The nurse gently placed me beside a woman lying in the hospital bed.
Her blonde hair clung to her forehead, damp with sweat. She looked tired, eyes heavy, but even through the exhaustion, I could see the beauty in her features. Her blue eyes met mine.
I froze.
"Mom?"
It slipped out. Only in my head, of course. I was a newborn, and my body couldn't speak yet.
To others, I spoke something like "gugu?"
But that didn't change what I felt.
Shock. Disbelief.
A gut-deep ache I hadn't felt in years came over me.
My mother was supposed to be dead. Both my parents were.
They died when I was twelve.
It had been the turning point in my life, and the moment everything fell apart.
I shifted my gaze. The nurse standing nearby looked massive, like a looming tower.
The walls were bright white, the ceiling lights too familiar. It was a modern hospital room on earth.
Somehow, I had returned to the day of my birth.
"Why isn't he crying?" my mother asked, concern breaking through her fatigue.
"Not all newborns cry. You don't need to worry. He's a healthy boy," the nurse replied calmly.
I looked back at my mother.
Her voice was softer than I remembered, and calmer. There was a warmth in her tone that wrapped around me.
'I've returned to the past.'
But how?
Even the strongest chronomancers back in Wageah couldn't push time back this far.
Was this a dream?
The door to the hospital room opened.
A tall man rushed in, panting heavily. His black hair was a mess, and sweat clung to his skin like he had sprinted the whole way here.
My father.
He looked younger than I remembered.
His face had no wrinkles, and it showed no signs of the stress that would later ruin his health.
As soon as he saw me, his expression changed.
Worry gave way to pure and unfiltered joy.
His shoulders relaxed as if all the weight had dropped away.
"It's a boy," my mother said with a tired smile.
He walked over to her, leaned down, and kissed her forehead. "You did amazing. Thank you."
Then he turned to the nurse.
"Can I…?"
"You can hold him," she said gently, handing me over.
He cradled me carefully, as if he was afraid I'd break.
His hands were big, calloused, but his grip was soft.
I felt the warmth, the strength, the unshakable pride in his arms.
He looked down at me with eyes that mirrored my own.
Something broke inside me.
This wasn't a dream.
This was real.
I was really here. Back in the past. In my father's arms. In a world where my parents were still alive.
A sharp wave of emotion surged through me.
Feelings I thought had died long ago—relief, happiness, gratitude—came back with a force I couldn't hold back.
Tears welled up in my baby eyes and slipped down my cheeks.
"He's crying?" my father panicked, looking up. "Did I hurt him? I'm sorry—"
He tried to hand me back in a rush.
"It's okay. He's perfectly fine. Crying is good. It means he's healthy," the nurse assured him with a small laugh.
Then my mother reached out and gently touched my face.
Her hand was warm. Her fingers brushed my cheek with a tenderness that made my chest ache.
"Don't worry. Mom and Dad will protect you, honey. There's no need to cry," she whispered.
That made it worse.
A child's body couldn't control its emotions, and mine betrayed me, letting the tears fall freely.
Her words dug into my heart, pulling everything I had buried over the years right back to the surface.
I was back.
Back to the time when I still had my family. Back to the brief period of my life that held nothing but joy and warmth.
I buried that moment deep inside me. Sealed it like a precious treasure.
'I will protect this happiness.'
That was the vow I made in that instant.
No matter what it took, I would make sure my mother and father lived. I wouldn't let them die this time. I wouldn't lose everything again.
And—
'I will have my revenge.'
Even as my tiny fingers clenched reflexively and my tears dried, the hatred simmered beneath the surface. It didn't fade just because I was happy again.
The Allied Kingdoms. The Saintess. The corrupted summoners who used us like tools.
They would pay. I would return to Wageah. And when I did, I would drown that world in a nightmare worse than anything they could imagine.
But for now, my baby body was at its limit.
Sleep pulled me under, and I gave in to it.
…
A few days later, after all the hospital checks were done, we went home.
It was the same villa I remembered with white stone walls, wide windows that filled the house with natural light, and a long driveway lined with cherry blossom trees.
But the warmth I felt from it was completely different.
In my last life, after my parents died, the house became cold, and empty.
But that hadn't stopped my relatives from taking control of everything, saying they would manage the estate and the business until I came of age.
They lied.
They sold off the best parts, pocketed the money, and stripped the home of the last dredges of its warmth, and memories.
They devoured everything my parents built piece by piece.
And I had been powerless to stop them.
But not this time.
Not again.
This house would remain as it was. Whole, filled with life, and love. I would make sure of it.
My parents were wealthy.
They had built everything over years of hard work and smart investments.
My mother owned a successful chain of skincare companies.
My father was involved in logistics and international exports.
Together, they ran multiple businesses across the country.
In my last life, none of it mattered once the tragedy struck.
Our family name, our businesses, all the power and influence my parents had built. All of it couldn't stop what came.
Once my parents were gone, the so-called guardians and relatives swooped in like vultures.
I still remembered their fake concern, their gentle smiles that masked greed, and the fake promises to "take care of me" while they sold off everything my parents worked for.
This time, I wouldn't let any of that happen.
But all of that could come later.
Right now, I was just a baby.
I couldn't talk, couldn't walk.
My hands barely moved with coordination, and my sight was still blurry half the time.
But I had something no other child had. Memories from my previous life.
I was someone who had fought against the armies of High Gods alone and nearly defeated them.
With all the knowledge I had, I could get my revenge, and protect my parents as long as I was patient.
'I need to prepare for the summoning that bring people to Wageah.'