“There are so many things that feel wrong.”
The woman standing in front of me called me her baby. She wasn’t talking to anyone else—she was clearly speaking to me, inside this tank.
Needless to say, I’m an adult man. There’s no way a woman who looks younger than me would ever call me that.
Even setting that aside, she called me, who now looks like nothing more than a barely visible cell, a baby. Who on earth is this woman?
Saying, “Be born safely,” is strange too. Normally, humans are born from a womb. Even with in vitro fertilization, the embryo eventually returns to the womb. Humanity hasn’t yet developed the technology to grow a baby from a cell completely outside of a body. Not to mention the ethical concerns.
So, what does that mean…?
It sounds absurd, but considering the situation, the only thing that comes to mind is that I’ve somehow reincarnated into an artificially created life form, like something you’d see in an anime or tokusatsu show—grown in a tank of some kind of culture fluid.
This woman seems like a mad scientist conducting research on artificial monsters, creating creatures to fight heroes… but… she doesn’t look like that type at all.
The expression she showed me earlier radiated warmth and love. It wasn’t the twisted love you’d expect from a mad scientist.
There are too many unknowns to understand much, but one thing is clear: I’m her child, growing inside this tank. And this is definitely some kind of reincarnation.
Looking around the room, there are old books and bottles of strange liquids, like something out of an alchemist’s study. The stone walls are completely unlike modern Japan, and the clothes she’s wearing look like they’re from a fantasy RPG. She’s wearing what could easily be mistaken for a cosplay outfit, yet she wears it so naturally that it makes me realize this is just how things are here.
Accepting all that, though… Reincarnating as a cell? That’s just cruel. Normally, in these stories, you at least start as a baby, right? What am I supposed to do in this situation?
If I just wait in here, will I eventually be born, like she said? How long is that going to take? This culture fluid is so calm and peaceful, it makes me drowsy, but staying here too long is going to get boring. Isn’t there some way to speed up cell division?
Maybe I should try putting some effort into it. No idea if it’ll work, though.
Nnnnghh…
I try to exert effort with my whole body, but since I don’t have one, I mimic the sensation. The result? Nothing happens. I’m just tired.
But I do feel tired, which is strange. Now that I think about it, having consciousness as just a cell isn’t normal either. How am I even thinking without a brain?
Wait a second… Right, it’s all about my willpower. No wonder straining myself physically doesn’t work when I don’t have a body. The only thing I can rely on in this place is my own will.
Earlier, when I focused inward instead of outward, I could perceive my own existence. Maybe there’s something I can do with that approach.
I turn my awareness inward. Inside the small cell, I feel something hot flowing. It’s not blood—more like a fundamental energy. If I had to compare it, it feels like chi or energy, something along those lines.
But it’s different. I’ve never felt anything like this in my previous life. What is this?
As I focus on the intense flow within, my body—which I don’t even have—starts to feel hotter. Uh… this feels dangerous… really dangerous…
It’s like my body is being torn apart. It’s similar to the sensation I had when I was impaled by that metal pipe in my previous life. I feel like I’m about to lose consciousness.
Did I mess with something I shouldn’t have? But what should I do now…?
As I panic, unsure how to stop it, something happens outside the tank.
“…!? Hey, you! Come here, quick! Something’s happening with the baby!”
The woman—no, I guess I should call her my mother, since she called me her child—shouts in a fluster, summoning someone.
“What’s wrong!?”
The door bursts open, and a man rushes into the room. He looks about the same age as my mother and approaches me with a grave expression.
“This… this is a growth response…”
When he says this with a tense expression, my mother gasps. A growth response? Is that what this is? Am I finally growing from a cell into something more?
But… it’s really painful. Is this okay?
My mother looks like she’s about to cry, and the man is watching intently, holding his breath. I have a bad feeling about this…
“Everything will be okay, right…?”
“Yeah… he’s my child… He’ll make it through…”
The two of them hold hands and watch me with anxious faces. So, as I suspected, this man is my father after all.
And make it through what, exactly? If I think about it logically, they’re probably talking about surviving this excruciating pain, but what happens if I don’t make it?
As if reading my thoughts, my father answers my doubts clearly.
“He absolutely won’t die!”
I had a feeling, but… yeah, that’s how it is. If I don’t survive this, I’ll die.
I finally got reincarnated, but now I’m going to die again right away? That’s just too much. I don’t know what will happen if I do survive, but there’s still hope for growth. That’s better than dying.
But… I feel like I’m about to lose consciousness… The heat inside me is raging uncontrollably, as if it’s trying to tear me apart from within. If I can just suppress this…
As I focus my awareness, the raging flow forms a ring, and then gradually shifts into a triangle.
It feels good… like I’m managing to control it. If I can just stabilize this shape… then maybe…
I sharpen my senses and focus on the flow. When I finally perceive a perfect equilateral triangle within me—
My consciousness fades.
