It wasn't long before Mathias came to understand his situation; a week or two really. However, it took much longer to accept it. He wasn't one to actually believe in magical/supernatural occurrences, but, he couldn't help but consider the possibility as he sat in his crib.
"Maybe she was right, " recounting the events before his birth, or rather, 'rebirth', Mathias pondered audibly, "my life does seem to have started anew. Perhaps this is a second opportunity; a chance to create my own heaven." Mathias gave a toothless grin to the white ceiling.
"Alright, let's say it is Mat. What do we need to get right? How do we go about it? What's our goal?" The toddler began to make a mental note of his objectives, varying emotions welling up as he began to realize that to complete his new life, to make his heaven, he'd have to let go of much of his past. Losing friends that he'd built unbreakable bonds with; at least under normal circumstances, this couldn't have been considered normal. "What must be done, must be done. Brothers, I won't forget you. The seven pillars shall continue to thrive in a new gener-...", remembering that he technically was in the past, Mathias awkwardly scratched the back of his head. " A new...light? Yes. They shall continue in a new light!"
Suddenly, the door slammed open, a bronze-skinned man looking about in bewilderment. "Maybe...Maybe I'm hearing things." Breathing a sigh of relief, the man looked towards his son as he laid silently in the crib, before quietly closing the door.
"Aaah-tatata. Gotta keep myself under wraps until I get older." Speaking softly to himself, Mathias closed his eyes to rest.
"Eh, darling, do you think our son is....a bit odd?" Mathias' mother peered with concern towards a bronze-skinned man as she took a sip of coffee.
"Hm, I'd guess so, why?" The bronze-skinned man returned her look with a raised eyebrow, puzzled by the random question.
"I mean..", turning her attention to the yard outside, the woman watched Mathias as he ran laps around the yard before suddenly doing push-ups, no, wait, those were burpees! " Our four-year-old son is out there doing burpee's Antreas!"
"Really?" Antreas moved towards the window as he watched his son exercise relentlessly. "Hm, not bad." Antreas gave an approving nod before feeling a light force hit his arm.
"Y-Y-You dolt!" Putting down her cup of coffee, Elizabeth threw her hands into the air and stormed off to the main bedroom in a huff. "Men, boys, males! I just don't get it sometimes!"
Antreas couldn't help but laugh as his wife marched off. However, there was a hint of interest in his eyes as he watched his son work so hard at such a young age.
Later that day, after Mathias finished his workout routine, he took a hot bath and began to contemplate his next step. He'd already begun working on his physique, pushing his body to its very limits; which was odd, as whenever he finished, it felt his limit had never truly been reached. He simply stopped due to concern for his image as a four-year-old, which he was sure was being chiseled at day by day by his very own hand.
"It can't be helped. It's the only way I can make up for my lack of skill; I have to start physical training now to have any hope of getting the upper hand."
Sinking deeper into the water as he pondered to himself, the door to the restroom opened and Antreas peeked his head in, messy brown hair waving to the side.
"Mat, you okay?"
"Yeah, pops. Just fine."
"Good, good. When you're done, meet me in the study, I'd like to talk to you."
"Uh, yeah. Alright."
Antreas gave an approving nod and closed the door making his way down the hallway to the study while Mathias hastily finished his bath.
Once Mathias was done, he promptly made his way into the study, hands behind his back, standing as if he was in attention, waiting for an order. Such a sight always nudged Antreas in an odd way as he'd never taught his son that, but movies and internet was widely accessible to anyone, his son included, so he waved it off.
"Mathias."
"Yes, father."
"You're worrying your mom, heh. She thinks you might be an alien planted in our home to steal her mother's secret brickleberry pie recipe."
"I see, " Mathias looked down towards the carpet before gazing up at his father, "well we of the inglak race do enjoy you Derukin's brickleberry pie the most. Mee-yaaaahahahaha!"
Mathias and Antreas shared a brief yet hearty laugh together before calming down.
"But honestly, she's worried. She doesn't think you're doing normal five-year-old things, son."
A pang of guilt and hesitation flashing across his face, Mathias quickly gathered himself before giving a nod. "I-I understand. I'll make sure to dial-back my exercises to a re-"
"Tch; seems futile."
"It's not. I swear."
"See, you're proving yourself wrong as you speak."
"Hm? Ah..."
"Yeah, let it sink in. You're smart, at least beyond your average age of intelligence; the word futile rarely gets used around here, and yet you reacted as though you knew exactly what it meant. There's also the matter of how you speak; none of it matches up well to where you should be at."
Antreas raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, starting his boy down, as though waiting for a response yet receiving nothing but silence.
"So, I'm gonna go out on a limb, test my credibility of not being one of those parents who assumes their child is an A+ Giamont graduate simply because they know how to count to ten, and ask...What's going on in your head?"
Mathias met his father's green-eyed gaze and knew he had to reveal something; he always had that soul-piercing gaze that made all lie seem useless. It was easily one of his most distinguishing traits as the former head of the 'Nier tamatyaigo'"
"I-...I wish to join the National Basketball League and...create my own heaven."