"I want to live a peaceful life."
It was that particular fantasy of mine that drove me forward. It was a state of living desired by me the most. Because I wasn't born fortunate. Money made the world go round, and we didn't have it.
I wished for three meals a day.
We needed a roof over our heads to protect from rain or cold.
My sister deserved an education.
She deserved every good thing in the world.
Yet I was unable to give that to her. Until the day I nearly killed a young man who pulled us out of the gutter.
Years had passed since that dark age. Everything my sister wanted. I was able to give her.
Toys. Food. World travel.
All the sacrifices so far had been worth it just for her smile.
But why?
My vision dimmed. Staring at a pair of hands before me. I couldn't help but doubt reality. These hands were undoubtedly mine. Although small, supple and pure in texture, they were mine.
Those hands were not the hands of a man who had rummaged through trashbins. Nor were they the worn out fists of a desperate brother who fought off hooligans to secure his little sister's safety.
No. These hands were those of a baby.
For hours after waking up. I did nothing but stare at my raised arms before me. With each blink, I wished for reality to come back to the world I used to know. Unfortunately. It was to no avail. No matter how I wished to wake up from this bitter nightmare. I was stuck.
I refuse to believe this.
My arms fell down.
Creak~ Creakkk!
Observing the surroundings had already been done long ago. Tall pillars of wood surrounded the soft, cottony texture of the white floor underneath me. A gentle looking woman in her fifties sat on a rocking chair. Knitting mittens and cotton shoes.
Everything... All of this.
Was caused by me being cleaved in half by a truck.
I could still remember the skullsplitting pain. The helplessness of losing both legs. The despair from feeling your body slowly grow colder and slowly disobey your commands.And the desperate attempt at crawling towards my horrified little sister in a last ditch effort to comfort her.
Before I could say anything. Everything turned black. And this was what greeted me.
Run over by a truck.
A baby's body.
I have reincarnated.
I did not want to reincarnate. I had finally became rich after all my efforts. I was finally able to give what my sister deserved.
I had found my peaceful life.
'This is utterly stupid.'
It was a mockery. Life was mocking me again. When everything was going so well. This had to happen.
And this thing... This annoying thing.
A semi transparent blue screen that would appear when I think of the word. "Status".
=====
[Dominic Remington]
Sex: Male
Age: 23 hours old
Class: (Undecided)
Subclass: (Undecided)
Trait: [Ill Fated Star] (Mythical)
Attributes:
Str: E-
Ten: E-
Dex: E-
MI: E-
Spirit: E-
Invariable Attributes:
Charm: 7/10
Luck: -1/10
Willpower:8/10
Int: 7/10
Skills: (None)
=====
It was a damned game character's status page. One that tells of our special attributes and profession. The strange trait instantly caught my eyes. It was so strange that I wanted to learn more about it.
But no matter how long I stare at that specific trait, no information would pop out.
Figures... Judging from the game like status, the reason why I couldn't retrieve info was probably due to the fact that I didn't have an appraisal skill or an identification skill.
An [Ill Fated Star] huh. And the rarity is even mythical.
The -1 invariable attribute of luck also caught my interest.
These two things... I am just a baby. It is impossible to achieve such bad stats unless there was a special reason.
Come to think of it... The events that happened to me seems to be a typical cliche for an isekai protagonist.
Was I a main character?
I questioned my sanity.
And shook my head.
I reincarnated. But I am not a protagonist. Those creatures tend to have divine items, or a ring grandpa. And I don't plan on being a main character of a stupid wish fulfillment story.
I'd rather be a villain. They usually get the hot girls.
It is better to be "Chilling like a villain." rather than "struggling like a main character."
So in conclusion, there was no way I am a main character. Not with these sort of attributes. I don't even have a cheat. Unless you count my ability of being super unlucky.
I guess in my reincarnation, my previous bad luck carried over to this world.
Sucks to be Dominic Remington I guess.
My eyes wandered across the room again. The grandma had fallen asleep on her rocking chair. A pair of beautiful mittens and a small baby sweater rested on her lap.
She was smiling. And mumbling in her sleep.
Tick! Tock!
I blinked. I could hear the sound of a running clock. It was loud akin to a cicada desperately screaming their assess off during summer to get laid.
Tick! Tock!
Where the hell is it coming from?
I tried to stand up. That didn't work so well. My body just felt extremely heavy. Like a turtle unable to get back upright after being flipped upside down by the ocean currents and left washed up on the beach.
This sort of helplessnes. I hate it.
I don't like being a baby.
And it's only a matter of time before I probably shit myself. I'd rather die than suffer from having a big brown piece of turd stuck in my diapers.
DONG!
The ticking stopped. Replaced by an echoing bell. It was loud. Loud and deafening.
Gritting my teeth, I covered my ears with my hands. Though, the bell kept on resounding. Piercing the insulation of flesh.
It was as if the bell was actually directly sounding out inside my mind.
The grandma woke up. Scrambled over to me and picked me up. Hugging me dearly as she wrapped around a blanket over us.
DONG! DONG!
The bell kept on drumming.
Rumble!
The ground was shaking. The lanterns hanging on the sides of the house started swinging frantically. Objects fell down and the grandma holding me lost her balance. Falling onto the ground onto her back.
"Nghh!" I may not be able to understand the language she was speaking. But a cry of pain was always a cry of pain.
She was hurt.
I frowned.
The droning bell stopped. It was replaced by an annoying voice. It mimicked the tone of an overjoyed child upon receiving a new toy.
It was excited.
"Hahahat! Hello mortals? You might have forgotten my voice. Or you may only know me through historical texts describing a handsome young envoy such as I. Admit it, all of you were waiting for this!"
He sounded prideful and amused. And why the hell could I perfectly understand what they were saying?
And where the hell are you? All I can percieve is your annoying voice!
"The year is now 44000! A new dawn! A new beginning! And as per ancient tradition of Reverie, I am happy to announce that all of your miserable and boring peaceful lives are numbered!"
Fuck...
I was tired of struggling and fighting for a tomorrow that might be taken away from me. And it seems that I would have to repeat everything all over again.
What's new? Will I get stabbed and gutted again?
Would I become a slave and be abused?
Or would some deranged swordsman get pissed enough at my face that they'll want to dice me into innumerable pieces?
I'm tired...
"Welcome to hell assholes! Cherish your ten years of peace left from now on or prepare to dive into the depths of the world! As the saying goes, the first one to reach the core shall be god! And no one has ever done that since ages! Die or live, the time is now! Only you can decide how you meet your end!"
"In a blaze of glory? Leaving your mark through history. Or would you be trampled and broken? Who knows?"
"Hahahat! Good luck mortals! We are looking forward to your performance!"
The voice vanished. An eerie sense of silence dominated the surroundings.
Grandma looked down at me wuth sad eyes and mumbled incoherent words.
I refuse to accept such a reality. I despise having my life treated as nothing more than a game to be spectated upon by higher beings.
I guess I'll die then?
I'll starve myself and end this stupid circus called life.
I'm tired.
I forced myself to live to protect my sister.
Yet in this new world, I have nothing left to live for.
Life is meaningless at this point.
Just let me rest.