Chapter 1

My thoughts flowed clumsily and without pattern. At points I could perceive the world with clarity, while other times I felt as if my existence could vanish at any moment.

I had spent a long time, all the while resisting the sleepiness that sought to overwhelm me, trying to understand the reasons behind my situation.

Time was so irrelevant that I did not consider days or weeks. I simply knew that, for as long as I could remember, I had existed in this peculiar limbo like state.

I was vaguely aware that I was missing something, something important but any attempt I made to remember rewarded me with a prolonged piercing pain. This pain was unlike any other, it spread throughout all that I was and could not be ignored or suppressed. All I could do was wait for it to end.

This pain was also in a way my saviour. It prevented me from ever finding the missing piece, but when my thoughts churned wildly and the line between life and death became blurred I relied on it to pull me back to safety.

The pain was like a thick rope attached to an insurmountable cliff. Though it was covered in barbs and sharp hooks my life depended on it.

This was my existence. Battling without rest, stubbornly refusing to be lost in the gaping maw of silence that so desperately wished to consume me.

But.

Recently, in a moment where I had begun to doubt whether surrendering to the quiet had been my destiny all along, something had changed.

I had felt, something.

It was strange and new, not at all like the pain. In fact it was the opposite, it was...

I searched for the right word...

Warm.

The word brought a rush of clarity. With it came the pieces of the puzzle I had only caught glimpses of for so long. Until now.

Knowledge swirled around me.

Things and places, words that had been locked away for so so so long.

Sky.

Sun.

Sea.

Birds.

Ants.

Grass.

None of these existed in the silent world that entrapped me but I knew them!

I had seen these things before. I had felt the warmth of the sun on my skin, I had seen the scurrying of the ants and I had tumbled through soft grass.

I was.

No, I am.

A person.

The barrier of the silent world trembled as my thoughts came faster and faster, tearing and ripping at the drowsiness that bound me.

I am alive. I am a thinking breathing person.

I am me.

And I am Albert.

Then it shattered.

The world unveiled itself to me with countless forgotten sensations and a bright clarity that deprived me of my ability to think for some time. When this period of adaptation passed I finally had the answers to my questions.

Had I not stumbled across the piercing pain that shielded the memories of my past life or had the drowsiness come for me at my lows I knew I would not be here.

I was lucky to be alive and I knew this well.

A desire born from the time spent clinging to life rose within me so fiercely that I knew even my immense willpower could not contain it.

In this new life, with the second chance I had battled for, I would experience life to its fullest.

If only I could move.

Relying on my frightening perception I could feel my body gradually starting to take shape but at the moment I was little more than a collection of similar cells.

I had suspected from my time in the silent space that thoughts originated not from the brain but rather existed independently within a person's consciousness. Now that I could rule out the possibility of a brain in a jar scenario my hypothesis was confirmed.

I was keen to explore this mysterious connection between the soul, if you could call it that, and the body and made a note to investigate it further when I had the chance.

Freed from the unending threat of disappearing I could finally allow my thoughts to flow freely.

Quickly I became fascinated with the memories of my past life.

Having spent an unknown length of time trapped in the silent space the memories of my past life felt somewhat distant to me. Perhaps once upon a time these memories would have been precious to me but now they were simply interesting to look at.

When I wasn't watching the memories of my past life I was meditating. I had discovered that this was not only an excellent way of passing the time but a powerful training exercise to sharpen my willpower.

This discovery delighted me and I made sure to spend at least half of my time meditating.

That was another thing. As I changed from a collection of cells to a human being, albeit a very tiny one, my body began to demand sleep. But how could my willpower be forced into submission by a mere biological impulse?!

That would simply be ridiculous.

Therefore as my body slept my thoughts remained active. If I wished I could choose to fully embrace sleep but I rarely did, meditation was much more fun.

Time continued to pass by and my body continued to develop. I now had arms and legs and, to my hilarity, a giant head.

In the process of growing larger and more complex I was disappointed to admit that I could no longer sense the minute changes as easily I once could.

However I had a new hobby.

Where once I had limited myself to being solely a bystander to my development, now I was taking an active role. My understanding of science and genetics was nowhere near profound enough to explain exactly what I was doing but that didn't stop me from doing it!

Anytime I discovered a characteristic that was not beneficial to me I immediately used my willpower to eliminate it.

I was the commander and my cells were the troops. Even though I didn't understand how they swung their swords or parried blows they followed my commands exactly.

Eventually my body began to optimize itself on its own, my consciousness had entirely bent my flesh and blood to my will.

Forming a grin with my newly made lips I eagerly anticipated the day I could escape my jail cell and explore the capabilities of my new body.

I was extremely proud of my craftsmanship and though I didn't expect invulnerability, my body would most certainly be far beyond the rest of the human race.

But first I had to be born.