Chapter 1 - I awoke to a new World.

"How are my girls doing?" A man's voice came through the silence. "Well we were doing quite nicely until you interrupted our rest, honestly after what we just went through you should be letting us rest in silence a bit more longer." Came the response from a woman's husky, exhausted voice.

I had to agree. Being as exhausted as I was I had to agree with her response. Who was this jackass that decided to make a ruckus so late at night? After I wake up in the morning I will have some words with them. I need my sleep not the ruckus of a guy talking about his women.

The sound of rushing water echoed in her ears as she slowly regained consciousness. Blinking her eyes open, she found herself lying on a floor bed of some sort, surrounded by walls too pristine than what she remembered them to be and the rustle of leaves above. "Wait? The rustle of leaves above?" She thought to herself as she peered upwards and saw there were indeed trees above and around the perimeter of the see through circular opening above where she lay.

Confusion swept over her as she tried to recall how she ended up here. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in her own bed after a long day at work.

Sitting up, she took in her surroundings, her heart pounding with a mix of fear and curiosity. This place was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The air was thick with the scent of earth and moss, and a soft breeze brushed against her skin, carrying with it a hint of magic.

Right next to her lay a woman, she was gorgeous, slender looking, she could see she was athletic and looked restful and smiling while she slept with her long raven black hair splayed across the strange bed and pillows. There were two things that did not fit this Woman she was looking at. The first was her abdomen protruded beyond reason compared to the physique of the rest of her body and was glowing a greenish blue hue. The second was that this Woman was a giant about 14 times her size.

As she pushed herself to her feet, she realized something peculiar. Her body felt different, lighter somehow, as if she were no longer bound by the limitations of her previous life. Looking down at her hands, she gasped in astonishment. They were smaller, more delicate, with fingers adorned by tiny, perfect nails.

And then she noticed her reflection in a nearby reflective surface that looked puddle of water as a as very slow ripples went across it. Staring back at her was a baby with blonde hair and piercing green eyes, but it wasn't just any baby. It was her.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. How could she have transformed into a baby overnight? Panic started to rise within her as she frantically searched for answers. Turning to the woman lying beside her, she gently shook her, hoping for some kind of explanation. But the woman continued to sleep peacefully, oblivious to the chaos unfolding around her.

Feeling overwhelmed, she stumbled towards the edge of the strange bed and looked out at the unfamiliar surroundings. The trees swayed gently in the breeze, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor below. It was both enchanting and terrifying at the same time.

As she pondered her situation, a soft cooing sound caught her attention. Looking down, she saw a small creature scurrying towards her. It resembled a mix between a rabbit and a squirrel, with fluffy fur and bright, intelligent eyes.

"Hello there," she said wanted and tried to say, surprised at how natural the words that should come out didn't despite her attempt. The creature cocked its head curiously before nuzzling against her leg, as if sensing her distress. "Of course, Babies don't talk. Be it in this World of my previous one".

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the forest, causing her to jump in surprise. "Ah, you are awake, little one," it said, sounding both amused and was that relief she heard in his voice? She turned to see a figure emerging from a curtained doorway that seemed to shift from flowing cloth into solid stone, and her heart skipped a beat when she realized he was holding a squirming young boy playfully tugging on his blonde beard.

The Man was clearly well tuned. He wore blonde hair and green eyes she could clearly sense the well defined muscles beneath the short-sleeved blue shirt with curved yellow stripes running from below his clearly uplifted chest and extending below his waistline.

It was the man from her dreams, the one who had interrupted her rest earlier. But now, he had company with him. And in his arms, he cradled a young, the same one who had been tugging his beard. He let young boy drop from his right arm and she was amazed at how deftly he landed on his fit. The boy then said "Baba can I hold my sister now?". The Man shook his head and said " Yes Blake, remember to be gentle like your Mother and I have been teaching you."

"Yes Baba" Blake said and he put on a cute frown and retorted, "I am always careful, why would I not be careful with my baby sister?". The Man replied "Tell that to the neighbors Son who you rough handled for trying to use Melveen as target practice".

"Deserved it". Blake replied. "You told me we always protect family and Melveen is family.". At that the little fur all holding her leg chirped in what she could only consider as agreement. "So you are Melveen." She said mentally as she looked the creature smooching her tiny leg.

"Right you are." His father said and almost in concert the voice of a woman behind her said "That is true." Came the soft voice of the Woman behind her. With those responses a satisfying smile from his mother and proud grin from his Father, Blake picked up his baby Sister.

She on the other hand was observing him as he held her close to his face. She was fascinated by how cute he looked and she could clearly see he was going to be a handsome Man when he grew older. He wore raven black hair like his mother and blue eyes. "Ooohh" she definitely loved his features. She was going to have to keep the hussies off this one when they came knocking. As she tried to touch his face, she realized how weak and feeble her arms felt as she just barely grazed his chin with her tiny fingers and felt her arm exhausted from the simple act.

"Did you see that?". Blake said as he continued "She knows I am her Brother". His parents chuckled at that. "Yes .....", he paused as though thinking and then asked a question, "What is her name?". Blake asked expectantly.

Her new parents looked at each other and then eventually her Father nodded to her Mother saying, "Liara why don't you lead on this one?". Her Mother Liara smiled at that and looking at Blake said "We want you to name her Blake, this way she is linked directly with you and you have a strong bond from the start". The young boy's eyes popped wide open at that suggestion. "Really", came the words of excitement from him.

"Start by reaching out to our god and patron Vortcus, ask him to bless your sister and grant her a name beffitng of who she is." Blake stood in silence as he closed his eyes and seemed in a trance. Diana continued, "Be sure to instill your will and desire and request with your mana Blake, you should get a clear pic....". "Chrona, her name is Chrona, that is the name she has been blessed with" Blake said with with glee and pressed on, "Yes baby sister Crona I am your brother Blake and welcome to the world of Xanthea."

At that moment the World seemed to freeze for the briefests of glimpses and then just as quickly everything continued forward as though naught had happened.

Chrona was unaware of the discussion her new Parents were having, one in which they were gleeful that their daughter had received a name in connection with their patron and the fact that she had caught her daughter observing her surroundings intently. Darwin her husband mentally connected with her saying "I have been blessed 3 times, once when I met you and twice as you gave me a genius sin and now a genius daughter, I cannot wait to see how how much mana she controls as she grows."

Chrona on the other hand had the second of two questions now running in her mind. The first as to wether she had been dreaming had quickly been dispelled, while the second one was, "How did I die?"

Chrona's mind raced with questions as she tried to piece together her situation. She couldn't shake the feeling of being torn from her previous life, yet everything around her felt so real. The name "Xanthea" echoed in her thoughts, a word she had heard before. "No, it can't be that Xanthea? Could it?"

Her new parents, Liara and Darwin, seemed loving and caring, and their son Blake was full of youthful energy and excitement. But despite their warmth, Chrona couldn't shake the feeling of unease. How had she ended up here? And what had happened to her previous life?

As she pondered these questions, a faint memory flickered in her mind—a flash of light, a sensation of falling. But the details remained elusive, like trying to grasp at mist. She couldn't remember how she had died, or if she even had.

Sensing her confusion, Liara stretched out her arms and Blake gently placed Chrona into his Mother's arms."It's okay, little one," she murmured, her voice soothing. "You're safe here with us. You're a part of our family now."

Chrona nestled against Liara's chest, feeling a sense of comfort wash over her despite the lingering uncertainty. Maybe she would never fully understand her past, but in this moment, surrounded by her new family, she knew she was where she belonged. And as she drifted off to sleep once more, she thought to herself, how had she ended up this way and most especially in the World of Xanthea?

Flik, " Our world of Xanthea is blessed by many gods, Solara, Goddess of Sun and Light, Thalassa, God of Seas and Oceans, Aetherius, God of the Sky and Celestial Bodies, Terra, Goddess of Earth and Nature, Aeolus, God of Wind and Atmosphere, Vulcanus, God of Fire and Forge, Lunastra, Goddess of Moon and Night." Chrona found the list odd as she knew her parents prayed to the god Vortcus which was not part of this list. "Could it be that there are more goods that known and unknown by the races in this world" or perhaps her parents simply had just discovered this new god along with a small minority.

Rustle, as she turned to another page. "This World being blessed by various gods who had affected it with the tiniest slivers of their essence it led to a World that overflowed with mana." As Chrona read on and went through the pages, she found that this world gave people the ability to use magic. Unlike the Myth from her old world where man discovered fire and learnt to keep it alive and cultivate it. The people of Xanthea found creature that spewed fire and eventually learnt how to will mana in the atmosphere to create fire.

Once this discovery had been established and spread all over the planet, the inhabitants of the Xanthea begin to will the mana to do other things such as creating the other elements such as wind, earth, water. Eventually they learnt manipulate these elements to do and move as they willed. As centuries went by the society continue to improve this path which led to certain people becoming specialists in certain aspects of magic. For instance the house Chrona had been born in a month ago was an amalgamation of wood and glass.

This was the work of a well known dual smith who was called so due to him being both a woodsmith and earthsmith. It was believed that he was able to achieve this rare feat due to his innate earth magic manipulation that later assisted in him understanding the path of controlling plant life. He wouldn't even need a giant plant to do the job. Simply a stalk of a plant inserted into the ground and he would create more and make them grow in weeks.

Crinkle, as Chrona continued to read she saw how things were different from her World. Here the inhabitants relied solely on Magic, while hers did not even have a thimble of it. Here they had fiunds ways to create what they need to meet their needs. Technology was indeed non existent. The book she was reading also gave an idea as to why her parents were not bothered by how she was able to manipulate her body less than two months after birth. Due to the ambient mana in the air infants in this World gain control of their bodies almost 3 times faster than her World. Most babies were working firmly by month 3. Her being able to do what she was doing further confirmed their suspicion that she was a genius.

Chrona's mind buzzed with newfound information about the world she had been born into. The concept of magic and the intricate ways it intertwined with daily life fascinated her. She couldn't help but marvel at the ingenuity of the people of Xanthea, who had found ways to harness the power of mana to shape their world.

As she closed the book and glanced around the room, her gaze fell upon her new family. Liara was gently rocking her back and forth, her expression filled with love and adoration. Darwin stood nearby, a proud smile on his face as he watched his wife and children.

Blake was busy playing with Melveen, the small creature that had taken a liking to Chrona. The bond between the boy and his pet was evident, and Chrona couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. She longed to explore this new world and forge her own connections, but she was still too young and fragile.

But despite her limitations, Chrona felt a sense of determination bubbling within her. She may have been born anew into this world, but she refused to let that define her. She would learn and grow, just like the people around her. And one day, she would uncover the truth about her past and the mysterious circumstances that had brought her here.

With a newfound resolve, Chrona closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with visions of a future filled with magic and adventure. "Ding", she thought she heard the faint sound of a familiar chime. She struggled in vain as her new body fell asleep. After all she was still an infant.

"Ding", In my old World I used to play what we called video games. It was one of the few things I enjoyed. Being that I had been very successful in other parts of my life I looked for ways to unwind. Fortunately I found one that I had been playing for years now. It had initially been a trash game by the first few gamers that started playing.

"Congratulations you have become a master alchemist. Code 1431." This code had been the bane of the early players as it showed up on occasion and disrupted the immersion just like it did to me now. "Come on, don't tell me have to restart the game through the launcher to get back in again?" I had just done something the creators of this game have very vaguely mentioned remotely if you could call it that as a thing or path to walk down in this game.

As with most MMORPGs of this type there were ways to gain skills. One was to get them upon character creation such as Paladin, White Mage, Rogue, Berserker, Warrior, Necromancer and Hunter. You selected one upon creation and that was what you stuck with. Other MMORPGs allowed you to start the game without any initial classes and you have to get the class in game and some rare ones even allowed multiple classes per character.

My Smartphone rang. It was the work of one of my favorite artists blonde hair like mine, blue eyes like mine though mine was clearly a shade darker. I picked up the phone and answered. "Yes Solo, what happened and what do we have to do next?" I walked away from my gaming rig while looking out the expanded view of my apartment. I actually owned the Entire building. I chuckled as I heard what Solo had to say.

"Okay, I have heard your concerns. Remember when I said that research company was not a car company and that it's new AI business was going to make us sublimely wealthy?" a voice came in through the other end "Yes, I do. That is a totally different thing than what you are asking that we go into now" she replied. "Let me assuage your concerns by pointing out that I was also right on the other company we bought into who found new ways to create building materials with relying on cement. And then there is this. "Jade please play Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift", my AI assistant began playing the sing through my sound system. "What happens when I play this song Solo?", she sighed "Good things happen."

"And what is the frequency of that?" "Each and everytime." Came the reply. And so our conversation went as we discussed our new purchase. I didn't need Solo to make the purchases. I already made them for myself. She being my best Friend, I made sure to include her in all my future growth opportunities. Two minutes and forty five minutes later I requested my AI assistant to replay Cruel Summer and continue with other Songs by Taylor Swift. My instincts were always right on these things and combined with this song things always went well. Exceedingly so.

"Now back to the 'Trials of Vorticus'." I returned to my gaming chair looking to restart the game only for me to the discover that the code from earlier had disappeared. In it's place was "Congratulations you have become a master alchemist. You have achieved what has never been done in Xanthea. A title never been claimed before has been achieved. Will you accept the title 'Alchemical Artisan'?" A prompt came up with a "Yes" or , I did not hesitate to click on Yes. That was all I needed to see.

"Congratulations on being the first to achieve those feat. You have been awarded the following 9 perks and 3 additional optional skills to choose from out of 7. All choices of this nature are final. Granted perks are 1. Dexterity, 2. Endurance, " the list continued and I read through them with the ability to click on each to see how they would affect my avatar. I asked Jade to repeat "Cruel Summer" a further time before completing the task with my previous request. That always lead to good things happening to and for me. Looks like years of crafting potions in this game has opened a secret path for me. Let me see how deep the Rabbit hole goes. I just might watch that Movie tonight. Mr Reeves can sure make his audiences enjoy a good story.

In a high rise building in Canada Solo sat in her home office and placed positions on the 3 companies her best Friend had told her to buy. She put all her spare funds into that. Things were going to be sublime for her and future generations.