When he woke, he was already returning to the house, having slept through the rest of the morning training. He reviewed the diagram again, keeping it fresh before listening to his parent's conversation.

"... next training session, should we see if one of the other support group members will look after little Thanos so you can join the training?" He caught his father saying as the couple walked alone down the cobbled path.

"I managed to chat with Eleni earlier, and she mentioned looking after him if needed. She could tell I felt a little out of place sitting with the support group. It would also be nice for Thanos to play with Rhea since she is not old enough to train yet." Valeria said as she adjusted his little sling that kept him strapped to her front.

Kayne shuddered a little at the thought of having to let that little demon anywhere near him. He would get prodded and pulled to death. He pushed thoughts of the mischievous girl away and turned his attention outwards.

It was a chilly, overcast day. Thankfully, someone had provided his parents with what he could only describe as a fur onesie for when he was outdoors. He bet he looked like a little teddy bear hanging here, but his fashion sense didn't mean much when he was still getting the hang of taking a dump at a time of his choosing.

Being stuck in this infant body was frustrating for him, but he managed to get around it by reminding himself it could always be worse. He had seen some people back on Earth in worse conditions, trapped inside their bodies due to accident or illness, many of them still choosing to power on.

If they could face such hardships and stay sane and optimistic, then it would be in bad taste for him to complain when he would grow out of it naturally. These thoughts let him calm his mind, ready for whatever may come.

He debated trying to awaken his will now but figured the constant bouncing up and down and the mithering from his parents wouldn't do his state of mind any good. Getting put down for his afternoon nap felt like a better time, so that was now his current plan.

It took a little while for them to return to the house as it was between a fifteen and twenty-minute walk from the training area at the maximum. For a short while, he had wondered why they even bothered to head into the woods to train, but thinking about it more, it made sense.

Training on the flat fields surrounding his house didn't seem like such a good idea as it would destroy the farmland. There also was the fact that if the village did have enemies, as General Ajax had said, training in the woods provided better concealment.

It would be easy for a hidden scout to monitor the village and fields from the surrounding mountains. The thought gave him some concern, but as it was out of his control, he chose not to worry. He had to rely on the legion to protect him, and from what he had seen so far, they seemed up to the task.

As they reached near home, he spotted a small red-haired figure limping along, feeling sorry for himself as he was frog-marched by a stern-looking older man in legion armour.

It didn't look like the healer had seen the boy, and Kayne couldn't remember even seeing Anton at the training session. The fact that the boy got put through what could constitute child abuse so casually cemented that this world seemed far more raw and cruel than Earth.

Once his parents brought him inside, it didn't take long for him to get fed and changed again before he was placed inside his cot that had been carried out to the living area for him to sleep in.

Turning his mind away from his worries about how this world might be to grow up in, he turned his attention inwards.

Alright, let's see what I can do about starting my journey on the path of cultivation.

Both the old man and Kouris mentioned how a person's will gets unlocked through self-introspection. He wasn't sure what that meant precisely, but he figured it shouldn't be too hard since many young kids managed it.

He closed his eyes and focused on breathing, trying to imitate a meditation technique he had read in a magazine article once. He didn't try to reign in his mind as he let it wander freely, only giving it a subtle prodding here and there.

He remained like this for over ten minutes without any results before he started getting frustrated at the lack of results and gave up on that approach.

It could be a more active process. The old ghost did say I would need to find out what drives me as a person at my core.

I guess the prominent place to start will be my parents, right? The tragic loss of both parents at such a young age was enough to birth the caped crusader.

Unlike him, I unpacked all this baggage a long time ago during therapy.

The loss of his parents did play a significant role in making him who he was, even though they weren't around he knew. The life insurance pay-outs, being sent to live with his aunt, and her sending him off to be well educated at a prestigious boarding school.

Those things shaped who he had turned out to be back on Earth before his untimely death. He blamed them for their deaths for a long time, causing him to feel displaced and not fitting in anywhere he went.

He spent the first year of the boarding school crying to sleep every night, wishing his parents would come and take him away, but they never could.

Is it because deep down, on some level, I blamed them for dying and in some ways, I hated them for leaving me?

He sighed and kicked his little legs in frustration as he opened his eyes. he knew he still had things to work out about his parents dying, but it didn't seem to be related to him creating his will.

He took a few steadying breaths and closed his eyes again.

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I have to find out who I really am at my most fundamental layer and work out what drives me and keeps me going.

He decided to move on from his unresolved emotional issues for now. Those things helped make him who he was, but that didn't mean they were who he was.

Maybe I need to focus on who I think I am, what kind of man or baby I am, Manbaby?

He opened one eye a little before closing it, trying to see if anything had changed, not that he even had a clue if it would be obvious he had succeeded anyway.

It's nice to know I don't think I am a manbaby.

I should look at what motivates me to carry on living in the now. Isn't that the main principle of a person's existence?

I've already died once, but losing everything I've ever known hasn't made me give up. Since being here, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've things to hope for and to look forward to now.

He finally had two loving parents who, despite their quirks, showed that they saw him as their own and never mistreated him. He was in a supernatural world that came alive at night, where he could learn magic. He had travelled through space, seen sights he never thought possible and knew that there were countless others to explore.

In his old life, he felt like he had already given up, and even at the moment of his death, whilst suffering agony and fear, Kayne would be lying to himself if he didn't admit there was also a kind of release at the end.

A three-legged cooking pot? Body, soul and will. Back on Earth, I may've existed there physically and in body, but I never really was there in soul.

He suddenly felt strange, as if he had been tied down his entire life with a heavy weight that abruptly left him. It wasn't his body that felt lighter but more his mind.

He didn't try to test if he could control his internal essence, as he knew he wasn't there yet.

He wasn't sure how he knew, but there was a feeling that even though one of the weights holding him back was removed, more work was still needed. He remained there for a time, basking in the slightly euphoric sensation until it faded.

Huh, so outright admitting that I am a mopey bastard is one of the things that makes me who I am deep down inside? Feels a little self-deprecating.

He had been melancholic in his old life, and some of that had carried over to him now. He didn't feel that admitting that the negative side of him existed was saying that was who he was.

It felt more like he was accepting one of the things holding him down, and on admitting it, the weight got removed, allowing the real him to float up a little more.

Fine. I guess admitting my shortcomings and freeing up that weight is needed here. There's no point in dancing around it. I might as well get it over with.

I'm a dickhead…

Nope, that wasn't it.

He thought it would be worth a try. He wondered if it would work and if he felt that about himself. Part of him knew he was putting it off and doing what he always did to avoid dealing with an issue like this.

He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes closed as he focused for real.

I use humour to deflect and mask the fact that deep down, I'm miserable. I hated my life back on Earth. I blamed my parents' deaths for my failings when, deep down, I knew my life never went to plan because I never had one.

Life seemed pointless, as if it was just a chore to finish. I'm glad I ended up in this world with all its possibilities and a future I can chase. If I had the chance, even though I miss some people, I wouldn't go back to my old life.

He felt a few more weights loosen and slip away as that same pleasurable feeling washed over him.

It reminded him of those mornings when you would wake up but had nothing planned; you would stretch out, and your entire body would hum with delight as your muscles and mind relaxed.

He didn't stop to take it all in this time for as long, deciding to hit the metal whilst it was still hot and fired off more self-truths, ignoring the freeing feeling between them.

I never wanted to die. It always terrified me. It was one of the reasons I never liked to fight and why I would always run away.

…

Now that I've died, I realise I wasted my old life in self-pity and fear instead of living it.

…

I spent so long waiting for life to start that I missed the fact it already had.

…

I blamed my lack of true friends on my situation rather than on the fact that I didn't try hard enough to make an effort with them.

…

I was powerless because I avoided confrontation. I don't want to be powerless ever again.

I want to be strong enough to protect myself and those that I come to care for.

The admission of so many inner truths caused his emotions to swell as he felt like he was back in that tunnel again as a disembodied soul, floating free and travelling to parts unknown.

It took him a short while to come down from that high, and he couldn't help but admit the feeling was a little addicting. There was something else still missing, though, one final confirmation needed for him to finally shake off all the rust and be reborn, no longer burdened by his previous life.

Deep down, I'm selfish and entitled and I loathe that about myself. I want to be a better person and someone different, but I fear messing it up.

I worry that I'll end up alone again, not having anything to care about or for anyone to care about me. I fear that I'll be unable to live up to that little part of me that came from the rightful owner of this body.

I don't want to worry anymore. I wish to live unrestrained, no longer burdened by the past. I want to be strong so that I can protect those that I care about.

I want to be powerful enough to make those who hurt me and my own in the future pay.

I don't want to play a hero, nor do I want to live as a villain. I will just be myself and, right or wrong, own my actions going forward.

From now on, no more running.

The old man had mentioned how he needed to find who he was deep down, but Kayne felt that his situation was unique. He didn't need to do things the usual way, as it didn't matter. The person he was wasn't the one he wanted to be.

It was better to say he had just realised he had never been his true self. That version got buried under a mountain of regrets and excuses, and he finally managed to free himself.

I'll see what this world offers, good or bad, and have fun doing it. I am sick of being so fucking glum all the time.

I am on this day no longer Kayne Hazard. That old life is behind me. I am now Athanatos Keraunos.

He suddenly felt like a bomb had just gone off under his cot, launching him into the air even though his body didn't move. Looking down at his motionless tiny figure, he realised he was floating above his body.

An urge overcame him, and he dived down, directly impacting the centre of his chest. A burst of ecstasy coursed through him as he felt himself back in the physical world.

He felt a tiny part of him slide into place like the last piece of a complicated jigsaw, filling him with satisfaction.

He could feel the aspect of Kayne thoroughly blend into the part of him that was Thanos, leaving no distinction behind.

He was no longer Kayne's soul inside an infant's body. It would now be more apt to say that he was now a child supported by the memories of a previous life.

In a quiet farmhouse surrounded by picturesque scenery on the east side of the continent of Nixia, a young boy named Thanos opened his eyes.