Five weeks sense birth. Some things changed sense that day the man came over. First being I now spent more time downstairs. Those days I spent time in the play pen messing with some toys to work on my dexterity while watching the sky. Thing one and two would come into the play pen every now and then and Id entertain them a bit, it was good exercise and they seemed to have fun playing chase. I didn’t quite have the confidence to chase them yet. Dad would go off to what I assume was work early in the morning and get back before dinner. Mom would still keep an eye on me while also doing house chores. In the middle of the day, I would be carried to my room to take a mid-day “nap”. During those times my mom never came in, and I spent that time doing things that would seem odd for a baby to do. Such as, talking to myself to work my mouths dexterity, push-ups, sit ups, and a little bit of mana play. That last one wasn’t really needed sense I had a fine control carried over from my last life. However, tendrils of darkness were great for helping me keep balance. I was working on standing as well, it was not going as fast as I’d like but there was progress. As for mouth dexterity, I have learned that not having teeth is a disadvantage, but I have learned how to say some words like, mom, dad, hungry, Gale and Tara granted that last one was more like Dara, but I bet thing two would enjoy me being able to say her name somewhat. Right, I learned the twin’s names Thing one is Gale and thing two is Tara.

  This all brings me to today. I planned on saying one of their names, just who’s? Am I going to be a daddy’s girl or a mama’s girl? I could just wait for dad to get home from work and say both of their names. Nah, I’m going to go daddy’s girl. When he walks in, I’m going to say his name and hold my arms open for a hug. I don’t know what he does for work, but I bet when I worked for the mines if I had a kid, and they greeted me that way I’d be happy. Yeah, let’s brighten his week up. So, a few hours later when he walked through the front door I sprung my plan.

  I held my arms open and spoke in the brightest way that only a baby can “DADA!” I also may or may not have influenced the light to brighten a bit. It was all worth it though, that smile on his face. I could tell that in just one word all of the stress from work immediately fell off his shoulders. He came over and picked me up and kissed my forehead, I responded with a hug around his neck. When I said his name, I heard things in the kitchen drop and after he picked me up, I saw my mom walk over followed by Gale and Tera. My mom asked something like “Was that Sophia?” My dad with a big grin and me wrapped around him answered “Yes.” My mom let out a sigh then a smile crossed her face. She asked if I could say it again or something like that, look I’m getting more confident but languages especially this one can be a pain. I then debated on saying it again or not. I went for something else. For shits a giggles I pointed at my dad and said “Dada.” Then pointed at Tara and said “Tara.” Tara's face lit up Gale pestered me to say his name and my mom seemed glad, but I could see she wasn’t winning something. I let out a giggle then said “Mama,” while pointing to her then faked a struggle in saying ‘Gale.” This got then both to light up like the others my dad’s fell a bit but got it back by hugging him and saying “Dada,” some more. All around good things.

  *-*-*

  Six weeks after my birth. Not a whole lot has happened sense I reveled I could talk. I continued my whole ‘Dada’ routine he seems to like it, I find some pleasure in it too. After my dad gets home him and I would sit down, he would try teaching me new words. I say try because he is kind of doing a shit job. However, I am trying my best and so far, I can understand most basic sentences. Which meant I one hundred percent understood my brother and sister, sometimes I wish I could just use some magic to shut them up. No, I am not talking about ripping out their tongues just a silence spell, but that would be giving away too much. The temptations were strong.

  The other day my sister just babbled on and on about something, to be honest I wasn’t paying attention. What was I doing you might be asking, I was trying to stand up with no help. My brother on the other hand didn’t talk all that much to me but he did talk to my mom and Tara a lot. So yeah, I understand words now, yay. Talking on the other hand is still a little bit hard with the no teeth thing. Although I think they are growing in I don’t know it seems a bit fast. I guess my gums have been a bit sore but nothing too bad.

  Anyway, today some fun things happened. It was the weekend or my father’s weekend I don’t know he hasn’t taught me the days yet. So, I was sitting in the living room watching the sky while trying to stand when a knock came at the door. My mom answered it and the old man form the other week was there. He exchanged some pleasantries with my mom then asked to see me and check on my condition. My mom of course let him in and told him that I learned to talk and that I was trying to stand.

  He had a pleasant smile on his face in response to my mom. He then walked up to me and said hi.

  “Hello little Sophia, I am a doctor and I am here to see how you are doing.” He said with that smile. I just did that thing that babies do and just stared. After I moment I realized I was being rude, so I replied “Hewo,” ‘fucking teeth’.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked. I debated on how to respond. I was a little bit irritated that he was here and the whole standing thing and no teeth thing was annoying. Physically I think I was fine. So, I just shrugged. “Can I use a tool to see how you are doing?” he asked in response. I shrugged again and he pulled out that thing from last time and ran it over me. He made a weird face then asked me another question “Can I touch you?” he asked and I decided to do the toddler thing.

  “Why?”

  “So, I can see how well you are doing in detail.”

  “Why?”

  “So, you mom can feel better.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she is worried about you.”

  “Why?” The irritation was starting to show on his face and my dad saved him.

  “Listen Sophia, he is here to help you. If you let him help you, you can grow strong like me.” My dad explained. I really really wanted to ask why again but, I suppose.

  “Okay.” The doctor let out a sigh and laid a hand on my back. When his hand touched, I felt his mana try and intrude again I was not going to let that happen. Now instead of irritation on his face it was frustration. He pulled his hand back and thought for a moment. “Sophia, I need you to let me in. I know it isn’t a pleasant feeling but, you could be in danger, and I need to make sure you are not.” He reasoned.

  “She is only six weeks old and just started talking she won’t understand you.” My mom chimed in. She wasn’t exactly wrong but with some reasoning and extrapolation I knew what he was saying.

  “Okay.” I replied to him, he smiled and tried again. This time I protected my souls but let him look. His mana didn’t even come close to it so I’m guessing he had no idea of souls in the body. After he finished scanning me a smile of glee crossed his face. He schooled his expression then stood.

  “I am going to be honest with you two. Your daughter Sophia here has an abundant amount of mana. She also seems to be subconsciously protecting and enhancing herself. Well not enhancing technically. It’s a recovery spell, some soldiers use this spell to fight longer and heal minor injuries and clerics use it to boost another’s energy. She seems to be using it to help her grow. Her muscles are already more developed and denser than a normal baby at her age. With the spell she is using I expect that she will reach certain milestones much faster than her peers. As evident by her already crawling and trying to stand unsupported. This also explains why you have not needed to change her diapers. She is constantly converting energy in such an efficient way that she does not produce waste. However, she will need more food, or she might start to become malnourished. I do think you will be safe though she might also be subconsciously adjusting the potency of her spell so she does not kill herself. For now, until she stumbles on how to draw in mana I recommend that you feed her twice, no three times the normal proportions for her age.” He rambled and I could tell my parents only understood half of what he said. Hell, I barely understood what he said. Not because I’m dumb or anything but because I didn’t know some of those words. My father asked him to clarify.

  “She needs to eat three times the normal amount and she will grow faster. Other than that your daughter is very healthy. One last thing I’d like to check on her once a week or so, if that is fine with you two?”

  “I’m not sure I can keep up with her.” My mom added.

  “Oh yes probably not I suggest you start feeding her semi solid food like porridge, mashed potatoes, mashed fruits and vegetables, and a soft cheese. Until her teeth grow in which shouldn’t be long, I can tell they are trying to come in maybe another week or two.”

  “Oh,” my mom said simply.

  “Why do you want to see her every week?” my dad asked.

  “To be perfectly honest it is because your daughter is a once in a millennium anomaly and I wish to study her a bit. Do not worry I only wish to observe no experiments or anything like that.” He explained.

  “Hmm,” my father hummed, “only if you can help her grow. An example would be helping us with food for her and anything else she might need. We will of course do that for her if we have to but, if you wish to observe it’s only right you help her out.”

  “Of course, of course,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Here,” he said as he pulled out a box from his robes. Were his robes enchanted with a void space? How rich was this dude? My dad had the same thought as me apparently because his jaw just dropped. “You can start feeding her this. It’s pretty tasteless but very dense in nutrition. I would still recommend feeding her normal things like milk and porridge, but this should help with her growth.” I was curious about the food that he pulled out so I waved my hands in a give me motion, he smiled and indulged me. It was in a can like tuna with no label just tin, aluminum whatever. He asked my mom to grab a spoon for me as he rolled the lid open.

  “Isn’t that the stuff the military and the knights eat when they are out in the field?” my dad asked.

  “Yes.” The doctor simply responded as my mom returned with a spoon. He took the spoon and scooped a bit of the substance and held it out for me. I held my mouth open and moved to put the spoon in my mouth. As he said the rations had no taste however I could tell it was definitely dense with nutrients. I shrugged and opened my mouth again asking for more.

  “She actually likes that stuff?” my dad asked in a confused tone.

  “I doubt it.” The doctor said, “it is more likely that her body can tell it is good for her.”

  “Yeth.” I said in between bites. In a few moments I finished the can. “Mowe pweath.” I asked politely, he opened another can. My father let out a sigh and my mother just smiled. She then whispered something to my dad and they both chuckled. After that can I started to feel full, I could feel the nutrients being turned into more mana. I started to feel lighter. Not like drunk or high lighter but like the well rested lighter. I crawled over to one of the sides of the play pin and began to stand up. Once I was fully up-right I let go and focused on my balance. For five seconds I did not fall, unfortunately, when I threw my arms up in a cheer I fell back down. Everyone was surprised except my brother and sister who giggled.

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  *-*-*

  Six and a half weeks after being reborn again I finally did it. Like before I spent time practicing standing. Today I told myself I would walk, and I did. Like always when my dad came home from work, I would hold my arms out for a hug. This time though I did that while trying to walk. I was successful, sort of, it was more of a shamble. The sounds of excitement from both me and my dad rung in the living room after that, and so did my stomach.

  *-*-*

  Eight weeks after my birth. I have become more proficient in walking and have even attempted running. That freaked my mother out. Turns out there is something like a pager in this world or the doctor was just being a creep. Because, when I feel flat on my face and got a bloody nose that man was there in seconds. I’m guessing my mom called him, or something. When he showed up and checked me out, he just laughed. The spell that I use helps with healing and by the time he arrived I was healed he did feed me and extra ration can that day. He also had to explain some biology to my mom which was interesting. This world had more knowledge than I expected, or at least more than Browen. On Browen some people thought they got sick because they weren’t praying enough. No, I am not fucking with you people actually thought that. Anyway, my teeth are finally coming in.

  *-*-*

  Ten weeks into the boredom inducing hell hole. Okay maybe I shouldn’t say that given my time as the Dark God. Still after finally being able to leave and have a life I want to do things. Sure, playing with my brother and sister is somewhat interesting, but playing chase or tag gets old fast. That is when they are inside. Turns out we have a backyard and they play out there a lot. I am not allowed as a baby.

  So, most days I sit, pace or work out just staring at the sky. You’d think it would get boring, but you would be wrong. What gets boring is the feeling of being trapped. It’s like I got transferred from one prison to another, and this time I don’t have anything to do. Maybe I should ask for some toys other than the six wooden blocks we have. I could also try asking the doctor to convince my parents it is fine for me to go outside. Next time he comes around I will ask.

  *-*-*

  Eleven weeks after my birth. When the doctor arrived, I stared at him. When he finally came to me, I beckoned him closer. When he did, I asked him a question.

  “I want to go outside.” Okay I didn’t ask I stated but still.

  “Wow, so straight forward.” He said with a chuckle. “Why?” he asked in return.

  I hadn’t thought about how to respond to him so I took a second to think of a response and kid would say. “Brother and sister get to, and I am strong, and a big girl now.”

  “Oh really?” he asked in that indulging tone people use with kids. That kind of ticked me off so, I did something a bit irrational. I opened my hand palm facing him and released a blob of wispy dark energy. It impacted his chest and knocked him back. It wouldn’t actually hurt him, that spells true form would have thrown him across the room. When I was the Dark God Dark Bolt could pierce steel armor. His face said it all, I immediately regretted what I did, but he was ecstatic. “Tell me Sophia, how did you do that?” he exclaimed which caught me mom’s attention.

  “Do what?” my mom asked looking into the living room. The doctor just ignored her.

  “I was upset and wanted to push you.” I said, partially telling the truth. I was upset, that tone irritated me, but it was also to help convince him. If I showed I had some sort of instinctual talent he might actually let me outside. I originally meant it be a mana bolt.

  “Do it again.” I indulged him but toned this one back. Instead of launching at him like a thrown rock, it was smaller and traded at the speed of a tossed rock. When it hit him he his clothes only rippled a bit, his expression didn’t change though. My mom’s on the other hand. Her face lit up in surprise as she covered her mouth with a hand.

  “Can you do anything else?” the doctor asked in an excited tone.

  “Doctor!” my mom exclaimed, “what have you been teaching my daughter?”

  “Nothing. I can’t use dark mana.” He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Now, Sophia can you do anything else?”

  “Doctor!” my mom exclaimed again, “she can’t do that. She can’t use magic.”

  “I think she can,” he said again as if it was the most obvious thing ever, I was staring to like this guy.

  “That’s not what I mean.” My mom argued, “She’s not allowed to use any magic.”

  “So, you wish for her to die.” He said. Like damn man, don’t have to be that harsh. I don’t think I would die immediately.

  “It would also be impossible. She is constantly using a rejuvenation spell to heal herself and energize herself. She doesn’t even do it consciously. If she were to stop, she would live for a bit but, anything she eats will be converted into energy and if she has no outlet who knows what will happen. Best case scenario she will stop and be fine worst case she would literally explode. Most likely though she would lose control and produce a random spell like that Dark Bolt she used on me.” He explained. As he went on my mom’s face went through several shades of pale.

  “Really?” Mom asked in a soft voice.

  “Probably. I personally do not wish to find out but if it is your wish.” He said with a shrug.

  “Well, I don’t want her breaking anything or hurting her siblings.” My mom explained.

  “Your daughter is very intelligent, not just for her age. I doubt she would willingly hurt her siblings. If she breaks something I will pay for it.” He said and finished with a wave of a hand.

  “Doctor, she is just a baby.”

  The doctor scoffed then turned to me “Why do you truly want to go outside Sophia.” He asked. Damn he didn’t buy my whole big girl thing.

  I let out a sigh then answered. “Trapped.” Was all I said. It got the point across.

  “Would a baby answer like that?” he asked my mom. My mom just stood there slack jawed. “I could ask her another question. Sophia if someone came in and threatened your family, what would you do?” I was saved from answering by my mom.

  “I get it. Why?” she said.

  “Well, I have some theories but it’s best I don’t say anything, for both you and her.” He said, “How about this. Sophia.” He continued grabbing my attention “could you refrain from using magic that that one inside and around others, until I say otherwise or the situation demands it.”

  “Yes.” I said in a firm voice.

  “Great until then how about we use your backyard to gain control.” He offered. I of course agreed. “Mom?” he asked. She let out a sigh and agreed.

  Moments later Gale and Tara were ushered inside and I was outside. First thing I did after the doctor put me down was roll in the grass and lay there with my arms spread. I may or may not have shed some tears. This was the first time in literally hundreds of years. Sure, I had my puppets and I could feel the same things they did but, this, this was different. I could feel the heat on my skin. The grass beneath my clothes. The wind rushing over me, bringing a cool refreshing feeling. I laid there for what felt like hundreds of years just feeling everything. Taking everything in and just breathing. I know I felt trapped and suffocated and now I feel like I could just breathe again. I took slow deep breaths in a rhythm I had done millions, billions of times before. Before this breathing didn’t feel filling like it was blocked but now. It was like drinking water on a hot day. I could feel the energy spreading though me.

  “You know they say hero’s start as reincarnators, or outworlders.” The Doctor said snapping me out of my revelry.

  “I was no hero. Just a pawn.” I said knowing there was a viewing shield around us.

  “Thanks for confirming. So, Sophia what do you mean?”

  “Past is the past.” I said with a wave of my baby hand. “So, how’d ya know?”

  “When you started gathering mana.” He answered with a chuckle. “Earlier though I had thoughts and theories. At first, I thought it was the once in a millennium but after watching you for a bit I had my doubts. I thought you could have been a spirit inhibiting a still born child. My other thought was reincarnation.”

  “Oh. Would anyone else be able to tell?” I asked.

  “Probably not. The only ones that would definitely know are the gods but, they don’t tend to directly intervene.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense the heave-" I was cut off by a rolling rumble of thunder. As I was about to say, “the heavenly laws can be very strict.” The doctor looked up and scrunched his eyebrows. “It’s probably best I don’t say.” I continued.

  “What was that?” he asked.

  “Can’t say. Not like I don’t know, I literally can’t say.” I said coldly. I had a past with the damn heavenly law. Because of the crown I had some God like power but no authority. Without going into too much details it meant it was very restricted. It was the reason I couldn’t leave the realm the castle was in.

  “Oh. You know we can’t just sit out here and talk all day. I will have to teach you.” He said. I let out a sigh then sat up. “Great let is start with the basics. I can tell you might know some things. Mana suffuses everything. Some people have some mana in their bodies like you. They are able to command that mana and have it work for them. We call those body practitioners. Then there are people that don’t have a lot of mana in their bodies and have found a way to manipulate the mana around them. We call those people worldly practitioners. Then there are individuals like me who can do both we call them master practitioners. Collectivaly we are called mages.” he explained. “Most people have an elemental alignment which makes it easier to use that element. I personally have four major affinities water, wind, fire, and earth. Unfortunately, I cannot use light or dark.” Back on Browen affinities didn’t matter much because anyone could use the world’s mana if that element was there. Although there was very little dark mana due to the light goddess. So, this brought a little confusion. I let out an “uh” while I raised my hand and it came out as an embarrassing baby sound. “Yes Sophia?”

  “Why can’t you use light and dark?” I asked.

  “There is a couple reasons but for now I will just say, I don’t understand it.” He explained. Which made some sort of sense. When manipulating the world’s mana you kind of had to convince it, and if you don’t understand it how are you going to convince it.

  “Now you might have caught on to me saying Major affinity. Each person has an affinity for an element. It goes mortal, lesser, minor, greater, major and apex. Those with a mortal affinity will most likely not be able to use that element unless they put a lot of training in. Because of that, most with mortal affinities don’t even attempt anything. Lesser is where people start to become mages. Now we already know you have a dark affinity so I will leave this with you.” He said as he pulled out an object from his robe. It was a wooden cube with a runic langue in black brush strokes I didn’t understand which was just great because on top of a new language I needed to learn to speak and write I need a new magic language, just great. “This is a simple puzzle to help with your mana control. It is also attuned to dark mana so it should be just a little easier for you to get a grasp of.” He explained as he handed it over to me. I was pretty sure I could solve it in seconds, but I was more interested in the language. I would stand out if I started using a different language and alphabet. “In order to solve the puzzle, you need to find the path of least resistance in the puzzle. This is one of the easier puzzles once you solve this one I will give you the next one.” He said and let me have a go at it. Instead, I spent that time memorizing the runes. I’d find out what they meant later but for now I just wanted to familiarize myself. After a bit I had them memorized and began to solve the puzzle.

  The puzzle wasn’t hard, but I had a bit of a fondness for them. Not for any nostalgic reason or anything but for some reason it reminded me more that magic was real than actually performing magic. I created a little tendril of dark wispy mana and began to poke around the cube. Once my tendril found a soft spot, I let it slide in. I kept sending the mana in poking around to find the path it needed to follow. Unlike some puzzles where you needed to use mana sight and not touch the walls this thing didn’t care. Honestly, I could have just brute forced my way through it but, it didn’t feel necessary. As I said before it only took me a couple seconds to solve it. Once it was finished the runes on the side lit up.

  “In your last life how, much experience did you have with magic?” The doctor asked.

  “I’d say somewhere between…” I paused realizing I didn’t know numbers yet then improvised “enough and not enough.” I finished with a shrug, then continued. “How old are you?”

  “I am one hundred and thirty six years old as of last fall.” He answered proudly.

  “Okay. Um. Can you convert that into a count on your fingers. I don’t know numbers. Or well the words for them.” I said, he let out a chuckle. Then held up a finger and recited the word for each number. Using that and the missing word I was able to put it together.

  “Okay, then I had somewhere between seven hundred and nine hundred years of experience.” I said. The man choked for a second.

  “Okay. We are going to stop with magic then. I am pretty sure you would be better teaching me magic. How about.” He said then held a finger to his chin in the thinkers pose. “How about I teach you about Wryn. It’s languages, history and culture.” He proposed.

  “Why not but also teach me magic. You might know more Master.” If he was going to be a teacher, it only seemed fitting to call him master. “But while you teach me, I am going to lay down and bathe in the sun. I haven’t felt the touch of the sun in a long time.” I said then flopped over.