Intending to find a non-traumatising way of teaching or even just communicating with his mother, Nathaniel kept training his spiritual senses. Eventually, his training reached that threshold where he had to cross the limit between his current capabilities and what he believed he could do. Until now, he had used his mind to expand his senses past his body. Either by sending a pulse of spiritual energy or casting a sphere around him. Or by creating threads that allowed him to reach much further while being more precise. It could be called a Telekinetic Sense. Another method Nathaniel managed was to link his spiritual energy to his mother's sight and hearing, amounting to what he called Sensory Scrying.

Yet, these feats were still different from what Nathaniel wanted to accomplish. To teach his mother anything, he would need to have access to her mind and then be able to transfer knowledge in a way that wouldn't induce panic. Because of those restrictions, Telepathy, such as having a mental conversation with his mother, was ruled out. Mind control seems too drastic of an approach, and Nathaniel would preferably not devoid his mother of her self-will. He was also worried that he couldn't train himself long enough to prevent an incident, inducing changes in his mother's personality. It was an option, but it still required him to be able to perceive her thoughts. The option Nathaniel was envisaging was to manipulate her dreams.

To that end, Nathaniel began to use both abilities Telekinetic Senses and Sensory Scrying, to train himself and improve the scope of his capabilities. Nathaniel was confident he could develop new ways of using his spiritual power by borrowing his mother's senses and then using this connection to explore how her mind worked through his telekinetic senses. It was an exhausting exercise, often requiring him to rest and meditate until his soul didn't feel strained by the task.

It took Nathaniel a couple of weeks before he was able to get any success. Not that the time spent training wasn't without gains. He had been honing his abilities and could now use Sensory Scrying on his mother's five senses for a few hours without getting tired. As for the result of this training, it was simply to get feedback from his mother's consciousness, becoming aware of her most immediate thoughts and emotions. Nathaniel associated this with Focused Empathy.

Despite his little use for this new facet of his powers, what mattered more to Nathaniel was what it represented. A proof of his beliefs. Indeed, he could continue expanding his abilities if he kept training them. The faculty he had to harness the power of his soul didn't limit itself to just one well-defined capability.

Now that he had opened the door toward Mind Reading and Mental Manipulation, Nathaniel started delving into his mother's mind. He was being watchful of the day and night, or more precisely, of his mother's sleeping habits. Since he wanted access to her dreams, it would be a better use of his time to rest during the days as much as possible.

Weeks went by, with Nathaniel learning more about his mother and the tribe he was living in with each passing day.

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-- pov - 1st person - Nathaniel's mother --

I woke up before the first ray of light, as I did every morning, my mate slumbering next to me with his arm embracing my body. I knew I didn't have to worry about waking him up, yet I still took care to leave our home without making too much noise. It was more for myself than for him. Despite my namesake of Morning Dew, I needed some time before fully awakening. Being pregnant certainly didn't help. At least I didn't have to worry about anyone else, with the both of us living by ourselves. We were the eldest of our families and were thus expected to leave when our mothers had other younger and more needy children. It was the case for most families. As soon as the two or three eldest children reached adulthood, they had to rely on themselves. After all, we could now support the tribe either by going out to hunt and forage for food or by nurturing the next generation. We didn't need to be cuddled anymore. Not that we didn't receive any help, but we needed to prove that we wouldn't be a burden to the tribe. "Help me, and I will help you."

I grabbed some food on my way out, some berries and a strip of jerky, then sat on the stool just outside of our dwelling.

Outside, the tribe was silent and empty. Mostly. Enough people were snoring, and you could hear them almost answering each other. A few men were also awake, guarding our small village against any wandering beast. They rarely attacked at night; noise, fire and the threat of our weapons were enough to make them wary. But it was nice to know we were protected. I was grateful for their presence, as the few times beast were bold enough to enter the tribe, the damages were saddening.

It was one of the reasons the chief and the elders were talking about having everyone leave so that we could regroup with other tribes. Not like we were doing most of the time, looking for another spot to settle ourselves, as we did every day following some full moon (Snow Moon - Thunder Moon - Hunter Moon). No, they want to build a more prominent, more secure tribe. A city, they called it. Somewhere we would stay indefinitely while living with many, many more people. I wouldn't say I liked the idea very much. There were enough quarrels among ourselves that being among an even bigger community would surely bring more problems. Moreover, the trip to reunite with the other tribes would undoubtedly be dangerous.

I didn't know when we would be merging with the other tribes, only that there were still many, many moons before it happened. Mainly because each tribe was far from the other, and exchanging messages took time. Hence, it would also take us a long time to arrive where this so-called 'City' was supposed to be built.

By then, my child would likely be born. And I may be expecting my second child. It was expected of us, at least in our youngest years, to have as many children as we could.

From what our sole living ancestor told us, it was because our tribe was young. He had seen the group who were the first to create our tribe. He told us they had split up from their tribe in quest of better lands and because their past group had become too large. From our ancestor's words, the rule was that there were never enough people to hunt and repel beasts and ensure the tribe lived well, except when there were too many people, and it became a struggle to sustain and protect the tribe. The ancient man believed we were doing well considering our low numbers, just over five hundred. Though I had yet to learn how much that number represented, I was surprised to hear him say it wasn't much since the current size of our tribe was already impressive. I didn't even know half of the tribe. I could recognise most faces, with a few exceptions, but that didn't mean I knew their name or with whom they lived. The point was that to ensure the tribe continued to grow, all girls had to get a mate three years after their first bleeding (around 15 years old). Then, if our current partner died, we were most often picked by another man so that we could provide children for the tribe. Our first partner was the only one we could have an opinion about. Should he dies, we belonged to the tribe and didn't have the right to choose anymore. And while women were expected to give birth as often as possible, as we grew older, we were allowed more time between each pregnancy. It was to reduce the strain on our bodies and lower the chances of death. I had already seen a few friends die because they couldn't endure giving birth.

I believed I wouldn't have to worry and that my child could be born safely. But that was before I found out I was pregnant. Before I realised how tiring it was to nurture a new life. I wanted to stay vital for my future child, those that would follow, and myself. I wanted to see my child grow up, be there for their first steps and words, and teach them what I could. I wish I would be strong enough to keep my life when my child yearns to see the world.

My musings were interrupted by Whistler coming out and grabbing me from behind as he kissed my neck. His hand were playful and rough, letting me know quite clearly that he expected me in our bedding, attending to his needs. Like he did every morning. I didn't mind; being pregnant made me more eager to satisfy my mate. Once my beast of a mate had sated his lust, he left to start his day and joined the other men. They would leave the village for one last hunt before we migrated elsewhere. It would be Hunter's Moon the next night, and soon many of the usual beasts will have hidden away. The men would also forage for plants while checking and gathering the traps for small game.

In the meantime, I would gather with the other girls from the tribe, everyone helping to gather all necessities for our incoming journey. Personal belongings would be packed up in the evening and at dawn before leaving. Midday lunch was shared between several families, and childless women were expected to help the mothers look after their children.

Being pregnant still qualified me as childless, as it would be for another six moons. That means another two times -two migrations- where I would be a burden to the tribe while we moved to another location. As much as I loved being pregnant and knowing I would have a child, I hated those days. It made me look even more forward to giving birth.

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-- pov - 3rd person - Nathaniel --

For many nights, Nathaniel's only feedback from his mother's mind was a feeling of frustration and worry about events to come in the future. One that seemed quite far away, the others similar but spread out evenly over a long period. There was also a yearning and a sense of duty associated with those final events. A responsibility that weighs heavily on his mother, making her sometimes feel inadequate about what would be expected of her.

It took Nathaniel several weeks before he was able to confirm his guess regarding what was linked to those feelings. It happened the night when his mother's worries were at their highest point. It was also the night of a full moon. To say the Moon influenced his progress was hard to say. Nathaniel lacked the required knowledge of the supernatural. Still, it makes sense for the Moon to have some influence. It was already responsible for many phenomena happening on Earth, including sea tides. And stories and myths from his last life kept heightening the Moon's power over the Earth. Werewolves were the most obvious example to come to mind.

The point is that this night, Nathaniel made a breakthrough regarding his technique by delving into his mother's mind and witnessing her dreams. It was more of a nightmare.

She was walking away from the tribe, as was everyone, carrying and dragging with them what they could. Dew held a child by her hand and was looking around nervously. Then they were attacked by beasts. Despite everyone's efforts, they could not prevent casualties, and Dew saw the child she held taken away by one of those beasts, disappearing in the darkness. All around her, other people's gazes became judgmental, their voices warning her that she should have known. She wasn't ready. She shouldn't have been entrusted with another being's life. They accused her of being an egoist who, instead, should have given away her life to protect the child.

The nightmare stopped at that moment, Nathaniel aware of his mother waking up, her body sweating, her breath erratic and heavy. He would've liked to say something to her, to tell her she didn't need to worry, that he would take care of her. Or even just to let her feel better. However, he had yet to find a way to do any of those things. For now, he was just an observer. A passenger in all forms, be it her body or her mind. He did try extending his hand onto her belly, but it was doubtful if she took that as a sign of trust or worry. Her feelings at the moment were too muddled for Nathaniel to guess.

The day after, the event from her nightmare was happening. The initial part of it, anyway. Everyone had already prepared their belonging, ready to leave. As Nathaniel wished to witness as much of what would happen, he dutifully meditated every other hour. It was for one as a way to be there for his mother, as emotional support, although he knew she wouldn't feel his presence. Another reason was to see his surroundings and learn more about where they lived and were going. To see the flora and fauna and know if he could make some guesses on what could be used in the future to improve his mother's life.

The journey took them the entire day, from dawn to dusk. From how many hours had passed, Nathaniel could infer they were around the spring or autumnal equinox, as the day was around fourteen hours long. Or whatever equivalent it was in this world. From his mother's sleeping habits, he had already observed that the days were roughly the same length as on the Blue Planet and thus felt it to be a safe guess. That his mother had referred to the previous full Moon as the Hunter's Moon helped him know that it was very likely for winter to be coming. At least this significance of the Moon's phase was persistent. He hadn't been aware of the outside world for more than two months, too short to predict if the climate would vary differently from what he was used to.

What he could say for sure was that he was still alive, as was his mother, and that her nightmare was, for now, just that, a nightmare. He could feel her relief when everyone started building their camp in the evening. There had been a couple of beasts' attacks during the journey, but for once, no casualty happened. Only injuries of various degrees. It was a good sign for everyone, proving this location would favour them.

The skirmishes during the journey also made Nathaniel realise the men had shocking strength. The javelins and stones they threw were whistling in the air at a speed that escaped his mother's eyes. Their impact on the beasts or the landscape was unlike any imaginable estimation based on their sizes. Meanwhile, they could contend against the beast they faced one on one. The ones that reached their waist. The hunters were more like beasts in human form than actual human beings.

When the tribe was ready to stop and establish their new base, Nathaniel could borrow his mother's senses to look around. The land around their current encampment was similar to before. Some savanna, with trees growing here and there, often several hundred meters apart. Cacti were more common, and bushes even more so. Lodgings were quick to rebuild, as most materials were found on site, like grass. Others were brought along, like leather and animal fur. The chief's hut took the most time as it needed branches and rocks, but even then, with the many people participating, all houses were finished before midnight.

For Nathaniel, this first migration was a wake-up call. Although it was impressive to see the whole tribe move as one and to witness the feat of strength from the men, the danger was very much present. He had to quickly improve his ability to interact with his mother and the outside world. Otherwise, sooner rather than later, there will be a day when Nathaniel will be forced to watch some misfortune befell his tribe, or just his mother, and unable to do anything. The other wake-up call he got, one as terrifying as it was inspirational, was that his sight was too narrow. Until now, he had been working towards harnessing the power of his soul, which led him to awaken his spiritual senses. He had used this ability to look around, to transmit knowledge and was planning to ensure he was healthy, maybe later to work on telekinesis. Yet, he needed to look farther and higher. As Nathaniel saw the feats of strength done by the tribespeople, each just as impressive as Olympians, he had an epiphany.

He was a reincarnated man, having gone beyond death, beyond life, beyond space and beyond time. Why should he limit himself to mortal's bounds? He should instead strive to break those bounds by himself this time rather than by relying on whatever Entity or Law that had allowed him to be reincarnated.

Since he could harness the power of his soul to awaken spiritual senses and, thanks to that, develop diverse minor abilities related to the mind, he should seek to do the same for his body. Instead of looking for simply being mortally healthy, why shouldn't he try to become an Immortal? He had spent a century and another quarter living an ordinary life. He had fought for others, for his country just as much as for himself. Yet, in the end, he couldn't care for himself and was forced to watch his body slowly collapse. Forced to watch as comrades, family and friends died around him, one after the other. Even then, barely a dozen people stayed around him at the moment of his death, of which only a handful were genuine in how much they cared for him.

This time, he would ensure to stay healthy for as long as he lived, be it centuries or millenniums, or more. He would seek to keep his loved ones by his side for as long as possible or as long as they wanted.