Awakening in a New World

Evan's last moments in his previous life were defined by triumph. As a child prodigy, he had spent countless hours in the university lab, pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. Just before everything went black, he had made a groundbreaking discovery. The sterile hum of machines, the faint smell of ozone, and the flashing lights of his computer all faded away in an instant.

"𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮."(Please, remember that Evan can't understand the bold letter.)

After the midwife proclaimed joyfully, gently handing over the newborn child to his mother, who cradled him with tears of relief and awe.

Meanwhile, Evan regained consciousness, he felt an overwhelming sense of disorientation. His body felt small and weak, his movements sluggish.

*𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘮 𝘐? 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴... 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘣.*

(* means- In his mind)

After some inspection, Evan mused, *"𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘬𝘢𝘪'𝘥?" 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, "𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘗 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮? 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬-𝘬𝘶𝘯?"*

His vision was blurry, but he could make out the dimly lit room and the warm, comforting presence of a woman cradling him. The softness of the blanket around him, the rhythmic beat of her heart, and the faint scent of herbs and sweetness in the air—every sensation was new and intense.

*"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴... 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯'𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵? 𝘚𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘺."*

Nearby, a young boy stood wide-eyed, staring at him in amazement and slight disgust. "𝙈𝙤𝙢, 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨! 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝*𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙!"

Evan couldn't understand the words, but the tone was unmistakable. The woman holding him, presumably his new mother, smiled wearily and hushed the boy. "𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮, 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙧. 𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩."

After realization, Evan thought,*"𝘚𝘰, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘥—𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴"!*

Even as a newborn, Evan's analytical mind was hard at work. The words were foreign, yet he began to pick apart the sounds, searching for patterns and meanings.

*𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯?* he pondered, already working to decode the unfamiliar language.

Fragments of his past life as a scientific genius flashed through his mind, clashing with the reality of this new world. The thought of starting over, armed with all his knowledge, was both exhilarating and daunting.

A shadow fell across his face as an elderly woman with kind eyes and a gentle smile leaned down. Her voice was soothing and melodic."𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙."

*"𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘴... 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴... 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸. 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤? 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩*𝘵!! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭."

The realization sent a thrill through his tiny body. In his previous life, he had theorized about the existence of magic, but here it was real, tangible. It hummed in the air, whispered in the incantations of the elderly woman, and shimmered in the charms around her wrist.

*𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤. 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴!*

His father, standing beside the bed, couldn't hide his joy. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at his newborn son. His voice, choked with emotion, whispered, "𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙣. 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙣."

The mother, still recovering from childbirth, reached out a trembling hand to touch Evan's cheek. Her voice was filled with tenderness and relief. "𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮, 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙧. 𝙒𝙚'𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪."

Amidst the emotional exchanges, Evan's mind raced with thoughts, tingled with a touch of joy. *"𝘗𝘩𝘦𝘸, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦! 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘺!"*

Despite the limitations of his infant body and the incomprehensible nature of his surroundings, Evan's innate curiosity and sense of wonder began to override his bewilderment. He resolved to learn everything he could about this new world and its mysteries, starting with the magic that seemed to be everywhere.

*𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨.*

As exhaustion overtook him and he drifted into sleep, cradled in the arms of his new family, Evan couldn't help but wonder:

*𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴... 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦.*

The midwife approaches, a seasoned woman with a gentle touch and eyes that sparkled with wisdom, quietly observed the family as she tidied up the room. She had seen many births, but something about this one felt different.

"𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙙," she murmured to the mother, her voice carrying both admiration and reassurance. "𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡, 𝙣𝙤 𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙨."

The mother, still marveling at the tiny miracle cradled in her arms, nodded with a mixture of exhaustion and wonder. She couldn't shake off the surreal feeling that this child was somehow special, beyond the usual bonds of parent and newborn.

"𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙝𝙚?" she whispered, more to herself than anyone else, as if afraid that speaking it aloud might dispel the magic.

The father stood by the window, looking out at the night sky with a sense of profound gratitude. His voice, when he finally spoke, was filled with a quiet strength and deep affection.

"𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨," he confessed, turning to face his wife and the midwife. "𝙎𝙚𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙨, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮'𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚."

Meanwhile, the young boy, Evan's new big brother, hovered uncertainly in the doorway. His initial wariness had softened into curiosity and a budding sense of protectiveness. He had seen babies before, but none like this one, so silent.

"𝘿𝙖𝙙, 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮?" he blurted out, his concern plain in his voice. "𝙃𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙... 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙡𝙚."

The father knelt beside him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙨𝙤𝙣," he replied gently. "𝙒𝙚'𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙞𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙."

The boy nodded, his worries easing as he looked at Evan, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully despite everything that had transpired.

"𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙗𝙚?" the boy asked suddenly, curiosity winning over his lingering doubts.

The mother, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, smiled softly. "𝙇𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙚," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "𝙒𝙚'𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙇𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙚."

The midwife nodded approvingly. "𝙇𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙚,"she repeated, her voice resonating with a hint of reverence. "𝘼 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨."

As the night deepened and the world outside slept, the family gathered around Lucian Nightshade, their newest member. Each of them carried their own hopes and dreams for him, unknowingly weaving them into the fabric of his future.

And in the quiet moments between breaths and heartbeats, Lucian continued to dream his infant dreams, unaware of the profound impact his arrival had already made on those around him.