Let me die! Let me die! Please!
This was the begging plea of a thirty-year-old man named Arin Sylvester to the gods to end his suffering.
To his surprise the gods heard him, and on a rainy night his soul left his body for the afterlife, or that's what he thought.
Arin saw a narrow opening and felt like something was pushing him to come out of that opening, and despite his tries, he had to give in at the end, not knowing what comes beyond that opening.
"Welcome!" A women articulated.
The very sight of the woman frightened Arin Sylvester, as the woman in question had no face, no nose, no eyes and no mouth that identified her as not being human.
However, more than that, the hole he came through was actually a V opening of another woman, making her his new mother, which made him realize that he was reborn instead of passing on to the afterlife.
Arin felt like he yelled, 'Whaaat!?' but what came through were gurgling baby sounds.
"He's wonderful!" said his mother holding him steadfastly.
"Yes, he is!" a male voice chimed in.
Arin figured that the male voice must be of his new father.
However, all of this can come later because he felt tired, extremely tired, and his consciousness soon drifted to a silent sleep.
A long while later he woke up, and as his eyes opened up, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling, which made him further solidify that this was not a dream. This was indeed reality!
He was reborn as something that was indeed not human.
He looked at his waving hands, which were pitch black with no other colours, and his feet were also the same, which made him come to the conclusion that his whole body was entirely black.
Moreover, now that Arin was awake, he thought about why he hadn't received an audience or met the god of this world who was responsible for his rebirth, as he had read in the manga before losing his movements.
He also thought about what powers he might have received in this new life and why he wasn't born human. 'Do humans not exist in this world?' he mused.
Whatever the case, he would be happy if he could live a fulfilling life this time.
"What's my sweet baby Duncan doing?" spoke the same pitch-black woman who was supposedly his new mother in this life.
"So, my name's Duncan then, a strange name indeed, but what can I say except 'boohoo' as protest?" thought Arin and waved his tiny hands.
"Well, he'll be fully grown up by tomorrow, so he won't stay a baby forever!" said Duncan's father with delight.
"I wish he remained a baby for a longer while!" Duncan's mother expressed her wish.
"Me too, sweetheart!" replied Duncan's father and kissed his mother on the lips, though Duncan couldn't tell where the lip was.
Suddenly Arin felt tired once again and fell asleep wondering what they meant by him growing up.
The next day, Duncan awoke from lying in a flower field, wondering what he was doing here, unable to recall his previous name, which he could swear he knew before turning up at this location but couldn't recall, except for the memory of being born and having a previous life.
More alarmingly, his physique had fully matured even though he was a baby, but he had no idea how.
And the best part? He could now speak, walk, and even run.
But for the time being, all he wanted was answers, so he looked around to see where he was, and as he turned left, he noticed a settlement of his fellow kind and decided to go there to try to find his parents and learn more about the world and himself, including how he had grown up so quickly.
With a deep gulp, he stood up and took a step forward, which made him the happiest he had been in a long while, as he could finally move thanks to whoever helped him get rebirth.
In response to the fleeting wind cascading through the grasses, Duncan began to run towards the settlement, and within a while, he was finally standing at the entrance.
Two of his kind were standing just past the entrance, and with a glance, Duncan felt a connection and rushed to hug them, as they were none other than his parents waiting there for him.
"My son's all grown up!" exclaimed Duncan's mother excitedly.
"He most certainly is, and I'm proud of it!" replied Duncan's father, feeling proud.
"What happened to me?" asked Duncan, keeping his memory of being a baby as a secret.
"A spell named 'great growth' was cast on you, and you were left to suck in the moonlight on the open field to aid your growth. Fortunately, there were no monsters, and you survived, which made us happy than anything else we'd experienced in our lives," stated his mother.
"So that's what happened!" Duncan replied understandingly while suppressing his inner happiness that magic exists in this world.
"Yes, my son. You should rest for now, and I'll tell you all about this world and what we are," said Duncan's father, patting his shoulder.
"Now that you mention it, I really wish to know more about this world, but that can come later; first I need food. I'm hungry," replied Duncan with his stomach growling.
"Come on then, have some of Mommy's milk," Duncan's mother said despite not having a bosom, which made him wonder where the milk would come from.
Duncan and his mother then went to their house while his father left for the hunt.
After entering the house, he sat on a wobbly chair, but he can't complain, as that's the only one they had.
Duncan looked around, and judging by his surroundings, he could tell they were not well off but were managing to live life regardless.
A while later, while Duncan was rubbernecking the surroundings, his mother came with milk.
The milk was black rather than white, so he tentatively asked his mother, "Where did he get the milk, and shouldn't it have been white?"
His mother looked perplexed at him for a while and replied, 'Our milk is of our colour, and white milk is of humans. How do you know that? You were just born.'
Duncan realised his mistake and added, "Oh, I was just kidding. What are humans, anyway? I'm not sure, but it crossed my thoughts."
"Are you hiding something from me, son?" asked Duncan's mother with eyes filled with suspicion.
"Nope, Mother!" replied Duncan and gulped the milk despite not wanting to.
However, what came as a surprise was that the milk was delicious and made him feel vigorous and full of strength.
"It's delicious, Mother. Where did you get it?" asked Duncan happily.
Hearing this, Duncan's mother blushed and replied, "I didn't think my piss milk would be this appealing to you. I'm happy that you liked it."
As soon as Duncan heard it, he passed out from the shock.
Supposedly one or two hours later he woke up and squintingly saw that his parents were trying to rouse him by pouring black water on his face.
He acted his part and twitched his eyes to show that he was waking up. Seeing this, his mother hugged him tight, and his father also seemed relieved.
"What happened to you, my dear Duncan? Did Mommy's milk affect you in any bad way?" asked Duncan's mother affectionately.
Duncan couldn't fully explain why he acted this way when drinking his mother's milk, which was literally pee in a sense that made him feel the need to clean his tongue, assuming he had one to begin with, so he cleverly covered it up, saying, "I just felt sleepy by its warmth after drinking it."
"Oh, that's why! I must say you had us worried, son, especially your mother!" replied Duncan's father, laughing.
"Sorry, Mom!" Duncan begged pardon.
"It's fine. Now drink up the rest of the milk, and don't pass out this time like before; it's bad for our health seeing you like this suddenly," ordered his mother, petting Duncan's head.
Duncan fell in a pinch, as he was not okay with drinking someone's piss, especially his mother's, but he had no other options, so he drank it all up in one go and felt like cursing the heavens.
After drinking, his mother asked whether he wanted another glass or not, but he cleverly declined by saying he felt full.
Then he looked at his father's hands and noticed a pigeon-like bird, black in colour, lying face down, most likely dead.
Seeing his son look at him inquisitively, Duncan's father said, "Today is a lucky day! I got a digeon in the hunt today, which is hard to find nowadays thanks to its migration."
Duncan couldn't care less what his father hunted, as he was dying to know more about this world and its name, the types of races living in it and especially if there are humans in this world to begin with. But he decided to keep patience for now, as it will soon all be clear one by one.