Jordan stopped after noticing the darkness From a nearby alley where the lights had failed. And two men suddenly emerged from the darkness, moving slowly and deliberately toward him, like a lion mirroring its prey.
"Who could they be?" Jordan thought to himself, confused and puzzled.
"Please… I don't have anything, be it cash, an expensive watch or a full bank account stuck with money. Am just a broke guy who got betrayed by love," Jordan stammered, heart racing. But it seems the men approaching him cared less as expected.
All Jordan had left was ten dollars. He'd been paid fifty and spent forty of it on the necklace he bought for Sophia.
Jordan turned to run—but two more men appeared behind him. Now he was surrounded with no way out.
"We're not here to chat or debate with you, if you know what is right, you better do the needful," one of the men groaned, making Jordan snap. "Hand over everything you've got before we act harshly towards you," one of the men demanded, stretching his hands toward jordan.
"I swear, I have nothing!" Jordan pleaded.
Before he could react, one of the men grabbed him from behind and started searching his pockets. After stroking his hands towards Jordan's pocket he found a hidden ten-dollar bill starched like a ball.
"Please... please, that's all I have," Jordan begged, clutching at the money. He tried to wrest it back, but the man pulled out a gun.
"Let go—or I'll shoot."
Jordan froze. Too late, he realized the danger.
The gun fired.
A lacing sharp pain exploded in his chest. And then he gradually collapsed to the ground. His vision began to blur. He lifted his trembling hand to his chest and suddenly noticed a pool of blood soaked in his fingers. He'd been shot—twice in the chest and there was no chance of survival because the hit was at a vital point and very severe.
"Is this blood, am I being shot, am i actually dying?" Jordan thought to himself, his eyes blinking in disbelief, his breath gradually seizing.
Jordan's gaze set upwards and the only thing he could see was the night sky, the stars fading into the haze of his vision.
And then—nothing.
Somewhere else in the kingdom of Sinclair, another world entirely, The desperate cries of a woman in labor echoed through the palace hallway like a thunderstorm breaking from sky to sky, the tension hardened and heart beat raising uncontrollably. Servants gathered anxiously at the door, whispering prayers for a safe delivery.
"Laura, keep pushing! If you stop now, the baby could die. You have to try!" urged Fiona, the palace nurse, her white gown stained with sweat. She gently stroked Laura's hair gracefully as she encouraged her to try her best.
And then the cries increased as Laura pushed harder.
"Yes, that's it. You're almost there—just a little more!" Fiona urged desperately, her voice Louder than before.
Moments later after the successful labour, Fiona held a newborn baby in her arms. Her expression softened as she looked at the tiny, wriggling baby body with a warm smile that brightens her heart with expectations.
"It's a miracle," she breathed softly. "A baby boy. The true heir to the throne is born, the one who will carry on with his father's legacy and strength."
Fiona then brushed her fingers over the baby's soft, dark hair, her hands moving towards his cheek.
Just after her hands moved from the baby's cheek, the newborn opened his eyes—wide, curious, alert. Fiona froze, stunned. A baby's eyes shouldn't open this soon, and yet his gaze moved around the room with eerie awareness.
Where is this? Where am I? a voice echoed inside the child's mind.
Though his mouth couldn't form the words, the thoughts were unmistakably his—Jordan's, who was shot dead on the chest.
He had been reincarnated into another different world entirely.
Who is this woman staring at me? he wondered.
He tried to move, but his tiny body wouldn't cooperate, he wasn't in control of the body he was reincarnated into. Instead, a soft cry escaped his lips as the newborn began crying.
Somehow, Jordan remembered. The gun. The pain. The darkness that engulfed his blurry eyes before everything went into nothingness.
"He's so adorable when he cries," Fiona cooed. "Take him and clean him. Bring him back for feeding," Fiona then instructed the servant beside her, and just then two servants stepped forward and carried the newborn baby away.
Fiona turned to Laura—but something was wrong. Her chest was still, there Wasn't any sign of life present.
"No..." Fiona whispered under her breath. She rushed to check Laura Impulse, but nothing was moving, she wasn't breathing.
"Could she be dead?" Fiona murmured, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Jordan was placed in a small, round, wooden basin filled with clean water while the servant who took him washed him gracefully and gently. As the servants were getting Jordan cleaned, something unexpected happened.
A translucent screen appeared before his eyes, floating in midair. Only he could see it and this got him stunned.
What is this? he thought to himself, eyes widening.
The screen displayed a message in text he could easily understand:
Welcome to the Reincarnation Leveling System.
Host has successfully been accepted.
Assessing host…
Host has accepted the system automatically.