I Built a Divine Zoo in Another World

Lukas began to cry.

Not a quiet, controlled cry, but convulsive sobs that shook his small, fragile body.

Thick tears streamed down his flushed face, soaking the cloth wrapped around him.

Aurora, confused by the intensity of his crying, pulled him closer against her chest.

”Shhh, my little one...” she murmured affectionately, her long, pale fingers stroking his head covered in fine light fuzz.

”Why are you crying? Are you hungry? Are you cold?”

Clavor stepped closer, his brow furrowed with concern.

”Is he healthy? The midwife said he was...”

”He is, he is,” replied the older woman, whom Lukas now noticed standing beside the bed, washing her hands in a basin.

She was short and stocky, with strong arms and a face marked by time.

”Crying is good. It clears the lungs. Let him cry for a bit.”

But Aurora did not want to. She opened her dress, bringing the baby to her breast. Lukas felt the warm, sweet liquid touch his lips. Instinctively, he began to suckle.

It was strange. The milk flowed down his tiny throat, warm and nourishing.

As he fed, his crying gradually subsided, though tears still continued to roll silently down his cheeks.

’So I died,’ he thought, his mind still dazed by the flood of memories that was now settling, forming a clear line between what had been and what was.

’I died in a bus accident on the first day of the classes I had dreamed about.’

The irony was cruel. He had survived the orphanage, poverty, and loneliness. He had studied, worked, and struggled. He had managed to get into university. He was eighteen years old. His whole life lay ahead of him.

And a runaway bus had ended it all.

’And now I’ve been reincarnated. Reincarnated as a baby in this strange place, with these strange people, speaking a language I never heard in my previous life.’

He looked at Aurora’s face again.

Despite the confusion, despite the loss, a strange sense of peace began to seep into his heart.

She was kind.

Her violet eyes overflowed with genuine love, without reservation, without conditions. It was not a love he had to earn, conquer, or pay for in some way.

It simply existed, surrounding him like the soft cloth wrapped around his body.

She loved him because he existed.

Lukas had never experienced that before. Or at least, he did not remember it. The last time someone had loved him unconditionally was when his biological parents were still alive, and he had been too young to remember properly.

Only fragments remained, a lullaby, a pair of large hands rocking him gently, and the smell of coffee and bread in the morning.

Now, he had another chance.

Clavor stepped closer once more and placed a large, calloused hand on his son’s head.

The hand was heavy and warm, carrying a sense of security he had not felt in years.

It was not a fragile or temporary feeling. It was solid, as though this man could stop the world with his bare hands if he had to.

”Lukas Dmond...” He repeated the name, as if testing its sound on his tongue. Then he nodded, satisfied.

”A good name. A strong one.”

Asmon, the older brother, leaned over the bed with a confident, almost smug smile. He crossed his arms over his chest, imitating his father’s posture, though the result was more comical than imposing.

”He looks strong, alright. He’s already judging us, Father. He’ll make a great swordsman, I’m sure!”

Judite, who had edged closer by now, rested her elbows on the side of the bed and placed her chin in her hands. Her brown eyes were fixed on her brother so intensely that Lukas felt like an insect beneath a magnifying glass.

”He’s as pale as Mommy!” she declared with the conviction of someone who had just made a scientific discovery.

”His hair is light too... white. Just like snow.”

Aurora laughed softly, still exhausted but smiling.

”Yes, Judite. He takes after me. Just like you take after your father.”

Judite wrinkled her nose, staring at her own brown hair as though seeing it for the first time.

”I wish I were pale like you, Mommy...”

”You’re beautiful exactly as you are, my daughter,” Aurora replied, extending her free hand to touch the little girl’s face.

”Now take a step back. Let your brother breathe.”

Lukas observed everything in silence, nursing calmly, his crying finally gone. His eighteen-year-old mind trapped inside a newborn’s body continued processing information frantically.

’Where have I ended up? Is this Earth? The architecture is different. The clothes are different. The language doesn’t resemble anything I’ve ever heard, and I used to watch documentaries about every culture imaginable.’

He tried to remember a language that resembled it. Latin? No. Ancient Greek? No. Mandarin? Japanese? Arabic? None of them. This language possessed a melody of its own, a rhythm that reminded him of birds singing at dawn.

’And their appearance... Mother has white hair and violet eyes. Is that albinism?’

He looked at Clavor, at Asmon, and at Judite. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Normal.

Only Aurora possessed that ethereal appearance.

’Where am I? What kind of place is this?’

The questions accumulated, and he knew answers would not come anytime soon. He was trapped inside a fragile body that could barely move its own head.

He could not ask questions because he could not speak. He could not investigate because he could not walk. All he could do was observe, listen, and wait.

Clavor leaned down again, adjusting the cloth wrapped around the baby with unexpected care for a man with rough, calloused hands.

His thick fingers, covered in hardened skin, were surprisingly gentle against the newborn’s sensitive flesh.

”Rest now, Aurora,” he said to his wife, his voice low and calm.

”I’ll take care of the children. You need to recover your strength.”

Aurora’s eyes were already half-closed as exhaustion overtook her. The labor had lasted for hours, and her body demanded rest.

She nodded weakly, still holding Lukas close, reluctant to let him go.

”You’re going to be very loved, Lukas. I promise.” she whispered, her violet eyes finally closing.

”I’ll protect you from everything.”

Clavor nodded, wearing a rare and proud smile. It was the sort of smile that seldom appeared on a face marked by battles.

”And you’ll grow strong. As every Dmond should.”

Lukas finally felt exhaustion overtake him. The warm milk in his tiny stomach, the warmth of Aurora’s body, the soft crackling of the fireplace, and the calm breathing of his new parents around him, all of it conspired to drag him into sleep.

He tried to resist. He still had questions. He still wanted to observe more, learn more, and understand where he was and what had happened.

But his body was too small, too fragile, and exhaustion proved stronger.

His eyes closed.

The last thing he saw before falling asleep was Aurora’s face, her violet eyes finally closing as well, a serene smile resting on her lips.

The firelight danced through her white hair, making it shine like strands of silver.

And for the first time in many years, Lukas did not feel alone.