Anna sat across from Leo, a smile on her face. A few hours had passed, and she was conscious again, although battered and bruised, with some bandages wrapped around her.
Leo sighed inside. Jade and Roland were goneâalong with half the village's food. The city people treated it like a buffet and left nothing but scraps. Leo's jaw tightened, burning from the tension. According to his dad, they took nearly everything from their food reserves and desecrated some buildings. However, they didn't take any of them as slaves.
"Leo," Anna leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. Her green eyes glinted with joy and relief. Leo's eyes locked with hers, causing her to grin. "Oh, do you understand me? I looked cool out there saving you, didn't I? Your big sister rescuing you from the bad guys."
His heart ached even though Anna was smiling. He remembered the fear on her face, the determination for someone she barely knew, the desperation. He remembered the smell of her clothes singeing from the flames, the sounds of her crashing back down onto the underbrushâeverything.
All of it.
His body betrayed him again. A tiny cry slipped out before he could stop it.
What the? He didn't mean to do that. Leo froze in surprise, trying to stifle any other noises that might leave his body. Maybe he shouldn't have remembered all of that. But it was hard not to. How couldn't he? His sister nearly died trying to protect him, yet she was still smiling like her wounds didn't hurt at all.
Anna sighed, rubbing one of her bandages. "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said that." She paused. "But, maybe, just maybe, you do understand me. Don't you?"
Leo gulped. His mind raced, heart slowly accelerating with each second.
Why would she think that? Was it obvious or something? There was no way, though. He had only been alive for a month. But for some reason, she seemed to be catching on.
"Well...maybe I'm just being stupid. It might be better for you not to understand us yet," Anna sighed and leaned back, her voice hollow with something similar to despair. "Because then, maybe you would think it would be better...not to be here." Her last sentence cracked, threatening to shatter like glass. She bit back tears, biting her lower lip.
His heart threatened to burst. Was this normal baby behavior, or was he just soft? He wasnât sure anymore. He had cried nearly every single day he was here. Maybe he wasn't built for this life.
He wanted to comfort her in any way that he could, tell her that she didn't need to die for him. That she shouldn't. But he couldn't talk, but he could try to crawl. Leo leaned forward with as much control of his body as possible.
He tried to replicate the feeling of crawling, reaching his arms and using his underdeveloped shoulders to crank his body forward. His toes gripped the cool wood below before he willed his knees to lock out and propel towards her.
Every baby muscle in his body screamed like he was mid-set, two reps from failure. He gritted his gums together, pushing through the pain with baby grunts. The pressure in his skull was nearly unbearable. His face must have been burning red with the effort he was exerting. It was the most overwhelming few feet he ever had to crawl across.
He looked up at Anna and suddenly began to giggle. He couldn't stop, even with the burning in his shoulders. It was a masochistic giggle, overwhelmed by his emotions, pain, and the absurdity of his situation.
She looked at him, her eyes snapping open.
"Leo? What are you doing?" Anna gasped, covering her mouth. He couldn't help but laugh, not at her reaction, but at the fact that his limbs couldn't do much except swing and flap in joy. A grin spread across her face as she wiped her tears. "You're a smart baby, huh? Are you laughing at me crying?" Anna laughed as she picked Leo up, tickling him and making him go limp, as he lost to the laughter.
If this was life nowâif it meant laughter, pain, and people like herâmaybe starting from zero wasnât so bad after all.
C6
Hours had passed yet again without him knowing. He took a nice nap after the encounter with Anna. It was one of his best naps ever, especially after that night in the Bladed Forest. He wouldn't wish that night upon his worst enemy. Okay. Well, maybe on his worst. But that wasn't the point. The point was what Anna had said earlier; it stuck with him as he lay in his crib.
Dwendols don't seem bad at all. They just seemed like humans who are marginalized for things they can't controlâthe same emotions, similar appearances in a way, and with the capability to love. It wasn't like they were monsters. There wasn't anything different from this life to his past, so why?
Was it because they weren't 'human'? But this world is more than just humans; there are dwendols and maybe elves, dwarves, or something else entirely. No way the elves would refer to themselves as a 'human', they've got to have their own thing as well. Either way, his brain tapped outâtoo much philosophy for one reincarnated baby. All he knew was that Anna was just as human as Jade and Roland, if not more.
Leo wanted to sleep, but he had just taken a nap, so that was probably not going to happen. He wouldn't mind playing, but he was still too little and had almost no control over his body. He seethed inside, hating the limitations of being a baby. Relying on everyone for everything was getting to him. His parents were out attending a town meeting, so they couldn't play with him. As for Anna?
Wait.
Where did she say she was going? Leo's imaginary finger flipped through files in his brain, trying to remember where his sister went. He was fresh; there was no way that he had lost it already. Did she even tell him? There's no way Anna would leave without telling anyone, but at the same time, he was a baby. What was he going to do even if he knew? He had no way to communicate.
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Dang it. He couldn't find it. Maybe she was just out with their parents. Yeah, that was it. She attended the meeting and maybe got more treatment for her wounds. A deep sigh left his chest, but right as all the air left his lungs, a majestic sound blared in his ears, nearly choking him to death.
Golden letters and an ethereal interface burned into the air before him, like they owned it. Are they serious right now? They nearly strangled him to death with this heavenly music for what? A prompt? Or were they trying to send him to heaven so he could listen to it forever? He shook his head; this was like the fifth time he had almost died at the hands of this thing. This stupid, self-righteous interface was back again. Great.
[LEVEL UP]
[2X EXPERIENCE GAIN IS STILL ACTIVE]
LEVEL: 3 â 9
'Reach level 5 to unlock [Rapid Growth]'
[Rapid Growth] Unlocked!
'Congratulations! You have a big decision to make...'
Oh, right. He forgot about thisârapid growth. What would this even do for him? Would he finally grow at an accelerated rate or something? If so, it might be nice because he wouldn't be stuck as a baby for so long. But, what would everyone else think? A baby they saw a week ago had just grown into a toddler overnight? What would his parents think? Maybe they would want him to be a baby longer, developing naturally.
[Leo ???]
'Surname not found.'
LEVEL: 9
[Rapid Growth] Unlocked!
'Congratulations! You have a big decision to make...'
'Would you like to continue growing normally with 2X EXP, or rapidly grow to your past life's age? (18)'
[ 2X EXP & Normal Growth || Rapid Growth ]
'Choose wisely. Once selected, it cannot be undone.'
Leo blinked. His last name was missing; that's odd. Well, maybe it'll be fixed once he gets told what it is. It wasn't that big of a deal.
As for the decisionâwas it seriously asking him this? It was an easy answer. He didn't have to think about it; the sacrifice of mobility for a few months doesn't outweigh the memories he would make growing normally. He grinned inside; it shouldn't have bothered him with this question anyway.
Well, first, how would he answer this? He mulled yet again through his mind. How did he choose his name again? Oh yeah. He just spoke it, and somehow, it responded.
But before he could open his mouth, a hidden memory resurfaced like a submarine from the bottom of the ocean.
Anna.
Leo's eyes strained as his muscles forced them wide open, his blood running cold despite his heart racing like a horse. Anna had said sheâd grab some fruit. Said sheâd be right back.
So why wasnât she?
Wait, she could've come back and seen him sleeping and left. Maybe she was at the meeting. But why? Anna wouldn't have left him alone for this long, especially after what happened before. So where was she?
[Leo ???]
[Awaiting Response]
'Would you like to continue growing normally with 2X EXP, or rapidly grow to your past life's age? (18)'
[ 2X EXP & Normal Growth || Rapid Growth ]
'Choose wisely. Once selected, it cannot be undone.'
[A decision is required. 30 seconds remain.]
His face burned with anxiety. Why? Why was it doing this to him? These weren't the decisions he wanted to make. It was too soon for this.
[A decision is required. 20 seconds remain.]
Anna. Mom. Dad. Everyone.
He couldn't choose. But he had to.
[A decision is required. 5 seconds remain.]
A weak scream of pure desperation and fear shook him to his core. His hair stood to attention, and his heart seemed to stop as ice washed over him. Anna? No, whoever it was needed help. That scream wasn't going to be heard anywhere else.
[A decision is required. 1 second remains.]
"Rapid Growth! I choose rapid growth!" Leo shouted mentally, before a sudden rush of adrenaline blew the lid off of every cylinder inside his body, flooding his system with panic.
[Leo ???]
[Response: Rapid Growth]
'Thank you for making your decision. Commencing [Rapid Growth]...'
His vision popped, eyes blurring with tears as the force of a car crash tore through his body, launching his tiny body into the air.
Strangled cries of terror echoed through the empty house, bouncing off the walls like laughter, mocking him. He couldn't breathe. His throat constricted before ballooning and then slammed shut again. Immeasurable pain tore through his arms, like a monster truck was pulling them, ripping his shoulder out of its socket, tearing muscles from the bone. His cries turned into screams. Screams that changed like an alien trying to mimic a person's cries, changing pitch and tone, from a baby to an adolescent, to a man.
Leo's eyes went blind from the pain, worse than darkness. Deep, sharp cracks sounded straight into his consciousness, like the interface itself was crushing his skull into shards.
"Aghhhhh!" Leo screamed, writhing in agony. The sudden sound of wood shattering and splintering echoed throughout the house as wood pierced his sides, stabbing the wind out of his growing lungs.
His sharp, nearly bladed nails carved into the wooden floor. Each breath was rapid and shallow, like there wasn't enough oxygen. Leo couldn't even scream as his legs were being pulled like rubber bands. Tearing and breaking, before reforming and then being torn again. His mind was as red as his vision. Blurred with crimson pain, rolling with thunder.
Then it began to flush away. The pain. The suffering. Like a tidal wave.
Leo trembled on the floor, bleeding as he lay on top of the fragments of the crib. His hands shook as he tried to push himself up. Tears tickled his face as they rolled down, dropping to the ground. Static and pain coursed through each limb in his body, alerting his brain that they existed and were ready to be used.
He looked at his armsâscrawny, blue-gray, shaking. Thick, sharp, milky-white claws curled toward his palms like his own body wanted to carve him open. Leo flinched as he lifted his hands, heart racing. Was this him? Because this didn't feel like him. There was a weight on his shouldersâa burdenâone deep and heavy enough to crush his heart.
There was no time to ponder.
Another scream sounded before cutting off abruptly, like the person was struck mid-cry. That was all he needed. He had had enough. There was no need to think; a decision was already made in his mind, body, and deep in his nature.
Whether he liked it or not.