《Echoes of Genesis》


 Chapter 1 - Scene 1 Arrival

    Uhhhh fuck¡­¡­¡­ please tell me that was an amazingly vivid dream and not how my life just ended? Pretty please? The last thing I remember was hurtling towards the earth, experiencing the kind of exhilaration that only comes with willingly jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. The next? I met the ground with considerably more enthusiasm than I originally anticipated.I really hope that Meagan doesn¡¯t think I did this on purpose.


    Wow this thought has been going on for a really long time.


    I wonder how long consciousness persists after death. Am I just going to be sitting here with my thoughts forever? I thought when we died that it would fade to black.


    [System initializing] . . . .


    ¡°Uhhhh no, just no. The last life sucked enough for all the future ones combined. I really dont want to do the whole isekai thing. You can absolutely miss me with that shit.¡±


    [Host detected]. . . .


    ¡°System, didn''t you hear me? I do not want a new life in a new world. Especially if this void isn¡¯t a void and I''m currently in the womb. I do not want to do the whole childhood thing again!!¡±


    [Ability distribution sequence commencing]. . . . .


    [Skill {Skill bank} acquired]


    [Skill {Analyze} acquired]


    [Skill {Living Spacial Ring} acquired]


    [Affinity {Life} acquired]


    Uhhhhhh those don¡¯t seem that bad actually.


    [Awakening sequence commencing] . . . . .


    Ohhh fuck that hurts what the fuck is happening why the fuck does it hurt and why am I cold fuck ahhhhhhhhhhh.


    ¡°[Ha ha ha! Don¡¯t be such a cry baby you''re just being born it''s not that big a deal]¡±


    "Did my system just talk? Nope, not going to think about that right now. I can barely keep from screaming my head off it hurts so bad and fuck that''s a bright light. Oh people are speaking but I have no idea what in the hell they are saying. Why is everything so blurry? Man am I tired! I think I¡¯ll just take a quick nap"


    [Hey !How did I become your system? I may be attached to you but I am my own person! Thank you very much!]


    "WHAT THE FLYING FUCK ?!? So you can read all my thoughts?!?"


    [And how else would I communicate with a barely sapient human baby other than by soul communication?]


    What do you mean soul communication?


    [ Soul communication is exactly what it sounds like, communication via the soul. Since we are soul bound we can¡¯t lie to each other]


    "Yeah somehow I don¡¯t believe you. You kinda seem like a giant prick case and point I just want to sleep but you want to have a whole conversation before I get some sleep after one of the most difficult days I have ever had!"


    [Not a prick, you just don¡¯t have a lot of time and you are just wasting it!]


    "Well I''m tired and a baby now. I can¡¯t really do much, I can''t even lift my head, my eyes don''t work and I really just want to go to sleep."


    [I can help you with most of that!]


    Ok fine tell me how.


    [Your going to tap into your life affinity and spread it out across your whole body]


    And how the fuck do I do that?


    [Do you feel that warmth at the center of your chest?]


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    Yeah?


    [Try moving it around try pushing it with your mind]


    Is this really the time to be doing this? I keep getting passed from person to person, and I don¡¯t even know what''s being said. I¡¯m sure that someone will notice if I¡¯m doing magic. I don¡¯t know about you but a magic wielding baby seems pretty out there to me.


    [Hmmmmm I guess you''re right. Fine I will just have to deal with the loss in time efficiency go ahead and take your nap Caius]


    "Who¡¯s Caius? My name is Michael."


    [No your name was Michael, now it Caius von Eldoria Third Prince of Eldoria]


    "My name is Caius von Eldoria? Third Prince? What the hell is Eldoria? Why am I a prince? That does sound pretty good I have to admit, but still I don''t know anything about this place or my family! I guess I should probably find out more, but how? I can''t exactly ask my mom, considering I can''t speak, and even if I could, I don''t even know what language she''s speaking!"


    [I can help you with that! Use {Analyze} on the people around you to find out more]


    "Oh, right! I completely forgot about my skills. Okay, let''s try this. How do I use Analyze?"


    [Just focus on the person you want to analyze and think "{Analyze}"]


    Okay, here goes nothing. I focus on the woman holding me, trying to push my thoughts towards her. "{Analyze}."


    Immediately, information floods my mind, almost overwhelming me.


    [Name: Elara von Eldoria]


    [Title: Queen of Eldoria]


    [Advancement: ?????????]


    [Age: 32]


    [Race: Human]


    [Status: Exhausted, but overjoyed]


    [Affection for Caius: Immense]


    [Skills: Swordsmanship (Master), Leadership (High), Mana Control (Intermediate)]


    [Notes: Worried about the political climate and the safety of her children. Secretly hopes Caius will grow up to be a strong and kind leader.]


    Holy crap. Queen? My mom is the Queen? And I''m a prince? This is insane! Okay, okay, don''t panic. I need to analyze more people, figure out what''s going on.


    I focus on the man standing next to her, a tall figure with a regal bearing. "{Analyze}."


    [Name: Theron von Eldoria]


    [Title: King of Eldoria]


    [Advancement: ?????????????]


    [Age: 35]


    [Race: Human]


    [Status: Proud, relieved]


    [Affection for Caius: Growing]


    [Skills: Swordsmanship (Grandmaster), Tactics (High), Diplomacy (Intermediate), Mana Control (Advanced)]


    [Notes: Determined to protect his kingdom and his family at all costs. Concerned about the growing tensions with the neighboring kingdom of Solhaven.]


    Okay, so Mom''s the Queen and Dad''s the King. And there''s tension with Solhaven. This is getting complicated fast. I need to know about my brothers.


    I look around, straining my blurry vision. There, a little ways away, are two young boys standing near the King and Queen. I focus on the older one. "{Analyze}."


    [Name: Leander von Eldoria]


    [Title: Crown Prince of Eldoria]


    [Advancement: Root & Vine(Early) ]


    [Age: 7]


    [Race: Human]


    [Status: Jealous, curious]


    [Affection for Caius: Uncertain]


    [Skills: Swordsmanship (Beginner), Mana Control (Novice), Tactics (Basic)]


    [Notes: Feels threatened by the arrival of a new sibling. Yearns to prove himself worthy of being the Crown Prince.]


    "Jealous? Uh oh. This could be a problem." I analyzed my younger brother next.


    [Name: Cassian von Eldoria]


    [Title: Second Prince of Eldoria]


    [Advancement: N\A ]


    [Age: 5]


    [Race: Human]


    [Status: Excited, happy]


    [Affection for Caius: High]


    [Skills: None]


    [Notes: Eager to have a new playmate. Thinks Caius is adorable.]


    "Well, at least one of my brothers likes me. Okay, I have a basic understanding of my family and the kingdom. A queen for a mom and a father for dad. How about Eldoria?"


    [You can¡¯t analyze places Caius, you have to interact with them but I can give you a summary of what you need to know about Eldoria based on the information you have gathered so far]


    "Please do!"


    [Eldoria is a kingdom that is renowned throughout the land as being a Mana rich area with a strong military force. Ruled by Queen Elara and King Theron who by all accounts are loved by their people as they are kind and strong leaders. Eldoria is currently in a cold war like status with Solhaven over land disputes and both sides seem to be rapidly approaching all out war. Both kingdoms are powerful but Eldoria is on average stronger due to the high concentration of Mana]


    "That is really good to know but what is Mana?"


    [Mana is the energy that permeates all living things in this world. It is the source of all magic and a person¡¯s ability to wield Mana is the only distinction between Humans and beast. ]


    "This is a lot to take in. I''m a prince, in a world with magic, on the brink of war. And one of my brothers is already jealous of me. This is going to be interesting, to say the least. Maybe this Isekai thing isn''t so bad after all. But first, I really need that nap."


    [Okay, you have earned it. Just remember to try to tap into your life affinity when you wake up so you can speed up your growth and learning.]


    Yeah, yeah. Just let me sleep.


    And with that, I finally succumb to the exhaustion that has been plaguing me since I arrived in this new world, the world of Ilgartil.

 Chapter 1 - Scene 2 Aether

    Man I had the most wild dream there was a system and I was a magical prince baby like those horrible light novels I can¡¯t seem to get enough of.


    [OK Caius we really need to get you started on the basics of magic. Your tiny brain can''t support the weight of your mind without reinforcement. We needed to get this going hours ago. Thankfully you are about to be fed by Gwendolyn so we can take all of that energy and feed it to your core.]


    ¡°Wait, wait! What do you mean my brain can''t support the weight of my mind? They are one and the same thing!¡±


    [No, you have the mind of Michael and the brain of a two hour old infant Caius. Seriously, were you mentally impaired as Michael? How could the mind of a thirty three year old fit in the brain of a newborn without destroying it?]


    ¡°Magic, the answer to these questions is always magic.¡±


    [ Yeah the answer WILL be magic but we have to actually put in the work! It''s not going to automagically get done. Now seriously we need to get your core up and going or Michael is going to cease to exist and me along with it!]


    ¡°OK! OK! What do I need to do?¡± A gentle hand lifted me from the bassinet, and the smell of lavender and something rich and creamy filled my tiny nostrils. Gwendolyn. My¡­ nanny? Apparently. She was a blur of soft features and a warm smile that I couldn¡¯t focus on.


    [When Gwendolyn feeds you, focus on the warmth in your chest. That¡¯s your core. Visualize it, Caius. Feel it. Let it grow with the magic in the milk.]


    ¡°Visualize it?¡± I thought, utterly panicking. ¡°I can barely see straight!¡±


    [Just¡­feel it. It¡¯s there. Trust me.]


    Gwendolyn brought me to her breast, and I instinctively began to nurse. It was¡­ surprisingly pleasant, even with the weird disembodied voice in my head. As I suckled, a faint warmth did coalesce in my chest, a tiny ember glowing against a vast, empty canvas.


    [Good, good! Now, imagine that ember is a tiny seed. Imagine it sprouting roots, drawing in that delicious magic from the milk. Feel it grow, Caius. Feel it expand.]


    I tried. It was like trying to lift a mountain with a single finger. My head swam, and the warmth faltered.


    [Don¡¯t strain yourself! Just a little at a time. Think of it like¡­ like inflating a balloon. Slowly and steadily. You don¡¯t want to pop it.]


    I concentrated again, focusing on the warmth, imagining the tiny seed sprouting, its roots reaching out. It was exhausting. My tiny muscles ached. But with each gulp of milk, the warmth grew, the ember brightened, and the imagined roots dug deeper and spread out.


    [¡°Excellent! You¡¯re doing great! Just keep going. Don¡¯t stop! This is crucial!¡±]


    The voice sounded more and more frantic, and that spurred me on. I kept visualizing, kept feeling, kept¡­ growing. I could feel something happening within me, a nascent power bubbling to the surface. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once.


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    Finally, Gwendolyn pulled me away, patting my back gently. I gurgled, half asleep, utterly drained.


    [¡°Okay, okay, that¡¯s enough for now. You did it! You actually did it! I¡­ I can¡¯t believe a newborn managed to reach the early stage of Root & Vine. You have a natural affinity for mana, Caius. You hear me? A NATURAL AFFINITY! This changes EVERYTHING! I can use your life affinity to fix your brain!¡±]


    [Skill {Mana Affinity} acquired]


    I was too tired to care. The warmth in my chest was still there, a comforting presence. I was going to survive. And maybe, just maybe, this whole crazy situation wasn''t as bad as I thought.


    I drifted off to sleep as Gwendolyn started to lay me back down, the systems voice fading into the background, dreaming of glowing embers and magical milk. Even in a light novel, you had to start somewhere. And apparently, my starting point was breastfeeding-powered magical core development. Wonderful.


    I awoke to a different sort of warmth. Not the internal, simmering heat of my burgeoning magic, but the comforting warmth of¡­well, I assumed it was a blanket. Or at least, something soft and fuzzy that was keeping me nice and toasty.


    ¡°Okay system I think we need to have a little chat. Or maybe an information dump.¡±


    [¡°I will tell you what I can. Ask away.¡±]


    ¡°So lets start this off nice and easy, who and what are you?¡±


    [I am your system interface, think of me as a sapient AI from your previous world. Rather than a computer I¡¯m more of a symbiotic soul. After the process of joining is completed we are, for better or worse, stuck with each other.]


    ¡°That takes care of the what but not the who. Do you have a name or is it just ¡®system¡¯.¡±


    [Right now I don''t have a name but normally our partners give us a name shortly after being joined together.]


    ¡° Your partners? That would be me, correct?¡±


    [¡°That is correct.¡±]


    ¡° Alright what do you think about Jeeves?¡±


    [¡°You do know I can see your memories right? We¡¯re partners, I''m not your butler.¡±]


    I internally winced. He did say he was my system interface if thats not a servant I don''t really know what is "Okay, okay, fair point. Jeeves is out. How about...Aether?"


    ["Aether is...acceptable. It implies a connection to the ethereal and magical, I think I like that."]


    "Alright then, Aether it is. So, Aether," I said, testing the name. "Now that we''re acquainted, what''s the deal with this world? You mentioned ''partners'' before. Are there others like us? What kind of world did I get reincarnated into?"


    Aether responded promptly. [¡°This world is known as Ilgartil. It is a world rich in mana, where beings of all kinds wield power beyond your previous comprehension. And yes, there are others like us ¨C individuals paired with¡­ well, what you would call a system. These pairings are exceedingly rare and almost unheard of from birth, considered blessings by some and curses by others. The benefits and drawbacks depend entirely on the individual and the system itself.¡±]


    "Blessings and curses, huh? Sounds about right for a light novel reincarnation." I thought . "So, magic world, system partners... what''s the power structure like? Are we talking about kingdoms and heroes, demon lords and chosen ones? Give me the rundown, Aether. I need to know what kind of tropes I''m dealing with."


    [¡°Heh, wouldn¡¯t it be nice if I could tell you about the whole world without you having to go out there and interact with it and guide you down the perfect path to power? That would certainly help us out here.]


    "Interesting, the line of what you can tell me and what you can''t seems really odd. Like you can tell me that there are others like us out there and what my family thinks of me and what they are worried about but cant tell me anything about the wider world at all?"


    ["It''s more like I can interface with other peoples systems and glean some of their knowledge. The more they are aware of and the deeper parts of the system that they have unlocked in this world the more I can give you."] he sighed


    ["Look Caius, I WANT to give you more information I really do. But if the four people that you have analyzed are not aware of any heros, demon lords ,and or chosen ones then neither do I and it would be horribly irresponsible of me to tell you that there is or isn''t. If I lack information its better to say that I don''t know then making a guess."] He took a few moments before replying almost as if to calm himself down["Now do you have any other burning questions that you think I can answer or can we move on from this?"]


    "Yeah I do have a few more questions that I feel warrant at least a few words of explanation." I lay there staring up at the ceiling with a mural of some sort ( my eyes are still fuzzy at best) trying to organize my thoughts. "What is Root & Bone stage? You made it sound super important before I crashed."

 Chapter 1 - Scene 3 Root & Bone

    ["Well Root & Bone is a stage of advancement in this world. Its the very first step on the road to personal power. As far as it being important? Well..... it is and it isn''t. We HAD to start the advancement process earlier than most would deem possible or safe and it will probobly cause us a few problems in the near future but nothing we can''t handle in the long term. Your brain couldn''t handle the stress that your mind was placing onto it. When you advanced I was able to use a tiny portion of your mind in order to perform a perpetual healing spell using a good amount of your natural mana regen in order to maintain it."]


    A few things from Aether''s explanation stood out to me. The first being that what we did wasn''t safe and shouldn''t have been possible. the next is that there are going to be problems that stem from this and that most of my regen is currently tied up keeping me alive." Well lets talk about the biggest problem I can think of first, was my advancement noticed? If it wasn''t safe or possible and I still did it as a fresh newborn I''m sure thats going to set off all sorts of alarm bells all over the place!" After a few moments of not hearing a response from Aether I mentally proded him."AETHER!!"


    ["Uhh..... Well you see heres the thing, when you advance, wait, do you remember those cultivation light novels you used to read?"]


    "Ugh" I can see where he''s going with that in those books upon their first steps into cultivation they always expelled all of their impurities. "Wait I''m a fresh faced bareley a few hour old baby! There shouldn''t have been any impurities!"


    ["Hehe..... well.. you answered the age old question of, ''Does what the mother consumes during pregnancy impacts the babies level of impurities?'', if it makes you feel any better."]


    I can feel my whole body begin to break out in a cold sweat as I start to panic about who all knows my secret that I have Aether and that I''m a reincarnator.


    ["Hey! Hey! It''s not that bad! It could have been way worse, you only had a slight layer of filth and it was after Gwen laid you back down. Luckily your diaper cloth came off and you rolled over in it and get baby poo all over yourself. I''m pretty sure Gwen thought thats what it was. If she didn''t I have no indication of that"]


    Holy shit I really wish he wouldn''t scare me like that and come out and say that right away. I can deal with that I think. One step at a time right? Right?!? Okay man get ahold of yourself. "Alright so on crisis averted lets move on to the next potential disaster. How bad is the impact of tying up almost all of my mana regen and advancing from what I gather from you was way way to early?" Aether seemed to jump at the chance to change the subject away from what Gwen may or may not know.


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    ["Well not nearly as bad as it could have been. You see when you advanced and gained your mana affinity you boosted your natural mana regen by a goodly amount. What I was origanally planning on having you do was nowhere even close to as good long term as what we were able to do. As far as how that will impact us going forward? I don''t think it will be to bad. Your regen is basicly non existant. But for right now thats not to big of a deal with Gwen breastfeeding you every few hours you will get a nice influx of mana. "]


    I paused in thought still staring up at the blurry murral. I really think thats like a cloud scape up there. Eh whatever hopefully I can fix my eyes soon."Oh, speaking of Gwen, when we used {Analyze} on her I thought that her advancement said not applicable. How am I getting so much mana from her during feeding time?" I could practically feel the unease coming from Aether.


    ["Well you see there are a few reasons. The first and simplest is that every single thing in this world has some mana. On top of that she is in charge of feeding a prince of Eldoria. So they are feeding her food high in mana so that mana will naturally infuse your core. One of the perks of being a noble."]


    I could feel that this wasn''t everything there was more to it then that and he was struggling to get it out. I think I was getting the sense of him? It? from the soul bond. He yeah its a he not an it he said he''s sapient so not a thing but a person. He continued


    ["Here''s the thing, you have a life affinity, remember?"]


    A sense of revulsion washed through me as I sensed where he was going with this.


    ["With an {Affinity} for {Life}, When your body is in need of energy you innately latch onto life energy nearby. Life energy is extremly potent no matter what form its in so its not like you''re taking a lot from her but you did take maybe a few months of her life from her."]


    Shock......... disgust........... , and sadness all vied for the number one emotion I was feeling. Before I could get up the nerve to ask any follow up questions about this Aether continued.


    ["Look I knew how you''d feel about this so I didn''t want to say anything yet until we could do something to fix the damage we did."]


    What? What did he mean fix the damage we did? We stole months off her life and would probobly do so again and again as we were fed over the next few months, or however long babies needed to drink milk over solid food.


    ["Michael! Michael! Hey stop spiralling and listen. We can give her those months back. Its just going to take a bit of time and a tiny bit of effort. You can do that right?"]


    My mind stopped. "Wait what did you say?" as my brain caught up with what Aether just said I mentally screamed "OF COURSE I CAN DO THAT!!! JUST TELL ME HOW! HOW?!?!"


    ["Relax man go ahead and try to actively use {Skill Bank}"]

 Chapter 1 - Scene 4 Exploring {Skill Bank}

    My heart hammered in my chest. Hope surged through me, pushing back the guilt and horror. I focused, drawing on the strange connection I felt with Aether. "{Skill Bank}" I mentally commanded.


    A new window sprang open in my mind, a vast, shimmering space filled with what looked like glowing threads of light. Each thread pulsed with energy, some dim and weak, others bright and vibrant. An interface floated in front of me, displaying labels above each category of threads. I saw categories like "Combat," "Crafting," "Knowledge" "add ons" and, significantly, "Healing."


    ["Now I really shouldn''t have to say this but go ahead and select healing, and begin looking for a skill called {Life Essence Infusion}"]


    My eyes ran down the multitude of options for what felt like hours looking for the skill. Finally I found it. The skill was greyed out, I couldn''t get it.


    ["Before you start freaking out again look over at the cost. You see that number next to it? Look at the top of the window and see how much you have available? You don''t have enough life essence. You will in due time though. For now you will have to stay a leech until you can get the resources you need in order to kick start your abilities. "]


    Somehow I feel like this is always going to be an issue. Looking over the skill in the skill bank and the associated cost of unlocking the skill some skills were costing in the hundreds of millions of LE. without becoming someone horrible I had no idea how I would ever be able to afford these skills not to mention the length of time it would take. I would die thousands of lives before I could afford a skill like {Minor Resurrection} I''m not really sure how bringing back the dead could ever be a minor thing. Especially not with the price of over 100 Million LE. The skill I needed to get in order to fix what I already messed up was still an astronomical amount at 1 Million LE.


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    "Hey Aether?" I thought his direction. " How the flying fuck am I going to get anywhere close to the amount I need in order to buy the skill. From what you told me I know I used most of what we took in, but still I only have twenty seven at this point."


    ["Not to worry at all. The normal way you acquire LE is not through being an energy vampire. Its just necessary in the beginning. All you need is a couple of cheap skills and we can start making our own LE with everyone else none the wiser."]


    Given our recent track record I doubt that we will pull of anything remotely approaching information security." Okay partner what do we need and whats it going to cost?"


    ["To start you really only need two skills, {Invigorate Growth}, and {Drain Life}. Now I know what your thinking you already feel bad about stealing a few months from Gwen but this is not to take from Gwen this is to use in conjunction with your last starting skill {Living Spacial Ring}."]


    That skill sounds dangerous or at least not something I want to mess with lightly. If the ring is alive will I have another voice in my head? I could really do without M.P.D. its already bade enough with just Aether. I tell Aether my thoughts about the skill.


    ["Ha ha, I can see what you mean, but thats not really how it works, at least not right away. I mean eventually you will have another entity but it will be more like a Jeeves and trust me you will want someone to help you manage what will at first be a broom closet green house but eventually will be the core of everything you are able to do."]


    That doesn''t really make sense to me. If its so integral to how my skills and power works then why is this the first time I''m really hearing about it? I mean I have been here for. . . . oh right, its only been a few hours since I was born. I haven''t even seen my family again since I was being delivered. I wonder what they are up to right now?