A flickering streetlight, the constant sound of rain hitting the pavement. A reminder of the dull job Jack had had for months.
Checking his watch, he saw that it was only 11:34 p.m. on his graveyard shift.
Jack yawned as he stretched his arms and heard a noise.
Jack jumped out of his seat, spilling his coffee over his desk. ’Fuck.’
He opened the window to see who it was.
"Jack, pay attention!" A young man in a sports car said. "Open the gate, my girlfriend is waiting."
’Yes sir, right away sir.’ Jack said politely.
The gate opened and he slammed on his gas leaving skid marks on the ground.
Another boring night. He thought as the door opened.
"Hey Jack, Dave giving you a hard time again?"
’Hey Carl, yeah just the glorious life of nighttime security for the airport.’
A large flash of light blinded their vision.
Followed by a loud series of crackles that came through as lightning struck down on the ground.
A loud screech was heard right after the lightning struck the ground.
A guardrail broke above them as a truck fell down on the security checkpoint.
’Wow this is how I go.’
Bang! Followed by a large explosion as Jack, Carl, and Truck-kun met their end.
There was darkness, and then light.
Jack felt strange. He couldn’t move his limbs, nor could he speak. He couldn’t even open his eyes properly.
He could barely hear any noise, like being trapped down in a well.
"Lady Genevieve! It’s a miracle. You’ve finally given birth to a boy!"
Loud applause and laughter followed. The sound of footsteps could be heard as Jack felt his body lifting from the air.
"A miracle... truly a miracle from the Gods," whispered the midwife.
Jack opened his eyes, and this time he could see. Though his vision was slightly blurry.
He could see about a dozen blurred figures. A couple of squeals came out as he heard more voices.
"Mother, we finally have a baby brother!" A voice squealed as she jumped up and down.
But it was only after some seconds of him maintaining his silence that the midwife frowned.
"Strange... The boy’s not crying."
Strangely, Jack could understand what everyone was saying, but he wasn’t interested in anything they had to say.
His body felt tiny, soft, and helpless; his head felt too big; his legs were too weak to move, and his vision was still unfocused but slowly getting clearer.
He tried to open his mouth to maybe say "leave me alone please," but all he managed was a
"Is something wrong with him?" Lady Genevieve asked with a tense voice.
"Not sure yet. Sometimes newborns take a little longer. I’ll get him crying. Just a moment."
Jack could see the midwife and started to freak out. ’Wait, stop, don’t touch me there.’
A sharp pain touched his rear as he felt his butt getting slapped.
This wasn’t a casual slap. She had pulled her hand back as she let her hand hit Jack’s butt. It left a mark and turned his butt red.
But, the only thing that came out was a large ’wahh!’ As he tried to talk.
His cry echoed through the room, as people started to rejoice that he was okay.
"Mother, father will be so thrilled when he returns."
’What is going on, and why does my belly hurt. ’
The pain lingered on him for a moment before his brain finally caught up with the sensations.
"There it is!" The midwife said as she lifted him high in the air. "He’s just...."
Before she could say anything else everyone gasped.
’Oh, that feels so good.’
The midwife got a mouth full of pee as she screamed. "Ahh!"
’Oh, I think I peed in her mouth.’
"I got him," said a servant. "Get yourself cleaned up."
The servant wrapped up the new baby and took him to get cleaned.
’Alright, I just spilled my coffee, and now I’m surrounded by people I do not know.’
Time blurred after that.
People left gifts and prayers for the new baby born into the Kaiser family.
’I’m so sleepy. I can’t stay awake for long.’
Jack passed out shortly after.
Over the next few months, Jack confirmed he had been reborn into a new world.
People dressed in long robes or wore tunics.
Jack noticed people read books more than anything. And they always talked about strengthening their mana.
There were no light switches, cars, or phones.
He watched as people snapped their fingers and lit a fireplace. How servants placed their hand over a bucket and filled it after a couple of seconds.
’Magic. This is crazy. I have read plenty of fantasy books, and history books before. But I’m in it now!’
Weeks turned into months, months turned into years, and the next thing Jack knew he was already five years old and on a hunting expo with his father Alaric.
"My boy, we’re going to hunt for Dinner."
’My first hunting expedition. As Jack Kaiser.’ He thought to himself.
’Yes father, what are we hunting?’
"Three horned deer, one of them will have enough meat for the whole family."
This is exciting, my first father son outing in this life.
After 20 minutes of walking through the forest, they stumbled upon the three horn deer. It stopped at a pond drinking water when it heard a branch break.
Alaric put his hand in front of Jack to stop him from going anywhere.
In the next moment, Alaric drew his sword. The deer ran away and Alaric swung his sword, cutting an arrow in half.
"Stay behind me Jack!"
In the next moment six hooded figures emerged from the trees.
"Bandits," Alaric growled, positioning himself between Jack and the attackers. "What do you want?"
"Just the boy," the lead figure called out, his voice muffled by his hood. "Hand him over and you can walk away."
"Never." Alaric’s grip tightened on his sword.
Jack’s heart pounded. ’Why do they want me? I’m just a five-year-old!’
The bandits spread out in a semicircle. Alaric was skilled, but six against one was terrible odds.
They scattered, but immediately regrouped. Two rushed Alaric from the left while another flanked from the right side.
The sound of steel echoed in the air.
Steel clashed against steel as Alaric parried desperately.
One by one. Bodies hit the floor.
In the next moment, Alaric’s sword began to take on a dark hue.
’Woah, his sword is really dark."
"You’re strong," the lead bandit admitted, "but you can’t protect the boy and fight all of us."
The archer took aim - not at Alaric, but directly at Jack.
He shot the arrow and it flew through the air as it caught on fire.
Alaric swung his sword and a wave of dark mana flew through the sky as trees hit the ground and the arrow got smashed to pieces.
’I need to get out of here. This is crazy.’
Jack tried to run, but his small legs weren’t fast enough.
Jack felt something in his back. Pain exploded in his back.
A dagger had pierced him in the back.
"No!" Alaric shouted.
Alaric eyes were full of rage. The sky got dark and the bandits looked up.
A massive wave of darkness tore through the forest, obliterating everything in its path. The remaining bandits didn’t even have time to scream.
"Jack! Jack, stay with me!"
The dagger was still embedded in his back, blood pooling beneath him. Jack’s breathing was shallow, his face pale.
"Hold on, son. I’m getting you home."
’What’s happening to me. I died just to get killed before I could do anything.’