If Kirian had air in her lungs instead of amniotic fluid, she would be gasping from the exertion. Her evil sibling just tried to suffocate her with the same skill she just barely earned at the last moment. If she didn't just randomly unlock her Will Stat, she would probably be dead by now. That was terrifying. Until now, Kirian had seen her twin as more of a nuisance than a real threat, but if they tried something like this again, she was afraid she might not get so lucky next time.

  "You psychotic bitch, do you even realize what you've almost done?" Kirian raged. She was so disturbed by the whole situation that she fell back on her old habits of insulting others to protect herself.

  "Just you wait, when we're finally out of here, I'm gonna choke you to death, mark my words!" Her threat went unacknowledged. It seemed her wombmate was unaware of what transpired.

  "Wait..." It seemed Kirian finally realized with whom she was sharing space for over half a year. "How is it possible that a real unborn child learned such a thing?" That was a good question. Usually, normal fetuses don't come out of their mothers swinging spells.

  "Maybe... you're just like me! You remember!" This revelation was like a cold bucket for her anger. Suddenly, the chance of finding someone who is in the same situation as her was more important than some irrelevant near-death experience. She was alive after all.

  This needed some testing, but how can she prove that they're both reincarnators without outing herself? There was still a possibility that she was completely wrong, and it's normal for children to kill each other in the womb. Natural selection from the moment of conception. Kirian shuddered at the possibility. If it turned out to be true, then she was afraid to think what such a cut-throat world does to those already born.

  "I guess there's not much I can do but wait. I could try to sign with my hands, but I don't even know if they know sign language." She paused for a second. "I don't even know sign language."

  That complicated things. With no way to communicate, she had to live with her would-be killer in total silence for the next 2 months or so. It would soon get really cramped in here.

  "Now I understand why we don't remember our infant days. This will get awkward fast. Good thing I didn't thought of enacting my revenge here. Living with a corpse caressing my back would be another layer of horror I don't want to imagine right now."

  ***

  Kirian was completely right about things getting awkward. Today marked 37 weeks of pregnancy, not that she was aware of it. The only thing she could think about right now was praying to whatever higher being heard her to end her suffering and finally release her from this prison. Kirian's ability to sense presences was completely useless when she didn't know where she ended, and her brother began. Oh, right! She finally knew the gender of her sibling. She would also like to know her own, but her stiff baby body lacked the ability to look down far enough to see. Kirian silently hoped she was a girl. She didn't really have the chance to be one in her previous life, even though she had to suffer through everything almost every woman had to. The closer time got to the day of birth, the more nervous she became. Her mind showed her images of what the world might look like outside. The existence of glowing words capable of interacting with the brain itself suggested some advanced civilization, or at least that's how Kirian saw it.

  If only she knew. Everyone knows a proper world with a system takes place in a medieval world of sword and sorcery. Well, at least the world of Arkadia in the game did.

  "Something is not right. I think it's getting tighter in here?" Kirian was correct. It was finally time to end the fetus arc and truly begin the story.

  If she survives the birth in the first place, that is.

  "Oh shit, it's happening!" Normally, these words are said by the parents, not the baby.

  "Why does it hurt so much? Should the pressure on my head be this crushing?" Kirian didn't know it yet, but her mother's Might Stat was unusually high for a woman who plans to have children birthed by herself. Most of the population doesn't have to concern themself with growing too strong and killing their baby during childbirth. Then how does a hish Grade have children? With high Stats often comes high social status, and nobles simply employ the services of a surrogate mother to carry children for them. More than that, high levels of Might or Will make it harder to conceive naturally, so seeing a pregnant high Grade couple have a child is rare in and of itself. The twins' parents are special in that regard.

  "Fuck!" The muffled sounds she occasionally heard through the belly suddenly grew much louder. It was time to go through the birth canal, this is the part where most of the babies of high Grade's don't survive. Good thing Kirian's new mother was experienced in childbirth and knew exactly when and how to push. Her dream of having only one twin brother was insignificant if it meant living to see another day.

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  And suddenly voices, many voices, overwhelming sounds, and new colors. Someone turned her upside down and clapped her on the back to make her cough up all the liquid from her lungs. The first breath burned, but she didn't mind. She was free. Free from the void, free from the confines of the womb, free from being too close and personal with her brother.

  The excited voices around her grew even louder, joy quickly turning into concern.

  "Oh, right. Baby's cry after being born." So Kirian started wailing. Her cries, at first small and unsure, soon turned into screaming her heart out. It felt so good to make sounds once more. She will never take the ability to speak for granted again. This sign language thing wasn't such a bad idea. She would look into it when she's old enough. Now it was time to celebrate her birth.

  Another cry was heard throughout the room.

  "Or our birth, I guess." Kirian tried to look around, but her sight was still fuzzy at best and shitty at worst. She got washed and swaddled in a blanket, and her mobility became completely constricted.

  Her attempts at escaping her new prison were interrupted by a new notification.

  You have been Named! Congratulations!

  Kirian abandoned everything she was doing before and rushed to check her Status.

  Status of Mai Braveheart

  Path: N/A

  Traits:

  [Otherworlder]

  [Minor Unveiling]

  Stats:

  Vitality 0,21

  Might 0,03

  Speed 0,05

  Perception 0,12

  Mind 0,9

  Will 0,1

  Equipped Skills (0/7):

  Acquired Skills:

  [Sense Presence]

  [Mana Manipulation]

  "What a lazy name." Most of the time, three-letter names are acronyms of longer ones, but in this case, 'Mai Braveheart' is Kirian's full government name.

  "Heh, at least it's feminine. I hope my new parents didn't follow the example of my late father and gave their newborn son a girl's name. That would be ironic." Kirian, or Mai now, laughed at her own joke. She was still not over her near-death experience and the birth itself. Being fully conscious when it was happening really scarred her psyche.

  Suddenly, Kirian was laid into the hands of the woman impatiently waiting for her baby. She took one appraising look at her newborn daughter and scowled. The power she sensed from her was abysmal compared to that of her younger brother. Having twins was widely viewed as a blessing from the gods, and the firstborn, most of the time, was stronger than their sibling. When Ariana sensed the mana emanating from the newly christened Kai, she couldn't wait to see the older twin. When she scanned Mai with mana sense, she couldn't help the disappointed that followed.

  And who would blame her? Every last one of her children turned out to be prodigies, as befitted a Braveheart. If Kirian were to compare herself to normal children of peasantry, she would be considered ahead of her peers, but in the case of her new family, children here really came out of their mother's womb slinging spells.

  It wasn't a coincidence that the hero was born into this specific family. The Grand System decided to implant his soul into Ariana's barely conceived child because of its lineage. What is another brilliant child in a family full of geniuses? This was one of the 'opportunities' the system mentioned before. The hero had access to the resources of a noble family and an excuse to fall back on if he displayed unknown knowledge or skills for his age. It wouldn't do for the infant [Hero] to be accused of being a body snatcher (even if in a way he was) and being killed before he can even begin his grand quest of slaying the [Demon King].

  "I know my sight isn't the best right now, but I would recognize this look of contempt anywhere. Why is she staring at me like I owe her money? What the hell did I do? I was literally just born!" Kirian, being an only child in her previous life, never experienced the unfair favoritism that comes with having a sibling. Barely even 5 minutes into her new life, and she's already disappointed her mother. This must be a record.

  "Well, whatever. I'm hungry, woman! Feed me!" As all babies do, she started crying to bring attention to her very empty belly.

  Ariana, being a professional mother at this point, already on her fifth child, naturally understood what her daughter needed. She brought her wailing infant to her chest and let her feed. At the same time, she turned her gaze to her far more impressive son and gently stroked his sparse baby hair. She whispered something to him, but Kirian, not having the benefits of a [Hero] class, didn't understand a thing. She will have to learn the language the hard way.

  "Normally, milk is supposed to be sweet, but this doesn't taste like anything." Kirian mused, forcing herself to swallow the tasteless liquid that entered her mouth. She would need to eat if she wanted to develop properly, even if the flavor is subpar.

  What a heartwarming sigh it was. The newly reborn [Hero] lovingly looking up at his mother, while his older sister tries not to gag her food out. Truly, a breathtaking start to the story.