Inside the void, Adam felt no up or down. He drifted in a space that felt endless and empty.
The eye drifted near him, almost like a predator forced into the same cage as its prey. He could sense its presence circling him even without a physical form.
A sudden pressure wrapped around him like invisible hands squeezing his soul from every direction as if the void itself wanted to flatten him into nothing.
The sensation grew stronger and stronger until he felt even his thoughts distort.
"What now…?"
The golden light from the pendant suddenly reappeared, gathering in small sparks around him. The tiny sparks grew, linking together like threads weaving a shell around his soul.
More and more light joined until the sparks formed a complete cocoon that surrounded him and separated him from the crushing force of the void.
The eye floated outside the cocoon for a moment, its dark gaze fixed on him. Then suddenly the golden light caught it as well, pulling it into the shell as if refusing to let the two of them drift apart.
The eye resisted briefly, but the cocoon sealed, trapping them together inside.
The moment the cocoon closed, the compression intensified as golden sphere trembled under the pressure, shrinking slightly before stabilizing again.
Adam felt every part of his soul being squeezed and stretched at the same time, but the cocoon prevented him from being torn apart.
He drifted forward, although he could not tell what direction "forward" was. The cocoon began moving through the endless space, drawn by some unseen current.
There was no sense of speed or distance just an endless movement.
After what felt like several hours, he lost track. Then he lost count. Eventually, the idea of time stopped meaning anything at all.
The pressure slowly became normal, almost comfortable and at some point, the strain on his mind became too much as thoughts grew slower.
He tried to stay awake, but the void pressed down gently, urging him to let go.
The last thing he saw was the golden light dimming, as if someone had lowered a lantern's flame.
Then everything went dark.
After an unknown amount of time....
Adam's consciousness finally returned, it came back slowly, like someone lifting a curtain one finger at a time.
At first he heard nothing but a faint humming. Then he felt something warm against his skin. His eyelids felt heavy, but he managed to open them a little.
A blurry face soon hovered above him.
It took a few seconds for the shapes to gain clarity.
He saw a woman with gentle lines on her face and strands of silver mixed into her dark hair. Her expression was soft, almost relieved.
"You're awake at last," she said quietly. "I was beginning to think something was wrong."
Adam wanted to respond, but the sound that came out of his mouth was nothing more than a small cry.
The woman smiled gently. "There you are. You must be exhausted."
He attempted to lift his hand to his face, but his arm jerked in a clumsy arc, nowhere close to where he wanted it to go.
He frowned, trying to understand why his movements were so uncoordinated.
The woman adjusted her hold on him. "Easy now. You're far too small to struggle like that. You'll tire yourself."
Small.
The word echoed in his mind as he glanced down as much as his stiff neck allowed. He could barely see anything except a tiny hand wrapped in cloth, his fingers were short and soft. It didn't feel like his own hand at all.
A wave of dizziness soon washed over him, preventing him from trying anymore.
His surroundings were equally confusing. The ceiling was made of wooden beams and there was an old lantern glowing in the corner.
He wanted to say something, but the moment he tried to speak again, only another soft cry came out.
The woman smiled. "You really are a quiet baby."
Baby?
The word hit him harder than everything else.
This wasn't right.
The size of his body, the weakness in his limbs, the lack of control, the way the woman held him—
His thoughts went blank but soon the truth pushed into his mind.
He wasn't an adult.
Not anymore.
Something must have gone terribly wrong in the void, for better or worse he had been reborn!
Lira—he did not know her name yet, but he would soon—tightened her hold slightly and brushed a thumb across his cheek.
"You'll be alright, You're safe now."
He tried to speak, but all he could do was issue a small sound again.
The woman didn't notice anything strange. She simply rocked him gently, humming a soft tune.
Adam—no, whatever he was now—felt the vibration through her chest. His body responded before his mind could and he instinctive calm of an infant settling into warmth.
But his mind was anything but calm.
"Lira!" a male voice called from outside. "Is he awake yet?"
Lira looked toward the door. "Yes. Come in, but quietly."
The man entered with careful steps, as though afraid a single loud breath might startle the fragile life in Lira's arms. He was broad-shouldered, his cloak still carrying the cold from outside, and his eyes softened the moment they fell on the small bundle she held.
"So he truly woke," he murmured, releasing a quiet breath. " So the omen wasn't a curse"
Omen?
The man approached and kneeled beside Lira.
He studied the baby for a long then his gaze lingered on Adam's forehead for a while then on his chest, as though he sought something that should have been visible but wasn't.
The man ran a hand across his chin. "Three streaks of golden light passed through the night sky before dawn. The entire village saw them. They converged above our home. And moments later"—he gestured at Adam—" He was in your arms, cold and breathless… yet now he...."
Golden light?
Adam blinked rapidly as his mind spun fast.
In the void… the last thing protecting him had been—
The pendant.
Before he could process it, Lira's expression darkened.
"So what?" she snapped quietly. "Our child is blessed. What else is there to be concerned about?"