"Papa... papa,"
Brian heard someone calling out to him.
Slowly opening his eyes, Brian observed his surroundings upon waking up.
A rotten roof, decayed walls, and a young girl who appeared to be no older than five, with tears streaming down her face, bent close to him.
Where am I?
Brian, still in a dazed state, wondered about the unfamiliar environment he found himself in after waking up. It was only then that the realisation hit him that he was not in a familiar surrounding.
"Wait, where is this place?" Brian quickly sat up and muttered aloud, startling the little girl beside him.
Initially, Brian had been lying on the dirty floor with his back on it, while the little girl bent close to him with her hands on his chest. Due to Brian's sudden movement, the little girl fell on her butt and let out a small squeak as the tears in her eyes threatened to increase.
Seeing this, Brian immediately felt uncomfortable. It was only now that his brain registered that he wasn't the only one in this room.
"Don't cry, don't cry," Brian waved his hands in front of the girl in a flustered manner, attempting to stop her from crying even more.
Brian always thought of himself as someone bad with kids; however, thankfully, the little girl listened to him and calmed down.
Seeing this, Brian released a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed.
After calming down, Brian turned his attention back to his surroundings. The room still had the same rotten appearance.
One thing was evident: this place seemed to have been abandoned for several years. However, why the environment was so quiet, desolate, and seemingly abandoned was not an immediate concern for Brian.
Brian began to wonder how he had initially arrived in this place.
"Papa," before Brian could delve deeper into his thoughts, the little girl called out to him with a term she had used when he first opened his eyes in this place.
She called him father.
This weirded Brian out because, just as he didn't recognize the environment he was in right now, he definitely didn't remember having a daughter.
Apart from not considering himself ready to be a father, Brian's line of work until retirement wasn't suitable for him to have a family.
A war mercenary could die anytime, and for someone like him who had grown up without parents, Brian wasn't ready to put another child, especially his own, through it. So even though he had relationships with women in the past, they had never been for love or family purposes but purely for pleasure.
"Papa," the girl called out again, noticing that Brian seemed to have zoned out. Before Brian could react to being addressed for the third time, he saw the little girl making her way towards him.
The little girl had her hands slightly spread in a gesture that suggested she wanted to hug him.
Brian had initially considered blocking her way with his hand, but his body subconsciously reacted differently. Brian opened his arms, inviting the little girl into his embrace.
Wondering why he did that, Brian suddenly let out a suppressed groan as a stream of information flooded his head.
He pressed one hand against his head, trying to suppress the scream that threatened to escape, his face contorted in pain.
"Papa! Papa!" The little girl, witnessing Brian's sudden reaction and expression of pain, called out to him multiple times while placing both her hands on his cheeks.
Brian didn't understand why, but the little girl's simple actions calmed him somewhat and gave him the strength to endure.
"I'm fine," he assured the little girl, calming her down. Brian had an inexplicable urge that made him want to reassure her. Then he focused on the new information that had entered his head.
The pain that Brian had been experiencing also lessened as the surge of information ceased. A calm expression replaced his pained one, much to the relief of the little girl, who snuggled in his arms to enjoy his embrace.
Transmigration, huh?
To think what I read as pure fantasy as a child would happen to me in person. Lucky me, haha.
Brian let out a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes as he carefully processed the new and unfamiliar memories in his head.
From the information he had absorbed, Brian knew he had transmigrated into another world. However, unlike the high fantasy or sci-fi worlds that other novel protagonists usually found themselves in, this world was more akin to an alternate Earth.
But that didn't make it any less exciting, because apparently, this Earth was experiencing the apocalypse. Zombies, mutant creatures, and espers were the norm here.
This confirms that I died on Earth too Brian thought with a sigh.
Brain's last memory before opening his eyes in this world was nothing but a bright orange light caused by a missile in a war where two first-world countries fought, with him serving as a war mercenary.
Brian turned his attention to the girl lying in his arms.
"Lily," Brian muttered, and the little girl, now known as Lily, turned to stare at him, likely wondering why he had called her name.
"Papa," Lily whispered softly, a smile of happiness gracing her malnourished and sickly face. Despite her condition, her beauty, or rather cuteness, still shone through, and the smile she wore now was the brightest thing Brian had seen in his life.
Lily's smile influenced Brian, and he found himself smiling too.
Brian leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on the girl's forehead, earning a series of delighted giggles.
I guess I'm a father now Brian mused, a mix of emotions coursing through him as he held Lily in his arms in this strange and dangerous new world.
Before Brian could finish processing his new memories and come to terms with his new identity and reality, a blue panel suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Name: Brian]
[Grade: None]
[Talent: Awakening...]
[Abilities: None]
A system?