Is life a circle or a chain? Let's find out.
A flash of bright light, cold darkness, then sudden heat then, slowly, it faded, and he awoke.
"Huh… Huh… Wasn't I dead? Why am I still alive? And… where am I?"
As Anaka woke up in darkness, a touch of gentle warmth seemed to calm him. It was a touch he hadn't felt in so long, and it reminded him of his grandmother, filling his heart with many emotions like love, anger, hate, and the one he knew best, envy.
"What is this? My arms and legs feel so weak, and I can't open my eyes… It's like… I was just born."
Anaka didn't know what had happened to him, but he felt an unfamiliar peace, a calmness he had wanted his whole life. For a moment, he let himself relax, thinking he might finally rest. But something more awaited him, as his eyes slowly opened.
"Hello… Warrior of the future! It's me, your dad! Say 'DAD'! Come on, say it… D…A…D… DAD!"
'Who is this man, and why is he calling himself my dad?'
Anaka tried to respond, but no words came out.
"Our baby can't even sit up yet, and you're already calling him a warrior? And stop shouting, he's not even three months old!" said a new voice.
'Another person… a woman. Wait, a baby? A… BABY?'
It hit him, he was a baby. He had been born again. As the realization set in, questions swirled in his mind.
'How? Why? Who brought me here, and where am I?'
Unable to speak, Anaka knew it wouldn't be normal for a baby under three months old to start talking anyway.
But how could he find out more about this place? After thinking for a while he quickly remembered.
'Wait.' He smiled inwardly, remembering one of humanity's most powerful techniques. 'All right, breathe in… and release.'
And then he started crying.
At once, his mother rushed over, holding him gently and patting his back to calm him. But he wouldn't be calmed, not until he got a glimpse of the outside. Anaka stretched his arms toward the door, trying to signal that he wanted to be taken out.
She watched him, understanding his gesture. "Does my little Lucian want to go outside? Do you?"
At the mention the outside, he gave her the biggest smile he could muster. He didn't know how it looked, but he guessed that in a mother's eyes, her child would always be beautiful.
His mother picked him up and began walking toward the door. His heart raced with both excitement and worry. Where was he? What world was this? He had to see it for himself.
As the cold breeze hit his face, Anaka gazed out at a field of grass stretching far and wide, something he hadn't seen in his previous life for so long. A mix of excitement and relief flooded him, along with new questions.
'Is this Earth, or have I been reincarnated into another world?'
"All right, let's go back inside now, Lucian, or you'll catch a cold."
She returned him to his crib, tucking him in with a soft blanket before going back to the kitchen.
In his old life, there hadn't been much to call a great success. Most of his twenties had passed him by in a blur of job-hunting, reading manga, and novels. And by the logic of manga and novels, he reasoned, he had likely been reincarnated into another world… with memories of his past life.