Am I dead...? Is it over...? Is this where my life ends...?"
His thoughts echoed faintly, as if drifting through a void. He felt no pain, only a strange numbness creeping over him like a soft tide.
"I was just a high school student..." he whispered into the dark, though no lips moved. "Ayy... ayyy... My only regret... I didn't live well in this life."
The boy's voice trembled, lost in the vast black of nothingness.
"I never got to enjoy my childhood... I was bedridden, sick... Always sick. And now... the sickness is getting worse... and I'm gonna die."
There was a long silence. Only the soft hum of emptiness.
"I haven't experienced anything. Not love... not freedom... Haaah..." He sighed, the sound hollow. "Eighteen years old and I'm dying already..."
A flicker. A heartbeat. A blip.
"Well... at least anime, manga, and manhwa kept me company. They made me feel like I was alive. Even just a little."
Suddenly
BOOM.
A flash. Memories exploded, scattering like shards of light through the darkness. His life moments of hospital beds, coughing fits, the faint hum of machines, laughter he couldn't join, sunlight he never felt.
Then nothing.
"Wha—what...?"
A bright light stung his vision. Warmth. Warmth like he'd never known.
"What... is this...?"
Blurred shapes formed above him. He blinked slowly.
A woman's voice, soft and awestruck: "He's beautiful..."
A man's voice, deep and warm with pride: "He's perfect."
"When I opened my eyes... I was supposed to die. But now...?"
Another voice—this one unfamiliar and formal:
"Congratulations, Baron Cassian De Vaux and Baroness Seraphina De Vaux. It's a boy."
His breath caught.
"Baron...? Baroness...? What kind of names are those...?"
The woman the baroness let out a teary laugh. "From now on... your name will be Séraphin Alaric De Vaux."
Wait... what? Séraphin? Alaric? De Vaux?
He couldn't speak. Couldn't even cry. Only stare.
"I've really... been isekai'd...?"
Then—
"Woaaah, he's cute!"
A small voice giggled. His tiny head tilted slightly toward the source. A little girl with silver-blonde hair peered at him with wide, curious eyes.
"Say hello to your little brother, Cass," the baroness said, gently nudging the girl forward.
The girl beamed. "Hi, little brother! I'm Cassara Vireille, your big sister!"
He blinked. A small sound escaped his lips a gurgle, then a smile.
"Look, Mama! He's smiling!" Cassara clapped her hands.
The baroness gently cradled him closer. "Welcome to the world, Séraphin."
Outside the window, a warm breeze rustled through pale curtains. Birds chirped. Somewhere distant, a church bell rang.
And in that moment
He thought:
"I was supposed to die... but maybe, just maybe... this is a second chance."
Well...
This is the beginning of Séraphin Alaric De Vaux's journey a boy reborn from a hospital bed to nobility, in a world filled with unfamiliar beauty, mysteries, and fates yet to unfold. What lies beyond that smile on his newborn face? Only time will tell.