It took much longer than planned. The voice paused for a heartbeat before continuing.
Some things are better left unsaid. You will have many questions when your mind starts developing.
You do have questions even now, but in the state you're in, you cannot speak.
Alex was too confused by the whole scenario. 'A reincarnation? So a God was watching everything unfold without lifting a finger?... Only to reincarnate me after everything? I just want to rest. I don't need a second chance if you can't bring them back.' Alex was still numb; the words weren't really affecting him. He knew that cases like these meant the God had a mission for him in the afterlife.
Alex wanted to wail in sorrow, but the numbness inside him kept him still. 'Fuck all this,' he thought, feeling the weight of his own emotional emptiness.
You'll forget everything eventually, but this remnant voice will always be here to remind you of your goals when you return… This Zone will behold you more than once.
A fate has been forged for you, Host. It is no gentle voyage; but rather a path of jagged glass and unyielding storms filled with unfair obstacles. The voice sighed.
It took Alex a minute to realise that the voice sounded programmed. 'A dead God with remnant wills?' he thought warily.
He naturally knew about cases like these… from the countless stories he had read. He never believed it possible until now.
But his mood made everything uninteresting to him.
Alex even missed a few words in the process due to his inattentiveness.
Death by disintegration phase shouldn't trouble you…
But your mind is too narrow to house the knowledge of the power slumbering within. Your major worry should be psychosis, if the laws remember themselves, of course. The voice carried a hint of regret mixed with pity.
Each of your ascents to Godhood will strip away a single truth about your fate. The voice you hear is only the faded will of a mighty Order. Your questions will be answered by the truths stripped.
Do not seek my origin too early, not while you're still whole… A single knowledge of me would Unmake you.
'What a haughty line,' Alex remarked dismissively.
Do not futilely push against the currents of fate, Host. For a single shift in plan may ruin eons of planning.
Go and reascend. Do not be shackled by the trivial ornamental warmth your new genetic connections bring, as they will serve as a hindrance to your destiny.
'Genetic what now?' Alex thought.
'Wait… a new family?'
He felt some kind of emotion for the first time when the voice came again.
Do not waste a single death. Shake the foundations of creation, Kesmo.
The name triggered something in Alex he couldn't quite explain. His body shook. No… the space he was in trembled. He became more confused and alert as he finally rearranged his thought process and prepared to pay more attention.
His change in mood was cut short as his vision distorted violently before turning completely dark and silent.
It wasn't absolute silence. He could still hear muffled sounds but couldn't see anything.
It was as though he was sinking deep underwater, with noises above.
He perceived the subtle scent of blood. He felt fear instantly. He considered if he had been slain on a bloody battlefield before he was even reincarnated.
He dismissed the thought after a few seconds. The voice had said something about a new awaiting family… Alex's thought process was turning slower and slower.
'I'm… being… reborn anew?' The thought made him feel fragile somehow.
He saw faint light up ahead as the scent of blood intensified, this time accompanied by sweat.
He heard a pained cry that hurt his little heart. He knew it belonged to his new mother.
When he saw light completely, he looked around first. The room was lit dimly in blue light from the rotating chandelier above.
The birth room looked opulent in every sense, with red flower vases placed on pillar stands all around it. It was far more luxurious than any he had ever seen.
There were also toys of all kinds and sizes carefully placed on the table counter beside the red-sheeted bed. He saw an enlarged wall photo of a handsome, serious man in a suit and a pretty smiling woman kissing him while wearing a wedding dress.
He registered them as his parents before retracting his gaze again, this time to his own body.
Awareness slammed back into place. His body felt wrong, too small and light.
He tried to move his hands, but the sensation was foreign, delayed and fragile. He forced his stiff neck to turn.
His tiny fingers, delicate and weak, were tightly clenched around a much larger finger. His mother's.
Pain flared suddenly, sharp and humiliating, on his tiny butt. He wailed in surprise.
The sound tore out of him uncontrollably, raw and loud. Rage followed instinctively, and he twisted his head, searching for the offender.
"I told you not to pinch him at all!" a man's voice roared.
A broad-shouldered man stood nearby with sleeves rolled up, He's the serious man from the picture, face red with anger, pointing accusingly at an old but neat female physician. Yet beneath the fury was unmistakable softness. Joy disguised as authority.
The wife, still weak and recovering, laughed from the birth bed, breathless but radiant, cradling Alex carefully against her chest.
Their language was different from the one the voice used, and even though he couldn't understand it, he still felt the intent deep in his heart.
The room smelled of blood, sweat, and life.
Alex slowly turned his gaze toward her.
Her smile was tired but genuine.
"Alexander," she said weakly. "It kept ringing in my head when he was still inside me. Alexander… it just felt correct somehow." She cradled the newborn in her arms, still smiling.
Then Alex looked back at his father, still yelling furiously, still protective.
And something inside Alex locked into place. An oath formed without words.
'I will protect them, no matter the cost.'
Even if he became a villain.
Even if he surrendered to the mysterious side of himself.
Even if the world itself stood in his way.
He would protect them with his life. His prepared fate in this new life was second.
His thoughts finally faded like scattered sparks. Nothing aligned itself anymore.