Ivan never imagined his end would come like this. After enduring relentless suffering for years, his chronic illness had worn him down until his strength faded, and life gradually slipped away from his eyes. In his final moments, he finally felt a kind of peace and whispered to himself, "Finally... this pain will end." The thought of death had once been terrifying, but over the years, it had turned into a thought of liberation, as if he would finally be free from the prison of illness.
He felt a soft darkness seeping in, as though his soul was slowly sinking into a deep slumber. This didn't scare him; it was more like serenity. "This is death, isn't it?" he wondered, but soon he found himself surrounded by a new, different light.
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He opened his eyes suddenly, feeling the light piercing his sight, a sharp light unlike anything he'd known before. "Am I... alive again?" he thought, but something felt strange. He could hear sounds around him—whispers in a language he didn't understand, yet somehow they felt meaningful. He tried to focus on these sounds, but his body wasn't able to respond as he wanted.
He tried moving his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring light but was surprised by an unfamiliar heaviness. His small body didn't respond as expected. "What is this? Why can't I move freely?" he asked himself, but as he tried to grasp what was happening, he was stunned by what he saw. His hand was tiny, like that of an infant.
Fear gripped him for a moment. "Is this a joke? Am I in a baby's body?" A surge of shock overwhelmed his mind, but gradually, some of the shock began to fade.
"No, this can't be real... but it is. I can feel everything around me," he thought, confused, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. This world was full of colors and sounds, completely different from his previous one. Even the light seemed brighter, confirming he was in an unfamiliar place.
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Over the next two days, Ivan struggled with waves of confusion and bewilderment, but gradually he began to adapt to his new body. He started to realize he had been born into a wealthy family. From the way his new parents looked at him, he sensed love and care, but he also felt that this place held secrets he couldn't yet decipher.
He tried his best to analyze his surroundings. The room he was placed in was vast, filled with luxurious furniture he'd never seen before, decorated with warm colors and elegant engravings. Even the walls were etched with strange patterns that raised questions. He wondered, "Is this some form of aristocracy? Was I born into a noble family?"
When he lay alone in his cradle, his thoughts were endless. "How can I accept this? Could this be some kind of rebirth? Or maybe a new life after death?" Contradictory emotions filled him; on one hand, he felt grateful, but on the other, he couldn't shake the sense of strangeness.
In his moments of solitude, he tried to understand this new world through the eyes of the child he had become. He remembered his past life and his pain, how he had once dreamed of a fresh start. "It seems I have truly been given a new chance…" he whispered to himself, "but I never expected it to be like this."
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Ivan began to notice intricate details in his surroundings: the high ceilings and wall murals that told mysterious stories, the shades of gold and purple filling the room, creating a royal ambiance that was both comforting and awe-inspiring. There was a large balcony overlooking a spacious garden filled with tall trees and strange flowers in vibrant colors. "I've never seen plants like these before... am I in a completely new place?"
One day, as his new mother spoke to him softly, he noticed a strange glint in her eyes, as if they reflected something magical. He wondered, "Could this world have some kind of magical powers?" He felt a strong urge to understand this world and its unique aspects, but he knew he had to be patient.
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On the morning of the third day, as he lay in his cradle, deep in thought about his surroundings, he noticed one of the maids entering the room. She was carrying a small cloth and appeared to be preparing to clean the space. Ivan focused on the maid, trying to understand what she was about to do. But suddenly, he lifted his head slightly when he witnessed something unexpected.
The maid stood, gently raised her hand, and began to whisper words he couldn't comprehend. Then… a light breeze formed in her palm, softly entering the room and clearing the dust.
Ivan was astonished. "Is this magic?" he wondered, a sense of awe filling his heart. How could someone control the air so effortlessly? He watched the maid with wide eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"If this is real… then this world isn't like my previous one. Here, the laws of physics aren't what they used to be," he thought deeply, trying to grasp the magnitude of what he had just witnessed.
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As he lay quietly after the maid left, his emotions were mixed. "If magic exists here, then what are the limits? Can I learn this magic? Can I truly become part of this new world?" Countless thoughts swirled in his mind, and his curiosity transformed into a hidden excitement.
In a moment of reflection, he stared at the ceiling and felt a strange sense of determination. "This is a chance I would never have had in my previous life... I will learn everything about this world, and I won't leave anything unexplored."
With this vow to himself, Ivan concluded his thoughts, determined to begin his journey in this new world with a resolve he hadn't felt in years.