Chereads / The World Before It All Began / Chapter 2 - My new life

Chapter 2 - My new life

Beginning of volume one

Eh… what… where am I? I can't see anything; it's pitch black… Might this be the "afterlife" everyone so fervently believed in? If so, there's nothing. The "afterlife" is just a place for your self-consciousness to lay dormant. The concept of heaven or hell doesn't seem to exist, or maybe I just haven't had the pleasure of experiencing it. I'm referring to heaven, of course. Was God not accepting of me? Did Satan find me to be too "pure" so I was abandoned, but what can I do about it now? Maybe heaven wasn't a thing in the first place, a thing built of many lies passed down generations, but even so, I'll still believe otherwise because there's nothing else for me to hold on to, but then I saw it. The improbable theory known as the "light" and usually, from what I have seen, once someone has seen the light, they wake up all sweaty and hallucinating, not being able to differentiate between what is real and what is not.

I didn't get to wake up, so now I have either two decisions, one. I take off and run away from this so-called "light," or, two. I enter it.

Usually a human's instincts would drive them to explore the unknown… right? Hm, I might as well be the first human to enter this light, I mean what else is here for me except this pit of everlasting darkness. Yeah, the light it is. 

Now entering the light, it's way too bright. I try to block the light from attacking my eyes, but they do nothing for me since my body is like, what would be a good word to describe this, "transparent," "ghost-like," or even "non-existent." The light just goes right through me, with each step it becomes more luminate, is this the holy light? The light that even seeps into the depths of hell, what a bea- 

It all came to a halt, once again. I resigned in complete darkness, was this a lie? Was this whole "light," theory a lie?!

A loud, buzzing noise assaulted my ears. I wouldn't be surprised if that caused permanent damage to my eardrums... but then I actually could see something; instead of it being the "light," it was the whole place! I began to pry my eyes open. I made a valiant effort to do so, one that would have made me appear like a lunatic, but it worked.

Once my eyes opened, I was met with the discomfort of a light and the raucous sound of people gossiping around me. I couldn't picture what was going on in my surroundings; the light was too bright for me to visualize anything around me, so I started flailing my arms around though they barely moved. Yeah, I can't just sit here defenseless, but it's a good sign there are people here. My eyes are still struggling to adjust to the lighting, but once they adjusted to the light, I was able to make out my surroundings.

I found a young, stunning onyx black-haired woman with beautiful pink lips gazing right down at me. I almost got lost in the glaze of her dark-green almond-like eyes. Next to her was a man who appeared to be in his early twenties and had somewhat of an arrogant face, with a sharp jawline that made the shape of a V. The man is pretty well built and has an appealing appearance; his messy hair is a nice shade of black.

This is a pretty young couple; good for them to be able to have kids at that age. "Aww~ isn't he just adorable?" The woman chuckled, "Yes, very much. He's our little Igris after all."

Our little? Igris? I see, so I'm a baby. Igris, So that's the name I was given.

"He has light blue eyes that gleam like the moonlight, with black hair exactly like yours," said the woman. 

The man gave her a little laugh in response. "He's just so cute; with his little chubby cheeks, I just could eat him up." said the woman while she gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Mrs. Akemi and Mr. Kaiyo, may I come in?" Hearing a woman's voice come from the door, "Yes, please just call us by our last name, "Biship," they replied.

They're both talking to a nurse that came into the room, and they discussed my health. It turns out I'm a healthy baby.

I started to fully realize that I had just been born, something I should have picked up from the start with my mother, "Akemi," and father, "Kaiyo."

I viewed my surroundings, and the room was made of wood, and the lights were just a few feet above me, though I couldn't tell what was creating the light. There were also wooden bowls, steel buckets, furniture, utensils, and other items around. My parents both look beautiful and handsome, and they also look well-off. Father wore solid-colored black pants matched with a white button-up shirt, while Mother just wore a simple gray-tinted gown.

"Come here; let me give you a big kiss before we go." Mother said while giving me a big kiss on the cheek. We're leaving already? 

Okay, I want to view the world around me anyway and see if anything piques my interest.

Father then picked me up, and we left. Once we arrived outside, I saw a vast green field and mountains in the distance. It was beautiful, with flowers covering every inch of the fields and the sun glaring down upon us. It was a pretty hot day, but the breeze from the wind made it somewhat cool. Father used his body to cover me from the rays of the sun.

"Kaiyo, make sure to put Igris in the wagon carefully," My mother said, peeking around the wagon. Before I was laid down in the wagon, I noticed there was a bridge up ahead. Under the bridge was a very nice river that flowed as far as I could see. 

"Kaiyo, also make sure the horses are ready to go!" My father laid me in this little bed, covering my legs with a thin blue blanket. 

"Okay, honey, I'm on it." My father replied. There were two brown and white horses meant for pushing our wagon. "The horses are ready to go!"

Once we rode off, I skimmed through the area we were traveling through. There were very big villages we traveled through where people were working, farming, and doing different things. I wasn't able to get a really good look at the village since we were just passing by.

A Month Later 

Once we arrived home, I was met with a huge two-story house. It was stunning. The house had a large yard with fences surrounding the perimeter and a few trees. There seemed to be wooden swords, training dummies, and other materials used for training. Is Father a swordsman? I thought to myself.

My mother took me out of the wagon. "Welcome to your home, Igris." Where I was welcomed and greeted warmly.

As I got carried to the house, I was briefly viewing the scenery before I was interrupted by some girl who slammed opened the door. "Welcome home, Igris!" yelled the girl. "Igris, this is our maid, Stella. Igris, treat her nicely; she will also take care of you," My mother said as Stella approached me, her eyes glimmering, "Master Igris, I will be in your hands now," she exclaimed.

Stella had a young, petite appearance, silverish-white hair that is tied up in a half bun while she has hair resting on either side of her shoulders, and lightish-blue eyes.

Eh… "master," I don't think I'd really like being called that.

"Mrs.Akemi, where is Lady Asuna?" Stella asked with a puzzled expression. "She isn't home yet, but she will be back home tomorrow morning," My mother replied. 

Who is Lady Asuna? I thought to myself, most likely, another member of my family.

Stella then held me as she proceeded to carry me into the house.

Entering, I noticed how gorgeous it was. The room was majestic; it couldn't be any better. The floor looks perfectly polished, though that was probably due to the work of our maid. The furniture looked well made, with things like pillows cushioning it. 

This was the work of a fine carpenter, I admired.

In the center of the room, there was a sofa, a table, and a rug; that is where my parents and Stella took me. They sat down and started to have a conversation. I don't really know what they were talking about, but I'm sure it was about me. Afterwards, Mother, Father, and Stella played with me. After a while, I found it getting dark outside.

Mother and Stella both stood up and went into the kitchen. "We're going to prepare dinner," Mother explained.

Father held me as he went off into the kitchen to talk to Mother. He sat me down in a high chair. He then walked towards my mother, hugging her from behind. "What will you be making for dinner?" Father asked, looking over her shoulder. 

"Don't worry, Kaiyo, you'll love it." replied Mother, as she gave him a kiss.

Father came back and pulled up a chair, sitting next to me. "Hmm, you're not a crybaby like your sister was," he murmured, poking my cheek. "Looks like I might have some competition."

Father just played around with my tiny hands, and made little conversation with me, it's not like I can talk so I just stared at him, and occasionally waved my arms around.

"Kaiyo, the food is ready!" My mother exclaimed.

"Kay little man, let's go to your mommy."

Father walked me over to my mother as Stella prepared the table, and the rest of the night consisted of my mother feeding me—I won't be going into detail—as I drifted off to sleep in her arms.

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"Good morwing, Igris!"

I stirred awake from my sleep from an unfamiliar high pitched voice.

Huh? My vision was a little fuzzy, but as my eyes gradually adjusted, I was able to make out a faint figure.

Who is this girl? 

She has a short, cute appearance and appears to be a few years older than me. I would say that she resembles Mother in mini form because of her stunning almond-shaped eyes, which have a dark green tint, and her onyx black hair, which is braided into two braids that fall down both sides of her shoulder.

"MOM! IGRIS! IS AWAKE!"

"MOM! IGRIS! IS AWAKE!"

"Mom," so this must be my sister; Stella was asking about "Asuna."

"I'm coming!" I heard mothers voice beyond the room.

"Asuna; let's go get your brother." Mother continued, "You can hold him, but be careful; he is still very little." 

Asuna began to pick me up out of the crib, then planted a kiss on my cheek. "You're so cwte!" She exclaimed, smothering me with her cheek.

Hm, the way she pronounces the word "cute" is rather cute.

Asuna carried me out of the room while our mother trailed closely behind.

As we made our way down the stairs, they began to make small talk.

"Asuna, how is your training going?" Mother asked, running her fingers through Asuna's hair.

"Good, my teacher says that I've got a lot of potewtial." Asuna beamed.

"That's great, Asuna. You'll grow up to be big and strong like your dad." Mother chuckled.

"Yes, I will be like dad." Asuna voiced, with a smile that shines as brightly as the sun.

When Asuna noticed our father coming through the front door, she handed me back to our mother.

"Daddy!" 

"My little girl is back. How was your training?" He asked, wiping the sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Good."

"Do you think I can get as strowg as you are? Mom said I will." 

"Of course you can. You can become stronger than Daddy even is. You will become the strongest person in the entire world. I know you have it in you. Now come give Daddy a hug." He held his arms open.

"I don't want to get sticky." Asuna replied, pointing to his sweaty arms.

Father's body began to deflate in a cartoonish manner, "S-So you don't want to hug your dad?" He said pretending to be hurt by her remarks, but it was enough to get her to give in.

"I missed you, Asuna." Father said with a wholesome smile as Asuna ran into his arms.