Endless, eternal darkness…
After stabbing his heart through with the sword of nihility, Logan no longer felt any sensation. Rather, it was as though he was submerged in a river and unable to breathe.
The sensation lasted for a long time before he started hearing muffled voices coming from around him.
Unable to process coherent thoughts, he struggled to pinpoint what the voices were saying, and what the whole fuss was about.
The voices grew clearer and clearer as he felt something tug at him gently.
In a few moments, he felt the stinging air brush softly against his skin.
Finally, he could hear the voices of the crowd surrounding him.
"It's a boy! Wow, the clan head would be truly excited!" The voice sounded feminine, and the language she spoke was the same as in his previous life.
'Did I get reincarnated? How?' Logan thought in disbelief.
For a moment, everything felt like a dream, but the blossoming life force inside him, along with the lively clatter of the surrounding people, made him understand it was anything but that.
"Mistress." Suddenly, a voice called out, sounding solemn.
"What's wrong?" The mistress who was about to collect the baby from the midwife frowned.
"He… he…"
The mistress' heart dropped to rock bottom as she asked frantically, "What's wrong with my baby?"
"I'm so sorry, mistress!" the pleading voice echoed once more.
By this point, Logan was confused by everything that had happened.
The maid's next words caused his body to stiffen.
"He's blind, your son… he's blind," the midwife finally said.
"What?" the mistress exclaimed as she hurriedly collected her son from the midwife's hands.
Glancing down at the cute, slightly chubby face, she examined the baby closely.
His pupils were a shade of grey, like desert dust. And they were lifeless.
As they stared at her, they didn't focus on her, but darted around in curiosity.
A light of understanding dawned on Logan as he heard this news.
'No wonder,' he thought. 'My world is filled with darkness.'
Despite the fact that the mistress, who seemed to be his mother, was holding onto him, as he stared at her, Logan could only see endless darkness.
'Is this the price of reincarnation?' he asked no one in particular.
Strangely though, Logan didn't feel any ripples of emotion in his heart.
He just accepted everything as it was, like an empty boat being tossed and turned by the rivers of fate.
The room fell into silence, save for the soft sobs of the mistress who cradled Logan in her arms.
Some time later, the sound of the room door opening echoed, and soft boots clashed against the ground.
The footsteps approached Logan, and a male voice filled with emotion spoke up.
"Calm down, my love. As long as we pay enough, there are miracle medicines that can restore his sight."
His voice was warm and soothing. Even as Logan heard it, he felt a sense of clarity settle in his chest.
'This should be my father in this life,' Logan thought in understanding.
"Miracle medicines." The words seemed to bring a light of joy into the mistress' heart.
Repeatedly kissing Logan's cheeks, she expressed her excitement while urging the man.
"Quick, find something. Anything."
"You didn't even allow me to interact with our son," the man grumbled in frustration. Then a gentle touch landed on Logan's nose.
"What name should we call him?" the lady asked.
Still touching his nose, there was a moment of silence before the voice echoed once more.
"His name will be called… Jian Wunian."
"Jian Wunian?" the lady murmured. "The one whose sword moves without emotions or thoughts?"
The man nodded. "The name suddenly appeared in my mind and seems to be the perfect name for him."
"Okay." The lady leaned down and kissed Wunian on the cheeks once more.
'Jian Wunian?' Wunian thought over the name once more, and the more he deliberated on it, the more he liked it.
Gradually, his thoughts grew messy, and he didn't know when he drifted off to sleep.
…
A few hours went by when Wunian was awakened by the intense hunger he was feeling.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he was met with endless darkness.
Then, without hesitation…
Waaaa. Waaaaa. Waaaaa.
Since he couldn't speak, this was the only method he could use to attract his parents' attention and let them know he was hungry.
"What's wrong, my baby?" Jian Ruyi, who was just beside Wunian, frowned and picked him up.
Clawing at her clothes, Wunian reached toward her chest.
"Right. You must be hungry!" A light of realization dawned on her, and without hesitation she pulled down her dress, brought Wunian closer, and within moments he began sucking, the warm liquid streaming down his throat in light gulps.
As she fed him, Jian Ruyi hummed a light tune.
It was slightly sorrowful, melancholic, and filled with emotion.
'This tune… I've heard it in my previous life. But from where?'
Wunian racked his brains but was unable to recall where exactly he had heard those sounds. They reminded him of something, but he couldn't tell what.
Since he couldn't come up with anything, Wunian placed it at the back of his mind.
He sucked for close to thirty minutes before feeling completely satisfied.
"You really eat a lot." As his lips left her, Jian Ruyi dressed herself and pinched Wunian's cheeks lightly.
"I lost quite a great amount of qi just now. I need to recover. In the meantime, try to play with this." She handed Wunian a small crystallized ball, placing it firmly in his hand and closing his grip around it.
Holding the crystallized ball, Wunian felt its warmth.
At the same time, his eyes darted around as he sensed changes in the surrounding air.
Gradually, slight rays of light materialized out of thin air, entering the figure seated on the mat just beside the bed.
'This…' Wunian was dumbfounded at suddenly seeing a mixture of ethereal light in his previously colorless world.
'Qi? Is that qi?' He watched suspiciously as the mysterious qi entered the body of the silhouette on the ground, and as it moved, he noticed it outlining the shape of his mother.
Wunian was still blind. He couldn't physically see her, only the faint outline of her form detailed by the light of qi.
Still, he was not only astounded but extremely pleased by the sight.
Suddenly, a faint sword hum echoed in his mind.
Whispers began resounding, like a group of people chanting a mantra.
Wunian's vision blurred, twisted, and churned, then he felt his perception change drastically.
A feeling settled over him.
That feeling was unmistakable.
Although it had only been his companion for a short time, how could he forget the sword of nihility?