Selena was having none of it. "Uh, do I get a say in this?" she wanted to ask, but her brand-new baby mouth decided to say, "Gugu gaga gu." Wow, truly revolutionary. If there was an award for the least useful baby speech of the century, she was definitely a nominee.
She was starting to wonder if reincarnating as a baby in a magical world was really the dream she thought it would be. Her new parents were doting, sure, but now they were talking about signing a contract.
It was literally her first week of life in this weird fantasy realm, and already the paperwork was piling up. Couldn't a baby catch a break? Where was her union rep? Not that she ever had one.
But when her dad tuned in, saying the choice was totally up to her or something along those lines.
Selena felt something she hadn't felt in her entire first (or second) life: freedom of choice. No forced deals, no dodgy contracts. Well, sort of. She was still a baby, and also, her dad was a half-naked phoenix, but small wins, right?
So, she went ahead and accepted the contract. Why not? What's the worst that could happen? All she had to do was follow some guy's script. Easy peasy. Plus, the word "drama" was tossed around, and who didn't love a little theatrics? Surely it couldn't be more stressful than her last job as a reincarnated cameraman.
Although, now that she thought about it, she probably should've asked a few more questions. Like, what kind of drama are we talking about here?
Once she accepted, Selena, feeling oddly confident for someone who couldn't even hold her head up yet, mentally screamed, "Okay, I'm in! Now make me bigger!"
What actually came out was, "Gugu gaga gu." Impressive. Just peak baby nonsense.
Judge, being the annoyingly calm guy he was, decided to up the drama with a flourish. "You will now be known as Michael, the Virtue of Humility!" he boomed like he was announcing the latest contestant on a magical game show. Humility? Really? Her? And was that guy really supposed to be only days older than her?
"Judge! What's with the name?" Her mom, bless her phoenix soul, jumped in with the mom energy she didn't know she needed.
"Don't worry," Judge said, probably too casually for someone handing out life-altering names. "It just means she's contracted to me."
Her mom narrowed her eyes, clearly not entirely sold on that. But for some reason, she let it slide. "I trust your words."
She could not believe her mother just sold her out like that. And then the weirdness started.
First, Selena found herself floating. Was this normal baby behavior? Floating around like a helium balloon at a birthday party?
Her body began to glow, not in the "radiant with happiness" way, but more like "someone plugged me into a socket." She was straight-up turning into a fancy magical lightbulb, and if this were a commercial, they'd be calling it "new and improved, now with extra wattage!"
Then, in a burst of pure fantasy-world over-the-top flair, Selena transformed into a young woman. Not just any young woman—she was like the most glamorous woman at 18, with long flowing hair, glowing skin, and clothes that looked like they were designed by the most pretentious tailor in the land.
A mirror appeared out of nowhere (because of course it did), and she got a full look at herself. "Okay," she thought, "this isn't too bad. Definitely an upgrade from the whole diaper situation."
But then Judge, ever the master of pushing buttons, had to go and say, "You can change things as you wish. Just will it. You can even create a mannequin if you want. You can share a part of my powers now that you've signed a contract. A part—I repeat, only a part," he said, emphasizing the limits like a shady salesman who swears the warranty only covers the left half of your toaster.
Selena's eyes lit up like a kid who just found out they could eat candy for breakfast. "Wow, really?" Selena was excited to talk for the first time in this world.
Meanwhile, Judge was trying to keep his cool, he was quite confused, and he was not expecting the contract to work. "Which just shows that Clio has left many things for me to ponder on," he said, internally.
He still had many things left to figure out about his skill. But hey, mysteries could wait. Right now, he needed to focus on growth—mentally, physically, and, let's be honest, emotionally.
The road to self-discovery had begun, and it involved way more glowing transformations than he had anticipated.
After Selena had adjusted her shape to her liking, Judge canceled Studio and everyone was back. Back to reality, he thought, ready to put his feet up and enjoy a quiet and relaxed moment for the first time in... well, ever. But the universe had other plans.
"Judge, do you do ethercraft or weapons?" Eleyn asked, not much of a Mom question to ask, but it was Eleyn, a dragon, and her baby. She could probably turn making a cup of tea into a training montage.
Judge blinked, this wasn't the usual "Did you eat?" or "Are you warm enough?" No, this was dragon parenting, where "Do you need a weapon?" replaced "How was school today?"
"I usually go for ether," he said, thinking about how much he relied on his abilities. "But after that spar with Seraphis, I think I'm starting to like the sword."
Judge was not the optimal role model of a baby either, but it was Judge, a dragon, and his mother. He was slowly adjusting, and he was taking pride in that.
"Oh, then you should train under Sera then," Eleyn, clearly not one for small talk, nodded like she was reviewing battle strategies, not discussing the hobbies of her newborn son. "I would gladly train Selena, I could sense her huge reserve of ether, and me being a witch and both Selena's parents being brutes with swords, I think it would be better if I tried her."
They were both talking so casually that it felt like they were having a normal afternoon cup of tea, discussing current affairs and nuclear war codes (Yes normal). And it was still morning.
"Yes, Mom... Wait! Train?" Judge was not liking where this was going.