The air was thick with tension as Gregory paced outside the room where Eliza was in labor. His heart raced with every cry that echoed through the corridor. He felt a mix of helplessness and determination, wishing he could ease her pain.
In the room, Eliza's grip on his hand was firm, her face etched with a mixture of agony and determination. Sweat dotted her brow as she pushed through the waves of pain. Gregory offered words of encouragement, his voice a steady anchor amidst the storm.
"You're doing amazing, Eliza," he assured her. "Just a little longer, and we'll get to hold our child."
Her breaths were ragged, her determination unwavering. And then, amidst the strain, a cry pierced the air – a cry that blended pain, relief, and the promise of new life.
As the cries subsided, Gregory's heartbeat finally returned to a steady rhythm. He stood by Eliza's side, their eyes locked on the tiny bundle in her arms. The room seemed to hold its breath, as if in reverence for the miracle that had unfolded.
Eliza's exhaustion was evident, but her eyes sparkled with a joy that words could never capture. Gregory brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, his voice a mixture of awe and tenderness. "Look at us," he whispered. "Parents."
Tears welled in Eliza's eyes as she looked at their child, a perfect blend of the love they shared. "Arthur," she murmured, her voice laced with emotion. "Our Arthur."
Gregory pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, his heart overflowing with love and gratitude. In that moment, as they held their newborn son, the world outside faded away, and all that mattered was the new chapter they had begun.
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I opened my eyes. Today is my 4th birthday. I would be around 5 years old in my old world if the fragmented memories I have are correct. I checked my status out of habit.
Status [DISCONNECTED] Soul Integration 20% Memory Integration 100% Name: Arthur Alden Class: NULL Race: Human DEX STR END 10 6 6 INT WIS CHA 8 8 6
My memories have finally finished integrating. A quirk of gaining memories is that you don't know what you gained unless you notice that you remember something you didn't. For a child's brain, soul, or whatever is responsible for storing long-term memories in this world, it's hard. Without constant repetition, new long term memories are rarely formed and short term memories are lost. I don't remember my old name or even my job. I know that I had studied physics and done something research-related in my first life. Hopefully that partial amnesia will go away with time.
I got out of bed and looked outside the window. The sky was starting to get bright. I miss the sunrises of Earth. Here, there was no sun, no moon, and no stars in the sky. The sky itself was what brings us light. At night, we see auroras formed from mana in the sky. It's an impressive sight but an alien one. There was no curvature of the horizon, only a fading of the endless plane to a deep dark red.
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I climbed down the stairs and went to the living room. Mom was sitting there with Mr. Summers, applying a salve to his beaten-up face.
"Good morning, my little birthday boy," Mom said.
"Morning, Mom. What happened to Mr. Summers?" I asked.
"A bunch of self-proclaimed great Heroes decided that my Inn was the place to settle their argument about how many hearts they have conquered, so I had to step in," Mr. Summers said.
"It happens every few weeks. One day you're going to get yourself injured in a way I can't fix," Mom said.
"Cost of doing business. I can pay to have an arm regrown every once in a while," Summers said.
"No healer can bring back the dead," Mom responded.
"Sure, but Necromancers can," Summers said with a smile.
I left them to their conversation and went to find Dad. He'd probably be in his forge with my brother helping him. I could feel the heat coming from the forge before even opening the door. He was definitely working. When I opened the door, I saw him sharpening a sword while the forge was heating up for later work.
"Aww, you spoiled the surprise," Dad said when he saw me.
"That sword is for me?" I asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I made a sword for Ollie last month for his birthday, and he's your age. I can't leave my own son to be the only boy his age without a sword made by me!" Dad said proudly.
"Thanks, Dad," I said and hugged him.
He handed me the sword, about 30 inches long, with the blade being 25 inches. It's made from what I assumed to be regular non-magical steel since my dad wasn't allowed to forge weapons from any magical steel of any form.
"It's enchanted to self-repair. So as long as you aren't stupid with it, I shouldn't need to fix it. It won't sharpen itself, but it will fix most issues with time," Dad said.
I thanked him again and left to find Ollie and show him my cooler sword. From what I've figured out so far, enchantments are a basic form of magic applied to items. Self-repair was a very common one. Unless the item was completely broken, it would be restored to a usable condition by using mana from the environment. In big cities without many high-level people, enchantments often need a power source to work efficiently.
Ollie was near the forest, striking trees with his sword. His eyes went wide when he saw me with a sword. "Wow, you got one too?" he asked.
"Yeah, and it's even better than yours. It's enchanted," I said, grinning.
"Unfair, why does your dad have to be a blacksmith?" he said jokingly.
We played around and cut down a few bushes with our swords. Then we sheathed them and started to play games like tag. A few other kids joined us and left. I went home when the sky started to dim.
"Happy birthday!" my whole family said when I entered home. My sister Ellie, my brother Sam, Mom, and Dad were all there.
"Come and sit at the table. There will be cake later, but first, you need to eat a proper meal," Mom said.
We ate, talked, and laughed for a while.
"Luke had his awakening last week. He's a natural mage," Sam said.
My dad's face fell. I looked at him. "What's wrong?" I asked Dad.
"Natural mages get drafted into the Army unless they can pay 10 gold. His parents met in the army. They aren't going to pay. So we won't see Luke for a decade," he said.
"A decade?" I asked Dad, surprised at the length of time.
"Five years of academy, five years of service. Service can be substituted if a noble wants you to be his knight and pays gold to the King. But then you have to serve him according to the contract negotiated between the knight and the noble, which in the worst case is far longer and far more dangerous," Dad said.
"What's the chance of me being a natural mage?" I asked Dad.
"Neither me nor your mother are natural mages, meaning that we didn't unlock magic at level 0, I unlocked it at level 20, your mom did at 10. Your mom invested a lot in magic, it's possible that you are a natural mage, but you shouldn't worry about it, in the worst case you will make some new friends in 6 years." Dad said.
Regular unawakened kids didn't get to see their status, I will likely awaken when my soul finishes integrating, which for normal kids would be between 10 and 14 years of age if they are human and not awakened by gaining XP from killing something or absorbing a monster core, for me it will probably happen soon after my 9th birthday, a slightly unusual age but nothing unheard of.
We continued eating and talking until I went to bed with a smile on my face.