The last thing I remember? Getting stabbed while chasing a masked guy.
Who stabbed me? No idea.
How to find out? I don't know yet.
Am I alive? If so, where the hell am I?
I can only see darkness.
My lacklustre life might've just come to an untimely end. I've got enough regrets to fill a whole mansion with.
I could've at least gone down swinging. But now? Viktor wins by default!
I just wanted one win. One moment. One time where I stood on that stage and beat him.
I got close. But NO, fate said: "Nah, bro, see you later"
I gave up on so much to raise my family's standing. Spent years on it. And this is how it ends?
I REFUSE!!!!
If there's a god up there, I want a damn refund. Or at least a good enough reason I can digest!.
—
Suddenly, LIGHT!
I sprinted toward it like a bloody beast was chasing me.
My eyes opened.
Stone ceiling. Moss. A disgusting, damp smell. The air was thick, suffocating.
I tried to move my arms. Nope!
Tried to speak. Still nothing.
I felt... small. Like weirdly small. Is it me, or is everything BIG!
Then the realization struck me: I AM A BABY.
I can't believe it! I am a fucking baby again!
"Oh, you finally opened your eyes! I thought you didn't make it," a woman's voice said.
She leaned over. Her face was pale and malnourished. She looked young and pretty, but worn out. Her jet black hair was covered in mud, and her dull blue eyes looked sad.
She moved my tiny, chubby baby arms. Yup. It's real.
"You take after your father a lot! I hope he can meet you soon. I don't know how long I can be near you... But I want you to find freedom and happiness."
Tears. Her voice cracked. She already knew she wasn't staying. Emotions built up in my chest, and tears flowed out.
I had no connection with this woman, but my body was acting involuntarily.
I realized we were trapped. And she wanted me to get out. Someday.
Okay, so let's evaluate: I'm a baby. Again.
This could be a different world. Or maybe a different country in the same one. I understand the language, so maybe the latter?
The woman has a southern accent. Meridon, maybe? Speech is too polished for a commoner. She might've come from some influential family.
In my past life, I was from the North. We didn't exactly get along with the South… not at first anyway. Viktor fixed that relationship. Somehow. Questionable methods? you bet!
BANG!
An iron door slammed open. Footsteps. Heavy.
"You're done here. Get out. We'll keep this little brat elsewhere. It'll cry and make a nuisance," a guard growled.
"I want to stay with my baby! You monsters will kill him if I leave!" she screamed.
They dragged her out, sobbing, while I lay frozen, unable to do anything. The door slammed shut.
And just like that, I was left alone.
My odds of surviving? close to zero. I must've burned through all my blessings already!
I was born into privilege in my last life. A Northern elite. We had everything: power, money, name.
The only thing we didn't have? The authority to make laws.
The social classes were clear: Common folk. Elites. Ultra-elites.
Your elemental power decided how far you climbed the toxic social ladder. It is passed down by blood. In short, YOU CAN'T CONTROL IT!
The door opened again. A burly man walked in. No hello. No humanity. He grabbed me roughly and carried me down a dim hallway reeking of mold. I swear it's moldy wherever I look!
He dumped me into the smallest, coldest, most miserable room I'd ever seen.
And that's how the days started passing. I thought. A lot. Cried a LOT. Sleep? NOPE.
I was fed some weird powder once a day. I never saw my mother again. I hoped she was okay. I doubted it.
Then, one night, the door creaked open again.
It was her. My mother. Rushing in slowly, yet with all the anxiousness and fear written in her face!
She picked me up, with some inaudible chant. But alarms blared. Lights flashed. Guards were coming!
Her heartbeat was racing. I could barely breathe from how tightly she held me.
She ran. Through corridors. Ducking into corners.
Footsteps! They came closer!
I prayed harder than I ever had. Just one chance!
Let us escape. Let me call her "Mum." JUST ONCE!
But the gods? They ghosted me.
ZAP.
She dropped with a thud.
I was flung from her arms. Hit the ground. Screamed like no tomorrow.
All I saw was RED blood. Everywhere!
They picked me up and threw me back into the cell. It was like life saying, " This is where you belong"
Just like that, I lost the first and only family I had in this life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Lalala, towards the sky!"
"Lalala, above and high!"
"Lalala, to the cloud and sun!"
"Lalala, it's bright and fun!"
A voice echoed in the darkness. A strange old man, singing off-key.
The room smelled like sweat and rot. Rusty gates. Too many people crammed into a tiny, little space.
"Lalala, towards the sky—" he sang again, but was cut off as the door opened.
A small girl was shoved inside. She was barely five. Mud-covered black curls. Wide, terrified brown eyes.
She scanned the room. Everyone was huge. Intimidating. Then her eyes landed on me,a tiny boy with messy hair covering my eyes.
"H-Hi…" she said.
I lit up. The first kid I'd seen here.
"Hello! It's my first time seeing someone my age. What's your name? Are you from outside? Why are you here?"
She opened the dam of tears on me.
I panicked. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? What's wrong?"
She just cried harder. So I wiped her tears with my dirty, yet long sleeve.
"Don't cry. I can't help you if you don't talk," I said nervously.
"I wanna go home. I'm scared," she whispered.
Yeah!!! ME TOOO. Wish I could say it out loud!
I sighed and patted the space beside me. She sat, still sniffling.
"I'll take you home. Might take a while though," I said, showing all my yellow teeth in a confident grin.
She looked at me like, "Are you out of your damn mind?"
"How?" she whispered out.
"I don't know. We'll figure it out."
"I'm Mirna," she said. "My mum and I lived in a village near the ocean. My dad was a fisherman. Went missing. Mum raised me. She said I had the fire element. We went to Arno island for my aura induction. But then..."
She hesitated.
"We were hiding in a cave. It was dark. I smelled fire. Men in black masks came. Fire on their hands."
Her voice cracked. Her hands shook.
"We tried to hide. They found us."
"Lalala, towards the sky!" the old man chimed again.
Mirna jumped. The guy was still singing. Suddenly started to laugh maniacally. Legless with an eye patch.
She clung to my arm.
"He sings when he misses his granddaughter," I explained. "He'll stop in a bit." I patted her head a little.
Nope! It didn't help.
"What happened next?" I asked, as gently as I could.
"They pointed a staff at us. Mum pushed me behind her. They took us here and locked us up. I don't know where she is now..."
She looked down. I didn't say anything.
"A lot of things make sense now," I muttered.
She looked at me.
"What's your name?" she asked.
I looked at her like she asked the most brilliant question I have never thought about myself.
Guess what? I didn't.
"I'd like to know that too."
I said and I meant it.