With the end of the ritual, a swirling vortex opened above the hole sucking up its contents. A mysterious pair of eyes looked down at the worshipping hooded figures and cackled in delight.
Such wonderful souls of such high quality! Such a delightful smell of blood and death! I am very pleased with your offerings and as a reward, I will grant you immortality... by becoming a part of me!!! With a blinding light, all the hooded figures vaporize into glowing clumps of blood mist which was then sucked in the the vortex. As if losing momentum, the vortex slowed to a halt and collapsed inwards folding upon itself but just as it was about to disappear, a wisp of Adam's soul that went unnoticed also flew into it.
Somewhere high above a silvery river, opened up a dark pinhole which soon disappeared with a ripple of space. From the pinhole, the wisp of Adam's soul flew out towards the river as if it was a magnet. This river did not appear to be an ordinary river, it glowed with a faint white light that pulsated along with the flow like a blood vein. It is such a river that nourished the little of what remains of Adam's soul. Other blobs of light bobbed upon the surface along with the blob of Adam's soul.
Along the river they went, sometimes the river flowed past large ruins, other times, side streams merged into the river increasing its size, it defied common sense as it flowed up into the sky passing floating islands and upside down forests. Eventually, with a thundering roar, the river, which by now was several times its original size, crashed downwards into a deep ravine that opened up into a vast mirror-like silvery sea.
Here, the blobs would sink into the surface like a stone dropped into the pool but without a ripple. Then they dissolved into motes of light, but contrary to normal, one blob of light still bobbed up and down upon the surface. Like a lonely boat, it floated and floated until at one point, it arrived at a region of the sea. It was such a dreamy sight to behold but no one could see it. Billions upon trillions of bubbles lifted out of the sea each carrying a new blob of light.
These bubbles rose into the air and entered into an ancient and majestic archway. On the top of the archway, was inscribed 'The Vault Of Life' in a forgotten language and at the sides, stood its two guardians. The two towering figures clad in their once glistening armour, was now worn and tattered seeming to tell a story of many hard fought battles over many eons of time. Such a story will be told at another time, as at this moment, Adam's soul was carried up and into the archway by a bubble.
Past the archway, was a red glow that carried the essence of life. Legends say that being immersed in this glow for one day could extend your life by one year and heal any ailments or diseases. It's debatable whether time follows the same rules as the outside world because the soul blobs only pause for a moment and then they move on. In the deeper reaches of the vault, the soul blobs start to disappear.
Somewhere, inside a warm and cozy room, was crowded with midwives bustling around a frail looking woman on a bed. Inside her arms, gently cradled a baby boy.
"What do you think his name should be Maria?" A man with a chiseled face and a sturdy build stood to one side with a soft expression.
"I think Adam is a lovely name, he will become a respectable knowledgeable man in the future" the woman on the bed replied with a smile.
Bursting with a hearty laughter, the man took Adam holding him high up and said "Adam it is, as our only son, you shall shoulder the burdens and pride of this family."
Months passed by as winter changed into spring, Adam grew up and learned at amazing speed. At only 5 months old, Adam could walk, eat, and go to the washroom all by himself. On a particular day, April 4th, Adam spoke his first sentence. As if touched by a god, Adam's brain burst forth with a tide of knowledge that filled him with memories of another Adam in another world. The soul from another world finally completely merged with this body.
The first thing that came to Adam's mind was: "Holy shit what happened to me?"
Followed by: "This must be a dream, a terrible dream scarier that the nightmares I've been having."
On that day, Adam did not eat, sleep, or move scaring the daylights out of his parents. For the following days, Adam spent his time reconciling with the fact that everything is real and in the process, asking questions such as: Who am I? What should I do? What is real? What is truth? What is existence? and other deep philosophical questions. He pondered in his head over and over again arriving at no satisfactory answer.
Giving up, he realized that he might as well just live life and go with the flow. If anybody knew what went on in this 5 month old baby's head, they would be shocked in disbelief. Now at peace with his current situation, Adam was fascinated with the world around him.
Back on Earth, he was never really interested in exploring and discovering new things and is satisfied with maintaining the status quo. While Adam had no clue of his horrible death, he was sure that he died because there is no other way to explain transmigration into the body of a baby. It is also undeniable that the many isekai mangas and rebirth novels he read in his past life heavily influenced his conclusion. Death is always close by, Adam died with absolutely no recollection of it which sent shivers down his spine.
After living a life in struggle and labour, he decided that this lifetime, he would live without regrets and nothing could stop him from doing what he wanted. Attaining new life completely changed Adam's mentality like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Nevertheless, everything must be done one step at a time, his burning thirst for answers and his curiosity can only be satisfied on the basis of sufficient strength. The curtains lift as Adam takes his first baby steps to becoming indomitable.