Chapter 1: Twice Reborn!

As the sun rose above the horizon in Patna, the morning sky was painted in hues of red and orange, while the chirping of birds filled the air with their melodies. Vineet stirred awake as his alarm beeped softly in his humble flat in a slightly decrepit building. He gazed at the ceiling fan's lazy rotations before rising to go for a jog, a routine he had followed since he was seven years old.

After his jog, Vineet returned home, took a refreshing shower, and prepared breakfast. Once done, he cleaned the kitchen and headed to work, where he went through the motions of his life with minimal interactions with others throughout the day. However, the next morning, his sadness was palpable to anyone who spoke with him. Although people tried to inquire, he politely declined and claimed he was alright.

As Vineet returned home that evening, his sadness was still evident, and he made an unusual stop at a liquor store to buy some hard alcohol. After arriving home, he poured a drink and stood in front of the wall that held images of his deceased family members.

On the 5th of March, two years ago, Vineet and his entire family were in a devastating accident. Before that fateful day, he was a cheerful person embarking on a journey with his mother, sister, uncle, aunt, their daughter, his wife, and his 1-year-old son. Unfortunately, their car was run off the road by a truck, and it plummeted into a valley. When Vineet regained consciousness, he discovered that only he, his uncle, and his cousin had survived. However, over the course of their treatment, only he recovered fully.

That was the day Vineet lost everything, and he had been merely going through the motions of his life ever since. Although he had contemplated suicide, he had always dismissed the idea, knowing his family would have wanted him to live. To have a fresh start, he left his old life and came to a new town where no one knew him nor had any lingering memories of his life that would always keep reminding him of his family. Even after coming to a new place, he was still not able to put the past aside and have a normal life.

After staring at the photos of his family for a while, he sat on the ground with his back against the wall and started drinking directly from the bottle. He didn't know when he fell asleep but suddenly woke up to the sensation of someone shaking him very hard. He opened his eyes and saw no one. For a second, he was confused when he noticed that everything around him was shaking badly, and soon small parts of the ceiling concrete started falling down. He instinctively got up and ran towards the door, but a large piece of the ceiling fell on him, and he went unconscious.

After an unknown amount of time, Vineet started to regain consciousness. Suddenly he heard some muffled voices. He tried to open his eyes or move his body but was not able to. He kept on trying for a while but with no success, he gave up and tried to concentrate on hearing the voices.

The voices seemed to be of two women and a man, one of the women was crying while the other woman and the man were arguing about something. He put all his focus on hearing them, and even after hearing the voices a bit clearer he didn’t know what was being said cause he had never heard the language in which they were speaking. Soon his head started aching and then everything went dark.

He once again regained his consciousness but this time heard a woman screaming in pain, and some other voices saying something, but he didn't understand anything. The screaming woman’s voice was very similar to the one he heard screaming the last time he woke up. He once again tried to open his eyes and move his body but was still unable to.

What happened to me, why am I not able to open my eyes and not move my body? The last thing I remember is that there was an earthquake and something heavy hit my head… Am I in a…hospital?

Vineet was completely disoriented, struggling to make sense of what had happened. He vaguely remembered an earthquake and a heavy object hitting his head. Was he in a hospital? Despite his efforts, he couldn't recall anything else, so he decided to focus on regaining control of his body.

After some time, he managed to move his fingers slightly. Suddenly, he felt an uncomfortable sensation, as if he were being squeezed through a tiny tunnel. But instead of panicking, he was elated to feel something. Then, he sensed a rush in his lungs and let out a scream with all his might. That was when he opened his eyes.

“Waaaa! Waaaa!” he heard a child crying, but he was certain that it was his own voice. He could see an old woman examining him closely.

He tried to say something, but only unintelligible sounds came out. When he looked down, he realized that his hands had transformed into those of a baby.

What the fuck? How did I become a baby? His mind spun again, and he nearly passed out.

The old woman wrapped him in a cloth and handed him over to a woman who was lying down, while a man and a woman entered the room, both appearing overjoyed to see him. Vineet tried to look around, but he was too weak and soon fell asleep, completely exhausted.

Two months had passed since Vineet's rebirth as “Nel”, and he was still struggling to come to terms with his new reality. The house he was in was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was like those old houses made of wood, but this house looked quite sturdy. The spoken language was something he couldn't understand and he was quite sure that he had never even heard this language before, and the technology was almost non-existent.

Despite the challenges, Nel had discovered a few things about his new life. He had no surname, and his mother was the second wife of his father, who had an elder wife as well. Nel had three older siblings, including half-blood twins who were around 10 years old, and an elder brother who was 8. The family was well off, with at least two servants and three maids.

His father was most likely a merchant and had a strong… nope scratch that, a very strong sexual drive. Every night he could hear the moans of both of his mothers in pleasure, which he really didn’t want to listen to, but if he was awake had to. At those times he would just start crying then either his mom or his elder mom would come over to try to put him to sleep without even bothering to wear their clothes.

At those times he would lament why he had to go through this. In his previous life, he also had a kid and a pretty active sex life with his wife, but this, what was happening right now was crazy.

He just either wanted to grow up fast or at least be put in a room far away so that he would not have to listen to the nightly activities of his mother’s and father.

Time passed on peacefully, and Nel was now settled in his new life. He started thinking about what he should do when he grows up. Will he go out and make his name and fortune in this world, or should he join his brothers to continue his family's businesses, whatever that may be?

Soon, a whole year passed, and Nel was able to stand and walk a bit. He could now understand most of what was being said. He learned a few more important things like this world was called “Zenia”, and there was magic in this world, and anyone who had a mana core can use it. Now he was able to understand why his father could daily do the dead and not have a house filled with kids.

There were some magic users known as Arch-Mages who had immense power. Angels and Demons really existed in this world, and other than them, there were real Gods in this world divided into Celestial Kings and Devil Kings.

Finally, today was his first birthday, and the whole house was decorated. There were no cakes, but there were many sweets, and the one he liked the most was a soft jelly-like thing called “Rok-gnu”.

Guests started arriving, and the party started. Just then, the warning gongs started going off, signaling that the village was under attack. Everyone started panicking and trying to run away.

Nel's father led his family down to the basement where he opened a hidden door to a dark passage. He conjured a small light in his palm and started walking, with Nel's elder brother and the twins following closely behind. Nel was being held by his mother, who trailed behind the children, and his elder mother closed the door and followed after them. They moved as quietly as possible, trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

After half an hour of walking, they arrived at a damp-smelling cave. The air was thick with moisture, and Nel could barely see anything. They carefully made their way out of the cave and found themselves in a dense forest. His father told them to stay there and that he would check the surrounding area to make sure that they were not in any danger.

Nel's mother held him tightly, trying to shield him from harm. The forest was eerily quiet, with only the occasional rustle of leaves breaking the silence. Nel's heart raced as he listened intently for any sounds that could indicate danger. He couldn't help but wonder what was happening in the village and if their house was still standing.

Suddenly, a wave of energy came flooding in, knocking everyone out. When Nel regained consciousness, he found himself lying on the forest floor. His head was throbbing, and his body felt sore. As he tried to get up, he realized that something was wrong. He felt lighter, and his arms and legs seemed shorter.

Nel's head was throbbing. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the cave. Instead, he found himself lying on a stone slab, surrounded by a group of hooded figures. The room was dimly lit with torches, and the air was filled with a musty smell. Nel tried to move, but he was bound by some sort of magic.

One of the hooded figures stepped forward and spoke in a deep, ominous voice. "Child, rejoice and be happy, as your fate has changed. Your pitiful life is now going to have a very special purpose.  You have been chosen as the final sacrifice. Your blood will awaken the forgotten gods and bring about a new age of power."

Nel's heart raced as the hooded figures began to chant in a language he didn't understand. He tried to scream, to plead for his life, but he was silenced by their magic. As the chanting grew louder and more frenzied, one of the hooded figures plunged a sharp nail into Nel's chest.

The pain was intense, and Nel's vision grew dim. As he took his last breath, he realized that this was the end of his life as Nel.

Fuck! I died again, just like that!

Just as his consciousness faded, he felt a sudden jolt and sat up, disoriented. What he saw next almost made him lose his mind. As Nel looked around, he realized that he was in some kind of goblin den, and when he looked down, he realized that he was no longer human, but instead a small goblin with green skin and clawed fingers.

Before he could even process what was happening, another goblin lunged at him, trying to bite him. Nel tried to protect himself, but then suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw that all the goblins were attacking each other. The ones who had killed their opponents were eating them.

Just as he was trying to fend for his life and make sense of his new reality, he felt a sharp pain on the side of his neck, and once again his consciousness began to slip away.

Frustration boiled up inside of him, and he screamed in despair: "ARGHHHHHHAAAAAA!!"

*****

PS: This is the author Shu B., I'm a new author, and if you like my work then do and adding it to your library. Also if you have any feedback about the story, then do comment and let me know. Thank you!