Chương 37: Chapter 36: The Baby Talk

The first thing Ren did the next morning was eat. That still required Elna's help, but whatever humiliation he had once attached to feeding had disappeared months ago. There were only so many times a person could be held, fed, burped, cleaned, and diaper changed before the entire process became ordinary. Humans really could grow used to almost anything. … A useful trait, considering his situation. There was no going back now.

Ren had made his decision the night before, but he was not about to throw himself into it headfirst the moment Elna set him down. He needed time to steady himself. More importantly, he needed to use his refreshed body to train and recruit his sisterly co-conspirator. The three-part wand waited beside the patterned wooden ball. Ren grabbed it first.

He wrapped both hands around the lowest section, found the embedded charm through Mana Sense, and pushed every bit of mana he could gather toward it, until the first section's resistance drained nearly everything he had. He pulled what he could back out, pushed it in again, and repeated the exercise until the warmth beneath his skin had dwindled to a weak trace. The charm still refused to do anything more. Fine, keep your secrets then!

Ren set the wand beside the ball and waited for the training to settle his thoughts. It did not. The Talk remained exactly where he had left it, pressing behind every attempt to think about something else. Ren pushed himself upright and turned to Athletics instead. Without Tessa directing him, there was no obstacle path or distant spoon waiting as a goal. He chose the far end of the blanket, walked to it at a steady pace, turned, and started back.

The work was familiar enough to demand his body without requiring much from his mind. Ren kept going until effort gathered in his legs, rested before it spoiled his steps, then stood and began another crossing. His steps were steady and sure. Yet there was still much room to grow until he could explore everywhere freely. His legs began to tire after several crossings, and his breathing deepened as the effort gathered through his body.

Ren sat before exhaustion could ruin the rest of the morning, waited until the strain eased, then stood and repeated the process. He had learned enough to know that throwing himself at a limit until his body failed was not always the fastest way through it. What he needed was practice and– Patience. When he finished, Ren settled onto the blanket and opened his Status. The familiar screen appeared.

[Status] Name: Ren Marric Level: 4 [791/800 EXP] Unspent Stat Points: 0 Attributes: Strength: 7 Dexterity: 7 Vitality: 4 Intelligence: 9 Willpower: 6 Concentration: 7 Knowledge: 2 Resources: Health: 40/40 Stamina: 41/41 Mana: 10/37 Focus: 12/21 Skills: Discipline Lv. 8 Observation Lv. 8 Listening Lv. 6 Memory Lv. 6 Calculate Lv. 3 Athletics Lv. 14 – Initiate Language Lv. 14 – Initiate Expression Lv. 12 – Initiate Mana Sense Lv. 6 Mana Manipulation Lv. 4 Interpretation Lv. 6 Appraisal Lv. 9 Sleeping Lv.

9 Composure Lv. 7 Analysis Lv. 5 Planning Lv. 11 – Initiate Body Conditioning Lv. 7 Resting Lv. 10 – Initiate Throwing Lv. 5 Stealth Lv. 2 His Status showed how far he had dragged himself from the helplessness of the first loops. Athletics had turned crawling into steady walking, increased Strength made each movement easier, and Mana Sense and Mana Manipulation had finally given him a way to work with magic instead of merely knowing it existed. His baby body still decided how far he could walk.

His legs remained short, his muscles weak, and no amount of stubbornness could make them capable of adult work. Yet the same distance consumed less stamina now than it had when he first began training, despite his body having little time to grow. That made the resources easier to understand. Stamina allowed his body to keep performing after its natural ability should have fallen short, while higher skills reduced how much of that resource each action required.

As Athletics improved, the System needed to spend less stamina helping his body complete the same steps. Ren could not walk forever, but every level let him do more before his body forced him to stop. And from what he understood of the others, the same went for them too. They let him bridge the gap towards the next needed step. Until he was able to do it without System help. He was thankful for that.

The System had enabled more than Ren could have imagined when the loops began, but the Status still showed nothing about what mattered most. There was no explanation for why he returned after death, no warning for when the goblins would come, and no promise that dying again would bring him safely back. Which wasn't much of a surprise, the System was just as confused about him timelooping as he was. … Probably a little less. Ren stared at the screen until the words began to blur.

His skills could become part of the answer, but they could not tell his parents what was coming. That part still belonged to him. The decision felt heavier in daylight than it had the night before. Just how would they react to their weird talking baby? He didn't know, and that worried him. Ren dragged his attention back to the Status and forced himself to breathe more slowly. None of those fears mattered more than keeping them alive.

Even if they hated him after hearing the truth, they would still be alive to hate him. Ren held onto that until the pressure in his chest eased. Then he closed the Status and looked toward the stairs. It was time to find Tessa.

He found her upstairs with the Treasury pouch in her lap and the wrapped sweets arranged around her knees. She looked up as he approached, and the moment Ren told her he needed help, the sweets lost her attention.

"Mama. Papa. Together," he forced out. Tessa frowned.

"Why?" Ren pointed to himself.

"Surprise." Her expression brightened as she understood.

"You are going to show them?"

"Yes."

"The talking? And walking too?!" He just nodded at that. That was enough for her. Tessa set the pouch aside and rose at once, already grinning at the thought of their parents' faces.

"I can get them!" Ren stepped into her before she could leave and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank. Best sister." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. She really was the most amazing sister he could have hoped for. And whatever came next, he needed her to know that. Tessa hugged him back, pleased with the praise even as she tried to sound as though it were obvious.

"Hehe. Of course I am!" She still believed the surprise ended with Ren walking and talking. For a moment, he considered telling her the rest, but that would leave her carrying the truth alone while she gathered their parents. Ren held onto her a little longer, then let go. He would tell all of them together.

Not long after, Tessa brought Bren inside from the yard and ordered both parents to stand near the hearth. Elna looked between her children.

"What is happening?"

"It's a surprise!" Tessa said. Bren brushed dirt from his hands.

"Should I be worried?"

"No." Tessa considered it.

"Probably not!" Ren waited near the edge of the room while she arranged them. His pulse beat too quickly. Every word he had practiced seemed to crowd toward his mouth at once. The goblins. The loops. The cellar. Their deaths. Tessa returned, lifted him beneath the arms, and carried him into the center of the room. She lowered him onto his feet, stepped back, and threw out both hands.

"Ta-da!" Ren looked at them. Elna stood with one hand still resting against her apron. Bren watched with mild confusion and the beginning of a smile. Tessa bounced once on her heels, delighted with the presentation. They were all there, happy and alive. The warning could wait a moment longer. The goblins could wait. The loops and every death hidden inside him could wait while he gave his family the most important truth first. Ren looked at Elna.

"Mama." Her smile vanished in shock, and Ren turned toward Bren next.

"Papa." Bren stopped moving entirely. Ren swallowed. His throat no longer hurt, but the words felt larger than anything he had forced through it before.

"I love you." Elna's hand rose to her mouth while Bren stared at him. Beside them, Tessa made a delighted sound.

"He said it!" Elna dropped to her knees and reached for Ren. He stepped into her arms before she could lift him, and a moment later he was pressed against her chest while her breath shook through a laugh.

"Oh, my little spark." She kissed his hair and temple before pulling back just enough to see his face.

"You spoke."

"Yes." Her eyes filled as Bren lowered himself beside them and placed one broad hand against Ren's back.

"Say it again." Ren looked at him.

"Papa." Wonder softened Bren's face, followed by something deeper that proved too strong for the grin he tried to hold. Tessa pushed closer.

"He can say my name too." Ren reached toward her.

"Tessa. Love you." Her bright grin collapsed into something smaller and far more vulnerable before she wrapped both arms around Elna and Ren. Bren leaned over them, and the four of them folded together beside the hearth. For a while, Ren let himself stay there. His family love and comfort a balm upon his weary heart. Elna whispered that he was brilliant. Bren laughed softly each time Ren answered a question.

Tessa proudly explained that she had helped him practice, although her contribution had mostly involved secrecy and increasingly difficult demands. Ren really didn't feel brilliant. Far from gifted, or smart. In fact, he had simply grinded… Though perhaps that was enough. Questions and exclamations crowded around Ren while Elna held him against her. Bren wanted to hear every word again, and Tessa kept proudly supplying answers before Ren could manage them himself.

Their astonishment quickly became delight as they understood that he was not merely repeating sounds. He knew their names. He understood what they said. Their impossible little baby was speaking to them. Ren rested against Elna's shoulder and listened to their happiness. This was what the truth would interrupt. He could wait until evening, after they had enjoyed the surprise. Better yet, he could give them the whole day.

Tomorrow would still leave time to warn them, and one peaceful day hardly seemed like too much to give the family he had already watched worry and die too many times. The excuse felt almost kind enough to believe. Then smoke filled his memory. Bren disappeared through the door to fight, while Tessa cried and Elna tried to hold both children behind her. Ren remembered how little time had remained once they understood the danger, and how quickly every choice had been taken from them.

That one day could become another failure if he let it. Ren tightened his arms around Elna before forcing himself to pull away.

"Mama." Her attention settled on him at once, the joy still bright in her face.

"Papa. Tessa." Bren leaned closer, and Tessa quieted beside him. Ren looked from one of them to the next, holding their faces in his mind before he changed the morning for all of them.

"I love you." Elna's eyes shone as she smiled.

"We love you too." Ren held onto the answer until he could make himself continue, then pressed against her arm.

"Down." She hesitated, sensing the change in him, but lowered him carefully to the floor. Ren planted his feet and stood before them, turning their joy briefly back into astonishment. Bren's eyes dropped to Ren's legs while Elna kept both hands close to his shoulders. Tessa's pride flared again, but Ren could not let the walking become another celebration.

"Important," he said.

"Need tell." The change in his voice quieted them. Elna's happiness gave way to concern as she leaned closer.

"Tell us what?" Ren's mouth had gone dry, but he had their full attention now and could not waste it.

"Goblins." Bren straightened at once, and Elna's hand closed gently around Ren's upper arm.

"What about them?" Bren asked.

"Come."

"When?"

"Soon." Bren turned toward the door, already moving from surprise to action, but Ren raised one hand.

"Wait." His father looked back, purpose sharpening his face so quickly that Ren nearly lost his nerve. He stepped against Elna instead and wrapped both arms around her leg. Her hand settled over his hair, and the familiar warmth helped him force the next words through.

"Goblins come. Village fights." Bren drew breath to speak, but Ren lifted his hand again before the questions could begin.

"Wait." The word shook badly enough that Bren stopped. Ren pressed his cheek harder against Elna's skirt, then forced out the words before fear could close his throat.

"We die." Elna's fingers tightened in his hair, and Tessa drew a sharp breath beside her. Bren stared at him as though he had misheard.

"What?" Ren made himself look up.

"Village. Mama. Papa. Tessa." He touched his own chest.

"Ren." The color drained from Elna's face. Tessa moved closer to her without seeming to notice, shaking her head as the meaning reached her.

"No." Ren looked at his sister and wished that denial could make it true. Instead, he continued.

"Then wake." Bren's brow furrowed.

"Wake where?" Ren pointed toward the stairs and the room where every loop had begun.

"Baby. Again." Silence settled over them while Ren touched one finger to his temple.

"Remember." Elna lowered herself in front of him, searching his face.

"You remember dying?"

"Yes." Pain crossed her expression before she managed to control it.

"Ren, was it a dream?"

"No."

"Then how can you know?" Ren searched for words large enough to explain something even the System only noticed after a while.

"Time… loops." Tessa looked toward Bren, but the same confusion had left him with nothing to offer her. Ren continued before either of them could interrupt and before his courage failed.

"Live. Goblins come. Die. Wake again." Elna reached for him. Ren let her lift him into her arms, clinging to her even as he forced himself to finish.

"Again," he said.

"Again." Tessa's eyes filled.

"We all die?" Ren wished he could give her any other answer.

"Yes." Her lower lip began to tremble. For once, Tessa did not insist that she could fight, hide, or fix everything. She only stood beside Elna, frightened and much too young to hear that she had died in lives she could not remember. Ren reached for her.

"Sorry." Tessa caught his hand at once and held it tightly.

"Did it hurt?" The question struck harder than any of the others. Ren tried to answer, but his hesitation lasted long enough for Tessa to understand, and her fingers tightened around his. Bren turned away with one hand pressed to the back of his neck and paced toward the table.

"How many times?" Elna whispered. Ren lowered his gaze. He could not force the memories into a number when even trying brought them crowding back at once, and Elna seemed to understand enough from his silence to hold him closer. Bren drove the heel of his hand against the table.

"Goblins." The word came out like a curse, and the sudden anger made Tessa flinch. Bren saw it and reined himself in, but Ren had already caught the helpless fury beneath it.

"They came here," Bren said.

"They killed my family, and I did not stop them."

"You could not know," Elna said.

"I should have protected you."

"You did."

"Not well enough."

"Papa tried," Ren said. Bren went still. The anger remained, but Ren watched it turn away from his father and settle on the goblins instead. Elna looked between them, fear and confusion pulling at her expression.

"How can this be real?"

"Don't know," Ren admitted.

"The System?" He shook his head.

"Why you?"

"Don't know." Her next question came more quietly.

"Will it happen again? The goblins, and the loops?" Ren's stomach twisted.

"Don't know." Each answer left them with less certainty rather than more. Tessa pressed against Elna's side, her usual confidence gone, while Ren watched the fear he had brought into the room spread across all three faces. He had wanted their help, but for one sickening moment, guilt made him wonder whether telling them had only given them pain they could do nothing with. Then he remembered what silence had given them before. Nothing but death. However much the truth hurt, they needed it.

Bren turned back toward him with his jaw tight and his breathing held under visible control. He crouched until they were level, then searched Ren's face for so long that the question began forming inside Ren before his father finally spoke.

"Are you really our child?" Elna drew in a sharp breath, and Tessa jerked toward him.

"Papa!" Ren answered immediately, before fear could twist the question into anything else.

"Yes." He reached for Bren.

"Love you." There was nothing more Ren could offer him. No explanation of souls or proof of what made him Ren beyond the love he carried for the man in front of him. Bren's face broke. Bren took Ren from Elna and gathered him against his chest, supporting his back with one hand while the other cradled his head.

"Then you are my son." Ren clung to him as Elna wrapped her arms around them both and Tessa pressed in beside her. Fear, grief, anger, and confusion had entered the embrace, but none of them pulled away. They knew more about Ren than they had a few minutes earlier, and they still held him as tightly as before. His eyes burned with unspent tears. Bren's hand moved slowly over his back.

"How many loops has it been?" Ren stiffened against him. Bren felt it immediately and stopped before Ren had to answer. He drew one unsteady breath, then another, and when he spoke again, the question had changed.

"What do you need us to do? How can we… prevent the disaster?" Relief struck so hard that Ren buried his face against Bren's chest for a moment before forcing himself to pull back. His parents were great.

"Prepare," he said. Bren nodded and waited.

"Village. Hadrik. Tovin. Goblin proof. Outside help. Safe place." Elna listened without interrupting while Tessa wiped her face with one sleeve and moved closer again. He stopped. Then tried again.

"And…"

"And?"

"Don't know. What… can. Be done. More?" What followed were questions, suggestions, and Ren explaining everything he knew about the danger. Goblins, big goblins, their even larger leader. And that last time, regular preparations were not enough. They needed more. He watched, his fears melting away, as his family took him seriously, accepted him for who he was, and tried their best to contribute and find a way out of the predicament. For the first time, Ren was no longer planning around his family.

He was planning with them. Perhaps the village could be saved yet. He hoped it would be.