Aden was arguing over the phone as he started crossing the street.
His voice was sharp, his words tumbling out faster than he could process. His girlfriend yelled back, her frustration crackling through the phone. His heart pounded as he tried to get his point across, but she wasn't listening. Neither was he.
Then—a loud honk from an out of control truck shot up the place.
A flash of light followed.
Pain.
Darkness.
Silence. He had died.
When Aden opened his eyes, everything was different.
He felt small. Too small.
His body was light, fragile. The world around him was warm and soft. The scent of fresh linen filled the air, mingling with something sweet and floral. Gentle light filtered through a nearby wooden window, casting golden rays on the delicate face of a sweaty woman holding him.
She was beautiful. Blonde hair with emerald-green eyes.
Her expression was full of love and warmth. Her arms wrapped around him protectively, as if he was the most precious thing in the world.
"You will be called Aether," she whispered, smiling and holding him tighter.
Aden blinked. He tried to move, but his limbs barely responded. His fingers curled slightly, trembling as he willed them to obey. He felt a heavy and compelling urge to cry but willed himself out of it.
Before he could even process more of what was happening, the door opened. A red haired man walked in. His presence was strong, commanding, yet his expression softened the moment he looked at them.
"How is he?" the man asked, his voice deep but gentle.
"He looks very healthy," the woman replied, brushing her fingers over Aden's cheek. "But he hasn't cried. It's… unusual."
The man chuckled, kneeling beside them. "Maybe he's just brave. Like his parents."
Aden—Aether—stared at them, his mind racing. He knew these people, he recognized them from the Genshin Impact video game.
Jean! Diluc!
His breath caught in his tiny chest. The warmth of the room suddenly felt overwhelming.
Jean… the Acting Grand Master of Mondstadt. Diluc… the owner of Dawn Winery. Characters from Genshin Impact that he'd gotten when the game first launched. He stopped using them as much after patches of the game came along but still, one could never forget those memorable characters.
No. That wasn't possible.
He tried to speak, to ask what was happening, but only a tiny, breathy sound left his lips. His throat felt weak, his voice nonexistent. Panic surged in his chest and he again felt the urge to cry, but he forced himself to stay still, to think.
Jean turned to Diluc, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Once I'm feeling better, we should take him to the Cathedral. He must be blessed."
Diluc nodded. "Of course. I'll invite Kaeya."
Jean smiled. "I will invite Alice as well."
Aden's mind reeled. Kaeya. Alice. Names from a world that wasn't supposed to be real.
He could see the small details—the way Jean's hands trembled ever so slightly from exhaustion, the way Diluc's gaze softened every time he looked at her. They weren't just characters. They were real. And he…
He was in Jean's arms, he was her infant son.
He wasn't Aden anymore.
He was Aether, the protagonist he'd chosen back then, when he started the game.
A new life had just begun.
[
Reincarnation Complete.
System Installation has began
]