Rebirth
Empty.
Void.
A silence so profound that Eryon didn't know if he still existed or not. There was no body, no breath, no feeling of weight or lightness. Only an endless white space, like a starting page untouched by ink.
However…
Slowly, he began to feel something.
Like a warm current stroking the side of his consciousness, gentle, full of attention, as if the world was calling a name that hadn't even been spoken yet.
Eryon…
The voice did not come from outside.
It was like an echo creeping directly into his soul.
Eryon did not remember anything before that voice. No past, no "before," no reason why he was in this white space. Just that name—a name that suddenly felt right. As if it had been his from the very beginning.
Eryon…
When the voice called again, the white space trembled gently. Like fog blown by the wind. Like something or someone he wanted to follow.
Where… am I? he thought.
But his own thought sounded vague, like the voice of someone who was just learning to speak.
The white space changed.
A soft light rolled in from a distance, dancing like petals of light descending slowly. And now the voice sounded clearer—warmer.
"Eryon… your time has come."
Whoever owned the voice, they sounded like they were smiling. Like someone who had been waiting for a long time.
Suddenly, Eryon's body felt heavy.
His consciousness was pulled, sinking into something warm, wet, dark before a blinding light flashed across his entire vision.
Then the world erupted in unfamiliar sounds.
Hurried footsteps.
The sound of human breathing.
Fabric being rubbed.
The voice of a woman who sounded panicked yet full of hope.
"I saw the light earlier!"
"Hurry, he's coming out!"
The light grew stronger.
Something pressed against his chest, forcing air in for the first time. The sensation was painful, harsh, and so new.
The first cry finally broke from his small lips.
It was Eryon's voice.
Or at least, the voice of his new body.
He cried, and a couple found and lifted him. The world spun, then warmth enveloped his tiny body. The face of a young woman faintly appeared above him—soft eyes, tears of relief, and a trembling smile.
"Welcome to the world, little one…"
The woman's shoulder shook subtly. You startled and worried us, whoever's cruel parents abandoned and left you here.
Her hand trembled slightly as she touched his cheek.
But beneath those voices…
The whisper returned.
Slow.
Like wind passing over water.
…Eryon
The baby responded his head moved, his still-blurry eyes tried to find the source of the voice. But the two adults did not notice. They were too engrossed in a mixture of relief and exhaustion.
A man appeared beside the woman. His figure was large, but the tremor in his hands showed the same worry.
"How is he?"
"He's healthy," she said, relieved. "Finally…
The woman nodded. Her breath came out slowly.
But she looked at the baby with a mixture of confusion.
"That light… you saw it, right?"
"I saw it."
"What does it mean…?"
Eryon did not understand their words.
But he felt a strange sensation on his skin, like a warm spark. A thin light enveloped his body, faint, almost like stardust.
"This child… is no ordinary child," the man whispered.
Eryon opened his eyes again. Only shadows, colors, and light mingled. But something felt right—as if this world that welcomed him already knew him long before he was born.
Strange.
Yet warm.
The woman, whoever she was, hugged him tightly.
"We… will name you, Eryon Vale."
Eryon heard the voices of the people, but another whisper pierced through everything, flowing like a clear river amid the crowd.
"Eryon… remember. This world has been waiting for you."
Not a human voice.
Not the voice of this room.
The voice came from the same place as the white space just now.
From Arthea.
A warmth flowed from the whisper, then slowly disappeared, leaving a tranquility within him.
Eryon's body grew heavier. His breathing was small, rhythmic. The surrounding sounds faded, becoming softer… until darkness once again enveloped his vision.
But this time it was not emptiness.
It was only… sleep.
The sleep of a newborn baby.
Amidst that darkness, one thing remained shining:
The gentle whisper that called his name, from nowhere…
and for whatever reason, he completely trusted it.
-- To be continued