Chapter 2: New World
"Oh yes, this situation... This utter darkness?"
His eyes could not adjust to the dark. Why was that?
"I think I actually died in my old life? Wait... I lost my heart and kidneys for a noble course... And at that moment, I knew I really died."
Worst of all, I died a virgin.
Now I am trapped in this endless shadow. Wherever this is.
His mind and heart roamed the darkness for what felt like an eternity. It was warm and filled with sticky liquids.
'I can't really feel my body, no... I can't seem to get it to work properly, and every time I try, it seems I'm blocked by an invisible barrier.'
'There isn't enough light to process what's going on?'
In the next second, Mark Hemsworth felt his entire body in pain. He was very fragile from the way the pain came.
All of a sudden, a loud ringing came across his ears, and his eyes began to adjust to the light.
He wasn't able to see quite well for the first few seconds, but soon his eyes began to adjust, and the screeching in his ears reduced significantly.
'What's this? Am I flying?'
Mark asked himself, witnessing the floor, which was a good four feet down. In the distance, he saw a bed occupied by a woman who looked like she was in labor.
'This doesn't look like heaven at all? Did I get lost or something in the darkness?'
Mark scanned around more but found his movements restrained. His body felt tiny.
'What the hell? Am I butt na...'
Before he could finish his thought, a large hand slapped him on the butt with so much force that it filled his entire body with pain.
"Eough! Ehhn! Ehhn!"
He began to cry loudly, unable to contain himself. Shifting his gaze back, he saw a midwife of old age, the evil witch who had slapped his bottom without sympathy.
Mark froze, finally realizing what had gone wrong.
'I have become a baby!'
He began to panic, thinking through every possibility that could have turned him back into an infant.
There was no doubt he had reincarnated as a child, an infant unborn. Did that mean he had killed the child to take his place?
No, it couldn't be. That wasn't how reincarnation worked in web novels.
'But where have I reincarnated to?'
Mark forcefully waved his head around to gather any information about his surroundings, finding the action very exhausting.
"Bring him to me."
What was that? That was the voice of the woman who had just gone through labor. Her language wasn't English, but for some reason, he could understand every single word.
As the midwife walked to the woman on the bed, Mark got a better view of the house.
It looked very medieval, lacking electrical appliances and proper ventilation.
Was this thousands of years ago, before humans invented technology?
Placing the baby in the woman's hands, the midwife bowed, walked to a shelf, and brought back a plain rune stone.
While she did this, Mark couldn't get enough of his mother's face. 'Damn, why was I reincarnated as her child and not her husband? She looks so sweet and caring. The way she looks at me with so much hope, I'm sure she would take care of me better than my previous life.'
As an orphan that lacked parents and love from elders this came as a blessing he couldn't get enough of.
As soon as the rune stone arrived, the woman grabbed it and placed it in Mark's frail hands.
'Aww, is this a present for me?'
Mark was baffled by her kindness.
Unknown to him, the stone glowed green in his hands. As soon as it did, his mother ripped it from his feeble grasp, stared at it for a while, and then tossed it aside.
"Useless."
Her beautiful face turned cold with a grimace, eyes narrowed with killing intent as she spoke the word that tore through Mark's heart.
As if that wasn't enough, Mark witnessed his mother take up a dagger from the bedside, raising it high before plummeting it down towards him.
'Shit! Am I going to die again?'
"EHHK!" The blood rained everywhere, drenching him and the material used to wrap him.
Mark opened his mouth in awe as he watched the dagger finally come to a halt.
Before the knife could reach him, the midwife had put her hand ahead of the dagger, getting stabbed through.
"Don't do it, Kithara!"
The midwife yelled to the woman on the bed.
From the look Kithara gave the midwife, it revealed their long-term relationship, though it seemed very strained.
"A mere slave tries to stop me from doing what I please. This body is not fit to be part of the Clover Horus Kingdom."
Clover Horus Kingdom? Those words seemed very familiar to Mark. Oh yes, it was from a novel he had read a while back before dying.
Now that he thought about it, the era and people here matched the novel a hundred percent.
The woman who almost stabbed him, and his supposed mother, was Kithara Darkdawn, the worst person to have reincarnated under.
'I suddenly regret being reborn.'
In this world, there are four known Exorcism kingdoms: the Clover Horus, the Spade Horus, the King's Horus, and the Diamond Horus.
I suspect I am in the Spade Horus Kingdom, the most heartless, brutal one of them all.
Kithara Darkdawn was a ruthless woman who ruled the kingdom beside her equally brutal husband.
"Please, Kithara, let him live. He could serve as a slave to Rotexa Darkdawn. Give him that fate at least, and I promise to raise him to be a fine slave."
At this statement, his mother's look suddenly eased. This made Mark recall their culture and its drawbacks.
The stronger sibling would become the heir to the throne, no matter who came first. The midwife before him was the elder sister of Kithara, Kimara.
Kimara, in the novel, was far stronger than Kithara, but in terms of ruthlessness, she lost.
Being weaker than your sibling means you are to be his or her slave.
That was the fate that awaited Mark.
'What a witch!'
Kithara hissed, pulling the dagger from Kimara's palm and dropping it to her bed silently.
"Take him and raise him to serve my daughter."
Kimara nodded silently before taking Mark from his mother's legs and placing him in her arms. "Are you not going to name him?"
'Yes, in this world, the more powerful parent owns the family name, so I should be named ... Darkdawn. I'll get a stupid name from this witch, I'm sure of it.'
Kithara thought for a while before staring at Mark with detested eyes. "You will take your father's name, Ruthar Hellborn."
With that, Kimara turned away and began to walk away with Ruthar Hellborn in her arms.
'This wasn't the original story idea, but it's already been decided I will be the side character once more. I wished I could be more, live a life worth living, but even the stone has decided I will be...'
[You have fulfilled conditions and reincarnated into a fantasy world]
[Processing body's abilities... Please be patient]
A notification? Like those in system novels. This must mean something significant! But what?