What... where am I?

Gregory tried to remember how he even came into this dark space, but thoughts came to him muddied and distorted. It took some time, but he gradually realised what had occurred. Taking a journey down memory lane, he recalled how that freaky crown destroyed his body; merely thinking of those painful moments made him shiver.

But one thing was obvious in his mind: he had died; miserably at that. And somehow, he ended up in this darkness; there was no sound, scent, or light here, yet instead of anxiety or doubt, he felt at peace with himself. This strange space was both mystifying and comforting in its own way.

So everything recorded in myths was correct; we have souls and death is not the end. Gregory even remembered reading about a place where, after death, person is cast into the nothingness of awareness and then forced to walk around a wheel of Samsara, where karma is assessed and judged. "Will I end up in heaven or hell?" Gregory reflected on himself.

If I'm sent to Heaven, I'm hoping Apsaras will be there, and if I'm sent to Hell, then there will be Succubi right! And by compiling all the good work I have done in my life, which accounts for none. So I will definitely be sent to hell. There might be some pain, but I will manage…… I think.

In one sense, he was certain of his death, and all the responsibilities or obligations that he previously held became null; in another sense, he was free. He wouldn't need to pay his bills, nor would he have to be subordinate to his superiors and bear continuous pressure.

So he waited……

waited……

and waited……

But there was no white tunnel or any wheel leading him out of here; only eternal blackness. He even tried yelling out for someone to come pick him up, in case they had forgotten. But, no one came.

But as time passed, he got accustomed to the darkness.

Most of the time, he couldn’t even remain awake since he got continuously fatigued for inexplicable reasons. But as time passed, he could stay awake longer than before, clear even though time was hard to tell in pitch darkness. Tiredness also lessened, and one "day," while Gregory was reflecting on his previous life, he sensed some flickering lights, and they moved around him randomly.

He was at first ecstatic to finally see some changes. He found he could slightly manipulate the flickering lights. These lights would congregate around the area he was perceiving from and would follow along if he directed his perception point in a direction, but other times, the lights would travel in a random direction for a short period before dispersing. Gregory referred to the presence of lights as day and the absence of them as night.

So one day, as Gregory was playing with the lights, suddenly he had an epiphany; that instead of simply leading them, he should hold them close to him so that if they were to disappear, he could stop that from happening. But as he tried to pull the lights towards him instead of floating closer, they got absorbed straight into his body. Right after that, it felt like he had downed a bucket load of caffeine, making him instantly invigorated.

So, rather than wasting his time away in this dark space doing nothing, he started absorbing the lights. It was difficult to concentrate at first, and he felt exhausted most of the time. But as he absorbed more and more of them, the senses that he had entirely forgotten began to improve.

The sense of hearing came first, and once he could hear, it was like a whole new universe opened up to him. He could only hear garbled sounds at first, but as he absorbed more and more lights, he could hear conversations clearly. So the listening and absorbing sessions began.

Foremost, after hearing the voices' language, he came to the easy conclusion that he couldn't grasp a single word. However, because he was a linguist before, he was able to decode the language and understand certain snippets and fragments, such as basic greetings and goodbyes.

With hearing came information. He understood little of what the voices outside were saying, but there were three different voices. The weight and cadence of the most common voice led him to believe it was a woman's, whereas the other two were male voices. One was fairly deep, while the other was smooth and somewhat juvenile.

Then came his sense of vision, which enabled him to see some new things in greater detail. There was a light around him, but it was reddish-white in hue, and after some contemplating and listening, Gregory came to only one conclusion.

That he was a freaking baby again. Somehow, by touching that crown, he was reborn, with the complete recollection of his previous life memories, at that. It took a long time to acknowledge the fact that he had gotten a second opportunity in life.

He accepted the truth about life, that he was a baby. He listened, absorbed, and attempted to grasp his mother’s language. Whenever he felt uncomfortable in a particular position and shifted a bit, he didn't know why, but every time he moved, his mother usually sang lullabies, and hearing her melodic voice was always soothing.

So days went by like that; sleeping, hearing his mother's sweet songs, and absorbing caffeine-infused lights.

Gregory was asleep when a fateful day arrived on a tranquil fall morning. Without his knowledge, his infant body released enzymes that caused his mother to go into labor.

He awoke feeling constrained in his sleep, and as he stretched his senses, he noticed that the surrounding space had begun to compress and that there was an opening in front of his head, and a hand as big as him attempting to grab hold of him.

At first, he panicked, but he quickly understood the situation and opted to avoid causing his mother much pain during labor. He also complied by forcing himself against the aperture. However, as he emerged, he felt immense pressure on his body and couldn't help but wince. He also found truth in stories he heard about how newborns were in a lot of pain while they were coming out of their mother's uterus.

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After some time, the pain receded, and as he blinked his bleary eyes several times to clear them of water. He could finally see who was holding him.

***

It was a giant of a man, about 6'6". He was looking down on me with emotional eyes and a shit-eating grin. By the looks of it, he seems to be my father. I can clearly see what my mother could have seen in him. He has a really attractive face, with a perfectly square jawline and a visibly well-shaven chin. His beard was well-trimmed as well, and his hair was an ashen brown color. He seemed even more intimidating because of his scar running from the left brow to the face and his big, bushy eyebrows. His eyes, however, were the polar opposite of his physique, which was a delicate, emotive sapphire blue. He was dressed in coarse bamboo leaves and down-topped garments.

As my father was gazing at me and I was staring at him, our stare-off was interrupted by the same calm voice of a woman I had heard many times before.

***

"Aunt Helena, why isn't my son crying? Our firstborn cried for nearly half an hour before we were able to calm him down and coax him to stop crying, before."

Midwife Helena smiled, "No worries dear, often some children would not cry after birth. It is rare but not unheard of, but it is good for babies to cry; it helps them adjust to the breathing of the outside world and is a splendid exercise for their vocal cords." Then she unceremoniously picked up Gregory and placed him on her lap, upside down, and slapped him twice hard on his butt.

Feeling the sharp stinging pain on his butt. Gregory couldn't help but get teary-eyed, but as a perfectly grown man of the twenty-first century, how could he cry? So he endured the pain. So, not to give this woman satisfaction for the evil she had committed; that he shouldn't have done that, as she thought, there really was some problem with him. The next thing he knew, she slapped him even harder. As for Gregory, he immediately lost all sense of dignity as a man and started crying out loud.

After crying for some time, Gregory felt heavy in his chest and fell asleep. Afterward, midwife Helena wrapped him tightly in bamboo cloth and gave him to his mother carefully.

That day, Gregory dreamt of running away from butt slapping women, as well as his previous life, including how he and his friend Shawn always worked together and supported each other in each other's hardships, as well as his time in the orphanage. Those dreams brought him solace.

He woke up and found himself in a crib of rudimentary wooden makeup. He could also see that the house’s roof used the same wood and had a nice finish to it. The room he was in was somewhat small and had two windows, both of which were at a higher elevation than what he could see, obstructing his view of the outside world. He attempted to raise his limbs but was unsuccessful. His entire body felt like it was in a quagmire, and moving was difficult. He could only flail his limbs at random; he couldn't even move his fingers properly.

Due to him being able to hear sounds from outside when he was still in his mother's womb, he pieced together the language, albeit broken. So his first goal was to learn the language properly. Then, to comprehend his family's circumstances and, ultimately, to comprehend the outside world's situation.

Just when he was about to make some baby resolutions for himself. His mother entered his room and peered into his crib. When he gazed up at his mother, he couldn't help but notice how simple and beautiful she was. Her chin was on the slim side, and her golden blond hair was expertly braided all the way up to her waist. Her eyes were as emerald green as jade, which glistened every now and then. And in those eyes of hers, he could only see motherly affection. “Is this what it feels like to have a mother?” He could not help but become teary-eyed.

His mother picked him up and began calming him with her song-like voice while patting him on the back.

"Awwwwww, my little sunflower has woken up!" "Did you miss your mama?" She took him in her arms and kissed him on the forehead. "Are you hungry, baby?" she said, looking down at him while caressing his sparse silky hair, “ready to have your first meal!"

Gregory could only stare as she unfastened her dress, removed her breast, and positioned him near her nipple. At first, he tried to resist, but as the nectar of life flowed into his tummy, he couldn't help but feel content.

Someone would have questioned how a man could drink a woman's milk like that. But nevertheless, as poets say, all is fair in a mother's love and the war of hunger that is life.

Days passed in this manner…..

During his time with his parents, he learned a lot of new information. Like how he now has a big little sibling. He's six years old and, like most kids his age, he's full of energy. Gregory has seen him peeking at him from the door multiple times.

Gregory was sleeping on one of these boring days when he suddenly felt a tremendous amount of pressure building inside of him. At first, he thought he was going to pass out, but as the pressure reached its apex, he began to feel uncomfortably uncomfortable, and then, unadulterated joy: pure sweet relief.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that his big brother was in the process of picking him up, but the difficult to describe situation was that he was covered in his pee and poop. At that time, Gregory could not even react, as he was too stunned, and then, as if the dam had been broken, one began to cry while the other began to giggle. Adam cried due to fear and disgust, while Gregory madly laughed with glee.

From that day onwards, Gregory had never seen his brother come near him, just peeking from the windows or door of the room from a safe distance.

It wasn't long before Gregory became quite attached to this family since they took care of him by feeding him, bathing him, and even changing his linen clothes every time he pooped and peed.

The question is who would not get attached to them if they got such royal treatment. "Hahahahaha, thou shalt be servants of evil o' mine," Gregory’s evil monologue. (#01)

Sleeping soundly, Gregory woke up feeling uncomfortable again; he looked down and saw himself in his own pee.

So, to draw the attention of his mother or father, he has devised a heaven-level approach. Wielding the one most attention-seeking power nature has ever bestowed onto a baby: wailing.

WaaWaah! ... WaaaWaah! ... WaaaWaah!

Gregory's loud cry could be heard throughout the house as he waited for his manservant, aka father, to change his linen clothes.

While he was crying outside, his internal evil monologue was completely different. "Thou shalt come to thy aid of mine. Thy shalt give ye immense boon. " (#2)

Soon, his father came rushing to save the day; he carefully picked Gregory up and changed his clothes, and started cooing and cawing to him in baby language. When it came to bestowing a boon upon his father, when Gregory's father gave his finger to him, he clutched it tightly. That put a smile on his father’s face. After settling him down in his crib, his father Edward, went to do his own work.

That's right, he was able to find the name of his father, whom his mother called Edward; his mother's name is Trisha, and his older brother is called lime at home, but his real name is Adam. And most importantly, the village they live in is known as Falafel.

Gregory initially believed he had traveled back in time to the Middle Ages. But the big, bulked-up father told him stories about how he became a hunter and killed a large origin beast.

Gregory had been half-listening to the stories up until that moment, but his father mentioned the origin beast. Many thoughts raced through his mind at that moment, and he eagerly began listening to his stories. To keep hearing about monsters. When his father told him about his experiences, he would giggle; which got the boat rowing. With this, his father told him stories with a newfound zeal. Many of Edward's stories of how powerful monsters were, and how he killed or subjugated them, were made up. but he learned a lot from them.

So that day, Gregory fell asleep fantasizing about the mysteries of magic.