In the snowy winter, the cold, howling wind filled the whole world like a knife, harvesting all life.
The terrible cold made no one dare leave their warm and comfortable house and face the cruel winter.
Yet, on this desolate winter night, upon a quiet road blanketed in silvery white, illuminated by a solitary streetlamp, under a star-studded sky, there appeared a lonely figure of a mere four-year-old me, trembling as I walked forward.
"ch-ch-ch!"
My teeth chattered uncontrollably, my frail body was quivering from the cold, and my face looked pale.
The sweaters I wore earlier were nowhere to be found, and the remaining clothes on me looked thin and ragged. Even my hair was unkempt, and I leaned heavily on a tree branch for support as I struggled forward.
Suddenly, a fierce gust of icy wind blew towards me, cutting through me like a razor-sharp blade. I clenched my teeth and desperately struggled to stop myself from falling there and then from exhaustion.
"There... almost there, I really...a little bit more... I've worked so hard... I must reach... for my future."
I murmured weakly, and my voice was barely audible above the howling wind as I gazed at the falling snow.
The sight of the snowflakes made me remember how these white flakes of snow were so beautiful to the eyes when one was well fed and clothed.
But for people who had no house to live in, no clothing to keep out the cold, and no food to eat, this was the most terrible disaster.
This was a genuine assessment from my heart, because in my past two lives, the hardest times I had faced to survive were in the winters.
Hunger, exhaustion, cold...
I was always troubled by these things because I was raised on the streets, but it was also the cruelty of this winter that made my heart colder than snow.
'Winters are cruel for those without blankets.'
Recalling the past that was buried in my heart, I couldn't help but sigh, but it did nothing to make my body warm.
The relentless cold continued to seep into my very being, turning my body numb and unresponsive.
My body stiffened with each passing moment, and the bone-chilling pain from the cold penetrated deep into my marrow. I was like a cold stone amidst the frozen grass, my breath merging with the cold world.
Squeaky ankles, shaky knees.
Every time I barely took a step, a scream almost escaped my mouth.
Perhaps my appearance in the eyes of others would be closer to that of an undead person than that of a human.
Thankfully, I had managed to pick up a wooden stick before leaving the Whispering Woods. Otherwise, my journey would have been even more arduous.
As the biting cold blurred my vision, I looked up at the sky with a pair of blood-red eyes, filled with a kind of deep darkness that no one could see any emotion from.
Memories flooded my mind, reminding me of the differences between this world and Earth. Material conditions were scarce here, and many struggled to secure even a single meal each day.
In such a harsh reality, it was inconceivable for anyone, especially 'her,' to extend a helping hand without reason, regardless of their wealth.
Even on Earth, where society was developed and conditions permitted, few people would be willing to help others, let alone adopt a strange boy.
Not to mention, she was a veteran hero, and I knew that to convince her, mere acting wouldn't cut it. That was why I never intended to feign my suffering; every hardship I endured was genuine, but besides the cold winter, I too was responsible for it.
Leaving the forest earlier, I had deliberately thrown away my sweater, allowing the cold to penetrate deeper into my body as I slowly made my way towards my destination, which was on the outskirts of Conifer Town and in a secluded, uphill area on the other side of the Golden Glitter Shoreline.
The present me, who was trying his best to survive in this cruel world, looked like an abandoned little puppy that anyone with a heart would want to adopt and care for.
That said, my actions weren't aimed at stimulating that woman's maternal instincts or garnering pity, but they were a calculated show of my vulnerability.
As a four-year-old pre-awakened, in the eyes of the world, I wasn't an ordinary genius; I was a monster that had the potential to become one of the strongest in the world.
However, despite having such potential, I was not in some secret facility trained to be a loyal dog of the government or someone powerful. Instead, I was here, starving, hypothermic, on the verge of death, and in desperate need of warmth.
With such a vulnerable state, along with my small age, I was the easiest target who could be manipulated with just a little love and care.
So, wasn't I like a treasure lying on the street for someone with ulterior motives?
Wasn't I the perfect tool for a ruthless, ambitious, and lonely woman who harbors deep hatred in her head while also yearning for someone to fill the void in her heart and become her family?
I was!
Therefore, I pre-awakened my mana, not just to kill my mother but also to showcase my worth to my soon-to-be mother.
This plan of mine had the highest chances of success, but it was also risky. Naturally, I had backup plans in case things went haywire.
My eggs were not all in one basket, though they could only be used when everything failed.
Regardless, I didn't dwell on them at the moment. It wasn't that I didn't want to, but because I couldn't. I was not in any condition to think about useless things that would only deplete my energy faster.
I felt extremely tired.
The pressure of constantly hovering on the edge of unconsciousness had worn out my body and spirit.
My life seemed to be hanging by a thread, with death looming close. At this moment, my young body really wanted to take a good nap.
Despite my fatigue, though, I adamantly kept my eyes open because I knew that once I closed them, I would never wake up again, and I had no intention to die.
I wanted my resilient struggle to be recorded on the hidden CCTV cameras that most probably observe the street 24 hours a day.
I wanted to live!
But as if the world were mocking my struggle, it made snowfall heavier and heavier with each passing second, and the darkness that had enveloped the world seemed to be trying to swallow me alive.
Where was the hope in such a bleak situation?
Hope was there, right in front of me—the only house at the end of the street that I had to reach.
It was not easy, but I moved closer, step by step, towards that light flickering before my eyes.
The good news among the misfortunes was that the floor had suddenly changed from icy snow to soft earth.
It was so soft that I had a strong urge to lie down on it.
Like a soft bed with a large, warm blanket, it gently tempted me to lie down for a while and close my eyes.
However, laying down here was impossible.
I gritted my teeth and took a step, using the terrible cold that made my head spin as a stimulant. The cold made me feel like it would be better to die, but I endured and continued to move forward like a lost child searching for his mother.
The light got closer and closer.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Even though my feet slowed down, they never stopped.
The decreasing distance made my spirit rise, and finally I reached that light—the only house that stood alone on this empty street.
In terms of size, it was small, closer to a cabin than a house, but it was well maintained, and green, fresh plants covered with snow were growing beautifully in the flower bed around it.
Above all, smoke was coming out of the chimney, and light was coming out of the window.
The owner of the house was awake.
"At last..."
I led my almost frozen body and finally reached the destination.
But maybe it was because I momentarily became relaxed that my vision suddenly became dim.
My legs slipped, but my heart, which was colder than the snow, didn't allow me to falter, and I used this chance to perfectly execute my role as a dying kid on its wits end—so anxious that even when I slipped, I used my last reserves of energy to make one final, desperate struggle for life by hitting the door of the house.
Bang!
Of course, I struck not with my hands but with my head, and I screamed.
"Help... Please, help me!"
My voice was hoarse and weak, as if my body were in crushing pain, and my throat felt like it was going to tear, but to live, I had to scream.
"Please! Please... Please!"
There was no reaction.
I was sobbing, and blood welled up in my throat.
I collapsed, coughing up blood on the door panel.
Then I looked at the house with eyes about to go dark with despair. I seemed to not even have the strength to lift my hands anymore, so I hit my head on the door and cried out.
"Mommy is gone... Please, my mommy is gone... I'm hurting a lot too... It's very cold…Please.... Help…"
I raised my voice even louder as if to ease my anxiety.
My expressions were filled with despair, but my heart was as calm as the lake's surface, revealing a crystal clear, full-bright moon.
The woman was more stubborn and cautious than I anticipated, but everything was still within my calculations.
With a heavy sigh, I ceased my futile shouting and acted as if surrendering to a sense of helplessness that seemed to drain every ounce of strength from my body in an instant.
My body sagged against the door, my legs giving out beneath me as I collapsed, my shoulders and face colliding with the unforgiving surface of the door with a resounding thud.
Bang!
The door, adorned with sharp thorns, seemed carelessly constructed, and its jagged edges pierced my skin.
Blood began to pool.
But I didn't care.
I collapsed down in front of the door and muttered in a dying voice.
"...Please save me... Please, save me... Please... my mother…"
My words were but a faint whisper, barely audible even to myself. My body didn't move, and I seemed to be unable to even lift my neck, so my head and gaze sank down.
Naturally, the light coming from the crack under the door came into my view, and I saw that only the center of the door was shaded.
'Shade.'
It was a shadow.
Meaning someone was standing behind the door.
Not pushing me away for causing a commotion, but instead waiting and observing silently, as though peering directly through the door and into my soul.
I realized that I had nearly succeeded and that the time to wrap up this performance had come.
Carelessness was not an option.
I strained to muster my voice, as if pleading for the person behind the door to listen to me.
But it seemed I had run out of chances.
"Ah… it's… the… end…"
Those were my final words, my last act.
The light in my eyes dimmed, replaced by a haunting silence, as if the weight of impending doom had finally crushed me.
My body slackened, exhaustion washing over me in waves.
The world grew quieter, and the edges of my vision blurred. But it was exactly at that moment that the door supporting my body opened.
"..."
The door opened into the house.
Thanks to this, my body, which was leaning against the door, fell headfirst, like a toy with a broken windpipe.
My vision, which had been fading, plummeted toward the wooden floor.
Luckily, before my head could make contact with the floor, I felt two soft and slender hands gently cradle me in their embrace.
"... Looks like I still can't give up. Sigh!"
Hearing that sweet, mature female voice, I whispered to myself one final word in my heart before my world faded into darkness.
'Success!'