A sea of stars flashed past my vision, transforming into a hazy symphony of colours, only to be abruptly replaced by a blinding light that forced my eyes shut.
What… what was happening?
Finding solace in the comfortable darkness, a cascade of memories began to flow through my mind.
Memories… that I didn't exactly remember.
A woman's cheerful voice.
'Peek-a-boo! Ah! There's that cute smile, ******!'
A young boy's cry.
'Pass the ball, ******!'
An old man's echoing speech.
'Please come to the stage to receive your diploma, ****** ****.'
A childish girl's pleading.
'Come play with me, Big Brother!'
I was confused, but at the same time… tranquil.
As if I was too tired to think about what exactly was happening.
The myriad of memories and confusion died down as the moments passed, before I was then abruptly awakened from my state of peace by pain.
Blinding, itching pain.
Every portion of my skin stung as if it were on fire, causing me to cry out in anguish.
But for some reason… it was muffled.
Distorted, as if my ears were clogged with water.
But slowly, the world around me started to become clearer.
The pain throughout my body subsided, and my hearing was free to listen in on the silent surroundings.
Well… I could faintly hear the crackling of a fireplace, so it wasn't complete silence, but it was still quiet.
With the rustic background noise calming my senses, I eventually felt the need to open my eyes once again.
So, slowly, I lifted my eyelids.
There was no glaring brightness, but weirdly enough… it took much more effort than I thought it would.
And what greeted me was the scene of… blurriness.
That was a bit disappointing.
But as time passed, my vision slowly became clearer, revealing the scene of a rustic wooden ceiling, with a singular beam running through the roof.
Weird… this was all very weird.
That ceiling… it felt so far away.
Raising my hand, I tried to reach toward the wooden beam, but… my hands… they were so very small and… pudgy.
Like a baby's.
Huh?
"…Gah?"
…What?
Was that… my voice?
Huuuh!?
"Gbaa?"
W-What the!?
"Gubfaaa!"
I… I was a baby?
Why was I a baby?
No… why did that feel strange?
Why did that feel wrong?
Who… who was I?
Where am I?
I can't… I can't remember, but it feels like I'm missing something.
A piece of me just… wasn't there.
Shocked and confused by everything, a face then suddenly appeared in my vision.
It was a woman.
A pretty woman.
She had light blonde hair that was tied into a braid that rested over her shoulder, and her eyes were a deep beautiful brown that matched perfectly with her cute yet mature face.
If I were to guess, she looked to be in her mid-20s.
"Oh myraha? Dukara neexi malkalith?" the pretty woman said before lifting me into her arms.
She smiled at me, her pale face filled with love as her hand slowly caressed my cheek.
"Du rylaxa arata striti, Leon," she said, her breath hitching at the end.
Was this… my mother?
That's… only natural, I suppose.
My mother then lowered her shirt, revealing her bare breast, before gently placing my face next to it.
"Dirkadica. Groavin elixia, Leon."
I… couldn't understand what she was saying, but I think I got the point.
Besides, my stomach was beginning to churn in hunger.
But for some reason… even though it was normal for a baby, it felt pretty embarrassing to do this.
But I still needed to eat.
As soon as I latched on, I let the natural process take its course as my head became groggier with each passing second, inching me closer to the embrace of unconsciousness yet again.
And that was how I spent my first day in the world.
— Information on the Six-Faced World —
Geography of the Central Continent
Red Dragon Mountains: A large chain of mountains and hills that runs across and down the Central continent, separating the land into three parts: the North, the West, and the South.
North: A cold region that receives heavy snowfall and has mostly infertile soil, leading to the majority of the nations being weak and poor. Notable locations within this region include the three Magic Nations, the Sword Sanctum, and the Kingdom of Biheiril.
West: A prosperous region with a temperate climate, fertile plains, and rivers, making the Kingdom of Asura, the only nation in this region, the richest kingdom in the world.
South: A fairly fertile region, with numerous rivers and lakes along with vast plains and forests, which are divided by the Dragon King mountain range which runs vertically down the region. Notable locations within this region include the Strife Zone, the Dragon King Kingdom, and the Shirone Kingdom.
— Leon —
It had been a month since I had been born.
Or at least… I think so.
Time was weird as an infant.
Not only was my perception of time off, but I was also plagued with the constant need to nap, which further messed with things.
And that wasn't even mentioning how I could only guess the time of day from the light streaming through the doorway, as we didn't have any windows in our humble abode.
Regardless, my perception of time didn't really matter, as instead, this was a period of self-reflection, and a period to figure out what was going on with this life of mine.
First… my name.
It was Leon.
Leon… just Leon.
I guess there was no concept of 'last names' here, or at least for someone of my class.
As for how I could infer all that… well, that had more to do with the self-reflection part.
I was knowledgeable.
I… knew things.
Things that I shouldn't, and things without any memories to back up the knowledge.
For instance, I knew that 5 times 5 equals 25, without remembering where I knew that from.
It was just… there.
As were all the other pieces of my knowledge.
How I knew I was a baby, how I knew that most babies weren't like me, how I knew what 'windows' and 'time' were… yeah.
It was odd, to say the least.
Then, there was my living situation.
I, or rather, my mother, was… poor.
This was likely because my father was absent, which was either due to him leaving my mother on his own accord, or, considering the medieval technology, him simply dying.
Perhaps he was sent off to war?
Or maybe it could even be something a little more… exciting.
Like a prince falling in love with a humble village girl and distancing himself from the bastard child.
I knew my mother had the looks for it, at least.
But anyway, like I had noted, this place was a medieval society, and my mother and I lived in a small house that didn't even have separate rooms.
Luckily for her, I didn't cry unless I was extremely hungry or needed to be changed, so I wasn't disturbing her sleep despite the cramped living situation.
And that brought me to the last thing… my mother.
She was pretty, but other than that, she wasn't particularly special.
Other than the loving care she gave me, of course.
That was very special, at least to me.
While I had yet to learn her name, my mother worked as a humble basket weaver, which seemed to make enough for the bare essentials.
She was a kind mother, if a little clumsy, and talked to me as much as she could, which was a great way for me to get used to the language.
I also talked back to her when I could, although I was confined to babbles and gurgles.
But it seemed to make my mom a little happier whenever I tried, and my articulation was slowly improving with the practice, so it was worth it.
Despite her constant conversations, without any reference for most words and phrases, I still needed some time before I could be fluent in the language, but at least I now knew some things that were commonly spoken to me, such as 'milk' and 'feed'.
Anyway, while I was curious about the outside world, for the moment, I was still confined to my crib, and thus, I passed the time by slowly growing my motor skills and vocabulary.
It was quite boring, to say the least.
Like this, another two months passed.
Though again, that was just by my estimation.
And in these two months, things had… mostly stayed the same, at least for our general situation.
But I could move now!
I was sure that this was odd for such a young baby, and from the surprised face my mother showed when I first started crawling around, my suspicions were confirmed.
I guess I was a bit more advanced, then.
Hmm… I wonder if me being completely conscious changed things, or perhaps I was just… built differently.
But either way, life seemed much less boring now that I could explore the house, as small as it was.
Unfortunately, I was still too short to reach the door handle, so I wasn't able to go any further.
And that wasn't all!
"Honestly, Leon. I don't know why you want to go outside so bad."
I could understand my mother!
Of course, I still had trouble with vocabulary, and my vocal cords weren't developed enough to respond, but it was progress!
Picking me up, my still-unnamed mother then rested me on her lap as I let her hands brush through my silky smooth hair.
"It's a bad omen for kids to go outside before their first year, you know!" she scolded me with a pout, gently poking my nose with her finger.
Agh! That ticked! Stop it, mother!
But yes… that was the main reason I wasn't allowed past that dreaded door, even though I often sat myself in front of it, begging my mother with my eyes to let me out.
A 'bad omen'.
I could only assume it was due to environmental concerns, as newborns were terrible at regulating body temperature, or maybe they were worried about infection and disease.
I wonder if this was a custom of this particular place, or if it was something common amongst this entire world.
Ah, and that's another thing that I learned.
The 'place' that I lived in… it was a village.
I didn't know the name, of course, but I knew that it was quite small, and my mother was only able to make a living by selling her wares to passing merchants who also just so happened to be the only people other than my mother that I had ever seen.
And today, or rather, tonight, judging by the lack of light peering through the door, was just like any other.
Mom made her baskets while talking to me, I listened absentmindedly, and then I crawled around until I either tired myself out, or was picked up and placed in my mother's lap like now.
Such was life.
"Hmm… are you hungry, Leon? It is about time for bed, isn't it?"
"Uhn!"
I was getting a little hungry, even though I didn't show it.
I guess this was a mother's intuition, or something similar.
With her readjusting her dress, I prepared myself for the meal.
"Hmm… I wonder why you always close your eyes before feeding," she said curiously.
Because it's embarrassing enough!
But… just as I was about to latch onto her breast, I heard a commotion from outside.
The sounds from outside were usually quiet.
The odd carriage rumbling by, the sounds of people talking as they walked, the sound of children running past… those sorts of things.
But this… this was different.
It was yelling.
Screams of pain. The sounds of clashing blades. The crackling of fire.
The sound of chaos.
W-What? What was happening?
"Bandits?" my mother said breathlessly, her voice trembling slightly.
Feeling my mother's hand squeeze harder around me, I looked up and saw that she was wearing an irregularly serious expression, her face quickly turning pale.
"Leon. Y-You have to be quiet, alright? Be quiet for Mom, please," she pleaded, looking down at me.
Before I could respond, she picked me up and carried me over to the bin of discarded basket materials before placing me inside, hastily covering the top of my head with straw.
"J-Just stay there, okay? And don't come out, no matter what," she said with a fake smile.
Her voice… it was panicked.
Laced in fear and anxiousness.
"O-Okay, let's do this, Alice. Just like Mama taught you," she murmured to herself as she walked to the front of the doorway.
So my mother's name was Alice… No!
Now was not the time to be thinking of such things!
My mother then slowly undid her shirt, revealing some of her cleavage, before she then collected her hair into a ponytail that rested over her shoulder.
"A-Appear good enough to be used, but not taken. C-Come on, Alice. L-Leon still needs his mother," she told herself.
'Good enough to be used'…?
No… why would-
Crash!
The door burst into splinters as a woman, with a large scar across her face that matched her rugged appearance, entered the room.
My mother's face paled.
"Oya? What's this? Some harlot's living in a little village like this?"
Resting a sword on her shoulder, I noticed that the tip of it was stained red, and from the smell, I knew that it was blood.
That… wasn't good.
It wasn't good at all.
This… this woman was a bandit, wasn't she?
"Hmm…" the bandit says, her eyes narrowed. "You're good enough to sell high, too. As long as we find a good buyer, that is…"
"N-No…" my mother shouted, stepping backward. "Get away!"
"Oh yes!" the woman sneers. "Now come here! Don't struggle!"
The bandit then tapped the tip of her sword against the ground in front of her.
W-What do I do?
No… I can't do anything, I know this.
But… it felt wrong, to just sit here like this.
My mother then cast her gaze my way, her eyes meeting mine before they narrowed in resolve.
What… what was with that look?
"A-All right. I'll… I'll go with you…" she says through gritted teeth.
Not wanting to betray my mother's trust, I held my breath despite the sickening feeling as she stepped closer and closer to the bandit, the sounds of a violent rampage increasing in the background.
"That's it~ Be a good girl and who knows? The client might just use you as a pretty face," the bandit woman said with a sneer.
I watched as my mother slowly crouched in front of the bandit while her hand slowly reached toward the back of her leg, where her carving knife was strapped, hidden from the bandit's view.
Don't tell me…
N-No!
My mother wasn't a fighter!
D-Distraction!
"G-Gah!" I shouted.
The bandit's eyes instantly darted toward me, her pupils narrowing as soon as she set her sights on me, as I began to feel an inexplicable pressure descend on my very being.
I-Is this how a rabbit feels in front of a lion?
The feeling of being prey.
My breath hitched and my pulse quickened.
My heartbeat… it was too loud.
The very fabric of the air seemed stifling.
"What's this? A little brat- Ack!?"
She's cut off as my mother's knife descended toward the bandit's neck, but befitting the instincts of a fighter, she dodged out of the way just in time, the blade lodging into the bandit's shoulder instead.
No…
Time seemed to come to a stop once again as the bandit slowly pulled out the blade, the blood dripping onto the wooden floor being the only sound in the otherwise silent room.
"…You… just did that… didn't you?" the bandit said.
I felt the crushing pressure of her presence dissipate, but for some reason… that didn't make me feel any more relieved.
No… in fact… it only made me more nervous.
I feel my hands shake.
No… my entire body was shaking.
Trembling in fear as my mother took a hesitant step back, turning toward me with a desperate expression.
"L-Leon! R-Run- Gah-!"
Blood splattered across the floor as the bandit's sword ran through my mother's chest.
…
"Who's running where, huh!? Dammit. Now Hector will be on my ass for needing his damn healing magic," the bandit says, spitting on the ground as she placed a hand over her wounded shoulder.
I couldn't think.
My mind was blank.
The distant sounds fading into the background as I looked at my mother in horror.
She had fallen to her knees, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth as she then dropped to the floor.
"Anyway… so you had a brat, did ya? Too bad Daddy isn't around, or you might've gotten away. Anyway, let's have a little look-see."
My connection to the world was completely detached, so much so that I didn't even register the feeling of being picked up and held by the scruff of my neck.
"A quiet brat, aren't you? Must be scared shitless, eh?"
My mother… who I had only just learned the name of… she was bleeding.
Bleeding a dangerous amount of blood, so much that there was already a puddle that was growing larger with each passing second.
The scent of copper was overwhelming, to the point that I doubt I would ever forget it.
No… Mom… please!
"Haa… boring~ Well, it's not like anyone could take care of you now anyway, so consider this a small mercy on my part. Better than starving to death, right?"
My eyes slowly drifted over to the voice as the bandit slowly pulled out a dagger.
I felt the tip press against my throat, but despite my life being in imminent danger… I couldn't find myself any room to care.
Mom… Mom!
"Sorry kid-"
Her words were cut off as a flash of white crosses my vision, accompanied by the sound of howling wind and a distant boom.
Blood splattered onto my face, and I watched as the arm which was holding me flew through the air, followed by the head of the bandit.
Huh?
After a moment of slight vertigo while falling, I felt my body get caught by another set of arms.
This time, however, it was much warmer… and much gentler.
"Tch. Zenith! Get over here!"
Flinching at the volume, I turned my head up to see the source of the noise.
There was a woman.
A very muscular woman, with nothing covering her chest but a singular strap of fabric.
Her body was littered with scars, and her face, paired with an eye patch, gave off the feeling of a delinquent, but she didn't feel very scary to me.
But what was most shocking was the pair of grey ears poking out of her matching mane of grey hair.
Animal ears.
…No, the time for such questions came later.
For now-
"Gah! Ungaa!" I shouted, reaching my arms out toward my dying mother.
The woman, my saviour, seemed to get the point as she slowly lowered me to the ground.
"Ghislaine! It's terrible! What's-? Oh, my!"
The entrance of yet another woman entered through one ear and out the other as I reached out to my mother's hands, barely having the motor skills and strength to grasp onto the cuff of her shirt.
The new woman, or rather, the girl, then knelt across from me, putting her hands over the wound of my mother's that was gushing blood.
"Oh merciful mother of gods, please heal this one's wounds, and let him recover with a healthy body - X-Healing!" she chanted resolutely.
Her hands were then set alight in a green glow, but despite yet another mystical phenomenon, I was too focused on my mother, whose face was paling further with each passing moment.
"I-It's not working! It's too deep! I-It needs advanced rank at least!" the girl said tearfully.
"Kach! L-Leon!" my mother sputtered, turning her head toward me.
"G-Gah," I said back.
"Leon…"
Her hand then reached up and gently caressed my cheek, and as if casting a spell, the fog that had been clouding my mind cleared, giving way to a flood of memories.
'Leon! You're crawling! Uuu~ Mom's so proud!'
'What are you doing, closing your eyes like that? Silly boy. Here, drink!'
'Hm? Outside? Leon, you know you can't go out there! Here, come sit with me instead. I'll tell you a nice story.'
Ahh!
Mom!
I grasped the frail hand that rested against my cheek in a feeble attempt to keep the only ally in this life, my only family, anchored to the world of the living.
D-Don't, Mom!
Please don't leave me!
But despite my internal pleas, her vibrant eyes were turning more distant as they began watering with tears, just as mine were.
"Leon…" she rasped.
I… didn't want it to end like this.
So, feeling my throat tighten, I clenched my hand that was holding hers and tried to give her one last way to show my feelings.
My feelings that she was a good mother.
I wanted to show her that despite the short time we spent together… I loved her.
She gave me so much love, and was the only source of warmth in my world.
She hugged me when I was cold, fed me when I was hungry, rocked me when I was tired…
So please!
These important feelings of mine… get through to her!
"G-Gam. B-Baba. M… M-Mama."
I did it.
Finally, I was able to utter my first word.
I was able to show how much I loved her.
Still, despite the celebratory achievement, there were no cheers to be had.
Instead, only a solemn atmosphere of loss was present.
My mother's eyes turned teary as she gave me a sweet, proud smile before turning to the girl whose hands had glowed a moment before.
"G-Girl," she choked, a bit of blood dribbling out of her mouth.
"Y-Yes?" the girl responded.
Taking a shaky breath, my mother continued, "P-Please… take care of my son. P… Please…"
Her words trailed off as she watched the girl nod her head.
"I-I will! Absolutely! I-"
The girl stopped herself as she noticed the state of my mother, her hand quickly reaching to cover her mouth as tears threatened to escape the corner of her eyes.
I felt the hand I was holding tighten as my mother's head fell to the side, eyes devoid of life, but a calm smile present on her face.
Then, as if a string had snapped, the emotions I had been holding back came flooding into me like a churning cascade, leaving me with no other way to release this pressure than to wail in grief.
"Uuu… Uwaa!" I cried.
Everything seemed like a blur after that, but I do remember getting picked up by that glowing girl, and my cries being muffled into her chest as she held me close, gently rocking my body in an attempt to calm me.
But this pain couldn't be calmed that simply.
I was then taken out of the house, briefly witnessing the devastating scenery that was my village through my eyes that were blurred with tears.
But not long after, I tired myself out from crying and found myself welcoming the embrace of sleep to end the day that felt like a nightmare.
A terrible, horrible nightmare.
But despite my wishes, it was reality.
And so, after three short months in this world, I had lost the only family and home I had.
But at the same time, while I didn't know it yet, I had gained a new one as well.