Kailash blinked slowly.
His head was pounding, and his whole body felt... off. It was like the world around him was trying to balance itself but hadn't quite figured out how yet.
Everything was blurry, and the sharp pain in his legs was gone.
That was the first clue that something was wrong.
Dead people didn't feel pain, at least, not according to what he'd read.
And he'd read a lot of things.
He lifted his hand to rub his eyes and froze.
His hand was tiny.
Like, ridiculously tiny.
What the... He squinted at his hands, then his arms, then down at the rest of his body.
Why am I so small?
Did I get reincarnated as a child?
It was the only explanation that made sense, at least in the world of Webnovels.
It wasn't even surprising, really just mildly inconvenient.
Kailash sat up quickly, his head swimming as he tried to adjust to the sensation of being alive.
And small.
And... weak. He looked around, and the unfamiliar surroundings only confirmed his theory.
He was lying on a straw mat in a dimly lit room.
The walls were rough wood, and there was a faint musty smell hanging in the air.
It was all very... rustic.
Too rustic for his taste.
No A/C, no Wi-Fi, no fridge stocked with leftovers.
Definitely not Delhi.
"Alright, so I'm dead. But not. Okay." Kailash muttered to himself, trying to piece it all together.
His last memories flashed through his mind, the snake bite, the pain between his legs, and then the damn Porsche.
"A Porsche from Pune. What kind of karmic nonsense is that?" he muttered, shaking his head.
Then it hit him.
He wasn't just in a new body.
There were memories here memories that weren't his but were becoming... familiar.
Like a video playing at double speed in his brain.
Names, places, people.
He clutched his head, groaning as the flood of information overwhelmed him.
Kailash Varuna, age twelve.
Born in a small village under the rule of the Jade Kingdom.
His parents had died a few years ago, natural causes, probably.
They weren't important enough to die in some grand, tragic way.
Just normal folk.
Now he was an orphan, living alone, with the occasional help from the villagers.
As the memories settled, Kailash exhaled deeply. "Alright, so I'm still me. Sort of. Just... in a kid's body. In a cultivation world."
He tried to absorb this new reality, rolling his shoulders as if testing the limits of his new body.
"And here I thought getting hit by a Porsche would be the worst thing to happen to me."
Standing up, well, attempting to stand up was harder than he expected.
His legs felt wobbly, like they hadn't been used properly in a while.
He stumbled a little before catching himself on the rough wooden table in the corner.
"Okay, walking. Still doable." He grinned to himself, proud of this very basic accomplishment.
The room was small, but cozy in a primitive sort of way.
There was a bowl of water on the table, and Kailash caught a glimpse of his reflection.
The face staring back at him was rounder, younger definitely not the twenty-five-year-old loser he'd been before.
"Cute," he muttered, turning away.
"But still weak."
He needed fresh air. Or, at the very least, a reality check.
Pushing open the rickety door, he stepped outside into the bright sunlight.
The village stretched out before him, small and unassuming.
A dirt path ran between the handful of houses, with a few fields visible in the distance.
It was simple, far too simple.
"So, this is home now, huh?" Kailash sighed, hands on his hips as he took in the sight.
The village was modest, to say the least. There were a few kids running around, laughing and playing some kind of stick game.
They glanced at him, waved briefly, then went back to their game.
"Guess I'm not that interesting." He smirked, watching them for a moment before continuing down the path.
As he walked, he spotted a familiar figure sitting on a wooden stool, sharpening a farming tool with slow, deliberate movements.
Ramu, the village elder, gave Kailash a brief glance before grunting in acknowledgment.
"Up and about, eh?" Ramu said, his voice as rough as the tool he was sharpening.
Kailash nodded, forcing a small smile. "Yeah, just... trying to figure things out."
Ramu chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. "You've been quiet lately. Thought we might've lost you."
"Not yet," Kailash muttered under his breath. "Still kicking."
Well, not literally kicking, since his legs still felt like jelly, but whatever.
Further down the path, Kailash passed Maasa, the kindly woman who had taken it upon herself to keep an eye on him since his parents' death.
She was hanging clothes on a line, her hands working deftly as she hummed a soft tune.
"Kailash!" she called out when she spotted him. "You're awake! Good to see you moving around again."
"Yeah," Kailash replied, scratching the back of his neck. "Just... needed to clear my head, I guess."
Maasa smiled warmly. "You've been through a lot, Kailash. But you're strong. You'll be fine, just like always." She paused, her eyes softening as she added, "Your parents would be proud."
The words hit him in a way he wasn't expecting.
The old Kailash the one from Delhi hadn't heard anything like that in years.
He'd been a disappointment to himself and everyone around him.
But this Kailash, this twelve-year-old boy, had people who actually cared.
"Thanks," he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets as he continued walking.
As he made his way further into the village, the memories from this life continued to settle in.
Life here was simple.
The villagers farmed, traded, and occasionally talked about cultivation like it was some distant dream.
Sure, cultivation was a real thing here, but for people like the villagers, it was out of reach.
Only the wealthy or talented could afford to pursue that kind of power.
Kailash snorted. "Just like back home. The rich get richer, the poor stay poor. Some things never change."
But he couldn't help but wonder, if he had been reincarnated into this world, there had to be a reason.
This wasn't a Webnovel where the protagonist could just bumble along and hope for the best.
He had to figure out how to survive here.
Maybe even thrive.
Lost in thought, Kailash wandered back toward his small house.
The sun was starting to set
His mind raced with questions.
What was he supposed to do now? He was a kid, weak and powerless in a world that literally ran on power.
He sat down on the steps of his house, staring at the horizon as the last rays of sunlight dipped below the hills.
"Guess I'll need to figure out this whole cultivation thing, huh?" he muttered to himself.
And then, without warning, a sound echoed in his mind.
Ding.
Kailash froze, his eyes widening as the sound reverberated in his head.
What the hell was that?
Ding.
Again, the sound. And then, like a switch flipping in his brain, a voice.
"System activated."