During all these events, Howard remained in his enduring slumber, which had trapped him in the deepest corners of his consciousness for several months.

However, suddenly, as if only a few seconds had passed in his perception, Howard finally awoke, and contrary to his expectations, he was not free but still trapped in that dark prison.

This truly annoyed him because he had already spent so much time in this space, and before falling asleep, he had genuinely thought that when he woke up, he would finally see something. But it seemed that wouldn't be possible at the moment, fortunately, not for much longer, as everything indicated.

Since his belly was already becoming strangely tight, and he could now feel his fully formed body, he also knew that in some time, perhaps a few weeks, he would have to experience the most terrifying event of his life up to this moment. In fact, he had experienced it once happily, but because he wasn't cursed as he was now, he didn't remember how dreadful it all had been.

To pass the time, he returned to what he was accustomed to doing. Therefore, after realizing his current situation, he resumed meditating, trying as much as possible not to dwell on what the world around him would be like, the financial and social condition of his parents, or anything that would make him nervous and depressed. He simply wanted some way to make time pass quickly, and meditation was the only way he knew to achieve that.

However, what used to take days to happen occurred in a matter of minutes. Suddenly, the darkness was filled with countless small, bright stars, which slowly drew closer to Howard.

The more these little stars approached, the more others emerged, creating what seemed like an energy sphere completely surrounding Howard. He didn't even notice that they appeared this time. He was so focused on his meditation that nothing outside of it mattered at that moment. As the first stars began to be absorbed into his body, he felt nothing and maintained his meditation as before. Gradually, the stars stopped appearing, and the existing ones were slowly absorbed by Howard's body, returning to the usual darkness that pervaded that realm.

After coming out of his meditative state, Howard realized that he felt much more energetic than at any other time in that belly. Noticing that there were no more of those luminous spheres, he felt relieved because he didn't want to be asleep during the critical moment he would experience in a few weeks.

However, after seeing that he was bored again, he couldn't help but think about his future. He didn't know what kind of world he was in; perhaps he was even on Earth, but that didn't matter much to him. From what he knew, he could easily be born in Somalia or Bolivia, places that would make his early life very challenging. Still, he believed that with his previous knowledge, he could easily get out of such a situation, even if he had to wait until a higher age, like 14, to do so.

Yet, he considered the possibility of being reborn on Earth to be very low. All those books and tales showed people going to fantasy worlds, fantastic realms filled with dangers, where the protagonist, often with their modern Western ideals, managed to overcome all problems and achieve glory, defeating the demon lord or whatever it might be.

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If that were the case, magic would be a natural part of his life. At least, Howard hoped so. And if it were so, he hoped to have the chance to learn it one day. Unlike children who dreamed of becoming Conan or some hero, Howard had always dreamt of being more like Merlin, a great wizard. Of course, these were dreams of an innocent child who knew nothing of life, but because he grew up surrounded by books that proposed ideals like these, they never completely left Howard's mind. As an adult, he knew they were silly dreams of a child.

However, even a fantasy world could bring various initial problems, such as being in a utopia ruled by dark magicians or being of a species hated by other inhabitants. The Dark Elves in the tales were always depicted as hateful beings who only came to the surface to steal and enslave. If he were born as such a being, perhaps he would have to adjust to his new environment and adapt, as aligning with humans would be impossible.

Alternatively, not all fantasy worlds are High Fantasy. Some, from more esteemed books, were more closely related to reality, featuring legends of dragons, giants, which, even if they exist, have long passed their days of glory. The planet, despite having some ancient priests and mages, might now be inhabited only by mundane humans in some kind of primitive civilization, with a low quality of life, and governed by rulers who care little for the lives of ordinary citizens. Not so different from his past life, but at least there, everyone had a good quality of life.

Realizing how screwed up he could be, Howard almost choked. Why on earth were his memories still intact? He never wanted to think too much about it because it preserved his true self, but why? Was he some puppet of a supreme entity? Was he sent to this place to be saved from something? And if so, why didn't he, like others, receive some indications from a god, an RPG system to help or anything of the sort?

When Howard had nothing else to do, he simply became completely absorbed in these kinds of thoughts. The more bored he became, the more he couldn't escape them, stuck in this loop of fear and stress, seeking answers he probably would never have. And even knowing that whatever put him there probably would never answer his questions, he kept asking.

Howard knew he was talking to himself and would never receive any response. Nevertheless, despite all this, he continued to do so because, to him, at that moment, it was simply a matter of not going mad in that tiny space.

In this way, when Howard finally returned to his meditation, he hoped that all this hell would end soon, and he could leave that place.

However, now that he was much more aware of himself than before, he noticed that those lights had returned just a few minutes after the start of his meditation. Seeing that nothing bad had happened to him last time, he wasn't worried about them. Perhaps now he could sleep and wake up outside this place, Howard thought. However, as before, that didn't happen, and seeing that he might now be more resistant to the effects of those lights, he just continued to absorb more and more, never ceasing his meditation while seeking the sweet slumber he desired.

After several days of this uninterrupted meditation cycle, where it seemed that there were no more of those lights, they returned in greater numbers. Until, at some point, Howard felt as he did the last time. But now, it was as if he were truly full, and after this sensation, the glorious and long-awaited sleep he so desired came, and realizing that he seemed just as strong as last time, Howard settled in, waiting to sleep for a very long time.