Amidst the murmurs of unfamiliar voices, Kael faintly opened his eyes. His vision blurred, struggling to adjust to the dim lighting of the room. A pounding headache accompanied the haze clouding his mind.
'Where... am I?'
His body felt foreign, wrapped in a strange numbness. The last thing he remembered was the agony of his wounds, the sight of Lothar bleeding out, and the echo of betrayal ringing in his ears.
A sharp breath left his lips. His chest tightened. 'I should be dead.'
Yet, the undeniable warmth of life coursed through him. The realization sent a jolt of disbelief through his muddled mind, followed swiftly by a tidal wave of anger.
'Those damned bastards… How could they do this to us?!'
Betrayal. Treachery. His comrades had turned on them. And Rei, one of the members of the group. Was she among them? Or had she…?
His thoughts calm, anxiety is gripping his gut. 'No. If she was one of them, she would have joined the expedition.'
Kael attempted to move, but an eerie wrongness spread through his limbs. His body felt... small? Weak? His fingers curled, and his breath hitched as he finally focused on them.
Tiny. Too tiny.
His chest tightened. Panic graze at his throat. He tried to speak, to curse, to demand answers, but what came out wasn't a command.
It was a weak, unclear wail.
"Nnn... ghh... aaah...?"
His own voice startled him. It was soft, high-pitched. Foreign.
His breathing grew unsteady as he struggled to sit up, his small limbs flailing awkwardly. His muscles refused to cooperate. 'No, no, no. What is this?!'
His panic built, and before he could stop himself, he let out another instinctive cry.
"AAAH!!"
The three figures in the room froze, their conversation abruptly stopping. Their heads snapped toward him, eyes widening in surprise.
They exchanged quick words in a language that felt distant yet strangely familiar, their hushed tones carrying a mix of concern and relief.
'Who are these people?' Kael's mind raced. 'Wait… this isn't the place where I died. And the statue… it's gone too.'
His heartbeat pounded in his ears. His mind reeled. This body, it wasn't his.
'What the hell happened to me?! Why am I a baby?! Did I… reincarnate?'
A whirlwind of questions stormed through his thoughts. 'Why am I alive but in someone else's body? Is this the future? Or the past?'
A soft voice broke through his spiraling thoughts.
"Oh, I almost forgot! congratulations, my lord. It's a boy!" the midwife announced, her tone jubilant.
"Really? Hahaha, my wish has finally come true! Finally, an heir to take my place!"
The deep, booming voice belonged to a man standing nearby, his broad frame exuding confidence and strength.
Kael's sharp, infantile eyes studied him intently. Despite his tiny form, his gaze carried a depth that startled those around him. The baby's face twisted, shifting between what could only be interpreted as anger and amusement.
"This child... look at him," the man, Julius Arthas remarked, holding the newborn aloft. "He already knows how to make expressions. Angry one moment, confused the next, what a strange little fellow!"
A woman, resting on the bed from labor, let out a soft chuckle. Her exhausted but warm gaze landed on the baby.
"He's extraordinary, isn't he?" she murmured fondly, gently caressing the baby's cheek. "He looks just like you."
Julius smirked, glancing at her. "We agreed, didn't we? If it's a boy, I get to name him!"
The woman, Antonette sighed, rolling her eyes but smiling faintly. "Fine. Go ahead."
Cradling the baby in his arms, Julius grinned and declared proudly,
"From this day forward, you are Licht! Licht Arthas!"
Kael who is now Licht, processed the name in silence. 'Why is this man laughing? I'm still quite confused about what they are saying'
His infant body stirred slightly as he took in his surroundings. 'So, this man must be my father, and that woman, my mother.'
He closed his tiny fists, his thoughts sharp despite his fragile form.
'Finally, I have a chance to kill those damned traitorous bastards! Wait for me until I regain my power.'
...
A month passed quickly.
The Arthas estate, located in the Pendium Empire was a modest yet sturdy manor befitting a baron's lineage. Built from stone and timber, it stood on the outskirts of a Pendragon City, surrounded by rolling fields and dense woodland. Though not grand, it carried an air of quiet resilience, its rugged halls lined with aged tapestries and lanterns casting a warm glow over polished stone floors.
"This child eats like a beast!" Julius laughed heartily, watching Licht devour his meal with unrestrained enthusiasm. "Six times a day! At this rate, he'll outgrow me in no time."
Antonette cradled Licht in her arms, her fingers gently stroking his soft cheek. "That's a good thing," she said with a fond smile. "Our baby will grow up strong and healthy."
Julius's laughter faded, his expression turning contemplative. "It's not his appetite that concerns me," he admitted. "It's the fact that he hasn't cried, not even once, since the day he was born." His gaze darkened as he traced a finger along the faint crown-shaped mark on Licht's nape. "And this symbol... I've never seen anything like it."
Antonette's smile wavered, unease creeping into her voice. "You're right... Should we be worried?"
Julius lifted Licht into the air, holding him like a prized trophy. "Nonsense! This boy is a genius. He doesn't need to cry, he already makes sounds to tell us when he's hungry or uncomfortable. Isn't that incredible?"
Licht, watching the exchange, sighed inwardly. 'They're clueless. But I've made progress...'
He had begun to grasp more of their language—some words resembled those from his past life, though others remained indecipherable. Even so, one truth became clear.
'This isn't the Nharaz Empire. I think this is the same world, but this isn't the world I once knew.'
His thoughts drifted to his homeland, to the betrayal that had cost him everything.
...
Three Months After Licht's Birth
Licht or rather, Kael has observed his progress with growing satisfaction.
'I can already stand and walk a little,' he pondered, taking unsteady yet determined steps across his room. His tiny legs trembled, the unfamiliar weight of his new body testing his balance. But sheer will alone kept him upright.
Over the past months, he had worked tirelessly to adapt. At one month old, he had made his first connection to mana, a feat unheard of even among prodigies. Since then, he had devoted himself to refining his control, channeling the energy with the precision of a former high-rank adventurer.
'I knew it. this is the same world that I live in during my past life. The way I connect to mana feels exactly the same.'
Yet, something was off.
Furrowing his tiny brows, he sat down on the soft rug, stretching out his small hands. A faint glimmer of mana flickered around his fingertips before vanishing. His reserves were far too meager.
'Why is it taking so long?' he thought with a frown. 'By now, I should've at least reached Rank 1. I'm practicing constantly, but my mana barely increases. It's like… something's siphoning it away.'
A nagging sensation had been lingering in his mind, one he had ignored until now. Whenever he trained, his mana never fully circulated within his body. Some of it always seemed to disappear, dissolving into the unknown.
He hesitated, then reached for the back of his neck, his tiny fingers brushing against the Crimson Crown symbol. The mark was warm. A slow, pulsing heat radiated from it, something he hadn't noticed before.
His breath hitched.
'Wait… is this thing absorbing my mana?'
The realization sent a chill through him. He had assumed the strange symbol was merely a mark of his reincarnation, but what if it was something more?
What if it was taking his mana for itself?
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to remain calm. He couldn't afford to panic, not now.
"If it's absorbing my mana, then for what purpose?" he wondered. "Is it some sort of a seal? Or something.."
The thought trailed off as he exhaled slowly.
'There's no use in guessing blindly. One thing's certain, it's not harming me. If it wanted to, it would've done so already. But I need to figure out how to control it before it hinders my progress.'
Still, he couldn't deny one thing.
Even with his mana being drained, he was still ahead of anyone his age. At this rate, even the most gifted prodigies wouldn't compare.
Glancing toward the door, he smirked. 'For now, I'll keep this to myself. If my parents catch me practicing at three months old, they'll probably think I'm some demon spawn.'
A quiet chuckle left his lips, his crimson-dark eyes gleaming with amusement.
For now, he would persist, honing his strength while silently deciphering the secrets hidden within the Crimson Crown.