"I don't feel pain anymore..."
A young boy's voice drifted through endless darkness. There was nothing around him. Just black stretching in every direction. His body felt strangely distant, almost as if it didn't belong to him anymore.
"What happened? Did the medicine work…? Thank god. I thought I was going to die."
He tried to move, but nothing responded.
"Anyway… why can't I feel my body?"
The thought bothered him. Something about it felt familiar.
"Weird. This has happened before… but those times I could never stay conscious like this."
The silence lingered. Then suddenly—Warmth. It spread slowly across his body, gentle and comforting, like sunlight soaking into skin during a quiet afternoon.
"Whoa! What's going on?"
The warmth grew stronger.
"Did they bring a heater into my room?"
He paused, focusing on the sensation.
"No… this doesn't feel like a heater's heat."
It was softer and more natural.
"So what is it?"
A faint glow appeared in the darkness ahead of him. At first, it was ,barely visible, just a pale yellow shimmer breaking through the endless black.
The light slowly grew brighter. At the same time, feeling returned to his body. But something felt wrong.
'Huh… now I can't talk. What's wrong?'
The thought formed clearly inside his head. Yet the voice he heard in his mind felt strange. Small and light. Almost like the voice of a young child.
He slowly forced his eyes open. The world flooded in all at once. The first thing he saw was a woman leaning over him.
She was beautiful, with long fluffy brown hair that rested gently over her shoulders. Her warm brown eyes were focused directly on him, shining with emotion. A soft blush colored her cheeks as she smiled widely. Her clothes looked expensive, yet old-fashioned, like something from another era.
'Huh… who is this woman?'
His mind struggled to understand the situation.
'And why is she looking at me like that?'
He tried to speak. But the only sound that came out of his mouth was a soft, helpless coo.
The moment he heard it, his entire mind froze. Shock slammed into him. Panic followed immediately.
'Wait a minute… something's off with me. Why am I—'
His thoughts stopped. Slowly, he raised his hand. The moment he saw it, his mind went blank. His hand was tiny. Small, soft, and chubby. A baby's hand.
For several seconds he could only stare at it. Then the realization crashed down on him.
'Huh!? What!?'
'Huh!?'
'No, no… this has to be a dream.'
His thoughts spiraled.
'I must be dreaming. There's no way something like this is real.'
'What kind of stupid joke is this?'
Before he could think further, the woman leaned closer. Her expression softened even more as she gently pressed a kiss onto his forehead. In a warm, affectionate voice she whispered,
"Look at my child…" Her smile widened with obvious joy.
"He looks so adorable."
The boy froze completely.
'Her child?'
A terrible possibility slowly formed in his mind.
'Don't tell me…'
'Did I actually die… and get reincarnated?'
He struggled to accept the idea.
'There's no way things like that are real.'
'Those only exist in webnovels and anime.'
As he was still trying to process everything, the woman turned her head slightly and looked beside him. Her smile grew even brighter.
"And you too are so adorable, my daughter-in-law~"
The boy blinked in confusion. Slowly, he turned his head. Lying right beside him was another baby. It was a girl.
Her skin was so pale it almost resembled fresh snow. Her bright blue eyes looked almost like ice, glowing faintly under the light. Unlike him, she wasn't making any noise. She simply stared upward quietly, her expression calm and unreadable.
The boy stared at her, stunned. Only then did he notice something else. Both of them were lying in a massive bed, wrapped in incredibly soft and warm cloth. The fabric felt smooth against his skin, far more luxurious than anything he remembered.
Everything around them felt large. Quiet. And strangely unfamiliar.
"Who is this… and wait!" His thoughts stumbled over themselves.
"Did she just call her daughter-in-law? What is actually going on here?"
Before he could sort through the confusion, a quiet creak echoed through the room. A door opened. Soft footsteps followed.
Another woman stepped into view. She was just as beautiful as the first one. Her long pink hair flowed neatly over her shoulders, and her blue eyes carried the same bright color as the baby girl lying beside him. She wore clothing nearly identical to the other woman's—elegant, expensive, and styled in the same old-fashioned way.
"My, my. Look who's here early~" she said playfully while glancing at the brown-haired woman.
The brown-haired woman laughed softly and replied.
"Oh~ you're quite early too, Memei."
"I know you, Azrea~," the pink-haired woman replied with a teasing smile.
"You came here to secretly play with both Azrean and Sumi."
Azrean's mind froze the moment he heard that name.
'Azrean…?'
Before he could think about it further, the pink-haired woman walked over and gently lifted the baby girl from the bed. She held the girl close with a warm smile.
"My princess~ mama is back. You must be hungry."
Then she began to loosen the upper part of her clothing. The boy immediately turned his head away. His face burned with embarrassment.
'Someone save me…' he thought miserably.
Memei glanced toward him and spoke in a quiet voice.
"I think you should feed my son-in-law too. Otherwise, he won't grow up strong."
Azrea turned toward him with a bright smile.
"Yes! I was waiting for you too."
Before he could react, she gently picked him up from the bed. Then she began opening her clothes as well.
Azrean's eyes shot wide open. Panic exploded in his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut and twisted his head away.
"No—" The word slipped out.
The moment he heard his own voice, he froze. His thoughts halted completely.
'I… can talk now?!' Azrea blinked in surprise.
"Huh? What happened, Azrean?" she asked with concern.
Slowly, Azrean opened one eye. Across from him, the baby girl was already drinking milk as if her life depended on it. She didn't hesitate for even a second.
'She's a child…' His mind struggled.
'But I can't do it…'
Memei watched the scene for a moment. After thinking it over, she spoke calmly.
"Maybe he's not hungry. Let him be. Perhaps he's sleepy."
Azrea nodded in agreement.
"Probably… I did wake him up after all."
She carefully placed him back down on the soft bed. Her eyes lingered on him with a bit of worry.
"Sleep well, my son. Mama will feed you later," she whispered gently.
Memei finished feeding the baby girl and laid her back down beside him. After fixing her clothes, she looked toward Azrea.
"Azrea, let's return to our husbands. They must be waiting."
Azrea nodded. She adjusted her clothing as well before turning toward the babies and giving a small wave.
"Bye-bye, my children. See you later. Mwa~"
With that, both women walked out of the room. The door closed quietly behind them. Silence filled the large bedroom once again.
Azrean lay there, staring blankly at the white marble ceiling above him. His mind still struggled to process everything that had just happened.
Then something moved beside him. To his surprise, the baby girl slowly pushed herself upright. She sat there on the bed and groaned softly.
"Urgh… It's so hot over here."
Her voice came out high-pitched and tiny, exactly like a baby's.
Azrean's eyes widened instantly. He turned his head toward her, staring in disbelief.
"What…" His voice trembled.
Sumi slowly turned her head and looked directly at him. The moment their eyes met, her expression changed. Her eyes widened in complete shock. Then she screamed.
"Huh!? Did this baby just speak!?"
Both of them froze. Neither could say another word. They simply stared at each other in stunned silence.
And in that quiet moment, the same realization formed in both of their minds.
'It turns out… both of us were reincarnated.'