"Look, he's so beautiful."
"He looks just like you."
I heard the voice of a man and a woman, but I couldn't open my eyes, and my body felt weak. I tried to move my arms, but all I managed were clumsy little motions.
I don't know how much time passed after that, but eventually I was able to see what was happening around me.
I was lying in a bed surrounded by a wooden "fence." Hanging above me was something spinning slowly—little toys dangling from strings. Am I in a crib?! I turned my head with some effort.
Is this my room?
Struggling to move, I looked around.
The wooden bars of the crib blocked most of my view, but I could still see plenty of toys scattered around—and the walls were painted blue.
"Ba-ba-a-baaa." I tried to speak, but only strange baby sounds came out.
I really turned into a baby… What the hell is this? I remember watching a series on Netflix, and then suddenly—I blacked out.
BWAAAAAA~~
Terrified by the situation, I began to wave my tiny arms and cry.
My mother rushed into the room and lifted me out of the crib. Finally, I could see the entire room.
Is my family rich or something? There were so many toys that I couldn't even count them.
"Calm down, are you hungry?" My mother looked at me with concern, and I stopped crying. "Oh, I see—you just wanted to be in Mommy's arms? Hehehe." She kissed my forehead.
A beautiful woman with black hair and black eyes. Her skin was so pale it looked almost unreal. She was stunning—clearly Asian. Chinese? Japanese?
My mother left my room with me in her arms and walked down a hallway lined with doors until we reached the main area. It was a living room and kitchen separated only by a counter.
The space wasn't big—neither the kitchen nor the living room—but everything was of excellent quality and looked brand new. And there was a huge TV!
My mother sat down on the sofa with me in her arms and turned on the television. My eyes were instantly drawn to it, and she chuckled. "What's this? Are you interested?" she asked.
She adjusted my position so I could see better.
On the screen, a series was playing.
"This show is called Echoes of an Infinite Past. Mommy loves this one!" she said cheerfully.
What the hell? I've never heard of that show in my life.
And I was someone who consumed tons of shows, movies, and books in my previous life.
####
After that day, I started watching the series every day with my mom. I got so absorbed in it that my parents started to worry.
"Don't you think it's bad for him to watch this kind of thing?" my dad asked.
"Don't worry, it's a pretty light show. It's about memories—lots of drama, but he doesn't even understand what's going on. When he's watching TV, he's so calm~~" My mom smiled at me, and I lifted my tiny hands.
I touched her face and squeezed her cheeks.
"What is it? Do you like Mommy's cheeks?" she asked, puffing them out with air. I couldn't hold back my laughter.
It was weird hearing a baby's laugh come out of my own mouth.
####
Three years passed.
When I turned three, I could already hold an "adult" conversation. A "prodigy" child.
And… the only thing I ever did was sit in front of the TV and watch shows and movies.
The reason for that was simple:
The series and movies in this world don't exist in my old one!
Yes, everything's different—shows, films, actors, books. Everything I've seen so far didn't exist in my previous world. I have an excellent memory—there's no way I wouldn't remember if such popular series had existed before.
Especially on Netflix, which was the streaming service I used the most.
Yes, Netflix exists in this world—but the entire catalog is different!
Not only Netflix—Prime Video, Disney+, and all the other streaming platforms are completely different too.
Which means… there's so much to watch!
"Kyo, turn off that TV right now! It's time for bed!" my mother called from the living room, annoyed.
"Just one more episode, Mom."
"No, it's already bedtime. Come on." She grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. "You spend the whole day in front of that screen. Why don't you play with the neighbor's daughter? She asks me every day to bring you over!"
"I don't like playing."
"Haaa~~" My mother sighed deeply. "I should've never let you spend so much time in front of the TV when you were younger. Anyway, go to your room now."
"Fine, fine." I sighed and went to my room.
My mother followed me there.
"And don't you dare get up in the middle of the night to turn on the TV like last time!" she said firmly. "If you do, you'll be grounded for a month!"
"Alright."
I lay down in bed and pulled the blanket—covered with dog prints—over myself.
My room hadn't changed at all over the years.
While I slept, I heard faint noises coming from within my room. My eyes opened, and I stared into the darkness. What's that?
In the corner, I could see two glowing lights.
They were eyes—staring straight at me.
A shiver ran down my spine, and I pulled the blanket over my head.
I stayed like that for several minutes, my heart racing, my breathing quick and shallow. Eventually, I started running out of air and slowly uncovered my head. But when I did…
—!
The same eyes from before were right beside my bed—two pure white eyes gazing straight into my soul. For a moment, I felt like I was going to faint.
I was frozen in fear.
I tried to scream for my parents, but I couldn't.
[ You are ready. ]
"…"
[ You are ready to bear this weight. ]
"…"
It was a calm voice—a woman's voice. But it was inside my head.
[ When you wake up, you'll feel a terrible headache, but try to endure it, alright? ]
"…"
[ It will be a heavy burden to carry, but I'm sure you can handle it. ]
"…"
[ You must become a star—the brightest star in this world. ]
"…"
[ Don't disappoint me. ]
After those final words, I lost consciousness.