Darkness.
Ren only saw darkness, not the darkness of sleep nor the comforting darkness of having your eyes closed, no, but a vast, still, empty void, something akin to being existing and not-exsiting at the same time. He couldn't see, hear or even feel anything, part of him wondered if this was death, if this was truly the end, he floated, not existing physically, but aware somehow.
He felt something, weird, something unusual, a pulse surrounded him, something akin to a heartbeat, yet it wasn't his own, he didn't have a body in this state. He could feel heat, warmth returning, but no, not to his body, he felt it was coming from something deeper, perhaps his soul?
Then he heard a sound, soft, distant, muffled, like far away voices.
Is that...crying?
Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming push, something pushing him inward or... outward? He felt something heavy on him, pressure gripped him. Then the void around him shattered like it was never there.
He now started feeling....pain? He didn't know how he felt it, it wasn't the pain he felt from getting struck by lightning, it was different, suffocation, that was what he felt, like he couldn't breath and was about to die.
He then heard a scream, his own, piercing the air and ringing in his ear. He tried to breath, gasping for breath, trying to take in any air he could, his lungs felt cool as he took in the cold air around him. He was confused. He was.....alive? Didn't he just die?
He felt awareness, again.
His eyes opened, he saw blurry figures around him, strange silhouettes, strange but comforting voices surrounded him. The language they spoke, he understood instinctively.
He now felt warm hands around him and heard a heartbeat, not his own this time, it was strangely comforting to him, like a mother's hold.
"He's beautiful." A gentle feminine voice exclaimed.
'This isn't earth.'
One look from Ren and he could easily determine that this place wasn't earth, the walls, decorations, clothing and even the air didn't feel the same, it felt....charged? Not and electric charge, it felt similar, if not the same, energy he felt before dying. This isn't the world he knew, it was vastly different....
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He was named Ren Tianyu, just like in his previous world, it seemed like a joke...or the perfect continuation?
His new parents were kind and loving, yet he felt something unnatural about them, something like raw power, lile standing in front of a stormy sea or a boundless sky. He didn't know if that was how everyone in this world was like or where his parents different, after all he hadn't had almost any interaction with someone else in this world after being born.
His mother, Mu Qinglan, had golden eyes filled with grace and ancient wisdom, her voice was smooth and calming like flowing water, her hair, platinum colored flowed like honey.
His father, Ren Xuanyin, was a quiet but loving man, his every movement measured and not wasted. His eyes, as blue as the sea, were sharp, they scanned everything and everyone but still gentle and warm for his family.
They lived in a secluded mountain valley, the air around them carried a rich, fresh smell. There were just the two of them and him, at least that's what he could tell.
Sometimes in the still night , he could feel gazes around him, they felt.....unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar as if he knows them, even their voices seemed close and warm.
They whisper things he could barely hear.
"Is that really him?"
"He sure is, he takes after his eyes, just like you."
"Hehe, yeah I can see that."
And before he could hear anything more, his infant body betrays him and he falls asleep, fatigue claiming him.
Despite the silence and lack of humans around him, he didn't feel bored or alone, mostly because he was still an infant so there's not much he can do other than sleeping, but he felt joy. He hadn't seen anyone other than his parents, but he could tell that the voices he hears at night and the presences he feels from time to time are family, siblings or cousins or uncles or aunts, he didn't know, but they felt close.
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Time passed, days, weeks, months, then a year.
By the time he turned two and became more aware, Ren realized something.
His mind, still cloudy and unstable of an infant, still retained his previous memories.
He remembered memories, not all, but flashes. His research papers, equations, experiments, the storm and..... Yue's face and the familiar and cheerful voice that he heard before being struck.
He always feels guilty whenever he remembers her, he acted like a madman and shouted at her, left her all alone on earth, he didn't know why he did that, why he acted that was towards his sister, then one who was always there, supporting him. He knew one thing, just like he came to this world, he will find a way to bring her with him, but not anytime soon, he still has to figure out what he'll do moving forward.
Other than that, he remembered that
He had done it!