Cradle Of Hope

The temperature was warm, as if it were the middle of spring. I could hear the leaves rustling in the distance and the chirping of birds. A pleasant and fresh fragrance surrounded me—the kind you'd find in a lush garden. My mind spun in circles, trying to grasp what was happening, but despite the confusion knotting my thoughts, a smile tugged at the corner of my lips. It felt strange, out of place—like it wasn't even mine.

My eyes were still fuzzy from the sudden shift in surroundings, but I could make out the silhouette of what appeared to be a young woman. Even though I couldn't see her face properly, I could make out her sage-green eyes. They looked as if she had emeralds in her eye sockets. She had long dark hair that stood out from a distance, and what looked to be a small smile on her face. I didn't know why, but her smile made me feel at ease, as though my worries had melted away.

Even then, I couldn't help but feel a little wary of her.

I took a quick look around my surroundings; it appeared as though I was in a house made of wood and stone, with a medieval feel to it. The kind you'd see in movies. However, there was something different about this room—in fact, this entire setup. At a glance, you'd think this was just another movie set or an old man's hobby, but upon better inspection, I could not find a single electronic device in it. And when I say none, I mean it—to the point where there wasn't even a single bulb. It felt out of place, but I didn't question it much; I had bigger problems at that moment.

Just as my eyesight came back to me, I jolted as a strange man with a weird grin on his face came into my peripheral vision.

He was well-built, considerably tall, with hazel eyes that glimmered like diamonds. His hair was short and blonde, though it didn't look dyed.

Just then, my heart started to race. It felt as if I had been woken from a heavenly dream, as if reality itself was gnawing at my insides.

I heard the same exact voices that I had heard in the void; it's just that this time I knew their origin. I quickly turned my head back, only to watch my suspicions turn into the truth.

"𐌏 𐌗𐌊𐌏𐌍 𐌊𐌅 𐌕𐌉𐌏 𐌕𐌅𐌉"

"𐌕𐌅𐌉 𐌏𐌕𐌉𐌊 𐌉𐌍𐌏?"

I was dumbstruck when I found that the people responsible for those voices were the same two people in front of me.

I tried to shift, sit up, and communicate with them, but that's when I made a horrifying revelation: I couldn't speak. All that came out was a pathetic squeak. Neither could I move my limbs. It wasn't as if I were paralyzed—I still had sensation throughout my body; I could feel something soft and tender touching me. But for some reason, I just couldn't move. As if my own body was too heavy for me to lift.

I felt goosebumps crawling under my skin. In order to maintain my calm, I convinced myself that it was probably because I was tired and didn't have enough strength in my muscles.

But even that peace of mind was short-lived, considering a few seconds later, the young lady behind me picked me up into her arms.

Yes, she lifted me—a full-grown adult weighing well over a hundred kilograms. She was someone who looked so gentle and soft that even a gust of wind would cause her to snap in half. Yet she managed to pick me up. My mind spun in circles, trying to grasp what was happening, but despite the confusion knotting my thoughts, a smile tugged at the corner of my lips. It felt strange, out of place—like it wasn't even mine.

What was going on?

After everything that had happened, I just wanted a break, and when I finally felt like I was safe and sound, I was suddenly unable to move my limbs, and a woman casually picked me up like I was some sort of stuffed animal? I might as well be cursed.

My mind was at its wit's end. My limbs refused to move, and I was surrounded by humans with super strength.

Just as I was about to finally snap and completely lose my mind, my consciousness began to fade away. I guess all my exhaustion had finally caught up to me.

Part 2

So it turns out that after my death, I reincarnated… as a baby.

It has been approximately two weeks since I reincarnated. Although I still have way too many questions as to what the hell is going on, I have managed to get over my initial state of panic. I am at the very least capable of thinking properly now.

Now, as to where I am… that's something I have no clue about, but I am almost certain this place is not Earth. Effect of reading too many light novels? Maybe. Not that I am trying to quote a Disney princess, but for some reason, this place feels a little magical.

I have been actively listening in on my parents' conversations and have managed to piece together several different words, but the amount I've learned is definitely not enough to hold a meaningful conversation.

Not being able to move is also a pain in the neck. I am basically confined to a single place until someone comes and moves me. Well, on the brighter side, I can at least turn and twist on my own.

Luckily, my crib has a direct view of the window. Any time I'm not listening in on my parents' conversation, I look out the window; the view is breathtaking. Our house is on the edge of a cliff. From my perspective, I can make out lush green fields growing something that looks similar to rice. There are channels leading into the fields, and in the background, I can see tall mountains. Really tall—so tall that I can't even see the peaks of most of them.

Part 3

And just like that, five months passed. I was finally able to start crawling. I haven't been this excited since that one time I went to the park with my third set of foster parents. Throughout my life, they were the only pair of foster parents who had ever done something for me. However, they were unable to keep me with them because of issues with their families, workload, and various other responsibilities.

Ahh… how I miss them; hopefully, they're doing fine in life.

Anyways, now that I can crawl, there's absolutely nobody who can stop me from—

"I swear you are such a nuisance, aren't you, Kaelric Elion Ashenvale? The one moment I look away, you're rearing to just run off," my mother, Alithea Ashenvale, said in a playful tone as she bent down to pick me up.

I instinctively clenched my fists, preparing for the worst. I guess it's just not easy to let go of past trauma. No matter how much I try, I just can't wash away the lingering feeling in the back of my mind…

What if it's fake? What if she, too, like others, will abandon me?

She flinched a little at my intensity but nonetheless picked me up with a bright smile on her face. The same smile she always carried, no matter how bad of a kid I was or how many times I didn't heed what she told me to do. I wonder if that's what a real mother feels like—someone who'd love you with a whole heart, forgive you no matter what you do, someone who'd abandon the world rather than abandon you.

It's strange to rely on someone for every little thing—stranger still to have someone so warm and gentle do it, when I spent most of my last life alone.

I tried my best to jump out of her grasp. After all, I had a mission to accomplish, which of course was to slip into my mother's library and read the books. Or at least try to. It's kind of obvious that, having barely spent five months in this world, I wouldn't be able to read all the difficult-looking books in her library.

They were all over 500 pages long, but at the very least, I could try. Since they were the only source of knowledge for me in this new world.

It's not like I'm completely clueless about the language; by now, I can comprehend more than half of it and have figured out some of the letters from all the picture books my dad, Dorian Ashenvale, reads to me before bed.

The culture here seems a lot different, though, considering they find it normal to read books to a five-month-old baby. Well, it could also be that my dad is just an idiot… although I'd like to avoid thinking that way. But other than that, there are several new things that I found out; the most jarring of them was most definitely the time I saw beast men for the first time. They usually visit us in the morning to inform Dad about them going to work in the fields.

As it turns out we own the fields in the back of our house and my dad seems like he is some sort of a big shot in this village since everyone who comes to visit is unusually very polite to him…

Anyways, I tried my best to squiggle and swirl out of my mother's grip, but I was outmatched and put back in my crib. But what she doesn't know is that I won't give up so easily this time, not now, not ever agaiiinnnn…..

Ok I, quit…

I fell flat on my back inside the crib, exhausted… damn, these things are tough to get out of.

Since I had nothing better to do, I went back to my other hobby 'gazing outside the window' I usually see a bunch of amazing things outside, like beast men using some sort of magic or advanced contraptions, for various tasks in the field, makes me feel like even I can achieve something great here.

As if that will ever happen.

But this time, it was just like any other winter afternoon, there was a cold breeze blowing outside, and the sun was partially covered by clouds, overall a little depressing, even the beast men were on break.

It is what it is. Guess I'll take a quick nap.

I had barely fallen asleep just when I heard a

BOOM 

I was jolted up from my half-asleep state and turned my head around to check my surroundings but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Wha…What was that? What just happened… 

My room looked normal and so did the outside. I wonder what made that sound, suddenly I heard footsteps, running up the stairs… I turned my head around to look at the door when it unexpectedly slammed open.

I could barely make out the silhouette of my dad, I think he was panting, as if he just ran quite a bit of a distance. He had a worried look on his face and was covered with sweat. He also for some reason had what looked like a sword in his hand. I guess, he liked collecting them…? I wonder why someone would use swords when you have something way more convenient and useful like magic available.

"You alright Kael?" He questioned.

Dumb thing to ask a kid who couldn't even speak yet, but his worried look, drove those sarcastic thoughts away…

I turned my head back to look outside the window and to give him some sort of confirmation that I was alright.

As I turned my head around from the corner of my eye I could visibly notice his worry fading and going back to his usual wide smile…

His smile, for some reason, had this calming effect. It felt warm as if giving me reassurance that someone was there to protect me even in the worst situations…

"You look alright…" he chuckled as he picked me up from my crib and into his arms, to be honest, I did make a bit of a fuss. I am already bad at interacting with others and then someone just casually picks me up, I still haven't gotten used to it at this point.

"Guess your mother had a little accident while trying to create that new 𐌎𐌉𐌏𐍉𐌙 of hers…" said my dad.

𐌎𐌉𐌏…𐍉𐌙? That's one of the words I still don't know the meaning of…

"Let's go check up on her, shall we?" My father murmured.

He asks this as if I even have a say in this…

He carried me from my room, all the way to the attic, this was one of the places in our house I had not explored yet, Mostly because the stairs that led to the attic were too difficult for me to climb with this body…

"Are you alright, Dear?" My father questioned as we approached the door, he was in the middle of turning the door knob, when my mother shouted from inside,

"WAIT DON'T"

But it was too late by then, my dad had already swung the door open.

We were suddenly engulfed by a bunch of hot, black smoke, the room was filled with it. I tried to hold my breath, but since I wasn't prepared for an attack by the "smoke monster" I had barely any air left in my lungs. Let's just say that the rest wasn't pretty…

The hot air almost scorched my insides. My eyes and throat were itchy to the point I wanted to scrape them off. My head was spinning in circles and I started to feel a bit nauseous.

Through the thick smoke, my father's hands fumbled, but he finally grasped my mother, and we stumbled out of the room, coughing as we escaped the hot, suffocating air.

There were the three of us, lying on the hallway floor coughing our brains out, gasping for air. Once the initial hysterics were over, my mother's soft laugh broke the silence. Both me and my dad looked at her in confusion…

"both of you, look at your faces" she murmured through her laughter.

We looked at each other's faces, even more confused.

Ohh so that's wha…

With a moment's pause, both me and my dad joined her, laughing our heads off. After all, the look on my dad and probably my face was just that funny. Covered in pure black, hair turned spiky, my father's golden blonde hair looked more like burnt brown…

I think we sat there laughing for almost another 15 minutes before regaining our senses.

Once we had calmed down and both me and my dad had washed our faces, my dad asked my mother about what sounded like 'her research' I couldn't make out the whole conversation but from everything I could comprehend, it looked as if my mother was some sort of an inventor who created these things called "𐌖𐌅𐌍𐌊𐌏 𐌎𐌉𐌏𐍉𐌙" of course I had no idea about what these things were, but they sound pretty similar to something you'd find in video games.

"What's wrong Kael? Did you get hurt somewhere?" My mother enquired with a worried look,

I hadn't noticed that, my smile quietly faded into a frown. For some reason every time I experience a happy moment in my life, it feels as if it will only last a short while, like this is just a little grace period that I am offered before I will be sprung back into the chaos of my previous life. As if everything is a dream…

I shook my head in denial as if trying to tell myself that it would all be alright, this time I wouldn't end up all alone. But in the end, I still can't help it feel anxious… my heart still aches when I see their worried faces.