Come and skydive, they said.

It's fun, they said.

Feel the fresh wind coursing through your body as you glide down, they said.

Don't worry, there won't be any accidents, they said.

Kael had always been cautious, thanks to his childhood spent in an African nation where the locals avoided any fun activity that involved even a slight chance of dying. 

Yet somehow, his friends had convinced him to go skydiving.

Before agreeing, Kael's mind ran through every possible "what if."

What if the parachute didn't work?

What if it did work but he couldn't control it and landed in some wilderness where his introverted self wouldn't last a day?

What if he ended up in the middle of the ocean?

But despite his misgivings, Kael gave in to peer pressure. 

And as he hurtled toward the ground, his worst fears materialized.

The parachute refused to open.

The rush of wind screamed in his ears as he plummeted, helpless, watching his life flash before his eyes.

Until—CRASH.

Kael hit the hard ground. Everything went dark.

---

"Ahhh!"

Kael screamed in shock... or at least, he tried to. 

Instead of his usual voice, what came out was a shrill, high-pitched cry.

Wait, why did it sound like a baby crying?

He braced for the pain he should have felt from the crash, but instead, there was a strange lightness in his body. Yet, at the same time, he felt sluggish. 

When he tried to open his eyes, everything was blurry.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Avalon, it's a beautiful, bouncy baby boy!"

The soft voice reached his ears, but instead of soothing him, it grated on his senses that were somehow sensitive now.

A baby boy?

Before he could make sense of the words, Kael felt himself being moved. 

The sensation was odd, foreign. He had no control over his body—it responded sluggishly, as though it didn't belong to him anymore.

Moments later, he was nestled into a warm embrace that made him instinctively relax, though his mind was anything but calm. 

His eyes fluttered half-open, but his vision remained blurry. 

Every sound and touch felt overwhelming, and his tiny limbs twitched beyond his control.

"Your boy seems to recognize you immediately, Mira," said an aged female voice. 

It was powerful, commanding, yet gentle, like someone who had wielded authority for a long time.

"Yes, Mother-in-law. Look at him, isn't he handsome?"

"Haha, of course, he is! How could the son of my boy look anything but handsome?" the older woman replied with a chuckle.

"Ouch, Mother-in-law, I think he resembles me quite a bit, don't you think?"

"You're still weak, dear, so I'll forgive your hallucinations for now."

"Mother!"

Kael froze. If the absurdity of his situation hadn't clicked by now, the truth hit him like a truck.

Shit. Am I a baby now?!

*******

Three weeks had passed since Kael's rebirth—or at least, he thought it had been three weeks. 

Time was a blur of the same repetitive cycle: soiling himself, crying, being cleaned, fed, sleeping, and repeating in no particular order.

"Being a baby is disgusting," Kael thought, frustration bubbling up again. 

The weakness of his body and his inability to control it or do anything meaningful irritated him to no end.

His stomach growled, and a reluctant thought crossed his mind. Should I cry for them to feed me?

By now, Kael had moved past denial. 

He had fully accepted the absurd reality: he had somehow reincarnated as a baby in a completely different world.

---

Name: Kael

Bloodline: Avalon Monarch Bloodline (Unawakened)

Rank: Unawakened

Core: Unawakened

---

[Bloodline Abilities]

Status: Locked

—

[Skills]

None.

---

[Stats]

Health: 30/30

Mana: 100/100

Power: -1

Agility: -2

Vitality: 3

Focus: 10

---

Yes, it was a magical world.

Kael didn't know if everyone in this world had a system panel like his, but he was sure he wasn't the only one capable of magic—or at least, capable of it someday. 

Kael couldn't use magic yet, but he'd already witnessed his personal maid conjure water out of thin air to clean him.

Yes, a personal maid.

It didn't take much observation to realize his family was incredibly wealthy. 

Once his vision cleared after his birth, Kael noted the opulence of his surroundings. 

Everything about the room—the luxurious furnishings, the intricate decor—spoke of affluence.

Based on the design of his home and the clothing worn by his family and the maids, Kael deduced that this world's technology was roughly medieval. Yet, it had its own unique advancements.

For instance, the walls of his room were embedded with glowing stones that lit up at night. Strangely, they could also be manually turned off, hinting at some form of magical or technological innovation.

Just as Kael was seriously debating whether to cry for food, the door to his room creaked open. 

Soon, a familiar face appeared above his baby crib, her expression lighting up with warmth and affection.

"If it isn't my cute baby boy! You're awake again, aren't you? You miss mummy, don't you? You miss her so much, don't you?"

The woman's voice was sweet and filled with love as she leaned down to lift him out of his crib.

This beautiful woman was Mira Avalon—his mother.

For the first week after his birth, Kael had barely seen her aside from feeding times. Her absence hadn't gone unnoticed, but even his underdeveloped senses had picked up on her exhaustion.

It seemed his birth had taken a heavy toll on her.

Still, there was something about this woman—something overwhelming.

"You're hugging me too much again, woman!" Kael tried to protest internally, wiggling his tiny arms and legs. His futile attempts at resistance only made her hold him closer. 

To his mother, his squirming probably looked adorable.

In the end, as always, the clingy mother won.

Not that I enjoy this or anything.

Unlike what most might expect from a grown man reincarnated into a baby, Kael didn't feel awkward about calling this woman his mother. 

He was pragmatic by nature and understood the importance of adapting to his new reality. Resisting it would only hinder him.

As for guilt over the parents he'd left behind on Earth, it didn't weigh on him. 

His parents had died when he was very young, leaving him an orphan. 

That tragedy was why he had grown up in Africa in the first place, despite being a foreigner.

His parents had died in a plane crash during a business trip, and his grandmother—a woman of African origins—had taken him in. 

Stricken by grief, she had returned to her hometown, bringing Kael along with her.

That grandmother had passed away years later, which had led to Kael's return to Europe—where his unexpected, and possibly ironic, death occurred.