That night, the wind intensified, causing the old tree to sway violently.
I understood that the tree, along with the earth beneath it, could collapse at any moment.
Yet, I couldn’t let go. I feared that my last warm memories would vanish. This place meant so much to me, but it seemed it too would soon be taken away...
Crack!
The tree trunk crashed into the precipice, taking a portion of the ground with it. Naturally, I could have reacted and stepped aside at the loud snapping sound, but I didn’t.
All my thoughts and the days I had lived flashed before my eyes. Oddly, I didn’t panic. Perhaps I had simply accepted it.
Boom!
The fall caused a deafening roar, disturbing wild animals and birds nearby, sending them scattering in all directions.
Some time later, a white raven with crimson eyes was pecking at the mangled body lying next to the branches of the fallen tree.
“Caw!”
The raven cried triumphantly as it devoured the corpse’s left eye. While it feasted on the socket, its own left eye bled, as if consumed by some malevolent force.
***
“Ae-nari.”
That was my name—or so I gathered from the voice.
“Oh gods! Little Ao, you’re awake!”
"I saw tears and concern in the eyes of two people unfamiliar to me.
So this is what it feels like to have someone worry about you.
And yet, I still hadn’t moved on from my past life."
Looking at my hands in surprise from the perspective of a child, I realized I had ended up in the body of a boy about 5 or 6 years old.
Damn it. Had I killed him by taking over his body? The torrent of emotions was overwhelming, something I rarely experienced.
Moving my tiny hands, I felt both horrified and overjoyed at once.
So this... is a second chance?
As I pondered, a flood of the boy’s memories overwhelmed me.
I see. He was killed, though it seems it wasn’t intentional.
The surge of memories caused me to pass out briefly again, which only frightened the boy’s parents even more.
***
Elsewhere...
The Holy Sun Summoning Altar.
Everyone near the altar watched as it radiated a blinding light, its heat escalating to such extremes that it distorted the space around it.
“Oh gods! May the sacred light incinerate me if I am dreaming! Has it awakened?”
“No, it has truly appeared!”
Stolen novel; please report.
“It has come into this world?!”
“Inform His Holiness immediately!”
“Yes, at once!”
“At any cost, we must find it, even if we have to raze everything to the ground,” someone murmured grimly.
A bright silhouette continued to gaze at the radiant light, unaffected by the searing heat and crushing pressure that could easily dry up entire oceans. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking...
***
When I came to, I had to first calm the two unfamiliar faces before me.
“My boy! Oh, I’m so glad, thank the heavens!”
The woman began hugging me tightly, crying even more, while the man held my hands and looked at me with worry.
All of this felt strange. As for the rebirth itself, I had read and heard about such things, but still, it was a pleasant surprise.
Death had come from a severe blow to the back of the head, damaging critical brain structures, including the medulla oblongata. Such trauma disrupted vital functions like breathing and heartbeat, resulting in death.
The culprits were two boys from the first and second branches of this very family.
The Remire family had four branches. My uncles were vying for the patriarch’s position as his years were nearing their end. The only candidates were my first and second uncles, and the patriarch himself was my grandfather on my father’s side—a cantankerous old man who disliked many things, though his grandchildren were sometimes an exception.
Rendo and Zen—those were the bastards who killed this body’s former owner.
It seems I’ll have to deal with them in a way that's... let’s say, not PG-rated.
At that moment, if one looked closely, they might notice a glow in my pupils.
The light was mysterious and pleasant yet carried a demonic allure—both frightening and captivating. The only word to describe it: mystical.
While I was exploring myself and the flood of memories, the boy’s parents wasted no time: Tina Remire and Akano Remire.
“Tina, have you noticed how his temperament has changed?”
“Dear, could it be that he’s no longer the Ao we knew? I’ve heard rumors about such cases. After all, he was quite the troublemaker.”
“Oh, how he made us worry. I hope he’ll be okay.”
Adopting a prayerful stance, they began praying to the gods. After all, in the eyes of mortals, there was no power greater than these primordial beings.
*
# [ Zzzp! ]
A screen appeared. Naturally, no one but me could see it.
After some investigation, I realized that this world had a system encompassing not only this realm but everything. Still, there were exceptions. It wasn’t exactly a full-fledged system—it only allowed users to view their status and body condition, and even then, not everything was revealed.
If the system allowed everyone to wield magic and cast spells, this world would descend into true chaos.
Perhaps it’s for the best that individuals must learn skills from scratch and choose whether to master them fully to enhance their power and efficiency.
Getting back on track, I opened my profile and saw my current stats:
Name: Aenari Remire
Age: 6 (Presumed-20)
Huh? That’s it?
I was quite annoyed to see such limited information. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it—yet.
Fine, I’ll work with what I’ve got.
Regarding the system: it’s said to have been created by the God of Chaos, although no one knows their gender—or if they even have one. There’s no evidence that the God of Chaos exists, either.
A system exists in this world, but at the same time, it doesn’t.
Is this some kind of divine joke?
Let’s get to the point.
I discovered from the memories that next year, the Remire family would conduct a selection for their language school—a competition I must join. For now, my priority was gathering more information about the world and this era.
I was extremely relieved to understand and speak the language of this world. How absurd it would have been to forget the language after reincarnation...
To illustrate:
“Tina, are you sure this is our son?”
“I don’t think so anymore.”
Such were Aenari’s thoughts, but considering how worried they were for him, Ao felt certain they weren’t like his previous parents.
Asking a servant to bring me books from the library, I began delving into how everything worked here.
First impressions? Overwhelming! I’d never felt such a rush of emotions, not even during love at first sight.
Wait—have I ever fallen in love with anyone? Hmm, not sure.
Of course, I noticed her peeking through the slightly open door.
“Hmm? What does she want?”