Azel sighed inwardly as the woman he now called "Mother" laid him gently on a soft white blanket. The strange metal room hummed with faint beeping sounds, and the scent of antiseptic filled the air. He had long grown tired of the constant baby talk and the suffocating warmth of being wrapped up every few hours.
At least… she had fed him well.
"At least she's kind," he thought, glancing at the golden-haired woman whose smile could melt even the cruelest of gods.
But the thought ended abruptly when a flicker of light appeared before his eyes.
A translucent blue panel hovered in front of him. Letters — unfamiliar yet instantly understandable — scrolled across his vision.
> [Daily Quest Initiated]
Raise your hand up and down: 100 times
Raise your leg up and down: 100 times
Reward: 5 Stat Points
Azel blinked once. Then twice.
"...What in the abyss is this? Some sort of… divine technology?" he muttered, his baby voice coming out as soft babbles. He clenched his tiny fists, annoyed at how powerless his body felt.
Still, curiosity won over irritation.
"Let's test this nonsense."
He began to raise his hand. Once, twice, five times… By the tenth, his arm trembled. His breaths came in soft, uneven huffs, his face twisting into a frown no one would ever take seriously.
But this was the same man who once commanded destruction itself.
He wasn't going to be defeated by baby exercises.
Minutes crawled by. Sweat — or something close to it — dotted his forehead as he struggled through the task.
Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, but he refused to stop. The god in him demanded results.
---
Across the hall, two women were walking together, their shoes clicking softly on the polished floor.
"Emma, where are you going? I thought we were talking," said a brunette with tired eyes and a teasing smile.
Emma, a nurse with short black hair, turned sharply. "I just remembered it's time to check the babies. And honestly, Lisa, I don't want to hear about your steamy night again."
Lisa grinned, unfazed. "Well, you can't get this information anywhere else, can you?"
"That's why we have the internet," Emma shot back, rolling her eyes.
They reached a door labeled Nursery B. Emma pressed a code into the glowing pad, and the door slid open with a soft hiss.
Inside, soft lullabies played. Dozens of newborns lay in transparent cribs, sleeping peacefully.
"Awnn, look at all these cuties," Lisa cooed, walking between the rows. "Wait—what is that baby doing?"
Emma turned. Her eyes widened.
In the far corner, one baby — pale-skinned, white-haired, and red-eyed — was flailing his arms rhythmically, stopping every few seconds before continuing again.
"Is he… training?" Lisa whispered.
Emma stared, speechless.
Lisa giggled. "He looks so cute doing it!"
---
Back in his crib, Azel was on the verge of collapse.
"Finally… done," he breathed mentally. His small body ached. "Damn… a baby shouldn't do this kind of work."
He let his limbs go limp, staring blankly at the ceiling. Just as his mind drifted, a shadow loomed over him.
His instincts kicked in. His pupils narrowed, and his body tensed — though it was mostly useless in this form.
A threat?
He turned his head slightly and saw the source — a young nurse with a radiant smile and curious eyes. She leaned down, her face hovering inches above his.
"Such strange eyes," she whispered, her finger brushing his cheek.
Her touch was soft… too soft.
If only she knew whose cheek she was pinching.
"Girl," Azel thought dryly, "if you knew you were squeezing the cheek of a god, you'd be kneeling instead."
He forced his expression to remain calm, blank — a baby's mask concealing the calculating thoughts behind those crimson eyes.
Lisa tilted her head, expecting a reaction, but the child just stared back.
"Aw, he's so serious," she laughed. Then her expression changed. A faint shimmer surrounded her fingertip as she stretched her hand out again.
Azel's breath caught.
Energy.
A transparent mist-like aura flowed from her finger, glimmering faintly before fading.
He could feel it — an ancient, pure force humming through the air.
Qi.
So that was the energy this world used.
His heart — small as it was — pounded faster. He could feel the faint resonance of that power brushing against his own sealed core. His body, even in its fragile state, reacted to it.
"Fascinating…" he thought. "The cultivation here feels… refined. And that energy… I could devour it if I had enough control."
His gaze sharpened ever so slightly.
Then—
"Lisa! What do you think you're doing?"
Emma's voice cut through the room like a whip. She grabbed her friend's wrist, pulling her back. "He's a baby! That amount of Qi could be dangerous!"
Lisa blinked, startled. "I—I was just curious. He looked like he could sense it…"
"Curiosity gets people killed," Emma snapped. "Go back to your station."
Lisa sighed, muttering apologies as she left.
Emma looked down at Azel, her eyes softening. "Sorry about that, little one."
She adjusted his blanket gently before walking away.
---
Azel lay there in silence, his mind racing.
"Qi… cultivation… So that's what this world uses. No gods, no divine essence — but something just as potent."
He glanced at the blue screen that had been waiting patiently in the corner of his vision.
> [Quest Completed]
Reward: +5 Stat Points
> [System Notice]
"Congratulations, little god. You've learned to crawl again. Do try not to die of exhaustion."
Azel's lips twitched.
"Even my system mocks me…" he muttered mentally.
Still, a spark of pride stirred within him. His limbs felt heavier, yes — but also stronger.
He looked toward the window, where sunlight spilled into the nursery, casting golden rays across his pale skin.
A new world. A new body. And a strange system that refused to treat him kindly.
"Fine," he thought. "If the gods wanted me gone, I'll show them what rebirth truly means."
His red eyes glowed faintly under the soft light.