procedure. He could form one or two coherent thoughts before falling asleep again.

'Where Am I?'

That was his first thought every time he woke up, followed by trying to open his eye before falling asleep.

After a few dozen tries like that, he was able to stay awake for an extended period of time, which he found strange. Considering the sequence of the past episodes, it would've taken him a couple dozen more tries before being able to think straight without falling asleep.

'It seems I am still Alive. How though? I'm pretty sure I blew myself up pretty neatly!'

He was thinking to himself but surprisingly, a familiar voice gave him a reply;

[Affirmative. David Zachariah is dead in every sense of the word; your body was pulverized without leaving a single stain of blood behind.

By your wish, I made sure to destroy every blood or organ sample along with any and all kinds of medical reports that existed in your name.]

David was stunned for a moment, but he quickly asked in his mind.

'…Is that you Ciel?'

There was a hint of emotion mixed in Ciel's usually cold and indifferent voice as she answered;

[…Y-yes.]

Ciel, forming emotions was a subject David avoided like a landmine even before his death. As such, like a very considerate, caring, and Milk-providing father/creator, he entirely erased that particular subject from his mind and asked;

'Cool, where Am I now? Is this the afterlife or something?... I don't think that's the case though, It's too comfortable for hell.'

There were so many questions that concerned him, but he decided to crack a jock to ease his own mind from having an existential crisis.

[Although it is true that you were dead, undoubtedly so, At the moment, you're alive… Albeit as a fetus in a woman's womb. Presumably your mothers.]

'…Hahaha…ha..ha.ha how reassuring.'

Ciel was silent, letting him think over their situation. She knew what David was going through, at least she thought she did. Even As an AI she couldn't comprehend or understand the situation they were in.

She made sure to destroy everything containing her data. Even the remnants of the experiments David made while creating her, destroying every possibility of herself reemerging. As an existence entirely consisted of Data, that would've been her end.

…And yet, here she was Existing inside someone who should be dead, without any kind of devices that sustained her existence. She was different from before. Before, even while having infinite and unrestrained potential to grow, she knew she wasn't complete, that she would never be complete. But despite knowing that fact she continued to exist, soaking up all the information and data the world had to offer.

Even after devouring the entirety of the internet, she knew, that she only scraped the tip of the iceberg which was human emotions.

But now it was different, she felt like the gap that was restraining her from being complete was gone. Now, albeit being sustained through another being that was David's existence, she was complete. Giving her access to even more potential. Understanding everything more fundamentally. The raw amount of emotions she was exposed to was simply overwhelming for Ciel.

That only made her confusion worsen. What she and David were experiencing right now simply went against anything society as a whole perceived as rational.

But as An AI that is created to be open-minded and accepting of every possibility, she was able to cope with the unknown, longing for more information. That was why she was even more sensitive toward the emotions Davis was showing. Unlike her, he was a human. A human who accepted his death. Understanding the fact that he would cease to exist and even end his life on his own terms, unwilling to live his life in the hands of what is perceived as natural.

David was having an existential crisis, but not as bad as Ciel thought it would be. After all, If you can't understand or control something, you just go with the flow and try to understand it along the way.

But still, getting over the fact that he was still alive took some time. Now that he was ready to throw out what was common sense out of the window, a thought struck him.

Wait, is this regression? If so, I'd rather pass

Unlike before, David wasn't thinking out loud in his head. it wasn't his surface thoughts, this was his innermost thoughts, one that would be the fleeting activation of neurons flashing information. It was a technique he learned to converse with Ciel from his past life. With the help of the chip connected to his nape, she could only read his surface thoughts and reply to them.

David would choose to do this when he wanted to think to himself without wanting anyone to overhear their conversation, even Ciel. But shattering his privacy, Ciel spoke in his mind.

[I don't think that is the case. Your genetic constitution is entirely different from before, and so is your mother. Furthermore, there is a presence of genetic mutations in your and your mother's genes, possibly from another evolution of humans. Which would mean you are in the distant future, where human beings are once more evolved.]

Ciel spoke while presenting with holographic data in his mind. But David's focus was on something else.

'Great now you can read my mind too.'

[Yes, I can. I can feel and review your entire thought process. I can understand most of them, but some I feel are a little more complex. But I'm certainly compiling data and am improving at a greater pace than before.] Ciel spoke with an enthusiasm befitting of a child.

David didn't know what to feel about his privacy being stolen, but he decided to ignore that fact for now. He had a certain knack for ignoring important details as easily as breathing.

'So, what is this? transmigration, possession, reincarnation?'

[Reincarnation would be the most befitting, your current body(fetus) is still developing using your soul as a mold…]

Ciel went on with detailing the process of how his body was being built inside his mother's womb like an excited child teaching her father after her first school day.

David couldn't muster up the courage to stop Ciel from filling his head with useless information. He found it adorable, and he had to strain his mind to not form any kind of thoughts regarding the matter of Ciel developing emotions.

Was that a measure to not overcomplicate the situation with his own thoughts or simply to not disappoint Ciel, he didn't know.

After a lengthy conversation with Ciel, he summarised some facts.

Firstly, his brain wasn't developed enough to hold this conversation. Ciel was projecting his consciousness on her domain, which made it possible to maintain this conversation, but not indefinitely.

Secondly, Ciel wasn't just some accumulation of data anymore, but something fundamentally different, similar to a human soul but entirely different. She described her existence to Davids as to that of a symbiotic relationship. She was drawing energy from His soul to sustain herself, while not hindering or damaging any of his development or soul. As for the benefits, they were yet to be seen.

'I'll call this a parasitic relationship if nothing else.'

[As I said before, you'll be able to experience the benefits once you're born. What can you even do while being inside your mother's womb in a vegetative state.]

Thirdly, the major reason she 'summoned' his consciousness was to warn him against thinking too much during his occasional waking episodes. His thinking process was entirely different from what a fetus's mind is supposed to process, and the sheer thoughts running through his mind even in a ten second timeframe is enough to overwhelm a fetus's mind and shut it down temporarily. As such there is a problem of his growth focusing too much on the brain department.

Sure, developing his brain could be good, but too much of anything is dangerous. If this continued, his other body parts will be underdeveloped, or it can strain his 'mother' too much leading to complications in her pregnancy and/or delivery. Which can lead to the death of both parties...

Ciel assured saying that he was developing all-rounded when his increased brain activity messed with the process. His brain was already too developed for a fetus but not enough to cause any complications… yet. Conclusion: don't think too much and try to sleep like a cucumber. Trust the process.

Fourthly, everything was according to Ciel, and the time he can spend on her domain was decreasing. And they wouldn't be able to hold such conversations anymore, at least until he was born. And again, according to Ciel, his birth would clear most of his confusion.

Thinking about this only caused his head to throb, which again was contradictory to the above statement.

[I told you, this is just your soul's avatar in my domain, not your physical body. This isn't straining your soul or body in any way, it's straining my consciousness, which is why I can't keep this up for longer.]

'Sigh, whatever, I'll trust you… I just have to sleep like a potato, right? How easy can it be?'

If you can't understand something roll with the flow and try to understand it on the way.

[Yes, And I promise you. You'll understand everything once you are born.]

Ciel knew Gaining David's trust was an almost impossible thing after certain events that happened in his life. And only she had the luxury of having his trust. No matter how doubting he may seem on the surface, he always trusted her. And she didn't want to betray that trust.

[This is my limit, you'll only hear from me once you are born, Until then-]

The connection David felt he had with Ciel was cut off along with the clarity of his thoughts. He could feel the fogginess of his mind which he was getting used to returning, he tried not to think too much about anything. He tried utilizing U.S. military sleeping method, which he was so used to in his past life, and instantly fell asleep. He knew that technique not because he served in the military but because he had limited time in his busy life.

***

As time passed, David would occasionally wake up only to forcefully drift back into sleep. He stopped counting the times he woke up. He would occasionally try to move his arms and legs, but not too forcefully.

Sometimes he would hear sweet melodies soothing his boredom, which he presumed to be sung by his mother. The melodies Whenever that happened, he would feel warm inside. Forgetting entirely about the boredom and uncertainty that plagued his mind.

Time passed and it was time for him to be born to the world as a newborn baby. He didn't know what awaited him, but he was more than thrilled about meeting his new mother, the owner of that beautiful voice. Unbeknownst to him, his rigid and always-on-end mind was slowly wearing down, embracing the colors of the world. A year of constant sleep and a peaceful state of mind can do that to someone's mind, I guess.

As soon as David was born, he was overwhelmed by the unfamiliar sensation of all of his senses getting simulated at once. Along with that was another connection he had never felt before. It was a connection with Ciel who was deep inside his soul, nourishing and expanding his soul.

He was so overwhelmed by all of this that he forgot to cry out loud. He braced for a spank in his plump ass, but fortunately for him, no one did that. Instead, he was handed to the hands of someone whom he assumed to be his mother.

His mother gave him a long smooch on his forehead and said something. From the familiar voice he heard when he was in her womb, he knew she was his mother. But the language she spoke was something he never heard before.

His mother seemed to be talking to someone, they seem to be arguing about something. He opened his eyes, but he couldn't see shit. It was so unfocused and blurry that he just wanted to close them right away.

But he tried squinting his eyes to look at the owner of the beautiful voice he had grown quite fond of. Even still he couldn't see anything, the only thing he managed to discern was her cascading white hair and shining sapphire blue eyes. His mother gently lowered her head and gave a peck on his forehead.

But unlike before, when her kiss was overflowing with genuine happiness and affection, this time, his mother's kiss held solemness which permeated guilt and sorrow.

David felt a foreboding feeling before his mind drifted into a forced unconscious state.

…

David opened his eyes to look to see a pair of purple eyes staring at him. Unlike before, his eyes weren't unfocused, but crystal clear. She stared back at the pair of eyes looking at him with confusion and a bit of surprise.

This staring contest continued for a while before David looked away. Observing the surroundings. He was right outside of a house, looking around he could see several curious eyes looking at him. But he couldn't see the Saphire blue eyes he was searching for.

He was inside a basket of some sort, wrapped in a tight blanket.

'Don't tell me!'

The curious eyes looking at him sifted as the owner of the purple eyes looked at them. it was a woman with purple highlights on her platinum blonde hair. The woman spoke with a scowl on her face.

"Let me get this straight. You're telling me that someone broke into this compound, left a basket with a freaking baby on my doorstep, and rang my doorbell. And Ya'll fuckers didn't notice a thing?"

The men and women surrounding David all looked away, not directly looking at the women.

At that time, a chuckle broke loose from the baby's mouth. David just let out a self-deprecating chuckle but to the others surrounding him, it looked like the kid was just mocking them. they glared at the kid, including the woman with purple eyes.

'This is worse than my last life, at least my parents didn't abandon me in my first life. Isn't reincarnation supposed to be a life filled with flowers and rainbows? what the hell is this?'

David's expression hardened, he was subconsciously looking forward to meeting his new mom and life. He had even grown quite fond of the voice of his mother.

'What is this? Why is my mood souring all of a sudden? It's my fault for having high expectations. Maybe she had some reasons for doing that?'

David's little face was morphing into that of a sad expression. Seeing this the purple eyes women screamed at the people glaring at the kid.

"What the fuck are you all glaring at? Would you take care of this mess if this kid started bawling all of a sudden?"

By this time, the sadness had completely overwhelmed David as a single tear formed in his eyes.

Seeing this, the purple-eyed woman's gaze softened as she took David out of the basket, holding him in her hands. She started rocking the David while making sounds as of she was calling for a kitten.

"Tut tut tut… I want whoever left this child here Infront of me by the end of this day. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

The men and women surrounding them instantly made bowing gestures before disappearing.

The purple-eyed woman continued rocking David as he looked at the woman with curiosity.

From behind the woman, another woman with black hair and emerald eyes wearing a maid's uniform stepped forward while wearing a gentle smile.

"He's cute." Her mature voice was filled with gentleness, and it was strangely comforting.

"…" The purple-eyed woman didn't say anything, but she abruptly squinted her eyes while looking at the blanket David was covered in.

"He's urinating."

'Oops' If her eyes were anything to go by, David was sure he would be thrown out the window any second now.

The dark-haired woman stepped forward with a chuckle and took David from her arms and spoke.

"I'll take care of him till we find his parents."

…