Magnus
What the fuck is this? I thought, staring up at a giant woman. Two honey-colored eyes gazed down at me. When she noticed my stare, her mouth stretched into a gentle smile. She looked at me with care and tenderness, as if I might shatter with the slightest movement. A curly strand of light brown hair fell before her face, breaking our gaze.
"Honey, can you tie my hair back?"
Her voice was gentle and oddly soothing, like the sound of a harp.
"Of course," came a new voice.
I tried to turn my head toward the sound but couldn't. I had minimal control over my body. Maybe I was still recovering from my injuries, though it was hard to believe anyone would want to heal me. My thoughts were interrupted by a pair of hands reaching for me. I tried to open my mouth to yell at him, but again, nothing happened. To my surprise, the hands lifted me as if I weighed nothing. Before I could question it, I was face-to-face with a man. His gold-colored eyes stared at me with the same tenderness as the woman's. Unlike her, when he noticed my gaze, he wore a goofy grin—or at least, that's what I thought. His long beard made it hard to see his mouth, but the wrinkles at the edge of his cheeks gave him away. He spun around with the grace of a ballerina. When my eyes adjusted, I saw something impossible.
"Look, honey, he looks exactly like me! Your big brother and sister will love you!"
We faced a mirror. A baby was in the man's hands—in the same hands that had lifted and spun me.
I'm the baby.
It was ridiculous—absolutely stupid to conclude, but it was true. I had become a baby. My heart raced as if on adrenaline. Then these people were…? Flashes of cold, cruel eyes—from my past parents and siblings—flickered through my memory, sharp and vivid, crossing my mind, causing my body to shake. The vivid memories of their cold indifference made my new body tremble. Unable to control myself, I broke down in tears. My cries filled the room.
The realization of everything hit me like a truck, causing my cries to intensify. I wasn't sure if I was crying because I had died, or because of the idea of having a family again. Maybe it was both.
My wailing continued uncontrollably. It would have been embarrassing in my old body, but now, I just wanted to give myself a moment to let it out. That is, until something caught my eye.
Holding me with one hand, the man conjured water in the other. It wasn't like he cupped water in his palm; he had an entire ball of water hovering above his hand.
It was like he conjured water out of thin air. If that wasn't enough, he made the water ball move up and down, then toward me. I watched it hover before me, moving as if performing tricks. Using my chubby baby hand, I reached for the water ball. I thought it would burst, but it kept its perfect shape. I glanced up at the man, who was smiling happily.
"This is magic, Magnus. Once you begin to sense mana, you can do this too."
His words brought a new realization.
This is not Earth.