Huh~

Where am I?

Why am I unable to move? I'm not even able to open my eyes.

I attempted to call out, but nothing came out.

I tried again, and this time a sound came out, but it certainly didn't sound like my voice.

It sounded more like a cooing baby than my own voice.

Own voice…

Wait, what did my voice sound like in the first place?

I can’t even remember.

I have no recollection of my own voice, nor do I recall my own name.

I can't remember anything—or, to be more accurate, trying to remember anything felt like remembering a non-existent souvenir.

What the hell is happening to me?

A strange metallic smell flew to my nostril, I had no recollection of neither my names, voices, and even less past but I strangely recognized this smell.

What exactly is this odor? It smells like blood—no, I'm certain it is a blood smell.

I tried to open my eyes, and gradually I was able to see my surroundings; they were extremely fuzzy at first, but they became clearer after a while.

Was it always so challenging to keep your eyes open?

From what I could see, I was surrounded by a thin layer of white cloth.

I tried to reach for it with my hand, and then I noticed it.

My hands.

Nothing was wrong with them. But they were small, chubby, and adorable; those hands were clearly not those of an adult or adolescent, but rather those of a baby.

What the hell is this?

I tried to move them, and they did, but slowly. Those baby’s hands responded to me as if they were mine.

When I tried to touch my face with those hands of mine, I felt a gentle and smooth sensation emanating from both my face and fingers.

“Waouh”

I thoroughly examined my mouth with my tongue.

I tried to send my hands anywhere they could reach in my body, and when I was done inspecting it, I eventually realized.

Small and chubby hands, smooth skin, missing teeth, and a body with such an odd proportion, there was no doubt about it, this body, my body, is that of a child, a newborn.

Why would I be a baby? I don't think I was like this. And even if I was a baby, why would I be like this? Aren't babies supposed to be thinking about baby things, which can be summarized as pretty much nothing?

I know I've said it before, but what the hell is going on?

Wait, the bloody smell, I'd completely forgotten about it, but if I were a newborn, that could explain the smell.

Aaargh.

For the time being, let us set aside those obviously premature existential crises and concentrate on the present.

Where the hell am I?

Let’s say I was really a newborn, why would someone envelop a newborn in a veil-like this?

Even though I wasn't claustrophobic in such a small space, I felt suffocated now that I realized how bothersome this veil was.

It took some effort on my part, but I was able to remove the veil that was enveloping me, and I could finally see what my surroundings were like.

Being a baby, a newborn, I got a nice view of the ceiling.

I’m not a ceiling expert or at least I don’t think I was but that ceiling was super well decorated, from it alone I could tell that the room I was in must be luxurious.

I could see several people's shadows projected on the ceiling. I wasn't sure, but I believe there were at least five of them.

Yosh~

For the time being let’s inform these people of my presence.

Cough-cough.

I can’t speak yet so I guess a cry would suffice.

Wait, What do newborn cries sound like anyway?

“Gnah~ Gnah”

Aaaaaaah Lord! This is so embarrassing!

I hid my face in shame.

Never again, I refuse to face such humiliation once again.

The humiliation I endured was not in vain because I could hear a footstep approaching and finally saw the owner of the footfall's face.

I never realized it, but when you're a baby, people appear enormous; the person who showed up appeared to be a giant to me.

It was a woman, perhaps in her late forties or early fifties, but when our gazes met, she covered her mouth as if she had witnessed something extremely shocking.

Oy Madam, Is something wrong with my face? Have you seen a ghost or something?

The woman returned to where she had come from, presumably to inform the others about something involving me, because not even a few moments later, I could hear several footsteps approaching me.

And I saw their faces.

There were three of them, two men and a masked one.

Two of them were extremely handsome, one in his forties with silver hair and an imperial mustache of the same silver color, blue eyes, and the other man was maybe in his early twenties with blonde hair but what stood out the most about him was his eyes, which were red like one of an albino which he definitely wasn't. I can't really describe the last one's face because he was wearing a mask and a black cloak.

From above, all three of them and the woman were staring at me.

It was a small public that I had here.

And I would have appreciated it if they hadn't been staring at me like I was some kind of circus freak.

“Hag zanek ghi? Zhid zerphiroth gusik dar!”

“Hegnek shi fikul! Kurk gusik? Luke zudwig janak!”

“Zod Melasi Zug.”

They began exchanging words in an unintelligible language, at least to me.

I couldn't understand what they were saying, but it appeared that the youngest man, the blonde, was arguing with the old woman about something, but was quickly silenced by the old woman's response.

Even though I didn't know what they were talking about, I knew it had to be about me.

They continued blabbering for a moment, and when they finished, all of their attention befell upon me once again.

The blonde man moved in closer and extended both of his hands to me. And he lifted me in the same way that someone would lift a baby; which was pretty given the fact that I was a baby. It was very comfortable, but-

This guy?! You’ve never held a baby before or what? His hands were trembling like a newborn calf.

“Zuk gerh ddal zogleight”

“Efe”

The young man gave the masked man an uncomfortable order. He then began walking back toward where they had come from, where he slowly knelt, allowing me to see why they had all gathered here.

There was a bed in the room, and an absolutely gorgeous black-haired woman lay on it.

She was probably in her early twenties, like the blonde man.

She may be the second woman I've seen in my life, at least as far as I can remember, but I'm confident she could outclass any beauties in the world.

She appeared to be sleeping soundly under a white blanket that exposed only the upper half of her body, but the expression on her face and the droplets of sweat beading on her brow indicated that she was extremely tired.

She was dressed in a white thin cloth that I assumed was a labor gown, and I finally noticed that the white blanket had several red stains on it.

If we assume that I was a newborn child at the time, then this woman must be my mother. I'm not sure what happened, but it appears that my birth was difficult.

My heart began to churn with a strange feeling, is this guilt?

This is obviously unreasonable, why would I feel guilty? Is there anything I did that should make me feel guilty?

First, that existential crisis, now that? What’s next?

My thoughts were cut short by the masked man who appeared on our right. He was holding a beautiful golden box that was embellished with two jewels on each side and three jewels on the front, for a total of seven jewels of various colors.

“Zaks fijit Zhid Luke zivon Barbara doval.”

The language was completely incomprehensible to me, but what he said earlier sounded eerily similar to an incantation.

The old woman approached the masked man's side, holding a bowl, and was shortly followed by the old yet handsome man, who positioned himself between the two of them. He then reached into the bowl, retrieved something that looked like an umbilical cord, and placed it in the golden box held by the masked, finally closing the box.

The handsome man began to hold me in a way so that my head was just around the box level. We were now positioned in a way to form a triangle.

“Gaze Ugar zelv gora Ronandt Gel zae Zuk Luke Albrecht. Egih Fifnor Ghelekt firak Djeem Kile faag migni isul."

This time, it was the blonde man who recited a strange incantation.

I felt a strange and yet comforting warmth slowly engulf my body.

The jewel in the box started to glow with a light that I could only describe as magical.

I gradually became oddly sleepy, and strangely, the more sleepy I became, the more gleaming the box appeared.

Unable to bear with the sleepiness any longer, I gave in, I lost consciousness.