"Welcome, Brave. You have finally arrived!"
A cheerful voice echoed through the enclosed space. I immediately looked around, yet there was no one in sight.
Just moments ago, I was still inside the dungeon. I was supposed to use the teleportation circle to leave, but somehow, I ended up in this strange, sealed-off place. The space was completely closed, and standing before me was a massive stone statue of a woman.
I recognized her.
It was the same statue often seen in the town square—the goddess people worshipped, the Goddess of Fate, Fatelis.
Seeing the statue reminded me of an old tale:
They say only those chosen by the Goddess of Fate can reach the very bottom of the labyrinth.
If that's true…
"I've been chosen as the Brave?"
The moment I whispered that, I realized—things weren't that simple.
Because everything… began 16 years ago.
This day was the last day of my life.
My name is Goo Xingyu, a student born and raised in Malaysia. My graduation exams were coming in November, so I had been attending tuition classes every week.
I had tuition today too. After class ended at 6:30 p.m., I said goodbye to my friends and headed toward my motorcycle.
I'm seventeen this year—old enough to have a motorcycle license, so I rode my bike to school and to tuition. My birthday is on September 12, so I hadn't gotten my car license yet, though I had already started learning to drive.
I walked to the storage box behind my bike, unlocked it, took out my helmet, and put it on. I locked the box again, switched to my ignition key, pushed it into the slot, twisted it, and the engine came alive. I wheeled the bike out onto the road, shifted into first gear, and rolled on the throttle.
After a while of riding, I approached a four-way junction. Home was straight ahead.
There were no traffic lights at this intersection—just STOP signs and a white line drawn about a meter before the junction, signaling drivers to slow down and check for cars coming from the left and right. But on my side, there was no STOP sign. I didn't have to slow down; I could continue straight through.
I was going about 45 km/h, around 25 meters away from the junction. On the left side, a black car had stopped with its right signal blinking, waiting for a chance to turn. On the opposite lane, a blue car was coming toward me at roughly 50 km/h.
Seeing the black car stopped, I planned to accelerate through the junction before it moved. Five meters… four… three… two… one—
The black car suddenly lurched forward—fast. Too fast.
I froze for a split second, my mind blanking out in panic. But reality snapped back hard and fast, and I had to choose.
I was already nearing 55 km/h. Braking wouldn't be enough. Swerving right into the opposite lane would get me hit by the blue car. And now the black car was only a meter away from the left side of my bike.
I turned my head. The driver's face was twisted in panic—he had completely misjudged the timing.
His tires screeched, but it was far, far too late.
A deafening crash swallowed everything.
In the span of a few seconds, nothing I did could change the fact that I was going to be hit. As my body was launched into the air, regret flashed through me over and over.
Why did I accelerate just because the road looked clear?
I was flung into the opposite lane. The blue car slammed its brakes the moment its driver saw me flying toward him, but he didn't stop in time. It felt like being struck twice in a row.
I thought that would be it—but there was a third impact waiting.
I flew backward, hit the ground, rolled several times, and then—because my helmet had come off somehow—my head slammed into an electrical pole. Hard.
And that was the end of my memories.
Looking back now… seriously, I was pretty damn unlucky—huh?
Wait. Why do I still have consciousness? Why is everything pitch black? Why can't I move? Am I a vegetable now!?
I struggled. My hands could move—barely. My eyes opened slowly.
A sweaty woman was looking down at me with a tired smile. She was panting, out of breath.
Who… is she? I should ask.
I tried to speak.
"Wa… wa… wa? (Excuse me, where is this?)"
『Baby's crying. I'm your mother.』
What came out of my mouth wasn't language—it was babbling. And the strange sounds she made in response weren't Chinese, Malay, or even English. I didn't recognize a single word.
What? I don't know this language. Is it not from Earth?
I gave up on talking and instead looked down.
My body was wrapped tightly in cloth—like a rice dumpling. My limbs were tiny. I could see her arms holding me, but I could barely feel them.
Okay. Calm down, Xingyu. Think.
She was on my right. My body was lying sideways—small, weak, helpless.
Could it be…?
I had the answer.
I'm a baby!? Did I reincarnate into another world!? And this woman… she's my mother!?