Opening my eyes, I find my consciousness drifting through an utterly dark place where not even a speck of light could be seen. No sound could be transmitted, nor could time and space be determined.
It was as if everything was distorted by a strange and unseen power, and I slowly started to lose my sense of self.
'Ah, is this the afterlife. Where the souls of departed come and then sleep eternally.'
As I drifted through that darkness, my sense of self became more and more vague. At first, it started slowly, but like a parasite, it started to take away all my sense of self.
But even as I started to lose my sense of self, I remembered how I died, how I couldn't exceed my limits as a human being and died by a single bullet.
Were all my efforts to become the strongest while pretending to be a mob all for nothing?
'If I had power like those characters in anime and dramas, surely a bullet wouldn't have been able to kill me, right?
So, in the end, this is how I die?
Is this how my story ends without me becoming the strongest?
No, I refuse to believe that I would die without becoming the strongest.'
A spark of fire lit within me, and I started to resist this endless darkness with its strange power to distort everything.
As I resisted, the fire within me started to grow more and more.
'I will survive no matter what!'
I screamed internally.
I refused this darkness and its strange power to erase the fire within that reignited once more, and the fire within me started to rage furiously the more I resisted the power of this dark place.
The fire slowly started to take my shape, and now I could scream.
"Fuck you, and fuck this place. I won't lose myself, I will live, and I will fucking destroy this place!"
"Roland"
I started to remember my name again.
I first visited the town with my friends and saw that show on one of the televisions in the store.
I started to remember more.
The sweat I shed while waking earlier than most of the kids my age, the injuries I endured while trying to surpass my limits, the pain that I got while fighting with gangs and the raging fire that helped me go through them.
Now the fire within me raged so furiously that it started to bring light to this endless darkness.
At the centre of all this fire, I started to shine like a sun, but I wanted more.
"More, yes more, I want mooooore!"
I started screaming more furiously, and the fire within me started to spread from my body to the surroundings. Slowly, it started to envelop the whole darkness.
My sense of touch came back.
I started to see things.
Now I could hear my own scream.
I was now able to feel the fire within me that rages furiously and devours this endless darkness and its strange power of distortion with my will.
So, I started to spread the fire within me more. Now, after I don't remember for how long, I was like a nebula, and I was finally able to see the border of this eternally dark place.
So I started to devour this place more.
Then, I saw it.
A crack.
Slowly spreading.
Seeing the crack, I became excited and started devouring the place with greater tenacity.
Boooooom!
The endless darkness was destroyed.
After the destruction of the endless darkness, my consciousness suddenly got sucked away, travelling through stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies so quickly that once I blinked, I saw myself in the embrace of an old lady wrapped with warm white cloth.
***
Panas
In the Gorgon Empire, there is a small barony in the east by the name of Rysen.
Today, all family members of that barony have come to see the small baby boy who is in the embrace of his mother, wrapped in a warm white cloth.
The father, David Rysen, with a well-trimmed beard and black hair combed back with not a single strand out of place, with blue eyes so beautiful that they looked like a calm river.
With a small smile on his lips, he could charm any girl from Earth. Today, David came to see his newborn child with his other two children.
The boy named James Rysen and the girl named Clara Rysen both twin twin-looking siblings who look around three years old.
They had brown hair inherited from their mother and blue eyes like a calm river from their father. They both came with their father to see their little brother.
They both looked excited, as if they were getting a new toy instead of their brother. Looking at their innocent smile and sparkling eyes, the servant in the corridor couldn't help but smile as well.
"Father, are we really going to see our new brother?"
"Of course, we will see our new brother, sis."
"Yes, you will see your new sibling, but don't make too much noise because your mother will be there as well, and they both need rest. Okay."
After walking for a few more seconds, they finally arrive in front of a double door made of black wood. The wood was adorned with many beautiful carvings and had a gold-coloured handle.
Besides the door were two knights with silver-looking armour covering them from head to toe. The chest plate of their armour had the symbol of iron and a shield.
Seeing their master come with his children, they both greet them with a slight bow and their right hand to their chest simultaneously.
"Good evening, master. Good evening, young master and young lady"
"Good evening, master. Good evening, young master and young lady"
Seeing their greetings, David gave them a nod and pushed the door after knocking.
***
After blinking my eyes, I soon find myself in the embrace of an old lady. I was wrapped in a warm white cloth, and the old lady with a black and white outfit that seemed to be a maid's outfit soon gave me to a beautiful woman.
"Here is your child, my lady"
"Thank you, Elizabeth"
The old lady named Elizabeth gently passes me to the beautiful woman. She had long brown hair that was smooth like silk and hazel eyes that could mesmerise any man with a look.
She looked like a lady in her mid-20s with perfect proportions in the right places. Sitting in a large bed where two adult men could sleep without discomfort, she took me in her warm embrace with a cloth still wrapped around me.
Upon contact, I could feel some strange kind of connection.
'Is she my mother?'
'Did I reincarnate?'
I was still confused about the situation I was but seeing me not cry, the woman who I think is my mother looked worried and asked Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth, why is he not crying? Is something wrong with my child?"
"No, my lady, some children don't cry, and it is perfectly normal as they are born with a huge amount of mana, but he will cry like other children if he is hungry or wets himself. I also checked him for any abnormalities, and he seems fine, my lady. If you want my lady, I could check him again."
"Yes, please do. Elizabeth, I don't want anything bad to happen to my child."
"As you wish, my lady."
Hearing the conversation between the two, I was confused. What are they talking about? Mana? What is that, and how do you control it?
I had a lot of questions, but quickly discarded them to see what the old maid would. What I saw was a circle hovering over the old maid's hand with a lot of intricate designs and runes while the old maid was chanting something.
After the circle was filled, the old maid closed her mouth and brought her hand with the white circle toward me, and upon gentle touch to my forehead, a strange euphoric energy came inside my body.
I closed my eyes and put all my attention on the strange energy that was inside my body, and after a moment, the energy slowly faded from my body. I opened my eyes and saw the old maid smile.
"There is nothing wrong, my lady. If anything, he is born with a good constitution and is a very healthy child, he may become a very strong person in the future."
Seeing the old maid's smile and with the words she said, my mother let out a sigh of relief and smiled while looking at me.
Sigh
"Thank you, Elizebeth. Your words have reassured me."
"It is nothing, my lady. It is my duty to serve you."
After which Elizabeth cleaned the room and took the dirty cloths and the warm water within a bucket, which had cooled by now. Two other maids, also wearing black and white outfits helped Elizabeth clean the room and excused themselves.
I remained inside the large room with my mother coddling me. To not look suspicious, I cried a bit, upon which my mother showered me with more motherly love.
Waaah
Waaah
"There, there, why are you crying? Your mama is here"
She brought me closer to her and gave me a speck on my cheeks. So I lowered my voice and slowly stopped crying.
'Maaaan, being a baby is a hard job.'
'I can't move my body, nor can I talk. Most of all, I must act so as not to look suspicious.'
'So this world has mana like themangas and anime I used rto ead and watch. Does that mean I can surpass my limits as a human and become the strongest?'
As I was thinking that, a small knock came from the doo,r and soon after three figures walked in.
The first was a man with black hair combed back with blue eyes in his mid-20s. There were two other children who had blue eyes as the man and brown hair like my mother.
The three came toward the bed with slow and deliberate steps that gave them an air of bigshots. The three had a smile on their face and other than the man the two children had a sparkle in their eyes as well as if they were about to see their toy.
"Honey, how are you feeling?"
The man asked about the woman's health while gently hugging her. Soon after the children also tried to copy the man after climbing on the bed.
As I saw all this happen I figured they might be my father and siblings.
'Wow they all are so good looking I wonder I will also look just as good as them.'
'I think the man is my father and the two other my siblings.'
Soon after their warm moment the children excitedly asked to take me but my mother rejected decisively.
"Mom, mom can I please hold him too."
"Mom, mom can I please hold him too."
"No, you can't because it is dangerous"
Seeing them pout my mother tried to cheer them.
"But you can hold him once becomes older"
Hearing that both children got happy once again. Then my mother asked my father what they should name me. The children also tried to give suggestion through which I learned my family's name.
'So my father's name is David Rysen while my mother's name Rose Rysen. My older sister is Clara Rysen and My older brother's name is James Rysen. They seem to be twins.'
"Dear, what about Liam?"
"That's a great name. So little one how do like your name."
Hearing my mother Rose ask me a question with an expectant expression I could only laugh or at least what seemed to be a laugh.
'Liam, huh. Sounds great to be honest. Simple, easy to pronounce and remember. I like it'
Soon after the small gathering of the four came to end they left me and my mother alone once again though the children were hesitant about leaving but they soon relented and left with my father David.
As it got night servant brought food for my mother and after the dinner she fed me and we both fell asleep.