Awakening
Location:
City of Victoria / Gloria's Temple
Time:
Y1500 - 14th day of the Harvest Moon - Dawn
I'm awake.
I feel weak.
The <Voice>! I remember!
Was it all a dream? It doesn't feel
like it. Unlike my encounter with <Voice> I can feel my body.
I'm alive. Then why can't I move?
I try to open my eyes.
Open...
Open!
Ah! The light hurts!!!
I just want this nightmare to end.
*cry*
I hear steps! I'm not alone. Before i
can make sense of the situation, someone picks me up.
Whoa. This person must be a giant!
Gigantic arms wraps around my body and lift me effortlessly!
The arms are warm, what gentle embrace.
I hear a voice. It's rhythmic. Like a lullaby.
What a sweet voice.
This giant doesn't seem to have bad
intentions. I stop crying.
I stop for a moment and think. Nothing
good will come out of me panicking like this.
I'm weak. I can't open my eyes, my body
can barely even move, and someone much bigger than me picked me up
and is singing a lullaby.
Am I... Am I A baby?!?
<Voice> did speak of a new life.
Being reborn as a baby makes sense. This giant must be my Mother! I
feel all fluffy! My original mother abandoned me. This time she
cares instead!
All the crying and worrying made me
tired.
I fall asleep while still held by
Mother.
Others Me
Location:
Gloria's Temple / Serina's private chamber
Time:
Y1500 - 16th day of the Harvest Moon - Noon
I've been in this world for a few days
now.
I sleep. I'm fed. I do my bodily
functions and I'm cleaned by Mother. It's embarrassing. But this body
is very weak, and i can do nothing about it. I'm a new born baby,
after all.
I can open my eyes now, but i can't see
far. Everything is blurry.
[New born babies
can't control their eyes properly. They can't focus far objects.]
(Doctor Me)
The answer comes from a version of me
that was a doctor. Yes, that's a thing now. <Voice> expanded my
mind by merging it with many possible versions of myself. I could not
understand <Voice> otherwise.
But even with the knowledge from many
versions of Me, i still have to learn how to control this body. Learn
to speak, to walk, and even to see, apparently. I am a baby after
all.
<Voice> Was supposed to give me
an unique power. <HUD>. A Virtual Helper that filters
information from my primary power. The ability to see everything,
everywhere anytime. Science Me and Gamer Me outdid themselves there!
But i feel no traces of it. The others Me are useful, but they are
not my unique power.
[To be fair
<Voice> spoke of possibility. I think we need to learn magic
before we can access <HUD>] (Bookworm Me)
Of course I have to struggle to unlock
my own power! Thank you <Voice>! You wouldn't want things to be
too easy for me, oh no! You just wait and see <Voice>. I'll
master this power in no time! I'll be able to do whatever I want!
Like winning the lottery, and I'll be rich! Mwhahahahah!
[Uhm... <Voice>
gave us <HUD> so that we could help people, remember?]
(Doctor Me)
Ah. There is that. But it was a childish desire! Like you would wish for world peace if someone asked you out of the blue! This might be our combined innermost desire, but I don't want to spend all of my second life selflessly helping others! And I was just jocking. Mostly.
Ah. There is that. But it was a childish desire! Like you would wish for world peace if someone asked you out of the blue! This might be our combined innermost desire, but I don't want to spend all of my second life selflessly helping others! And I was just jocking. Mostly.
[To me <Voice>
seemed more interested in getting an answer, any answers, rather than ensuring we follow
through our desire. It's not like <Voice> made us swear or
anything...] (Science Me)
This... Actually makes sense. I now
wonder why <Voice> rescued me... It can't be something <Voice>
do with everyone, can it? What does <Voice> get out of this? What it wants from us?
[We have no data
for a meaningful answer. I think we should focus on the matters at
hand rather than speculating on something we can't know anything of.]
(Science Me)
You have a point, Spock. I should just
sit back, observe, and not worry too much. As a baby, my actions are
severely limited anyway. I literally can't do anything but cry and
wriggle my stubby arms and legs.
I need to grow up. I'm only a two days
old baby. And I remember my past life. From a different world. With
voices inside my head. And gifted with a broken unique power...
Wow. This really is absurd.
*yawn*
And I'm tired already. What a weak
body!
I fall asleep.
Baptism
Location:
Gloria's Temple / Ritual Chamber
Time:
Y1500 - 16th day of the Harvest Moon - Evening
I wake up. Mother is carrying me
somewhere.
We are in a corridor. It's dark, but
not pitch black. There are windows with coloured glass on the stone
walls. I can see the outside for the first time since i was reborn.
Everything is so blurry, but I see the night sky.
Is this building all stone? This may be
a church. What am I doing here? I thought I was in my parent's home.
[Don't take this
too hard, but I think this woman is not our biological mother. In our
worlds giving children to religious institutions was an established
practice in many cultures and ages. This might be our current
situation.] (Explorer Me)
It's alright Explorer Me. I was
abandoned in my previous life as well. It's not a big deal if it
happened again... Damn it.
[Your situation
now, and your situation back then are worlds apart. This woman might
not be our biological woman, but she is caring about us. Doesn't that
make her our Mother?] (Doctor Me)
Maybe. I hope so.
A small door. Then we descend spiral stairs. That's lots of steps. We are going must be below ground. There is a narrow dark corridor, lighted by lamps? Another small door. But this one shine golden. Mother opens it.
Wow.
We are inside a large room. I think the
room is circular. It's lit by lamps all over the circumference of
the room. The walls shine golden too! Are they coated in gold? Wow.
I guess churches are rich in any world, are they?
"*** **
*********" (Woman)
"*** **
*****" (Old Woman)
We are not alone. There is another
woman. Her voice sounds older. They are talking about something, but
i would be damned if i understood a single word! Does my ears work
badly too?
[Our ears works
just fine. This is another world. Did you expect them to speak
english?] (Doctor Me)
[The sounds of it
is familiar. It reminds me of Mandarin...] (Bookworm Me)
Great! This keeps getting better! I'm
in a new world and i have to learn a language as hard as Chinese on
top of everything else!!! Thank you <Voice>!!! I was afraid you
made thing too simple, you know???
[Actually,
Mandarin is not that hard to speak. The rules are simple. It's the
writing and reading that are very complex. There are thousands of
symbols.] (Bookworm Me)
Thanks for the assist, Bookworm Me! I'm
counting on you!
[Babies takes
from two to four years to speak. But with your knowledge, and our
help, we'll do it much faster. Rest easy, Main Me] (Doctor Me)
Thanks, Doc! Having the others Me
around is a helping me a great deal. And not just for their
knowledge. Had i been here alone, I would have freaked out by now!
<Voice> sometimes get things right, after all.
*dip Me in water*
(Woman)
*cry*
Cold! While I was focused on my inner
monologue, Mother lowered me in a pond of water! What's the big
idea?!? I was surprised and started crying. Well, that's expected
from a baby, so it's alright.
Uhm... I'm on a pillar that reaches
their waist. The older woman is standing in front of me with her
hands over me. She is staring at me. This is not a ritual sacrifice,
right???
[Calm down! They
mean you no harm. This is a ritual of some kind. It probably is just
a baptism. Remember that we are in a religious institution.]
(Explorer Me)
Explorer Me was an archaeologist. He
liked to roam the world. Understanding civilizations and uncovering
the past. He'll be helpful in understanding this strange new world.
!!!
The older woman is surrounded a faint
light! Is this magic?
*cry* (Me)
I feel power entering my body! It's
like having water flowing inside of me. It doesn't hurt, but i don't
like it one bit! I cry.
"***!"
(Woman)
The women seems surprised that i cry.
They speak of something, but the older woman doesn't stop. Just stop.
Please?
Still the scenery is mesmerizing. There
are light and shapes dancing around me. If only I could see better.
"***! ** ****** **" (Old Woman)
"***!!!"
(Woman)
I feel the magic trembling inside of me. The older woman shouts something. She seems shocked. I can only hope that what <Voice> did to me is not considered a mortal sin in this world.
...
About an half hour has passed. There
were a few more shouting, but it seems over, now. The lights faded
away and the older woman kneels on the ground. No, it's not worship.
She just seems exhausted. Serves you right! Don't use magic on me if
you don't want to exhaust yourself!
I think the women are seriously
concerned about something, but it doesn't seems like they mean harm
to me. I'm relived.
Mother dry me up with a towel. We leave
the large room and the older woman behind. She is carrying me back to
my room. She smiles while looking at me! Her warmth is truly
soothing.
This ritual really tired me out. I fall
asleep in her arm while she walks.