Chapter One: Prelude
"Where… am I?"
That was the very first thought that surfaced in my mind as consciousness slowly returned to me.At first, there was nothing.
No light. No sound. No sense of direction.Only darkness.An endless, suffocating darkness that pressed against me from all sides.
Then, gradually, I became aware of something else. There was a strange sensation around me. My body felt weightless, yet restrained at the same time. There was a faint pressure all around me, soft but inescapable, as if I were suspended in some kind of fluid.I tried to move, which I predictably couldn't.Or rather I could, but only slightly. My limbs felt underdeveloped, weak, and unresponsive.
"…What the hell is going on?" I thought to myself.Before I could panic any further I heard a strange sound.
"Batum… batum… batum…"
A deep, rhythmic sound echoed through the darkness surround me. The sound came from came from everywhere and nowhere.
For a brief moment, fear gripped me. The sound was loud, steady, and impossible to ignore. But as I calmed down and focused, something about it began to feel oddly familiar. It was rhythmic and most importantly consistent. It felt alive like the heartbeat beat. "Wait ... heartbeat." My thoughts slowed and my breathing—if I could even call it that—stilled.
And then, like a bolt of lightning, realization struck me.
"…No way."If I had to take an educated guess I was inside a womb.Though the type of womb I'm in remains to be seen.Just as that absurd conclusion formed in my mind, something even more overwhelming happened. A flood of memories crashed into me. These were not new memories but teather old ones. My memories of my previous life on earth. I was your typical nineteen years old college student who was on a vacation . A completely normal guy just enjoying his vacation if you ignored one thing. Iwas hopelessly engrossed into webnovels. Reading wasn't just something I enjoyed. It was something I really loved and whenever I had free time, I read. Even when I didn't have free time, I still found a way to read. Day after day. Chapter after chapter. Story after story." Yeah I really read about lot"
Looking back on it now, it was kind of pathetic. There were so many things I could have done instead.For example learned a skill, exercised more, built real relationships and the like but no.
I chose to sit around and read about other people's adventures instead of living my own.
"…Yeah. Definitely stupid."
As for how I died…
That part was almost laughably cliché.
I had been walking along the roadside, earphones plugged in, completely immersed in a webnovel. The world around me had faded away as I focused on the story.
I didn't hear anything as the almiggty truck-kun came out of nowhere. Then all of a sudden —
Bamm.
A violent, overwhelming force slammed into my back, sending my body flying.
For a split second, there was pain and
then nothing. Only darkness.
"…Seriously?" I groaned inwardly. "I died like that?"
Of all the ways to go, I ended up as one of those background characters in a tragic accident.
"…Couldn't I at least get something original?"
Author: 💔💔💔
I mentally sighed.Well… what's done is done.
Now that I'd somehow been reincarnated, the real question was—
What kind of world was I about to be born into?. Would i end up in a normal world or a fantasy world? or something much worse?
"…Please don't let it be a nightmare like Attack on Titan," I thought grimly. "I wouldn't wish that kind of life on my worst enemy."
Time passed or at least, I think it did.
Inside the womb, there was no real way to measure it. Everything blurred together into a strange, quiet existence.
Occasionally, I would feel gentle ripples in the fluid surrounding me. Subtle movements that likely came from my mother shifting or walking. It was oddly calming...peaceful, even but that peace didn't last forever.
One day—or moment, or whatever passed for time here—something unexpected happened. Something bumped into me. Which made me freeze for a second.
The contact was faint, but unmistakable.
Something or someone else was here alongside me.
My thoughts raced as it settled on a single possibility.
"Hold on." A single word surfaced in my mind.
Twins.
So I wasn't alone.
I had been sharing this space with another life the entire time… and I hadn't even realized it until now.
That was both fascinating and a little unsettling.
"…Great," I muttered internally. "I've got a roommate already.Too bad we cant have a chat. It would be creepy if it actually happened though."
I shifted slightly, testing the space again and there it was. Another presence.
"Well… I just hope you're not a noisy brat," I thought dryly. Silence answered me.
Then again, it's not like either of us could actually talk.
"…Oh, right."
Another thought suddenly hit me. A very important one. Reincarnation,Womb, and a
New world.That could only mean one thing, right?
"…Where's my cheat?" I mean every reincarnation story I'd ever read had one.
A system, a golden finger or some overpowered ability that made life easier.
So naturally I had to check if I've got one
"System?" I called out in my mind.
Nothing.
"…Hello?"
Still nothing.
"…Status window?"
Silence.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
I waited,hoped and tried again and again.
But no matter what I did there was no response. No Ai waifu voice.
Not even an interface.
Also no sudden burst of power.
Just darkness… and the steady sound of a heartbeat.
"Batum… batum… batum…"
I let out a long, mental sigh.
"…How disappointing."
It seemed like I wasn't one of those lucky protagonists after all.
No cheat,no guidance.
Just the good old me.
"…Well, whatever."
Worrying about it now wouldn't change anything.
I was still stuck in a womb, unable to do anything meaningful.
So instead of overthinking things…
I decided to conserve my energy.
After all, sooner or later, I would be born.
And when that day came
I would finally see what kind of world awaited me.
With that thought in mind, I slowly let my consciousness drift.
The steady rhythm of the heartbeat echoed like a lullaby in the darkness.
And before long…
I fell asleep.