The Second Life of Demon King

Episode 4: Rebirth

Maximus’ soul traversed the mysterious darkness of the afterlife. Energy swirled around him, like a magnetic storm leading him to an unknown destination. Every glimmer of light radiated his powerful memories and vows, demanding that he return and destroy the traitors who had betrayed him.

“I won’t let you get away with this,” he thought, feeling a determination burning in his soul now trapped in emptiness. “One day, you will pay for this.” The image of Auron and Eris’ smug faces gripped him, making him tremble with rage.

A sudden change occurred as Maximus’ soul crossed the dimensional barrier. The scene shifted to a peaceful little village, where a heavy rainstorm began to fall, as if nature was preparing for a great birth. In a simple house, the sound of a woman’s screams broke the silence of the night.

“Take a deep breath, honey! You can do it!” her husband’s soft voice broke the tension, though his face was filled with worry. He held his wife’s hand tightly, his knuckles stiff.

Finally, the sound of a baby’s cry filled the room, breaking through the dark clouds outside. A baby boy was born, his skin pink, and his head still wet. His parents looked at him with love, although his mother's face looked exhausted, her smile remained bright. 

However, when the baby opened his eyes for the first time, there was an unusual sharp gaze, like a flash of memories that a baby should not have. "What happened?" he thought, his small body shaking as his experienced eyes stared directly at his parents' faces. 

Behind that innocent gaze, Maximus' burning memories flowed: the faces of traitors, the blood that flowed on the ground, and the final moments when he swore revenge. In that flash of memory, he saw an image of himself as a Demon Overlord, standing majestically on a throne, surrounded by loyalty and fear. "This isn't the end, is it?" he thought, confused and angry at the same time. 

Now, in the body of a baby, Maximus felt trapped and limited. He felt the warmth and affection of his parents who cared for him gently, but his emotions were also conflicted. "What is this? Why do I feel this? This is... strange." Isaac’s tiny hand reached for his mother’s finger, reminding Maximus of the power he once had. Confusion gripped him as he felt a human feeling he had never known before. 

The baby stared around, his blue eyes scanning the flickering candlelight. In his mind, a voice whispered, “You are no ordinary baby. Wait for me, world. One day, I will rise again.” Isaac felt a strong urge in his soul, a need to access the power that lay dormant, even as he was trapped in a body that was still fragile. 

Isaac fell asleep, his face peaceful but with a thrilling aura. As his little eyes closed, Maximus’ thoughts flowed through his mind, feeling every heartbeat and flow of blood in his new body. “My powers may be gone, but my soul will never die,” he thought, filled with conviction. 

Isaac’s closed eyes held hope and determination to return to his path, signaling that this was only the beginning of a long journey to gain power and fulfill his vow of revenge.

In a simple house with warm wooden walls, baby Isaac Ackerman lay in his crib surrounded by soft cloths. A gentle breeze blew the window curtains, making faint shadows move over his still pink face. In the quiet night, amidst the warmth of the house, there was something different radiating from this baby—something that was almost beyond human reason. 

Isaac stared at the ceiling of the room with an intense gaze, his blue eyes seemed to dig into the shadows, searching for something unseen. "What is this? A strange body," he thought in confusion, feeling the warmth of a body he had never known before. "Why do I feel so... small and limited?" 

His parents, David and Lydia Ackerman, noticed their baby's gaze so sharp and deep, almost as if it penetrated every glance they gave. 

"David... have you ever seen a baby stare like this?" Lydia asked, her voice almost a whisper. Her face expressed anxiety mixed with curiosity. She looked down, looking at Isaac's eyes that shone something foreign. 

David chuckled, patting his wife's head. "He's just a baby, honey. Maybe he's thinking hard... I don't know what a baby can think," she answered with a chuckle, even though she felt the same way. Every time those little eyes looked at her, she felt a cold sensation that she didn't understand. 

But Isaac stared back, as if daring the world to ignore him. "Ah... these are them? Humans... so fragile," she thought with a vague awareness. His little hands clenched slowly, his tiny body trembling as he tried to recall his old memories. "What happened to me? Why is everything so different?" 

The night passed quietly, but several times Lydia caught Isaac staring blankly at his fingers, moving them awkwardly. His eyes were fixed, as if he was calling something from a vague past. Lydia frowned, feeling horrified and captivated by her tiny baby's gaze. 

"Isaac, what are you looking at?" she murmured softly, staring at her son's little hands that moved as if he was remembering something that a baby his age shouldn't know. 

Isaac just looked away, staring at his mother with an expression that made Lydia hold her breath. There was a deep emptiness, accompanied by a glimmer of hatred, but dimmed by the ignorance of his new body. "What is this... this weak body... why did I have to be reborn as a creature like this?" he thought in frustration. But when Lydia stroked his cheek, baby Isaac felt a strange warmth, almost making him waver. 

One afternoon, when the three of them were in the room, David noticed Isaac who seemed engrossed in looking at his own hands with a serious expression. Suddenly, Isaac's hand lifted slowly, forming a vague, but seemingly regular movement. The little eyes seemed focused, full of concentration as if trying to remember something that had been lost. 

David was stunned, his eyes narrowed watching. "Lydia, look at this..." he murmured softly, touching his wife's shoulder. 

Lydia approached, seeing her child's little hand moving. "What...? Like... like he's remembering something," she whispered, horrified but unable to take her eyes off him. The small movement, although not perfect, formed a strange formation, as if Isaac was trying to chant something he didn't understand. 

In his still fragmented mind, Maximus tried to connect his scattered memories. "Magic... how do I call my powers back? What should I do... in this human body?" he thought in suppressed annoyance, his halting hand movements felt like a painful reminder of lost strength. 

Isaac was seen sleeping on his little pillow. But his face was not calm like a normal baby's—his little eyebrows were furrowed, as if there was a struggle inside him. There was a faint line of hatred and strong determination behind his innocent expression. 

Meanwhile, David and Lydia who were still awake looked at each other in silence. "Maybe we overdid it?" Lydia asked, trying to calm herself. 

"Maybe... but he's different, Lydia. It feels like there's something behind that baby's gaze... something more than just a normal baby," David murmured, trying to ignore the feeling of horror that slowly rose in his heart. 

In his sleep, baby Isaac seemed to move his little lips, whispering in a language that no one understood. "I'll find a way... no matter how long it takes..." With a gaze shrouded in shadow. On the other side, the faint shadow of Maximus' face that was visible in the reflection of the window glass, stared at Isaac with a determined look.

In a simple room with soft wooden walls and minimal furniture, Isaac sat on his mother’s lap. His round, bright blue eyes glistened in the sunlight coming through the window, gazing at every object in the room with an unusual interest. His gaze was not just the innocent gaze of a baby, but filled with deep observation—as if searching for meaning behind seemingly simple things. 

“What is this… a world so full of color and light?” he thought with vague confusion. As Maximus in his previous life, he had never looked at the world with such tenderness. The demon world was full of shadows and darkness; it felt so stark in contrast. 

His parents, David and Lydia, noticed their son’s unusual behavior. Lydia, with her gentle smile, tried to comfort Isaac who looked intently at the toy in his hand. 

“Isaac, what are you looking at? It’s just a toy,” she said in a loving voice, waving a small wooden doll in front of Isaac. But Isaac only stared at the doll with an intensity that made Lydia feel a little uncomfortable. 

“Why… does this thing look so foreign?” Isaac thought as he held the toy in his small hands. He felt the rough texture of the wood, but he didn't get the satisfaction he was looking for. With awkward movements, Isaac began to move his small hands, trying to remember something. His trembling fingers tried to form a movement that was once so familiar to him—a magic spell formation. However, the movement looked weak and disjointed. 

David, who was watching from afar, frowned. "Did you see that, Lydia?" he whispered softly, his eyes not leaving Isaac's strangely moving hands. 

Lydia nodded slowly, trying to ignore the surprise that was slowly emerging. "He's a baby, David... maybe he's just imitating our movements," she muttered trying to convince herself, even though her heart was beating faster. 

When Isaac moved his hands again, David couldn't help but feel curious. He crouched down, moved closer to Isaac, and whispered softly, "Isaac... what are you trying to do?" 

Isaac just lifted his head, staring at his father with a gaze full of mystery. "Why does this body feel so... weak? Can't I remember my old strength?" he thought, even though he couldn't express his feelings in words. He just furrowed his brows, an expression that seemed unusual for a baby.

David chuckled, though there was worry in his laughter. “You’re a very serious baby, Isaac,” he said, trying to hide the strange feeling that was creeping into his mind.

As night fell, Isaac was fast asleep in his crib, wrapped in a soft blanket. But in the darkness of the night, his mind began to fill with strange, flashing images—glimpses of the faces that betrayed him, visions of his destroyed castle, and memories of his vows uttered in the final seconds of his life as Maximus.

The flashes made his tiny body move restlessly. His face scrunched up, his little hands gripping his blanket tightly. Suddenly, he woke up and cried in a hoarse voice, jolting Lydia and David from their sleep.

Lydia held Isaac anxiously, rocking his tiny body gently. “Shh… honey, what’s wrong? A bad dream, huh?” she said as she rubbed Isaac’s shaking back. But Isaac’s gaze never calmed, his eyes looked blank, as if trapped in an image that shouldn’t be in a baby’s memory.

 “What is this? Why are these memories coming back?” Isaac thought in his unspoken panic. “I… I am… who am I really?”

David, who was standing next to Lydia, looked at Isaac with a worried look. “What kind of dreams could a baby like him dream, Lydia? As… as if he saw something dark,” he muttered.

Lydia shook her head. “Maybe just ordinary shadows. Babies can’t remember things like that, right?”

David was silent, hesitant, his eyes staring deeply at their baby who was now asleep again. There was something in Isaac’s gaze that still disturbed his heart, as if this baby was holding something that was unreachable by their world.

The night grew quieter, but Isaac’s soul, who had once been Maximus, remained restless. He fell asleep with a face that still implied a faint determination, and his small hands clenched as if swearing to this world, that one day he would remember everything.