'Where am I?'
Floating in an open space with nothing but a sea of stars in sight, the young soul of Hiiro Yamaguchi slowly opened his eyes.
'Did I die?'
Memories began flooding his brain which bore the images and pictures of his life and death.
'As I thought. I really am dead.'
Despite the revelation and realization, Hiiro was calm. His death, while unfortunate, was not unexpected.
Having suffered most of his mortal life from an illness that made him bedridden, Hiiro welcomed his death with open arms. At least now, he would have to suffer no longer. His parents would be free from the burden of paying hospital bills, and his brother was now free to become a typical teenager and have fun instead of taking care of him daily.
'I wonder what happens to me now…'
Hiiro wasn't sure what the afterlife would be like. Would he go to heaven or hell? Maybe he'd be placed in limbo. Who knows.
However, this sea of stars was quite a fascinating sight.
Perhaps this was the afterlife and he'd end up staring at stars for eternity.
'Hmm? What is pulling me?'
Hiiro realized something was wrong when he felt a force tug at his body. Without a warning, he was dragged through the stars by the unknown force.
'Huh?! What's happening?!'
Hiiro had no strength or muscles to pull away and could only helplessly be dragged along by whatever it is.
And soon, a long time passed.
A flash of light was seen by Hiiro who glanced over his shoulder to see a large ball of light floating in the sea of stars. The force was dragging him straight toward the ball of light without stopping.
Strangely, Hiiro didn't feel intimidated or afraid when he saw the light. In fact, it felt as if the light was welcoming him.
As he was drawn closer, a soft warmth enveloped his body bringing him a sense of comfort.
'This feeling…is like being wrapped up in a warm bundle of soft fluffy covers…'
Hiiro embraced the warmth and no longer protested as he was drawn closer to the light.
Soon enough, his body entered the ball of light and vanished from the sea of stars.
—---
In the forest of Glazia, on the border of the Kizarian Kingdom, the tree of life began to glow.
The tree of life was a massive and incredible tree with roots that extended to thousands of kilometers, connecting to each and every other plant life form. The tree of life is the core of the forest of Glazia that is responsible for keeping it alive. Every ten years, the tree of life opens up its trunk and gives birth to a forest protector; a spirit.
It has been ten years since the last birth of a forest spirit and so, a new one was about to arrive.
The glowing light attracted creatures of the forest as well as the older spirits who traveled from far away to come and witness the birth of their new kin.
"Another one! Our new sibling will be born!"
A group of spirits rejoiced. They held hands and danced in a circle around the tree trunk.
"Settle down, settle down. Mother has to give birth and you're bothering her."
An older spirit, a chubby female one, shooed her younger siblings away from the tree trunk.
The younger spirits fluttered in the air and drifted to hover behind their older sister as they waited for their mother, the tree of life, to give birth.
A gust of wind appeared and rustled the leaves on the tree. The light surrounding the tree trunk and branches began to glow brighter and brighter and soon, a soft whine was heard.
A miniature hole opened up at the center of the trunk and out fell a tiny baby spirit the size of a human's thumb.
Immediately, the other spirits flew to pick him up and one of the older ones carried the newborn child in their arms.
"He's here!" Several spirits cheered.
The creatures of the forest, both regular and irregular animals, let out various sounds and snorts indicating their glee. The reason for their happiness was attributed to the jobs of the spirits.
Spirits were creatures, birthed from the tree of life, that held a duty to maintain the uptake of the forest. They fixed broken branches, helped injured animals, blessed some plant life to bear fruit and so much more. Every new spirit that is born will walk the same path and take up its duty as a protector and caretaker of the forest. Without the spirits, the forest would not be as vibrant and as bright as it is today.
"Come now, let us take him home," the eldest sister spirit said.
"Yes yes! Let's take him!" her younger spirit siblings replied in high-pitched tones.
The group of spirits gathered together in a single file before flying in one neat line toward their home. The eldest sister spirit led the group holding the newborn spirit in her chubby arms.
A soft whine came from the baby spirit but wasn't noticed by the others.
—---
'Where am I?'
Hiiro opened his eyes and asked the same question he asked before.
This time though, instead of opening his eyes to a sea of stars, he opened them to a sea of…leaves? Branches?
Looking around him, he realized he was lying on top of a giant leaf that could hold his entire body.
'What is this? Am I in the world of giants now?' Hiiro wondered. But then realization hit him, 'Wait…was I reborn?'
As someone who's read his fair share of rebirth novels and internet novels in his past life, Hiiro was more than familiar with the concept. Finding himself in the same situation as those protagonists though was completely unexpected.
'But what am I?'
He didn't think he was human. Especially not with his green hands and feet.
'And why am I so tiny and chubby?'
He tried to stand up but found that he couldn't. His legs were too weak and wobbled like a newborn fawn.
There was a strange tingling on his back that caught his attention.
Looking over his shoulder, Hiiro noticed a pair of wings shaped as leaves, attached to his back.
'Wings? Am I a fairy or something?'
"Ah! He's awake! Everyone, the youngest has opened his eyes!"
A high-pitched voice full of joy startled Hiiro who looked up to see a curious-looking miniature human with green skin and a pair of leaf-shaped wings matching his own appearance. The little flying human had a pair of chubby arms and legs and looked like those chibi illustrations in manga.
"Who are you?" Hiiro wanted to ask. However, what came out instead was a jumble of baby sounds, "Ooo-ah-uaoh?"
'Huh? Why can't I speak?'
Hiiro blinked in confusion but let out a tiny squeak when his body was lifted up from the leaf. He found himself cradled in the arms of that the chibi human and a soft fluffy feeling sprouted in his chest.
"Hello little one," the chibi human said. "Welcome to the family."
'Family?'
Hiiro turned his head hearing the sound of several chattering voices; all high-pitched and cheery. His eyes widened at the sight of thousands of green chibi humans flying toward him and surrounding him.
They all pointed at him and voiced their praises over his adorable looks. A few of them clamored together in an attempt to snatch him from the arms of the chibi human he was in but was promptly chased away by her.
'Just what on earth is happening?'
Hiiro couldn't have been more puzzled.
All of a sudden, a voice entered his head.
[Greetings, my dearest child.]