'Am I... dead?'
James tried to jolt and sit but could not feel anything.
Neither pain nor numbness, just... nothing.
'So I am really dead huh.'
James finally accepted.
'But if I am dead then why can I think? I can think clearly and... the slight fear I was feeling is no more.' James wondered.
'Wait is this what afterlife is like? But this is neither peaceful nor painful, it is just... empty.'
James concluded as he tried to stop his thoughts and go to sleep.
'But wait is this how it is going to be forever!? Am I to live in this void forever!?' James dreaded.
'NO! This must be something else. This can not be what death is like! Yeah, maybe my brain is not completely dead yet, rigor mortis or something, yeah that must be it!' James hoped.
Disrupting his thoughts, James felt a touch on his shin.
'Huh?'
The touch turned into a grasp and then James found his body being pulled by the clutch.
After a moment Karl became even more dumbfounded as he felt like he teleported from a hot spring into the antarctica.
'What is this? Am I going to hell? But isn't hell supposed to be hot?'
James paused his curiosity as he suddenly started to hear some noises.
"@#&*$"
"#*$&"
"@@###@!!"
"#*$%#"
The voice sounded human but Karl was not able to understand the language.
'Huh? I do not remember there being a language with such words?
As he was racking his brains to understand what is going on, he felt something again.
It was not the touches he had been feeling on different parts of his body. It was something far more important...
James saw light.
His eyes were closed but the darkness he had always seen was not the same.
A small change but that change made James focus on whatever light was passing through his closed eyelids.
As James blankly looked at the light, he felt a touch on his eyelids and the next moment-
A torrent of colors entered his eyes, overwhelming him.
He felt pain in his eyes but it lasted only for a second as the one holding his eyelids up, let go, making James eyes closed once again as he found himself in the darkness, still with a tint of light.
It took him around a minute to break out of the daze and as he did, he understood a very basic fact.
'I am able to see.'
The next thing he did was to control his eyelids, which felt very heavy for some reason, as he tried to open them again.
His eyes kept fluttering for a minute before the pain in his eyes went away and as he was able to clearly see around him for the first time, the scene was not what he had imagined all his life.
The first thing he saw was a man with white hairs.
James did not know what are considered good looks and if he did, the surprise he had felt would have increased more.
The man was stunningly handsome, his muscles chiseled to perfection, his body emitting a aura that demanded respect.
The man's white eyes shone with emotions as he was looking at James.
James view changed the next minute as the man's face started getting farther.
His body turned and he was now face to face of a beautiful woman with porcelain skin and black hairs that seemed to shine and her black eyes brimming with wisdom was looking at him with worry yet her face showed a soft smile.
The smile seemed to stir something inside James as he felt at ease and was finally able to think.
The first thing James noticed was... his small stature.
'They look giant.' James stopped his thoughts as his mind raced through loads of assumption and he reached the most likely one in an instant.
'They are not giants, I am the one who has become smaller! I reincarnated!' James exclaimed excitedly, his childish mouth letting out cute giggles.
The woman holding him heaved a sigh of relief as her eyes displayed unbound joy at James' giggle.
As she tightened her embrace on James, he felt all the curiosity and worries leave altogether as his mind drifted to peace, falling asleep.
***
James laid beside his new mother just been breastfed for the first time in this new life.
His mind did try to start thinking with the mind of a 28 year old virgin he died as, but as fast did his conscience pull it back preventing him from having any thoughts that he would have regretted all his new life.
But right now he was actually excited like a little kid.
'I can not believe I reincarnated! And I am completely healthy and fit and not blind!
To top it off, my family seem to be really well of!' James exclaimed as he kept looking around.
'Such a big room and so many servants!
But looking around, this world is not earth or as advanced. This seems more like a world from medieval era if I have to guess.'
Karl guessed as he looked at the woman in maid's dressing as if straight out from a fantasy novel.
'Well what does it matter, I got a nice and loving family, a healthy body and KNOWLEDGE!' James fisted the air in excitement.
As James was feeling all excited like an actual kid, his mother was just smiling at his antics but the next moment she turned her head and looked towards the door as a white haired man entered the room.
'Oh my new father!' James looked at the man with shining eyes as he started a conversation with his mother, not a part of which was understood by James.
As the talk ended, the woman lifted James and handed him to his new father after planting a kiss on James forehead.
'What now?'
James tilted his head not understanding the change in his new mother's vibe but his thoughts were cut short as his father started walking out of the room.
'Oh am I finally going ou-' James paused as he looked at the huge hallway looking endless yet filled with gems and shiny ornaments hanging on the walls as decoration.
'If this was earth...' James thought as his mind automatically started to calculate an approximate value for all the shiny gems and beautiful paintings hanging around.
'So this is art.' James stared at all the paintings he passed by, admiring their beauty and depth.
'I now get why people were all about luxury and stuff. Even I want to hoard all these shiny gems.'
As James enjoyed the view all around, his eyes fell on a window but all he could see from his angle was the blue sky but even that was enough to make James more excited.
'Is that sky! I want to see more!'
The next moment James started to frantically shake his arms, pointing them towards the window.
"@%#@"
His father smiled at his excitement and walked towards the window saying something which James was too excited to hear, not that he could understand it if he did.
'....'
As James looked around he became too overwhelmed by the majestic sight he was seeing.
The surroundings were far grander than as he had imagined after reading the history of royalty.
It was as if the world came straight out of a novel.
Garden filled with greenery and flowers stretched as far as eyes could see, with huge bungalows visible at distance, making the view more grandiose.
Lots of servants, both male and female, bowed in respect the moment their eyes fell on James and the man holding him.
'Maids and butlers and this beauty, this is surely a world from middle ages.'
James gazed hard at the view trying to etch it in his mind but was interrupted as his father continued to walk forward.
'This is my new home so I will see this sight to my heart's content. No need to worry.' James consoled himself as he continued looking at the paintings and gems all around.
It did not take long before the hallway opened up into a huge room which was clearly a guest room as there was a sofa and table at the center.
But James, once again started looking all around.
The decoration in the room was soft yet was as attention grabbing as it could possibly be.
James attention was diverted as he looked at a man sitting on the sofa.
The man's white skin was wrinkled due to old age but still retained a youthful glow. He was wearing a pure white cloak which paired with his blonde hairs made him look like very... priestly.
'Is he a priest? Certainly fits the description of-' James ceased his thoughts, his eyes widening in surprise as they fell on the logo at the man's cloak, his mind remembering a certain description from a certain novel.
'That certainly looks like that symbol... Nah what am I thinking.' James erased the thought he was having and continued to look around as his father and the man engaged in a conversation.
As a few minutes passed, the conversation stopped as the man extended his hands towards James and the next moment, James body was covered in golden light.
'Huh'
James' streak of surprises and shocks continued as only one word echoed through his mind as he was blinded by the bright light.
'Magic'
That was all James could think even after the light subsided.
His father talked with the priest for a few more minutes before he turned back and started walking back to the way he had come from, wearing a happy smile.
James once again was met with the same view but this time he ignored it all as his thoughts still kept revolving around the 'magic' he had just witnessed.
His mind was out of the daze as he entered back in the room where his mother was.
His father handed James back to his mother as he happily snugged in his mother's embrace.
They again started talking, sounding gibberish to James' ears as they suddenly went silent.
As James looked around, wondering the reason for the sudden silence, he saw his mother looking at his father, her expression filled with excitement.
James also became curious after seeing her mother's expression and also turned to look at his father who had his eyes closed with a serious expression.
Time ticked, silence filling the surroundings as James' father finally opened his eyes and with a bright smile he spoke-
"Karl."
His words understandable to James, made his mind go numb.
'Karl' James repeated blankly as his mind thought of a certain possibility.