Chapter 1: A New Beginning

High up in the city, amidst the relentless sound of machinery and the ceaseless clanking of metal, one could faintly hear the cries of a woman. Deep within the Industrial Zone, tucked away in a small, dimly lit backroom of a magisteel factory, a woman was conjuring every ounce of her strength to bring forth a new life into the world. 

She was surrounded by a couple of factory workers who had put aside their duties to witness the miracle of birth. The air hummed with a mist of nervous energy and anticipation. These ruffians who were accustomed to the harsh reality that was their lives found themselves trembling, switching between fear and excitement every few seconds.

As the woman's cries grew louder and more intense, a hush fell over the room. Time seemed to stretch. Each second felt longer than the one before it. Then suddenly, the cries stopped.

Silence…

It was eerie how quickly the silence descended over the room. It was as if someone had pressed mute on the world. The workers looked at each other, unable to overcome their nerves and break the silence. After what felt like an eternity, the Doctor came up from behind the bed, handing the baby to their mother.

"It's a boy." the Doctor proclaimed, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

The room erupted in a storm of joyous cheers and laughter. The hours of labor had finally borne fruit.

"Welcome to the world Ruen." The woman panted.

******

Einar opened his eyes. His body felt weak, and he felt like he was stark naked. His eyes wandered around the room. He seemed to be in some kind of makeshift hospital. It was a shabby room, made from a material he wasn't familiar with. The man in front of him was without a doubt a doctor though. He wore a long, bright blue, linen gown, and leather gloves covered his hands. Besides the Doctor, the room was filled with rough-looking men. The calluses on their hands betrayed their nature as manual laborers, They wore strange clothes, almost like what a blacksmith would wear. The men spoke a language he didn't know. He couldn't understand what they were saying, yet somehow the words scratched at the back of his mind, like he was supposed to understand what was being said, but somehow couldn't.

Einar opened his mouth to ask where he was, but no words came out. Only cries left his throat. He tried again and again, but the result was the same. It was strange, yet none of those present seemed even the least bit surprised at his condition. On the contrary, they looked relieved, happy even. Fearing the state that his body must be in to warrant them reacting with joy at even the slightest sign of life, Einar slowly looked down at his body. He expected to have been torn to shreds, to be more bandage than man, yet not even his years of experience could have prepared him for what he found.

The body he found wasn't his own, but that of a baby!

'This can't be!' He thought. 'I've been reborn?!'.

He frantically looked around the room again, hoping that it was all some kind of nightmare or illusion. But no matter how many times he closed his eyes and shook his head, whenever he opened his eyes again he found himself in the same, impossible reality.

Rebirth wasn't possible, yet the only explanation. It explained everything; The weird clothing, the strange language, and why everyone cheered when he first cried. Reincarnation meant he wasn't in the same place as before. Hell, he wasn't even sure if it was still the same year!

After a short while, he worked up the courage to look at the woman he assumed to be his new mother. She was an unassuming woman. She was neither ugly nor beautiful, and her face was full of worry and fatigue. Yet despite all of this, she still managed to give off an aura of warmth that cuddled his fears. The woman hugged him tight and softly whispered in his ear. He couldn't understand what she was saying, but as her words entered his ear, a warm sensation coursed through his body. Einar felt a connection to the woman. He wanted to cry out of happiness and relief. It was in the warmth of the motherly embrace that he could start processing his situation.

'How did this happen? Reincarnation is supposed to be impossible!' He racked his brain at the strange scenario he found himself in. Like any self-respecting Archmage, Einar had looked into the possibility of Rebirth, yet like all of those that came before him, he found it to be impossible. Once a person died, they were gone forever. There was no do-over in death, only eternal silence. But no matter how much he tried to deny it, it was the only plausible explanation for his situation.

The only thing he could do for now was wait. He couldn't speak, nor could he understand the language. His body was too weak to move around on his own. He had no means to gather information besides what he could see. A vice of horror gripped his heart. Never before had he felt so hopeless. Not even when he made his 'final' stand against the Droedics. Though he had been severely outnumbered with no chance to win, at least he had stood there out of his own resolve with the means to shape his own destiny. Now, however, he was at the complete mercy of the strangers surrounding him.

'Just my luck.' He inwardly sighed. 'Not only did I fail to protect those I love, I'm also stuck in a body that isn't my own, in a place I don't know, surrounded by people I can't understand, and with no means to defend myself!'

He looked around the room. His mother and the man holding her hand who was probably his father both looked to be in their 20s. He himself had just turned 29 when he died.

'I can't let them know that I'm actually older than them, and somehow possessed the body of their baby after my death.' He thought. 'They'd either declare me a madman or have me killed out of fear. For now I should just play along to not arouse suspicion.'