The world was full of life, with so much to offer, from the smallest creatures to nightmares beyond human understanding. It was never too much.
One would then conclude that such a world was far from us, never touching or nearing the point of contact.
And yet, there it was Earth, in its great glory, the green and blue planet so vivid in its wake, maybe more than it should.
Not that it mattered, since there it was.
To deny such a simple fact was to choose ignorance, and even if people would rather do that, they could never face the idea of being called ignorant.
Year- 20XX, and things had changed, from the simple non-supernatural chaos of the world to one much more turbulent version of itself.
The continent was Zetaris, and the country was Mionar.
Moving through the capital city of Nuera, there was a man and a girl.
The man was tall, and wearing a black coat, his eyes hidden behind shades, he had a gruff look, and a stoic expression, stilted, and silent steps that had less weight than the hot city air around them.
Around there was a mess, waves of people going back and forth through the grey maze of small, medium, and tall buildings, each step on the paved cement ground only further, pushing the loudness of the car horns on the road next to the sidewalk they were traversing to their ears, and drowning the l attempts of natural sound to pass through.
The scents around were vast and quickly changing, maybe too quickly, from vendor foods to random perfumes, colognes, and so on from people going by, down to the smell of mined presents people allowed their pets to decorate the street with every day.
"Urgh! Why do we have to walk at all? A car or almost anything would have been better, the streets reek of sewers, and whatever BS people left on the ground." The girl complained crossing her arms, a pout fueled by pure indignation reached her.
She was small, and puff, dressed in a cutesy pink outfit, one with such vibrant and calling elements it might cause others to conclude she's either a cosplayer trying to capture that inner child look, or merely a child.
Though the options were surely more than that, there was no point in thinking beyond what most would assume.
"Huh, you should know, important people are being born today, that's why we were sent here anyway. Plus, I need to talk to someone. Apparently, things will change soon. Luxury would get in the way." The man responded unbothered as she kept walking with her.
Eyes were rolled and her arms crossed as she continued to follow him.
"Don't even. You say soon, but you mean like what? 20 years?" Her left eyebrow rose to prominence, towards her other one as she disbelieved his words.
"It seems you are getting used to me, good, but I meant 18 years actually." He answered with a lingering chuckle, not something he would pay too much mind to.
Marching on, they enter a bar in midday, not even afternoon.
As to expect the place was empty except for one seat, wearing a green hat, a bonnet, a green short-sleeved jacket over a grey shirt, and green shorts, in an overall unkempt look that would make most homeless look at him sideways.
The atmosphere was calm, and the place had a certain way to it, covered in a mix of black, gold, and red, the decor was flashy, almost fancy, with a touch of smooth jazz playing in the background just loud enough to set the mood.
Before anything could be said by the newcomers though, the barman came wearing a grey vest, over a white shirt and suit pants, he was a pretty thin guy, with a decent physique, nothing too bad or good.
"When are you going to learn to pay for your drinks properly!? How many times do I have to throw you out?!" The barman yelled at him.
This caused the girl in pink to look at the man next to her with narrowed eyes.
At the same time, the man in the green hat began speaking.
"Please! Don't throw me out yet! One more cup, I'll pay for real this time! The other bars only have cheap stuff, you can't take away my only saving grace!" He begged with tears forming in his eyes.
"That's none of my concern! You either pay up or get lost!" The barman didn't budge.
On the sidelines, the man and the girl were still watching it unfold.
"You can't possibly be talking about that loser, right?" She asked pointing directly at the green hat man.
"Unfortunately, I am." The man sighed and then started walking towards him.
While the girl just looked back at the green-hat man in disbelief as if the very idea that someone that in her eyes was such a sorry creature off this first impression could ever be useful in a real way could not compute, but she didn't question it, simply crossing her arms, and waiting to see what happens.
"Please! Please! Please! I need this! You can't be this cruel to a man going through heartbreak! Have some empathy, even sympathy or pity are enough! Please don't do this!" The green-hat man was crying as he clung to the barman's arm over the counter with no shame whatsoever.
"No! It's your fault for not leaving after she cheated on you for the 9th time, I had empathy, and sympathy for you the first few times, but now it's just ridiculous! Pity enoug can't compensate for your insane tab! Now leave! Before I have to throw you out!" The barman yelled no faltering whatsoever, as he frowned looking at him, before he pouted his hand at him.
"No! Put that hand away! Don't do it! I can't live without this place! You'd be dooming an innocent man to death! Please! Please! Plea-" The green hat man got on his knees as he continued to beg.
"Enough! You can put your hand away, I'll cover his tab." The man wearing a black coat said as he sat on the barstool just right there, in front of the barman.
"Hmph! No, offense sir, you have no idea about the amount of credits at play here." The barman responded with a raised eyebrow and a firm tone.
Though the green hat man himself didn't move or say anything.
The black coat-man put a jet-black premium vip card on the counter.
"Just take care of it, I'll be having a drink with him uninterrupted." He said.
This caused the barman to pick up the card, and then get a the card reader, and upon entering the price, he said. "It's 1,063,177 credits. Are you sure about this, sir?"
"… Really?!… You let it get that bad?" The black coat man was shocked his eyes widening, before he coughed. "Ahem! Go ahead." Pushing through the surprise he replied.
Nodding the barman pressed the card with a neutral expression, and then extended the machine to the man so the code to be inserted, only for it to go through right in his hand.
"What?!" The barman had to double take the card, reader, before giving the man his card back and saying, "I need to excuse myself to make a quick call, thank you."
"What?!… I mean, dear friend! Thank you! Thank you so much! It's great to see you around, I didn't think you were this well off, what brings such a wealthy man to my rescue!" The green hat man stayed on the ground but was now kneeling to him instead of the barman.
"Hob, you're a man aware of things, so tell me about what's going on today." The black coat man said.
"Oh, yes! Sir! Yes! That. Today is only the prelude. The real problem starts in 15 years." The Green hat man responded still on the ground refusing to get up.
Then the barman came back. "Thank you very much! Dear patron, I'll be serving you two, and then give you the much needed space."
After that, they both got drinks and were left to talk, so the black coat man took Hob to sit with him at a table at the end of the bar.
While that was happening the girl stayed closer to the barman, and finding herself bored she turned to him.
"Would you look at that? You're okayish for a loser. Not bad, not bad." She nodded to her own words.
Not knowing how to react the barman simply laughed at everything she said, nodding or shaking his head, nothing more.
Back at the end of the bar, at least a back-and-forth was actually happening.
"You had quite the debt, I won't even ask how you're not in jail yet, just tell me how many anomalies." The black coat-man asked.
"My apologies sir! I am too troublesome! So allow me to answer, there will be many, and though unfortunately I can't give a real number. I'm sorry sir, anomalies allude me, so I can't pinpoint them, but I can tell you, that 4 of them will be worse than all the rest. Things will change drastically." Hob bowing time and time again as he spoke, before he drank from the bottle directly.
"That doesn't help, but I'm only interested in one of them. The worst one." The black coat man replied.
"Sir? Are you talking about her?" Hob asked.
"Her?… No, I don't know who you're referring to." The black coat man shook his head.
"I see, sir. Then it's not the worst... Well, I guess that's a matter of perspective, just know you should wait, don't act until 15 years from now." Hob responded.
"Understood. You can keep the bottle, I'm not much of a drinker anyway." He got up and went back to the girl who had been watching them the whole time.
"That was a bunch of nonsense, all this to get told to sit and wait? Why would you even listen to him?! He's pathetic!" She complained.
"That might be true, but he knows what he's talking about. Let's go, it seems it's not our time yet." The black coat man said as he began walking out of there.
The barman thanked him again as he did, while the girl followed him.
"Such a bummer, I wanted to meet him." She said with a pout.
"There's not much to meet yet. The time will come." The black coat-man said to her.
"You wasted our time, and you said 18 years, but that guy said 15, and why wait at all, just kill him now! It's easier that way, for both of us." She complained seeming rather stressed.
"That would go against our goal, if we did that, we'd end up dead as well. Plus, you can't solve everything by killing someone. That's a bad habit." The black-coat man expressed raising an eyebrow at her words.
"What can I say? It worked for me so far. We should strike while this world is still weak, in the phase of transition. Once people start properly awakening their P-core it will be a pain." The girl rubbed her temple just thinking about it.
"It's part of the job. If it was easy anyone else could have done it. I just wanted to have the timeframe we have before this transition happens fully, it's 3 years sooner than I thought, this world adapts fast." The black coat-man replied with a small smile as he looked at the things around them, while he spoke.
"That's still way too long… Whatever if we're waiting that long, I'll add some dolls to my collection while I'm here." She smiled as a he thought crossed her mind.
"The way you dress and look don't suit such a preserve mind." The black-coat man shook his head.
"Hmph! I'm adorable! Your hate can't change that, now let's go. This place got a bit more tolerable now that I have something to do." She stared moving faster, her smile widening while he just followed behind.
"You reincarnate today… So, enjoy your peaceful life while your time will run out, just wait." He murmured to himself before focusing on keeping an eye on the girl.
Those two walked off disappearing into the crowd of people in the streets.
___________________________________________
At the same time, in a mansion in one of the many rooms of the place, decorated in blues, silver, and white, there was a cradle being watched by various maids at all times.
In the cradle, there was a baby, and his purple eyes opened, as the world around him was taken in, and something became clear.
It was too bright.
Like a flashbang had been thrown at him, a meeting between his eye receptors and the light particles gave him an experience he was not fond of it, forcing him to close them back.
(I'm in a new world… I'm a baby again!) His senses were overwhelmed which caused him to close his eyes and take a breath in.
It took some time to adjust and even then, he was not quite fine yet, but he was adjusting.
Now able to open his eyes to witness the room.
(System?) He thought in his mind, calling out to it.
[Welcome again to the Totaility Dominator System, Candidate.
You have successfully passed to a new life in a new world.]
[Quest#1]
[A baby's plea.
Description: Start leaving your mark early.
1. Objective: Get breastfeeding within 2 hours.
2. Objective: Learn to crawl in a day.
3. Objective: Learn to walk in 3 weeks
4. Objective: Become the favorite child within 3 months.
5. Objective: Learn to talk fluently in 6 months.
Rewards: Prime Baby(Title-), Universal Pacifier(Item-), 1 level up, and 10 credits
Failure conditions: Fail to meant 3 or more objectives.
Punishment: None.]
After reading through it, he sighed internally.
(A quest… I guess the Patrons don't intend to just let me be. Oh well, I'll get it done then.) He decides in his mind as he nods internally.
At that time, the maids at the door and around the room gave way, as a man came in, and he looked tired and had a serious expression, he was clad in a blue suit, and walked up to the cradle before looking down.
He had purple hair, and pink eyes, which stood out withhis dark skin, as he looked down with an almost heartless cold look.
That however passed quickly as he melted into a smile before saying.
"Good morning, young one. It seems my daughter truly is special to bring you to this world. She decided to call you, Lucidus, Lucidus Noesis Erosis…" He said with a wide smile, looking at him.
(Lucidus? Lucidus Noesis Erosis? That's my name? A bit of a mouthful, but it sounds cool… I like it. This life might shape up to be something amazing.) Lucidus thought to himself with a smile.
There was a pause as the two observed each other,
(Hmmm… He looks so young… Is he really my grandfather?) Lucidus wondered.
Meanwhile at the same time.
"I wonder… Should we sell you?" The man said asking himself as he gave this baby a good look.