Chapter 16: Another Morning In Another World
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Morning sunlight filtered through the window of a fancifully spread room, drawing a golden line over silk sheets and the wide bed. A woman lay asleep, exhaustion softening her features from bringing a child into this world. Her one arm wrapped protectively around her baby, who was curled against her.
She had no idea the baby she held so tenderly was in fact not a normal baby at all. She did not know that he was Perseus Silba Jackson, once a demigod from a different dimension who had caused terror to his pantheon in his previous life. Now, in this world, he was her baby boy she had named him Dai Yuhao.
The morning light landed on Percy's face, rousing him from his sleep. "Mm…" He stirred, eyes squinting in annoyance. "Why do I feel so tired?"
Because of the sunlight, his eyesight was blurry, so he needed a second to adjust.
He blinked a few times, waiting for his vision to clear. It did in no time—only for his eyes to be met with an unfamiliar ceiling painted with a white tiger whose eyes were two different colors. 'By—Byakko...?' He wondered, then looked at the rest of the mural.
The mural was painted with many clouds, some that wrapped around the white tiger. But there were also paintings of other animals too, none of them he recognized.
Percy lifted his hands. Only to be met with disappointment when he saw that they were tiny.
He stared with a deadpan expression. 'Oh, right. I'm a baby now.' He grumbled, recalling what happened yesterday.
It was humiliating. Not long ago, he could lift mountains, split the skies, and drown entire armies like it was nothing. He made deities shit themselves just with his presence alone, but now here he was, a literal infant. He couldn't even lift his own head properly, let alone wipe his own ass. He had never felt so pathetic in his life.
'If Grandfather saw this, he'd never let me live it down.' He groaned some more, wishing someone would put him out of his misery right this moment.
Truly. How the mighty have fallen.
He exhaled sharply and turned his head. The brown-haired woman beside him shifted slightly in her sleep, her hand resting on his tiny body as if guarding him. This was his mother in this world.
Seeing this, an unexplainable sense of relief washed over him as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. At the same time, he felt very guilty.
'This is just too cruel.' He thought bitterly but didn't dare move his head away from that hand. He just couldn't help it. After so many years in the Dimensional Gap, the last thing he wanted was to stay away from this warmth.
This whole situation was messed up. He didn't even know where to start. The Dimensional Gap he could understand. That was a realm not that much different than Chaos, where he forged his divine weapon. He was more used to that than his current circumstance, but this was different. This was rebirth.
He wasn't clueless to the idea. He had extensive knowledge of the afterlife realms like the Underworld, Helheim, Jigoku, etc. Usually what happens is that a soul would lose all memory from the time they were alive by drinking from the river Lethe or something along those lines before getting reborn in a new life.
So why was he still the same? Why did he keep his memories? That was the part that didn't add up. 'Is it because of my divine spirit?' He hummed. It made the most sense given the circumstances, but he would've known if it was.
'More importantly, where exactly was I reborn to?' Percy thought deeply, but knowing he didn't have an answer, he gave up. 'Doesn't matter.' He yawned. 'I'll figure it out eventually.'
With his body feeling more rested, he decided it was time to take stock of what he was working with. Since he had lost both his Divine power and magic, that meant he couldn't use it to scan himself like he did in the Void. The only thing he could reliably work with at the moment was his eyes and whatever limited movement his new body allowed him.
He raised his hands slowly, inspecting his body. 'So small.' He muttered, flexing one finger after another, then ran them across his face and chest. It was all so surreal... being a baby again yet having the cognitive functions of an adult. 'Still weird.'
After a bit more testing, he felt himself becoming tired again and stopped. He took a slow breath, letting the air fill his young lungs. The room still carried the scent of yesterday's incense that soothed his mind.
His thoughts then drifted to the name the brown-haired lady gave him. 'Dai Yuhao...' He sounded the name in his head.
It was Chinese. Unlike English, the surname came first, then the given name. Dai meant "to carry" or "to wear," while Yu and Hao meant "rain" and "vastness," respectively. A little poetic when he thought about it, considering he was the child of the Sea God.
The surname, however, barely rolled off the tongue. But the given name he could work with. Yuhao had a nice ring to it because of his connection to water. 'Eh, could've been worse.' He shrugged mentally. 'At least she didn't name me something ridiculous.' He counted himself lucky.
All in all, it wasn't a bad name. Still, he preferred to be called by his original name. For years he's only been called just Silba. That name plagued his life for years, and he didn't want to lose himself in a new identity. Not again.
For simplicity's sake, he'll probably ask to just be called Perseus.
"Mm..." The soft sound beside him pulled him back. His mother was beginning to wake up, her brown hair spilling over the pillow. Her eyes fluttered open and landed on him, and she smiled warmly.
When he looked back at her the same way he had yesterday, she couldn't help herself and chuckled, thinking that it was the most adorable thing in the world. "Good morning, my little Yuhao." She went to caress his little head.
His tiny body flinched. A pout tugged at his lips. 'C'mon, I'm twenty-one, lady...' The embarrassment was palpable on his face as the brown-haired woman continued to shower him with affection.
Seeing her baby like this, she only laughed softly at his expression, scooping him up in her arms. Humming, she carried him to the window and pulled the curtains wide.
Light poured in immediately. A gust of fresh air swept in, brushing past them with the scent of morning dew and fruit trees. Outside, a vibrant garden stretched far—trees heavy with fresh fruit, stone statues of tigers tucked between flower beds, and butterflies weaving through the air. Marble paths twisted through it all, with people walking the cobblestone with equipment, already setting up for the day.
Percy stared in silence, eyes wide. '...' His expression stayed blank, but his eyes spoke volumes. He truly appreciated the splendid sight.
His staring didn't go unnoticed by his mother. "You like it, don't you?" She smiled. "This is your home, Yuhao. I'll take you around someday and show you all my favorite places."
What she said made him incredibly happy to hear as he continued observing the beauty of the landscape. However, what she would say next would make him regret his life choices. "Now come on, let's get you cleaned up."
Percy blinked in horror. 'Oh no.'
On their way down the hall, they passed a tall mirror—one of those decorative types that felt more for show than function. Still, it gave him a full glimpse of himself for the first time. What he saw made him pause.
His skin wasn't pale anymore. It was clear, with a healthy glow. There was a patch of blue hair on his scalp, and his eyes were sapphire blue.
'They're blue.' He noted, narrowing them. 'But that's it. I can't see anything beyond that…' He sighed, helplessly. His power was officially gone.
The eyes are a window to the soul. This fact held especially true for supernatural beings like demigods, gods, and monsters. Through them a person can see someone's power and judge their attributes unless properly concealed.
Judging by that, he could only conclude that his power was completely erased. The Dimensional Gap ate away his divine power down to the last trace instead of his soul, allowing him to be reborn but losing his everything in the process. Talk about a hefty trade.
While he was deep in thought, his surroundings shifted. He was placed into a stone basin, wide enough for him to fit. His mother was already prepping the bath, making sure the water was neither too hot nor too cold.
By the time he was finished with his thoughts, he was being lowered into a stone basin. Warm water. Damp cloth in hand. His eyes went wide. Oh, hell no.
He didn't dawdle and immediately twisted, kicked, and flailed with all the force his tiny body could muster. 'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!'
His mother frowned, holding him steady. "Yuhao, stop struggling. I need to clean you up."
Percy froze, his eyes locked on the looming cloth like it was a weapon.
'Don't you fucking touch me!' He glared daggers at her, but his mother paid it no mind. 'I'm twenty-one. I will NOT be bathed!' He struggled in vain as the cloth was getting closer. 'No! No! No! No!'
No matter how much of a big shot he was in his past life, Perseus Silba Jackson, or Yuhao, as he was now called, was reduced to a baby being cared for by its mother. He was literally being mothered, and there was nothing he could do about it.
'NOOOOOOOO!' He cried in misery as his mother proceeded to wash him squeaky clean.
If he thought this was bad, then he was going to hate every second of his early life.
...
After his torture—bath, ended with him squeaky clean and his dignity in tatter, they returned back to their room, where he was fed. The milk he got, thankfully, was in bottle form and not directly from the source, so while it still felt demeaning, he thanked Chaos from the bottom of his heart with literal tears in his eyes.
He drank in silence, eyes focusing on the ornate room. Expensive wood, polished marble, decorations that screamed old money. Judging from the furniture, whoever his father was, the bastard clearly some big shot in high society if the architecture and expensive-looking decor or furniture were anything to go by. His family was loaded.
"Alright, that should be enough." His mother placed the bottle on the nightstand and took him to his cradle right beside her bed. "It's nap time now, Yuhao." She tapped his cheek, receiving a pout from her son, to which she giggled at.
Just then, the door creaked open as a tall, ornately dressed woman stepped inside alongside a couple of people standing right behind her. The previous warm atmosphere in the room disappeared.
The woman had dark eyes with shoulder-length hair styled in a drill-like fashion. In contrast, she was dressed in a purple and gold Victorian dress reminiscent of a noble lady.
From his crib, Percy's eyes widened in alarm. The hairs on his body stood up. He may have lost his abilities, but his instincts could tell him that this lady was dangerous.
When she walked in, her narrowed eyes scanned the room. Her black lips curled in disdain the moment they landed on his mother and him. He felt his mother's arms tense protectively around him. Looking at her, he could see that she was intimidated under the gaze of the black-haired lady. 'What's going on with these two?'
"Hmph. Huo Yun'er." She spat what he could only assume was his mother's name, getting the woman to fidget. The black-haired woman stared down and clicked her tongue in disgust. "So, this is the bastard child you birthed?" She clicked her tongue.
Percy stared at his mother. The look of absolute hurt on her face was heart-wrenching. Not only was she sad, but he could see the fear in her face, but it wasn't for herself.
"Ye-yes, Duchess. He was born yesterday. The doctor told me he is very healthy. His name is Yuhao." She informed, but the woman only snorted derisively as if the information was below her.
"You lower commoner trash. Do not presume just because you gave birth to my husband's child that he would grow up to be anything other than trash. Filth only makes filth." She let out a laugh, to which the other joined in. "Just look at him. Do any of you think he can even compare to my youngest son?"
"Of course not, Duchess!" One of the men behind exclaimed.
"He'll grow up worthless. Like mother, like son." A woman joined in.
"I bet the bastard won't even have a chance of becoming Soul Master. Just another garden-variety commoner." The third person added.
"That child is a stain on the White Tiger family." Another pointed.
Perseus frowned at all the insults, not just the ones directed at him but also the ones hurled at his mother. How dare they? 'Scumbags.' If only he still had his powers, he'd wash them all away in a downpour of silver.
"I would never compare my child with yours, milady." She gave a small bow. "I...I am but a lowly servant who is merrily lucky to have received the Duke's grace." She replied, which irritated the black-haired woman, and she sneered.
"You should count yourself lucky you and that bastard can live under my roof." She let out a humph before turning heel and storming out, the trailing edge of her gown vanishing alongside her entourage.
'What a bitch.' Percy briefly thought before trying to make sense of what he saw.
From what he saw, he can only conclude the obvious. He was the bastard son of a noble, and the black-haired lady was the legal wife of his father, and his mother was the mistress. Talk about tense.
'Seems my father is a playboy, a very rich and important one at that.' He breathed out frustratedly but didn't dare to give it any more thought.
In his mind, if the man wasn't going to bother showing up to his own birth, then he didn't deserve to live rent-free in his mind. Plus, he still had unfinished business with his real father, Poseidon, much to his lingering regret.
Seeing the sad look on her baby's face, Huo Yu'ner took a deep breath to ease herself before saying. "C'mon, Yuhao, let's get you to bed." She said, receiving a hum of agreement from her child.
In any case, his first priority was the safety of his mother in this new world. He had to protect her, and he didn't care if he had to go through that woman to do it. In any case, to do that, he'd need a lot more information along with a way to get stronger. "I will protect you." He swore with a look of determination.
But he couldn't get ahead of himself yet. As he was now, he'd need to be patient and learn how to literally walk on his own two feet. 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.' He let the wisdom of the words sink in.
As he was falling asleep, he thought about what that one person had said. 'What the hell is a Soul Master?' He briefly wondered before closing his eyes.
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(It's been a hot minute, I know. I was away doing a military thing, but now I'm back, and I already have more chapters on the way. In this fic Percy is reincarnated as the protagonist of Soul Land 2. Huo Yuhao. I have some plans for his future soul rings, hehe. Oh, this is going to be fun. My chapters will be posted once a week, with multiple sent out at the same time.)