Samuel's POV:
I woke up before dawn.
The sun hadn't even committed to rising yet—it was still flirting with the edge of the horizon like it wasn't sure it wanted to be part of today.
But I was already on my feet.
I padded out of the bedroom quietly, careful not to wake Dad—William, technically, but… no. He's Dad. Definitely Dad.
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and made my way to the kitchen. My legs were short. The floor felt cold. The counter loomed above me like a mountain made of poor interior design choices. But I was determined.
Muscle memory? Experience? Instinct?
Whatever it was, my tiny hands moved on their own. I dragged a chair to the counter. Climbed it. Opened a cabinet.
Bread. Step one, complete.
I dropped a few slices into the toaster and pressed it down. The satisfying click almost made me tear up.
I used to do this every morning… back when I was someone else. Someone older. Stronger. Someone who didn't need to balance on a chair like a wobbly acrobat just to reach the butter knife.
The toast popped up.
I nearly fell off the chair in surprise.
Stupid toaster. Still terrifying.
I slathered on a thin layer of butter and honey. Burned my hand slightly on the hot toast. Bit my lip so I wouldn't yelp and wake Dad. And finally—breakfast was ready.
Sort of.
I jumped down, nearly twisted my ankle, and carried the plate slowly to the small table. Set it down like it was made of crystal.
Then I sat there in silence. Swinging my legs.
Waiting.
Thinking.
What happened to me?
I remember the glow. The light. The power that surged through me like lightning made of memory.
And then... his voice. Daniel's voice.
And now… now I was him. Or he was me. Or we were… us?
Ugh. Identity crises should not happen before kindergarten.
I heard the bedroom door creak open.
William shuffled out, hair a mess, eyes squinting. He looked like a man who lost a fight with his pillow.
He sniffed.
"Is… is that toast?"
I grinned and held up a slice. "With honey."
He stared at me. "You made breakfast?"
"I used a chair. Don't worry, the kitchen didn't explode."
He blinked at me.
I blinked back.
Then he sat down, slowly, as if his legs didn't trust what his eyes were seeing.
"You're two," he said.
I shrugged. "Chronologically, yes."
He took a bite of the toast. Then another. Then let out a long sigh, like the universe briefly made sense again.
"This is… really good."
"I remember being a general of the Flame Battalion in my past life. Toast is slightly easier."
He paused. Mid-bite. "Did you just say battalion?"
I nodded. "Also, we need to talk about monsters. And potential government attention. And possibly training me before I accidentally level an apartment building with a sneeze."
He dropped the toast.
I smiled.
"Welcome to your new life, Dad. Hope you like chaos with a side of breakfast."
Knock knock knock.
We both froze.
William looked at me, eyes wide, mid-chew. "Did you… invite someone?"
I raised an eyebrow. "I'm two, remember? My social circle is literally you and that one stuffed bear missing an ear."
Knock knock knock.
This time louder. More urgent.
William stood up slowly, wiping his hands on his pants, and carefully approached the door. He peered through the peephole.
No one.
He opened the door cautiously—just a few inches. The hallway outside was empty, quiet, the kind of stillness that made your spine itch.
And then—
Thud.
A large envelope dropped from above the doorframe and landed at William's feet.
He flinched. "Okay… definitely not the electric bill."
He picked it up, turned it over in his hands. No return address. Sealed with a blood-red wax stamp. The emblem was... odd. Like a spiral of claws surrounding a single star.
"Is that a… claw pentagram?" I asked, squinting.
William gave me a look. "You should not know what that is."
"I know a lot of things I shouldn't. Trust me, I wish I didn't."
He opened the envelope carefully, pulling out a thick sheet of parchment.
His eyes scanned the letter.
Then widened.
Then narrowed.
Then he just… sat down on the floor like gravity got heavier.
I tilted my head. "Well? What is it?"
He read aloud in a shaky voice:
> To the one who holds the power of the Lost King of Destruction—
We know what you swallowed.
We felt the pulse.
You are no longer safe.
He is waking up.
Sincerely,
The Remnant Order
I stared at him.
He stared at me.
Then I slowly reached for my toast and took a bite.
"Well," I said with a mouthful, "that escalated quickly."
William's POV:
I read the letter again.
And again.
And again.
The words didn't change.
"We know what you swallowed. We felt the pulse. You are no longer safe."
Pulse?
Swallowed?
I looked over at Samuel, who was now sitting on the couch, legs too short to reach the floor, calmly eating another slice of toast like it wasn't him who blew up a monster with light magic yesterday and possibly swallowed the most dangerous relic in the world.
"You're really calm about all this," I muttered.
Samuel shrugged with that same weird, too-wise-for-a-two-year-old expression. "I've fought worse things than shadow gremlins and secret cults."
"…You're literally in a onesie."
He raised his cup of milk like a wineglass. "Cheers to my regression."
I sighed and grabbed my phone. Old, cracked, barely functioning—but it still had one precious thing left: contacts from before the world went to hell.
I scrolled. Most were dead. Others had gone off-grid. But one name stood out.
Rei.
Isabel's cousin. Once a conspiracy theorist, now an information broker with one of the largest Hunter forums in the underground.
I tapped Call.
It rang.
And rang.
"Come on, Rei…"
Click.
A groggy voice answered. "If you're not calling about an S-Rank cat monster, I'm hanging up."
"Rei, it's William."
A pause.
"…The William? Like, Samuel's-dad-William?"
"Yeah."
"Holy crap, man. I thought you died! What's up? Need money? Advice? A sandwich?"
I exhaled. "Info. I just got a letter—sealed with red wax, no return address—signed by something called The Remnant Order. Ever heard of it?"
Silence.
A beat.
Then Rei said, serious now, "You need to come to my place. Tonight. Don't talk to anyone. Don't post anything. Don't even breathe suspiciously. Just… come. And bring the kid."
Click.
The call ended.
I stood frozen with the dead phone pressed to my ear.
"Dad?" Samuel called out, already pulling a hoodie over his tiny head.
"Yeah, bud?"
He gave me a flat look. "We running from a cult?"
I exhaled through my nose and nodded. "Yup."
He raised his milk cup again. "Cheers."
I was shoving essentials into a worn-out backpack like my life depended on it—because it probably did.
Clothes for Samuel. A few snacks. An old flashlight. A bent charger. My emergency $20. The baby wipes I forgot we had but thanked every divine being for. A tiny stuffed lion Isabel had bought when we found out she was pregnant—it still smelled like her perfume, faint but there.
Samuel peeked into the bag, inspecting my work like a tiny supervisor.
"You forgot the juice boxes," he said, unimpressed.
"Right. Priorities."
He helped me shove them in, arms struggling with the tiny plastic pouch.
I paused.
My hands were shaking.
It was all happening too fast. One moment, I was just a tired, broke dad with an overactive imagination. Now I was packing like the world might collapse again.
The Remnant Order… what the hell kind of name is that?
I looked at Samuel.
He was humming.
Calm. Focused.
Like he'd done this before.
Like he wasn't two.
"You okay?" I asked, quietly.
He nodded. "Yeah. But you're not. You need to breathe slower."
I almost laughed—but he was right.
"Thanks," I said, zipping the bag. "Okay, bud. We're going on a little trip."
He threw on his tiny shoes, still gripping his sippy cup like a weapon. "Adventure time?"
I smiled despite myself. "Adventure time."
Later that night...
Rei's "place" turned out to be an underground bunker disguised as a ramen shop. Classic Rei.
We stood in front of the faded sign: "RAMEN-KO: Best Noodles Since the World Ended!"
"Subtle," I muttered.
Samuel squinted at the window. "Do they really have ramen though?"
I opened the door. A jingle rang out. The lights flickered. No customers. Just the scent of miso and the hum of old tech beneath the walls.
A man appeared from the back, in a lab coat over pajamas, with goggles on his forehead and seaweed in his hair.
Rei.
"Will!" he greeted, arms wide. "You brought the baby!"
Samuel held up a hand. "I am not a baby."
Rei blinked.
"Oh… oh crap. He already activated?"
"Yeah," I muttered. "He blew up a monster and started quoting ancient combat techniques."
Rei's eyes gleamed. "Awesome."
Samuel crossed his arms. "Also terrifying. I'm having an existential crisis, thank you very much."
Rei led us to the back. Down metal stairs. Past flickering monitors. Into the real bunker.
He pulled up a holographic map.
"You need to hear this," he said. "The Remnant Order… they're not just a cult. They're survivors. Of Daniel's dimension. And they think that pill your son ate? It's not just power."
He turned to me.
"It's Daniel."
Rei's eyes locked with mine. "It's Daniel. Or, at least… everything that was left of him."
My brain short-circuited.
"You're saying my son… my two-year-old… is now a reincarnated interdimensional war hero?"
Samuel squinted at Rei. "Reincarnated? No. Rebooted, maybe. Fragmented, definitely. But I'm still me. Kind of. I think. I don't remember dying though, so... maybe?"
Rei ran a scan over Samuel with a glowing, humming device that looked suspiciously like a hot glue gun. Lights blinked. Charts spun. Data scrolled too fast for me to understand.
Rei whistled.
"You're not just hosting Daniel's powers," he said, awe creeping into his voice. "You're carrying his consciousness. Like... like a backup drive that finally booted up."
Samuel looked down at his small hands. "So I was Daniel? And now I'm... Samuel?"
"Pretty much," Rei confirmed. "Two souls, one baby body. Lucky us."
My knees buckled, and I sat down hard on Rei's creaky couch. "This is too much."
Samuel climbed onto the couch beside me and patted my arm with all the grace of a tiny war general.
"It's okay, Dad. I may have universe-shattering powers and a whole extra lifetime's worth of trauma in my head, but I still like jelly sandwiches."
I stared at him. "That's… really not as comforting as you think."
Rei pulled up more holographic projections. "Listen—this changes everything. If Daniel's powers are truly restored in Samuel, then the Order's gonna come for him. And not just them. Every greedy guild, fallen nation, and warlord wannabe left on this cratered planet will want a piece of him."
I looked at Rei, then at Samuel—who had just discovered a light-up button on Rei's tech table and was now smashing it gleefully.
"So what do we do?"
Rei's eyes darkened. "We hide. We train. And we pray he doesn't accidentally vaporize a city block the next time he sneezes."
Samuel sneezed.
The lights flickered.
We all froze.
"…sorry," he mumbled.
Samuel's POV:
I suddenly felt the urge to train harder… like I used to?
Rei's place wasn't big—just a run-down apartment above a half-collapsed dojo and an abandoned bakery. But somehow, the air here felt right. Familiar. I didn't remember the furniture, or the stained ceiling tiles, or the faint scent of burnt toast—but something in my bones did.
"I need to move," I muttered.
Rei, still hunched over his glowing data screens, didn't look up. "There's a training room downstairs. You'll need access codes. And don't vaporize the punching bag."
I didn't wait. My tiny legs wobbled a bit going down the stairs, but I kept going, each step more stable than the last. The basement smelled like sweat, rusted metal, and... something nostalgic. The walls were reinforced with old-world alloys, scratched and dented from who-knows-what. I spotted a weight bench, some mats, a few dummies, and an old practice blade that called to me like an old friend.
I picked it up. Too big for this body—but my grip was natural. Familiar.
I took a deep breath and swung.
The dummy's head flew off and hit the far wall with a dull thud.
"…huh."
Footsteps behind me. Dad had followed.
"You okay, buddy?"
I turned to him and smiled, sheepish. "Guess I remember more than I thought."
He looked overwhelmed but proud. "Just don't stab anything important."
"I won't," I said. Then paused. "Wait. Are kidneys important?"
"Samuel—"
"I'm kidding! Sort of."
Rei called from upstairs, "You've got about three minutes before your body tires out. Baby muscles, remember?"
I rolled my eyes but nodded. "Then I better make every second count."
I grabbed a wooden sword—it was really just a tree branch I'd picked up somewhere, rough and uneven, but it felt right in my hand.
I closed my eyes.
Imagined it. The weight. The edge. The hum of real steel—no, mana-infused steel. The kind I'd used in another life.
Suddenly, I felt it. That warm buzz beneath my skin. Energy—mana, as they called it here—flowing like a second bloodstream. My fingers tingled. My eyes snapped open.
And then...
I moved.
My feet glided across the dusty floor, too fast for a toddler. I twisted my body and swung—
WHOOSH—KRAK!
The wall groaned.
The ceiling cracked.
The entire training room split clean in half.
Dust rained down. Pipes hissed. Something sparked in the corner.
I blinked, lowering the branch-sword. "Oopsie~!"
I turned around with the biggest grin and looked up at Rei.
He stood frozen in the doorway, mouth half open, holding a can of what I hope was soda.
"…You cut the basement."
I shrugged, still grinning. "I imagined it really hard."
William rushed down behind him, eyes wide. "Samuel?! What the—"
"I didn't mean to," I said, trying to look innocent. "I just visualized. Manifested. Focused on the edge. Channeled my inner warrior instincts—"
"YOU'RE TWO!"
Rei sighed and rubbed his temples. "We're gonna need stronger walls."
I raised my stick-sword again. "Or I just need a bigger training room!"
Still gripping my stick-sword, I turned to Rei, genuinely curious. "Hey, how did you become a Hunter?"
Rei, still dusting off ceiling debris from his jacket, raised an eyebrow. "Why? Thinking of enrolling?"
I smirked. "I heard it from Dada… that you went to school like a kid, then spent two years hoping luck was on your side to pass the Hunter Exam. Wrong?"
Rei snorted. "Half wrong."
I tilted my head. "Which half?"
He crossed his arms and leaned against the half-destroyed wall. "I did go to school—barely survived the cafeteria, to be honest. But luck? Nah. Luck doesn't get you through monsters that breathe acid and nightmares. You pass because you're ready to die trying… or too stubborn to quit."
I blinked. "So... mostly stubborn?"
He chuckled. "That's one way to put it."
I thought for a second, watching a loose brick fall from the shattered ceiling. "I see. That means... I'd pass in one try."
Rei almost choked. "You're two."
"Exactly," I said with a proud nod. "Plenty of time to train."
Dad groaned from behind me, already regretting all his life choices that led to this moment.
I plopped onto the floor with a tiny huff, legs crossed, sword-stick still resting on my shoulder. "But I feel like I wanna fight monsters already! Can I get a Hunter registration?"
Rei blinked at me. "...You're literally wearing dinosaur pajamas."
I ignored him.
"I heard just being an F-rank Hunter earns you a million dollars every month," I continued, puffing out my chest a bit. "I can help Dada with that."
William pinched the bridge of his nose, looking both horrified and proud. "Samuel—no."
I turned to him, serious now. "Don't get your hopes up, Dada. I'm not doing this for the money."
He blinked. "You just said—"
"I'm just trying to make myself more powerful," I interrupted, pointing dramatically toward the cracked ceiling. "To pwotekdisworld... again."
There was a long pause.
Rei opened his mouth, then closed it. Then finally muttered, "Okay, that was kind of epic."
I nodded solemnly. "It was meant to be."
I turned to Rei with the most lethal weapon in my arsenal—puppy doll eyes. Big, watery, shimmering. "You agree?" I asked, tilting my head just a little for max impact. I love using this body.
Rei froze like he just got paralyzed by cuteness magic. His mouth opened... then shut... then opened again like a confused fish.
"I need a registration to be a Hunter," I pressed, voice all innocence and ambition. "So… I'm going to school, right? I'm two, and it takes two years there, so that makes me four to go to the Hunter Exam. Wrong?"
I leaned forward, grinning at him. "That makes me five years old to be an official Hunter."
Rei just blinked at me. Slowly.
William, who was washing a chipped mug in the corner, muttered, "I'm going to have a heart attack before he turns three…"
Rei finally snapped out of it. "Okay, first of all, this entire conversation is illegal. Second… What are you, some kind of overpowered toddler anime protagonist?"
I smirked. "Maybe."
Rei ran both hands down his face. "The world isn't ready."
I crossed my arms and pouted, lips jutted out just enough for dramatic flair. "The world isn't ready to begin with."
Rei raised an eyebrow, but I wasn't done.
"What about ten years ago?" I said, voice dropping just slightly. "When none of you could defeat the monster. You guys kept relying on me… until I was dead."
The air shifted.
Rei's smirk faded, replaced with a quiet stare.
William slowly turned to look at me, the mug slipping lower in his hand.
I sighed and looked down, picking at a thread on my pajama sleeve. "I'm not blaming you guys… not really. But I just—I remember. I remember everything. And it kinda hurts, you know? To come back like this. Tiny and useless-looking. But I want to fight. I need to."
For a moment, no one said anything.
Then Rei walked over, crouched down to my eye level, and rested a hand gently on my head.
"You're not useless," he said. "You're just… small with an existentially terrifying memory bank."
I cracked a smile.
William let out a shaky breath. "You're still my son. No matter what past life you had. And this time… you won't be fighting alone."
I snorted and pointed at Dada dramatically. "Or what? You fight?"
William blinked, clearly not expecting the roast.
"You barely breathed at the park when the monster approached us," I said, arms flailing for emphasis. "You were dying there. I thought you'd faint like one of those old goats."
Rei turned his head away to stifle a laugh.
William just looked at me like I'd betrayed him to the enemy. "Excuse me for not being battle-ready while holding my glowing toddler."
I stood tall—or well, as tall as a two-year-old could get—and put my hands on my hips. "That's why I've decided. I'm going to the Hunter school."
Rei raised both eyebrows. "You know you need to apply, pass an aptitude test, get a sponsor—"
I grinned at him. "You're looking at your own sponsor."
Rei looked back at William.
William threw his arms up. "Don't look at me. This kid's been possessed by a war god."
I puffed up proudly. "Correction. The war god."
I tilted my head and blinked up at Rei, all wide eyes and fake innocence. "What's an aptitude test? Is that a test to prove your worth?"
Rei hesitated. "Uh… basically, yeah. To see if you're strong enough—or have enough potential—to even train as a Hunter."
I nodded thoughtfully. Then added, in the most serene tone I could manage, "Should I destroy this city instead?"
Rei choked on his own breath. "What?"
William spit out his drink. "Samuel!"
I shrugged. "I mean, I could! That would prove something, right?"
Rei stood frozen, clearly unsure whether I was joking or actually planning world-level annihilation. Honestly? I wasn't even sure myself. Depends on how breakfast tasted.
"Let's… not destroy any cities," Rei said carefully. "That tends to make people nervous."
I blinked innocently. "Okay~ But only because I like the food here."
William groaned and rubbed his temples. "We're all going to die."
I grinned at him. "Nah. Not while I'm here."
The next day, I walked into a school meant for adults only. The sign outside said "25+" for the sake of minor safety, but apparently, no one told them about me.
I wasn't alone, though. Rei was with me, looking like he was regretting every decision he'd made in the last 24 hours. William, bless his heart, stayed home, probably trying to pretend the world wasn't ending.
As soon as we entered, I felt it. The vibe. Big, strong people walking around, all with that tough Hunter aura. You could tell they'd been through some serious battles.
Rei rubbed the back of his neck. "This… this is a bad idea. You're way too young."
I grinned up at him. "Too young? I'm practically a veteran in this whole 'saving the world' thing."
I took a step forward, hands on my hips. There was a gigantic sign overhead that read, "Hunter Academy: For Those Who Will Challenge the Odds." I was already imagining how I'd carve my name into that legacy.
Just then, a towering man in a teacher's uniform approached us. His muscles were absurd, like if you could make a bodybuilder out of a brick wall. "What's the kid doing here?" He scowled.
Rei cleared his throat nervously. "He's, uh, applying."
The teacher gave me a skeptical look. "Applying? What's he gonna do, cry for his mom if a monster tries to eat him?"
I tilted my head innocently, giving my best wide-eyed, who me? expression. "Nope! I'll just destroy the monster instead."
The teacher froze. Rei blinked. There was a moment of pure, awkward silence before the teacher's face broke into an enormous grin.
"Alright, kid. Follow me."
I looked up at the giant man—who, by the way, looked like a sentient protein shake with arms—and gave him my most innocent smile… right before switching to my deepest, most condescending voice.
"You sure you're a teacher and not just the school's failed refrigerator project?"
Rei froze beside me. The man blinked. Twice.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I added, casually dusting off my borrowed hoodie. "Did I offend your carefully stacked abs? My bad. I thought we were judging people by their intelligence, not by how many cows you bench press before breakfast."
Gasps echoed from a couple of bystanders. One dude actually dropped his protein shake.
The teacher—still towering over me, still probably capable of throwing a small truck—leaned down with a grin that said "you're dead, kid." I stood my ground. Mostly because I wasn't scared. Also because I could barely see over the desk beside me and moving would be awkward.
"You got guts, shrimp," he said, voice low and gravelly. "You might not have height, but you've definitely got mouth."
"And soon I'll have a Hunter license," I shot back, folding my arms proudly. "So if you're done flexing for the mirror, can we move on to the part where I save the world again?"
The room went silent.
Rei facepalmed so hard I heard it echo.
"…He's gonna get us banned," he muttered under his breath.
The teacher chuckled. "Alright, little man. You want chaos? I'll give you chaos. Follow me to the aptitude room. Let's see what you're made of."
I smirked. "Lead the way, Protein Dad."
The teacher froze mid-step.
I grinned sweetly, then tilted my head like the purest cherub in existence.
"Oh, and by the way…" I said, my voice slipping back to its innocent, sing-song tone, "I'm two."
Dead. Silence.
The clipboard in the assistant's hand slipped to the floor with a soft clack.
Rei groaned audibly, muttering something that sounded a lot like, "Why is my life like this…"
I just kept smiling as the teacher slowly turned his head, eyes wide and twitching.
"Tooooo," I repeated, holding up two fingers proudly like a peace sign.
Fade to black.
End of Chapter 3.