A flickering streetlight cast uneven shadows across the rain-soaked pavement.
The constant drumming of water on concrete served as another reminder of the dull job Jack had endured for months.
Checking his watch, he saw it was only 11:34 p.m. on his graveyard shift.
Jack yawned as he stretched his arms, then a sudden noise rang out.
HONK!!!
Jack jumped out of his seat, spilling coffee across his desk. 'Fuck.'
He opened the window to see who it was.
"Jack, pay attention!" A young man in a sports car called out. "Open the gate, my girlfriend's waiting."
Yes, sir, right away, sir," Jack said politely.
The gate opened, and the driver slammed on his gas, leaving skid marks on the ground.
Another boring night, he thought as the door opened.
"Hey Jack, Dave giving you a hard time again?"
"Hey Carl. Yeah, just the glorious life of nighttime security for the airport."
A massive flash of light blinded them both.
Thunder crackled through the air as lightning struck the ground nearby.
SCREEEEECH!!!
A loud screech followed immediately after the lightning strike.
BANG!!
A guardrail broke above them as a truck tumbled down onto the security checkpoint.
'So this is how I go.'
BANG! A massive explosion followed as Jack, Carl, and Truck-kun met their end.
---
There was darkness, and then light.
Jack felt strange. He couldn't move his limbs or speak. He couldn't even open his eyes properly.
He could barely hear anything, like being trapped at the bottom of a well.
"Lady Genevieve! It's a miracle, you've finally given birth to a boy!"
Loud applause and laughter followed. The sound of footsteps echoed as Jack felt his body being lifted through the air.
"A miracle… truly a miracle from the Gods," the midwife whispered.
Jack opened his eyes, and this time he could see, though his vision was slightly blurry.
He could make out about a dozen blurred figures. Excited squeals filled the air as he heard more voices.
"Mother, we finally have a baby brother!" A voice squealed as someone jumped up and down.
But after several seconds of silence, the midwife frowned.
"Strange… the boy's not crying."
Jack could understand what everyone was saying, but he wasn't interested in their conversation.
His body felt tiny, soft, and helpless. His head felt too big, his legs were too weak to move, and his vision remained unfocused but slowly clearing.
He tried to open his mouth to say "leave me alone, please," but all that emerged was…
"Is something wrong with him?" Lady Genevieve asked, tension creeping into her voice.
"Not sure yet. Sometimes newborns take a little longer. I'll get him crying in just a moment."
Jack could see the midwife approaching and started to panic. 'Wait, stop, don't touch me there.'
SMACK!
Sharp pain flared across his rear as she slapped his bottom. This wasn't a gentle pat; she had pulled her hand back and delivered a firm smack that left a red mark.
The only sound that came out was a loud "WAHHH!" as he tried to speak.
His cry echoed through the room as people began to rejoice that he was okay.
"Mother, father will be so thrilled when he returns."
'What's going on? And why does my stomach hurt?'
The pain lingered for a moment before his brain finally caught up with the sensations.
"There it is!" the midwife said, lifting him high in the air. "He's just…"
Before she could finish, everyone gasped.
'Oh, that feels so good.'
The midwife got a mouthful of pee and screamed, "Ahh!"
'I think I peed in her mouth.'
"I've got him," said a servant. "Get yourself cleaned up."
The servant wrapped the newborn and carried him away to be cleaned.
'I just spilled my coffee, and now I'm surrounded by complete strangers.'
---
Time blurred after that.
People brought gifts and prayers for the new baby born into the Kaiser family.
'I'm so sleepy. I can't stay awake for long.'
Jack passed out shortly after.
---
Over the next few months, Jack confirmed he had been reborn into a new world.
People dressed in long robes or wore tunics.
Jack noticed people read books more than anything else, and they always talked about strengthening their mana.
There were no light switches, cars, or phones.
He watched people snap their fingers to light fireplaces. Servants would place their hands over buckets and fill them with water in seconds.
'Magic. This is incredible. I've read plenty of fantasy and history books before, but now I'm living in one!'
---
Weeks turned into months, and months into years.
Jack confirmed the impossible: he had been reborn into a world of mana.
Before he knew it, Jack was five years old.
"My boy, today we hunt," his father, Alaric, said.
"Father, where are the knights?" Jack asked, looking back at the empty forest path behind them.
"The Knights are a league behind us, Jack," Alaric replied, his eyes scanning the treeline with a strange intensity.
"This grove is protected by the Kaiser Ancestral Wards. No one enters without my blood's permission. Here, we can test your mana without the Spies of the Crown seeing what you're capable of."
Jack nodded. 'My first hunting expedition.'
"What are we hunting?"
"Three-horned deer. One will feed the household for a week."
They tracked the beast for twenty minutes until they found it drinking at a pond. Alaric raised a hand, signaling Jack to freeze. But before the Duke could move, a branch snapped behind them.
Alaric spun, his sword out in a blur of steel. He swung, cutting a hidden arrow in half mid-air.
"Stay behind me, Jack!"
Six hooded figures emerged from the shadows of the "protected" grove.
"Assassins," Alaric growled, his voice dropping low. "How did you bypass the Wards?"
"Just hand over the boy," the leader called out. "And you can walk away."
"Never."
Alaric's grip tightened. The assassins spread out. Two rushed Alaric from the left, while another flanked hard to the right.
CLANG!
CLANG!
The sound of steel rang through the forest.
Alaric was a whirlwind of violence, parrying blows that would have killed a normal man.
Bodies began to hit the dirt, but the assassins were relentless.
Suddenly, Alaric's blade began to smoke, turning a deep, abyssal black.
"You're strong," the leader admitted, "but you can't protect the boy and fight all of us."
Across the clearing, an archer took aim. Not at the Duke, but directly at Jack.
The arrow caught fire as it left the string.
Alaric roared, swinging his black blade and sending a wave of dark mana through the sky.
Trees splintered and the flaming arrow shattered, but it was a distraction.
Jack tried to run, his small legs churning through the undergrowth.
THUNK.
A white-hot burst of pain exploded in Jack's back. A dagger, thrown with expert precision, had found its mark.
As the blade sunk into his flesh, it didn't just bite through muscle; it felt as though a cold, hungry vacuum had attached itself to his very core.
The vibrant warmth he had just started to recognize as his mana was violently pulled toward the hilt, leaving his veins feeling like hollow glass.
It was as if the dagger were drinking the very essence of his life to stay seated in his bone.
"No!" Alaric's scream shook the very earth.
The sky turned pitch black. A massive wave of dark energy tore through the forest, obliterating the remaining assassins before they could even blink.
"Jack! Jack, stay with me!"
Alaric was on his knees, his hands hovering over the dagger embedded in his son's back. Blood pooled on the forest floor.
"Hold on, son. I'm getting you home."
''What's happening to me?'
Jack thought as the world began to fade.
'I just got here...'