Chapter 4: Rebirth

"Very well, your gifts will be granted, I will begin the rebirth process," said the deity.

I felt my body, or rather in this case, 'my soul', moving, or at least I think so, and then I felt something indescribable because most of the things I'm feeling don't make sense, nor can I compare them to anything since I couldn't feel before, but I can only say that the sensation is pleasant.

And then I felt a more familiar sensation, something I have felt before, mental fatigue and sleepiness, and finally, I could not fight it anymore and my consciousness faded away.

***

Planet Earth, 20th century, August 6, 1990

In a hospital room in the city of Seoul, South Korea.

On this day, which was quite sunny before noon, several babies were born, and among them, one stood out more than any other as it did not behave as they normally do at birth.

First, it did not cry at birth. Crying at birth is an indication of good health, and according to medical protocol, if a baby does not cry at birth, a small pat with the cupped hand should be given at the base of the back. This is done to help the baby expel any remaining fluid in their lungs and prevent breathing difficulties, thus solving one of the main common problems that causes a baby not to cry after birth and die from asphyxiation due to retained fluid in the lungs.

Of course, if this does not work, the baby will be immediately examined, and based on the results, a series of further protocols will be followed to ensure their health, including resuscitation if necessary.

But in this case, what was peculiar is that the baby did react to the first protocol, just not in the normal way; instead of crying, it just made a small whimper, which forced the doctor to evaluate if there was a problem.

But the most basic tests showed that this was not the case; the baby was completely healthy. The only thing the doctor noticed which gave him the feeling that he needed to take a break after not sleeping for more than 28 hours of labor, is that he would swear he saw the baby look at him with resentment after performing the first protocol.

The second curious thing that happened is that the baby did not want to eat; when brought to its mother's breast, instead of acting instinctively and seeking food, it actually did the opposite and refused to breastfeed in every possible way.

One of the nurses, who witnessed everything that was happening, went to get a bottle with formula and against all odds where it was feared that the baby would once again reject any attempt to feed him, he happily took the milk from the bottle.

The same doctor would swear that he seemed to see the baby delighting in the milk as if it were the finest delicacy the world could offer a gourmet. That's why the doctor decided that after finishing this shift, he would go to sleep as if there were no tomorrow.

"Mr. and Mrs. Seol, apart from the peculiar preference for feeding from the bottle instead of the breast, everything else shows that the baby is completely healthy, so all that remains is for you to give him a name so the nurse can put an identification bracelet on him and take him to the observation room where he will stay for 48 hours and if no problems arise then the day after tomorrow you will be discharged," said the doctor, his face showing real fatigue but his professionalism was not affected by it.

"His name will be Jihu, Seol Jihu." said the baby's mother, who also had an exhausted face since she had just given birth. And the father could only nod in acknowledgment.

"Very well Miss Li, please finish the baby's registration and take care of the subsequent care, my work here is done, once again my congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Seol on the birth of your son," said the doctor before leaving the room to report the end of his shift and finally go to rest as he so desired.

**Seol Jihu (formerly Alex Díaz) POV**

After the deity told me that the rebirth would begin, I felt the tiredness overcome me and I fell asleep. I don't know how long I slept, but then I began to wake up and experience sensations I had never had before.

Everything was really strange but fascinating, and as time passed and I stopped concentrating on the new sensations, I finally paid more attention to my other senses, for some reason I couldn't open my eyes, but I could still hear sounds and focusing on them I realized that there was what I can interpret as distorted voices, screams, and footsteps.

Finally, after feeling the new sensations once more, I was able to start opening my eyes and see again. For a moment I was scared because I was being carried by a huge person, but then I remembered that I was a baby who had been reborn and I calmed down when I realized that the giant was just a doctor.

It is most likely that he is the one in charge of attending to my birth so I ignored him and began to familiarize myself again with the new sensations and to marvel at the feeling of feeling my limbs, my torso, and head.

I almost began to feel grateful to the doctor holding me, but that changed when the brute hit me on the back, making me experience pain for the first time.

I felt it; it was a new and unpleasant sensation, and I did not like it. I thought about screaming, but remembering that this era is primitive and if this brute hit me after birth, he would surely feel satisfaction if I screamed. So, I suppressed all desire to test my new ability to articulate sound with my new body and instead let out an inevitable whimper.

Fortunately, the brute was sufficiently satisfied with my reaction that he did not continue hitting me and instead began to examine my body for what I assume is some problem. But while he did, I made sure to look at him with all the resentment I could muster and made an effort to memorize his face. If I have the chance in the future, I will make him pay for hitting me and who knows how many more newborn babies.

Then a few minutes passed, and I was handed over to what I assume to be called "parents," who are responsible for caring for people's development in this era. In my time, we called them progenitors, and their function was only to beget new members of society since the government was in charge of financing specialized development institutions that took care of babies from birth until their complete physical development.

I was one of the few exceptions to the rule; I developed in the hospital where I spent my entire life from birth because it was the only place with the equipment and trained personnel to keep me alive.

But back to the parents. I saw them, huge people who smiled a lot while they held me, first the mother, then the father, and once more the mother, but this time she wanted to feed me directly from her breast.

While I understand the concept and the era, my mind is developed and I cannot help but refuse such a method. I may be perverse and a womanizer at heart, but I am not someone who would abuse a woman under any circumstances. I feel that taking from her breast under these circumstances, being mentally an adult when she thinks I am just her innocent newborn son, is an abuse of her trust. Therefore, I fought with all my strength to oppose it and fortunately, my efforts were rewarded. They gave up and instead fed me from a primitive instrument called a bottle.

Once again, the clear differences in development between eras are shown. In my time, the baby is placed in a special incubator at birth that guarantees the most optimal nutritional support for the baby's development.

When I was offered the bottle, I must admit that I looked at it with disdain because of how primitive it is, but when I began to feed, I couldn't help but regret thinking that way and underestimating such a divine tool. Thanks to this divine tool, I experienced a series of such pleasant sensations. From the heavenly taste of what I assume is milk, to how it feels as it enters my mouth and slides down my throat, to finally feeling my stomach fill up. I could only think that this is definitely heaven.

Then they started speaking in what I assume is Korean, one of the ancient languages that was discarded in my world.

After the Earth was unified, all the ancient languages were abandoned, and a new one was created to support the unification. Everything in any previous language was translated into the new one, which is the one that is spoken to this day. That is why I could not understand anything they said, and it made me set my first goal in my new life, which is to learn the language.

After they finished speaking, they put a band on my ankle and took me to a room where there are several other babies, and they left me here. And so began my first day in this world.