"Blood..."
"Bodies, piled one on top of another..."
"The screams of people..."
"A severed limb lying right in front of my eyes..."
...
I can hear a few muffled voices.
My body?
I can't feel anything. It's as if gravity has completely disappeared. Everything around me is pitch-black. Beneath the muffled voices, I can hear another sound—a rhythmic heartbeat.
Thump... Thump... Thump...
Were the things I just saw a dream?
Why can't I move?
Why can't I speak?
How the hell did I end up in this place...?
Just then, I felt something touch my arm.
A tube?
What the hell?
I don't know what language the voices around me are speaking, but somehow, I can understand them.
"When the hell is that doctor going to get here?"
A doctor?
Why does a doctor need to come?
"The woman is about to give birth..."
A woman?
Giving birth?
Ah... I think I'm overhearing something I really shouldn't be.
I should probably stop listening in on conversations that don't concern me.
"The doctor is here."
Thank God. The woman won't have to suffer for much longer.
But my situation was still unclear. I can hear the voices of the people around me. I know they're speaking a strange language, yet for some reason, I can understand every word they say.
Japanese?
Chinese?
Maybe something in between...
"Yes, the baby is finally about to be born."
"Dear, this might hurt a little. You have to push through it."
!!!
Suddenly, I felt a powerful pressure at the back of my head.
A force strong enough to tear my head right off...
This was the second sensation I'd been able to feel for a while now.
"The baby is coming! I've got the head!"
The baby?
The head?
No... no way.
This can't actually be what I think it is, can it?
Please. I don't think I'm ready to see something like this.
"Come on, dear. I need you to push one more time."
!!!
!!
For a moment, my body began moving as if it had been seized by the overwhelming force of gravity.
A second later, my dark world was suddenly flooded with light.
Am I free?
Before I could even finish the thought, I saw tiny fingers reaching toward the sky.
...
It seems I have no choice but to accept my fate.
I always thought reincarnation was nothing more than something you read about in fairy tales.
When I turned my head, I saw the flushed, sweaty face of a beautiful woman smiling down at me.
"Congratulations. You have a healthy baby."
I can't believe reincarnation is actually real.
Wait...
As far as I know, reincarnation is supposed to be the beginning of a new life after the death of one's soul.
If that's the case...
Did my old body die?
Think. Think. Think...
What did my old body look like?
What did I do?
How old was I?
Lost in my thoughts, I was brought back to reality by the sensation of something being pressed against my mouth.
This...
This...
What the hell is this?
...
Breasts...
Really? Is this actually happening?
Hey, okay. I just came to terms with the fact that I've been reincarnated as a baby. I'm not ready for this.
"You must be hungry."
The woman continued looking into my eyes with a beautiful smile, her expression practically saying,
"They're all yours. Go ahead and enjoy."
Itadakimasu...
...
..
.
A few days have passed since I was reborn into this strange body.
I spent most of my time drinking milk from the woman I assumed was my mother and sleeping all day.
But today is going to be different.
My senses are still a little hazy since I only just opened my eyes, but from what I can see, we seem to be living in an old house.
It looks like a small wooden village home.
Sunlight streams through the windows, beautifully illuminating the wooden interior. The curtains sway gently in the breeze, creating a strangely peaceful atmosphere...
Maybe this is the first time I've ever felt this peaceful.
Outside, I can hear the footsteps of people walking by and the laughter of children running around.
I envied them.
I really did.
I never imagined that being reincarnated would mean getting a completely different body.
Why did I have to start my new life as a baby?
I want to grow up already...