Chapter 4 : Lycoris

It had been three weeks since the twelve infants had arrived at the orphanage's doorstep in the dead of night, abandoned in the freezing winter. Three weeks since that fateful night when demons appeared at the orphanage, their presence disrupting the quiet lives of the caretakers and children. Since then, nothing much had changed—except for the growing number of soldiers stationed in Drachenheim and the ever-increasing tension between the Thalrithian Empire and the Mediterrian Empire over the Ancen Region.

Now, at the stroke of midnight, inside St. Maria Orphanage, the nursery remained quiet, except for the soft rustling of blankets and the occasional whimper of a sleeping infant. Then, a small noise—someone shifting inside a crib. Moments later, another. One by one, twelve tiny figures stirred awake, no longer ordinary infants but reincarnated souls.

---

Inside the Nursery

Shigure's POV

I woke up, slowly pushing myself up into a sitting position inside my crib. My silver hair fell messily over my tiny face, and I sighed internally. It had been three weeks since we were reincarnated by that unknown goddess. Three weeks since we found ourselves in this orphanage, in a completely unfamiliar world.

I had learned that this place was called St. Maria Orphanage, located in Drachenheim, a town in the northern region of the Thalrithian Empire. The world itself was Victorian-era, yet fundamentally different, filled with magic, gods, and war. This wasn't some simple reincarnation story where we got to live peaceful lives—no, we had been thrown into this world for a purpose and that is to fight.

At first, communication had been nearly impossible. We were trapped in newborn bodies, unable to form words, unable to even properly control our limbs. But after days of trial and error, we somehow managed to communicate through telepathy. It wasn't perfect, and sometimes it would cut off, but it was enough. Enough to realize that we were all still the same people from before.

I glanced across the room, my heterochromatic eyes focusing on Jason, now known as Estelle. Even in the dim light, I could tell that he—no, she—was still sulking. The moment she realized she had been reborn as a girl, Estelle had fallen into a deep depression, struggling to accept her new reality. Even now, she looked utterly miserable.

I looked away, knowing that bringing it up would only make things worse. My gaze instead landed on Raz, now Karna, who was engaged in a hushed telepathic conversation with the other five former men who had been reincarnated as girls.

"(So, what do you think about our current situation?)"

A familiar voice echoed in my mind. It was Akrūra, who was looking directly at me from across the room. His diamond-shaped yellowish pupils glowed slightly in the dark, making his silver hair appear almost ethereal under the moonlight.

"(Nothing much,)" I responded. "(But it seems like our friends who lost their manly appearance and gender are still quite depressed.)"

Akrūra gave a dry chuckle. "(Yeah, I can see that.)"

I exhaled through my nose and shifted my attention to the large window beside me. The night sky was beautiful, painted in hues of deep blue, with a full moon shining brightly overhead.

My gaze then drifted to Rain, now Noah, who had stark white hair, red eyes, and fox-like ears and a tail. He was sleeping soundly in his crib, his small chest rising and falling steadily. Beside him, my little sister Yuuka, previously Lunaria, had already lain back down after talking with Tsukiko.

Then, from another crib, I heard a familiar complaint.

"(Okay, so we've been reincarnated as infants, but why the hell did I, Sky, Gunman, Jason, Kim, and Dreadnought get turned into a girls?!)"

That was Mirai, formerly Jack, and this was probably the hundredth time she had complained about this.

I rolled my eyes as Marie, formerly Gunman, let out a sleepy sigh before muttering, "(Shut up, Mirai, I just fell asleep…)"

I shifted my gaze towards the other cribs. Most of our group was either asleep or barely paying attention to Mirai's outburst. The only ones still awake were Akrūra, Karna, and Tsukiko. Even after being reborn in this new world, those three still had their late-night gaming and conversation habits.

It was ridiculous.

"(You three still haven't changed at all,)" I muttered through telepathy. "(Once I grow up, I swear I'm going to teach you all the importance of sleeping early.)"

"(Oh? The great Shigure, acting like a responsible older sister now?)" Akrūra teased.

I sent him a sharp mental glare, but he only smirked in response. Before I could retaliate, Tsukiko spoke up.

"(So, Akrūra, what's the plan for the future?)"

The room fell into silence.

Akrūra's golden eyes narrowed slightly. "(The way I see it, we have three main objectives.)"

The rest of us listened closely as he continued.

"(First, we need to gather as much information as possible about this world. We're already in a disadvantageous position. We're infants, meaning we won't be able to do anything significant for at least a few years. We need to learn about the world's political structure, its history, its magic system, and most importantly… the other Chosen Ones.)"

Everyone nodded.

"(Second, we develop our powers as soon as possible. We don't know how strong our opponents will be, but if we're meant to fight other reincarnated warriors, then we can't afford to be weak. We train as soon as we get the chance.)"

Another round of nods.

"(And lastly… we stick together. We might have been chosen by the Goddess Aurelthys, but we don't know if we can fully trust her. If this world has other deities, then chances are, we'll be facing more than just one enemy. The best way to survive is to rely on each other.)"

A heavy silence settled over the nursery.

Then, Karna let out a dry chuckle. "(So basically, we're stuck in a fantasy world where we have to fight other reincarnated warriors chosen by gods? Sounds like something out of a damn web novel…)"

I sighed. "(I wish it was just a web novel. But this is real.)"

Tsukiko smirked. "(Well, I don't mind a little challenge. But first, we need to survive infancy.)"

Everyone agreed. There was no point in worrying too much about the future when we couldn't even walk yet.

But even as we talked, a strange feeling settled in my chest.

Something… was coming.

---

Unknown Location

Far beyond the orphanage, in the heart of the Mediterrian Empire, a group of robed figures stood in a dimly lit chamber. At the center of the room, an enormous map of the continent was spread across a marble table.

One of the figures, a man with piercing red eyes, traced his finger over Drachenheim.

"The Thalrithian Empire has been moving more soldiers into the Ancen Region. The war will begin soon."

A second figure, a woman with silver hair and violet eyes, leaned forward.

"And what of the other Chosen Ones?"

The man smirked.

"They've already begun to awaken."

The room fell silent. Then, the woman turned to face the others.

"We must act quickly. The longer we wait, the more dangerous they become. The children at St. Maria Orphanage… we must eliminate them before they grow strong enough to oppose us."

The figures exchanged knowing glances before nodding.

And just like that, the hunt began.

–————

At the orphanage

Shigure (PoV)

Tsukiko shifted slightly in her crib, her soft white hair barely visible under the dim moonlight. "(Alright, Akrūra, what's the plan again?)" she asked telepathically, her tone laced with curiosity and impatience.

Akrūra, who had been deep in thought, finally responded. "(Well, we need to gather as much information as possible about this world. We know we're in the Thalrithian Empire, but we don't know its political structure, key figures, or military strength. Also, we need to figure out if we can awaken our powers or if we have to wait until we grow up.)"

Karna, rubbing his temples as if he had a headache, sighed. "(And how exactly do you plan for a bunch of babies to do all that? Are we going to crawl into the library and start flipping through history books with our tiny hands?)"

Yuuka snickered. "(Imagine that. A group of infants secretly running an information network in an orphanage.)"

Estelle, still sulking in the corner, muttered, "(I don't care about the political structure. I just want to know why I had to reincarnate as a woman. I once had a bright future as a man in our old world ...)"

Marie, half-asleep, mumbled, "(Estelle, shut up. We've all heard your complaints a million times.)"

I decided to cut in before this turned into another existential crisis debate. "(Back to the topic, Akrūra. We need to first understand our surroundings. We've already managed to communicate telepathically, so that's a start. But we need to test if we have any special abilities beyond that.)"

Akrūra nodded. "(Agreed. We should each try to focus on sensing any energy inside us—maybe mana, aura, or whatever this world uses. If we can do that, we might be able to accelerate our growth and not stay helpless for years.)"

Tsukiko looked over at Mirai, who was staring intensely at her hands. "(Mirai, what are you doing?)"

"(Trying to cast a spell, obviously,)" Mirai replied. "(But nothing's happening. I think our infant bodies are too weak for magic.)"

Karna groaned. "(Of course. Just our luck. We get reincarnated into a world of war and magic, but we're stuck in baby mode for who knows how long.)"

Elriot Bayit Planum.

Meanwhile, in a realm far beyond mortal comprehension, Aurelthys, the supreme deity, observed her chosen warriors with mild amusement.

She rested her head on her palm, watching as the twelve infants bickered telepathically about politics, abilities, and existential crises.

"Ah, I love this part of reincarnation," she murmured to herself, sipping from a floating golden chalice. "They still think like adults, yet they're powerless little babies. Truly entertaining."

A nearby servant, who had been adjusting the divine screens, glanced at her. "Your Excellency, should we perhaps bestow them with a small blessing to aid their adaptation?"

Aurelthys waved her hand lazily. "No, let them struggle a bit longer. It builds character. Besides, I want to see how long it takes before they realize they can't even properly hold a spoon."

The servant again said."But my Excellency I have never saw you like this , you have never show such emotions before".

Aurelthys replied."Well , who know's aldebaran I have created emotion for myself to feal how my childrens feal".

The women name Aldebaran have blue hair and pink eyes replied in surprised."My Excellency don't tell me that yo—."

Before Aldebaran could say anything further Aurelthys replied

."Don't worry Aldebaran I am just a clone the real me will never show such emotion".

."bu–but why did you do that my Excelle–".

."shhh.....Aldebaran lets watch back at the screen".

Back in the mortal world, the twelve reincarnated individuals were about to experience the true horror of infancy.

Orphanage—Morning (NO PoV)

The next day, as the caretakers came in to feed the infants, a harsh reality hit them all.

"(Oh no...)" Tsukiko muttered.

"(What is it?)" Karna asked.

Tsukiko's expression was grave. "(We... we have to be fed... like actual babies.)"

A heavy silence filled the room.

Akrūra's eyes widened in horror. "(Wait... does that mean we have to be... breastfed?)"

Estelle's soul nearly left her body. "(NO WAY! NO! I REFUSE!)"

Marie, still groggy, muttered, "(If you refuse, you starve.)"

Karna, with dead eyes, spoke. "(I have never felt so humiliated in my entire life...)"

Aurelthys, still watching from above, burst into laughter. "Ah, this is the best entertainment I've had in eons!"

Back to orphanage after feeding incident.

The nursery room was silent. Too silent. The twelve individuals who were once a respect man's and women's (or at least competent adults) , now lay in their cribs , staring at the ceiling with pure existential dread.

Marie was the first to break the silence."(I want to die)".

Estelle, curled into a ball , whispered.

"(Same...)"

Karna who had been the loudest about his refusal earlier, had the deadest expression of all."(Their was no choice... We were too weak....)".

Akrura, despite his usual composed nature, also looked mentally shattered."(I was... humiliated)".

Shigure sighed."(I feel like all my past dignity has been erased in a single morning...)".

Yuuka, on the other hand , seems perfectly fine."(I mean, its not like we had any alternatives. Did you expect to just eat solid food with no teeth like those in Mangas and anime?)".

Mirai groaned."(Ugh, don't remind me. The caretakers tried to give me mashed baked potatoes yesterday, and I nearly choked. I had to accept reality very fast)".

Luciana, still laying on her side, muttered.

"(What's worse is that we don't even have proper control over our bodies. I tried to sit up earlier and just flopped like a useless sack of meat)".

Tsukiko nodded in agreement."(Yeah, the motor skills of a newborn are seriously lacking. I feel like a fish out of water just trying to roll over)".

Aurelthys, watching from her divine realm, was crying from laughter.

"Ah this is gold!" She wheezed, wiping a tear from her eyes . "Their despair is absolutely priceless! I should've reincarnated people more often if I knew it will this entertaining!"

Aldebaran who have been , glancing the screen, glanced at Aurelthys and said ."Your Excellency, aren't they supposed to be your chosen ones".

Aurelthys weaved off."Yes, yes , but what's the point of creating powerful champions if I can't enjoy a little drama first? The will figure it out... eventually and beside the real me is preparing something for them and beside's they still haven't notice that the world around them had frozen in time and also u can call me '002' okay Aldebaran ".

Back in the nursery room , the group was now contemplating the true nightmare of their situation.

Shigure PoV

"(Alright enough sulking)". I finally said, regaining some composure."( We need to start testing our limits even though we are babies. We might be physically weak now, but should we have some level of control over energy liked mana like those in manga's and novel's)".

Akrura nodded. "(Right. We might have given power by that goddess like those in Japanese manga. Let's try to sense mana or any sort of internal energy)".

Everyone Closed their eye's, trying to concentrate.

...

...

...

Nothing.

Marie opened one eyes."(Uh... anyone feel anything?)".

Karna and Luciana groaned both said the same thing."( Noped absolutely nothing , we're still just useless babies.)"

Yuuka sighed . "(Well, obviously. Our body haven't developed enough to channel energy to channel like those in anime.)"

Estelle , Anneliese , Mirai frowned but then Beatrice said. "(The what's the point of being reincarnated as a warriors if we can't even access abilities?)"

Tsukiko shrugged."(Maybe we have to wait until we're older. Magic in fantasy novel's usually required training, right?)"

Akrura, however, looked deep in thoughts.

"(Maybe... or maybe we are approaching this the wronged way.)"

We all turned to him.

"(Think about it.We're focusing on trying

to sense energy like those in Japanese manga's and anime's. Maybe we need to adapt to this world's unique system instead of relying and trying like those in novel's.)"

Karna crossed his arms and said. "(That's great and all, but how do we do that when we don't even know what's this world's power system is?)"

Akrura smirked. "(We experiment.)"

And so the first test begun.

After sometime.

The first experiment was a failure.

We tried everything.

Tsukiko tried to focus, hoping to tap into something like mana . But the result was failure.

Mirai clenched her tiny fists, also trying to focus. Still nothing.

Yuuka along with other remaining members tried chanting a few words, thinking maybe magic required vocal activity. Still no results.

I , personally, just tried to move energy through my body, but all I succeeded in doing is making myself incredibly sleepy.

After several minutes of repeated failure, Estelle had collapsed onto her back with a groan. "(Okay, this is hopeless. We're literally just babies like that one anime were mc got kill in his first life and then reincarnated as the 7th prince and used magic as a infant in the first episode. We probably won't be able to use any abilities until we're atleast a few year's old or more.)"

Marie sighed. "(Ugh, so we really are stuck in 'tutorial mode' until we grow up , huh.)"

Karna grumble. "(Great, just great. We're support to be one of the chosen one's, yet we are getting nerfed straight out if the gate.)"

At Aurelthys-002 place.

Aurelthys-002 , still watching, giggled to herself. "They are so dramatic! But I suppose

I should let them have a little something to keep their spirits up..."

She snapped her fingers.

At the nursery room

As we are on the verged of giving up but at that moment, Akrura eyes suddenly glowed for a brief moment.

Everyone froze.

"(Did... did you just do that?)" I asked

Akrura blinked, his eyes returning to normal.

"(I... I think so.)"

Estelle immediately sat up. "(Wait, what did you do? How did you activate your power?)"

Akrura looked down at his tiny hands. "( I just... focused. Then I imagined a flow of magic moving through my body, and for a brief second, I felt something.)"

Tsukiko gasped. "(That means it is possible! We just need ti figured out the right way to do it!)"

Suddenly, everyone was wide awake again determination filling the air.

At Aurelthys-002 place

Aurelthys-002. "Let's see how far they can pushed themselves before they collapse from exhaustion~ also let me change the environment so that they don't noticed that the time around them have stop. "

The real training has just begun.

Shigure PoV.

After Akrūra's unexpected success, everyone was fired up. If he could tap into his abilities even slightly, then it meant they all had a chance.

"(Alright, let's try this again.)" I said, sitting up in her crib.

We all closed our eyes, focusing our minds, trying to tap into whatever energy we had.

…

…

…

Then suddenly—

BOOM

A small explosion of light erupted from Noah's crib.

"GYAAAH!"

He flailed, his tiny fox ears twitching wildly as his fluffy white tail shot straight up.

"(NOAH, WHAT DID YOU DO?!)" Karna shouted.

"(I-I DON'T KNOW! I JUST TRIED TO FEEL THE ENERGY LIKE Akrūra DID, AND THEN—BOOM!)" Noah was clearly panicking, and honestly, so was everyone else.

Tsukiko stared at him. "(Wait, does that mean you just cast magic… by accident?)"

Yuuka smirked. "(Heh. The first spell of our group and it's a self-inflicted explosion. Classic.)"

Noah groaned, rubbing his tiny hands over his red eyes. "(Ugh, this is embarrassing…)"

Mirai, who had been strangely quiet, suddenly sat up. "(Wait… if Noah can do it, then that means…)"

Akrūra nodded. "(Yes. It means our powers are still there, just locked behind our undeveloped bodies. We just have to keep practicing.)"

At this point, Aurelthys, watching from above, was absolutely loving this.

"Hah! They're progressing much faster than I expected! And the best part? They have no idea I'm the one tweaking their growth behind the scenes~"

One of her divine attendants Name Elaine who have lilace hair and purple eyes hesitantly spoke up. "Your Excellency, isn't it a bit cruel to let them struggle like this?"

Aurelthys pouted. "Cruel? This is entertainment! Look at them! They're adorable!"

She zoomed in on Noah, who was now aggressively trying (and failing) to control his magic, only for tiny sparks to keep shooting out of his fingers.

"Ohhh, he's like a little firework! I love it!"

Back in the Nursery

"(Alright, new plan,)" Karna announced. "(Since Noah somehow managed to trigger his magic, let's all try to do the same but without blowing ourselves up.)"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

One by one, we all started attempting to activate our powers again.

Estelle tried to focus on her mana, only to suddenly feel weightless for a second before plopping back down.

Mirai clenched her fists, hoping to awaken her dragon abilities, but only managed to heat up slightly.

Tsukiko concentrated hard and… nothing happened. She was not happy about it.

Marie tried and immediately sneezed, causing a tiny gust of wind to blow from her mouth.

Karna kept trying but only got a faint blue glow around his hand before it faded.

And then…

A bright flash filled the room.

Everyone turned to look at Yuuka.

She was now levitating.

"(Y-Yuuka… are you flying?!)" Estelle stammered.

Yuuka looked down at herself, eyes wide. "(I… I think I am?)"

"(H-HOW?!)" Mirai demanded.

Yuuka just smirked. "(What can I say? I guess I'm just naturally gifted~)"

Tsukiko, who still hadn't managed to do anything, looked absolutely done. "(I swear to god, Yuuka…)"

Meanwhile, in the higher dimensions, Aurelthys-002 was rolling on the floor.

"PFFFT—SHE'S ALREADY FLYING?! Ahahaha! Oh, this is perfect! They're going to be so chaotic once they grow up!"

The divine attendant sighed. "Your Excellency, should we inform them that you're the one accelerating their growth?"

Aurelthys-002 waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, let them figure it out. It'll be more fun that way."

Back in the Nursery

Now that Yuuka had unlocked her ability to fly, the rest of us were feeling even more motivated.

"(If she can do it, so can we!)," Mirai declared, clenching her fists.

And so, training resumed.

Over the next hour, everyone kept experimenting, some with better results than others.

Tsukiko finally managed to release a small burst of energy after way too much effort.

Estelle realized she could momentarily increase her reaction speed.

Akrūra discovered that he could slightly alter his voice's tone. (Not exactly exciting, but progress is progress.)

Marie somehow summoned a tiny glowing butterfly. Nobody knew what that meant.

By the end of it, everyone was exhausted.

"(Okay… maybe we should take a break,)" Karna admitted, slumping in his crib.

"(Agreed…)," Estelle muttered.

Yuuka, still floating, just smirked. "(Hah, weaklings~)"

Aurelthys-002, sipping divine tea, chuckled. "Ah, I can't wait to see how strong they become… and how much trouble they cause along the way~"

As she said that a girl with white hair that reaches her foot , ruby color eyes and a skin as white as snow wearing a white dress this was the real came from a portal this was the real Aurelthys as 002 look at the real her she just smile and said

"Hello , real me did you prepare the gift for our chosen one's."

The real Aurelthys just nodded and said .

"Yes , I have completed the gift for the chosen one's."

Aurelthys said in a emotionless voice.

And with that, their training had truly begun.

––––––

The End.