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Once upon a time, in a land where magic is in the air and monsters, both harmless and dangerous, roam the land...
There are twin gods that govern everything. One is the God of Beginnings, Erasmus, and the other is the Goddess of Endings, Eras. Both gods rule to bring life, death, balance, and equality to the world they call as Raksmith.
However, one day, one of the gods suddenly disappeared without a trace. The god that was left behind grieved and mourned the loss of their sibling. The whole world of Raksmith fell into chaos because the balance suddenly shifted and became unstable.
The ground opened up and various monsters devastated the land. Many lives were lost in the chaos and it seemed that all hope was also gone.
All of a sudden, four people miraculously garnered enormous power. They united and vowed to save their world. They managed to fight against the monsters and the four of them worked hard to bring order into Raksmith which resulted in a semblance of peace.
The four humans not only won their hard earned peace, but they also managed to seal the monsters and their leaders into dungeon towers that litter Raksmith.
These towers are now the source of monster loot years and years after the Humans won the war. Aspiring adventurers, who yearn to become a part of one of the four founding families, that gave peace to Raksmith, use these towers to train themselves. The loot they get from the monsters are sold and repurposed for Humans to use.
But the real question was...what happened to the gods? Where did that one god disappear to? And what happened to the one that got left behind?
No one knows. And it's unknown if the answers to such questions will ever resurface in the future.
-The History and Legend of Raksmith
~*~*~*~
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Madam! Madam, please, hold on!"
"No! She's losing too much blood! Someone get me more gauze. We have to stop the bleeding!"
What's all this noise about? Ugh, how can I get some sleep with all this racket!
"I'm sorry, Master but the Madam is..."
"NO!!!!"
I blink open my eyes in shock at the sudden roar. I blink and waited for my eyes to adjust before squinting against the semi-darkness of where I am now. It seems that I'm in someone's arms along with a crying baby beside me. From the corner of my eye, it seems like there's a huge bed there and a man slumped over it.
Was he crying? Why? What for?
"Raine..." the man murmurs under his breath.
Well, I don't know what his deal is and also don't know what my deal is. But then, it feels like nothing will happen even if I do something right now. Besides, I think I got reincarnated as a baby after I died back on Earth.
Which wasn't a surprise. This isn't my first rodeo. I don't know how or why, but it seems that whenever I'm reincarnated, I retain the memories of my past life.
Being a someone from Earth wasn't my first reincarnation either. My first one was...somewhere else.
Anyway, since I'm a weak and helpless baby right now, there's nothing left for me to do other than watch and learn. I might know who am I and where I am if I patiently absorb the information around me.
At least that crying kid beside me finally shut up. Though, I'm not sure if that man murmuring by the bed is--
"Raine...Raine...RAINEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
As soon as the man's mournful howl echo throughout the house, the kid that just managed to settle down suddenly wailed once again.
Great. This is just great. This is my life now, I guess. What the heck.
First, I got killed before I could even play my game and get the 2D boy of my dreams.
And no, it wasn't some old cliche where I was crossing the road while not paying attention to it that got me killed. I was instinctively walking on the sidewalk like I always do for who-knows-how-long before that stupid drunk truck driver ran me over.
I don't know how I managed to know that detail, but there you go.193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREVePWFnvU
And secondly, I'm not that surprised to wake up enduring the wailing banshees, namely the kid beside me and that man, because--
Wait. Wait a minute...
Somehow...the things happening to me right now are familiar. Was that man shouting the name Raine just now?
"Master Rafe...I'm really so very sorry about this but...the madam has passed," one of the people dressed in a servant's uniform informed the sobbing man.
And just like that, everything seemed to click into place before crashing down all over me.
Raine. Rafe. Surely those names belong to other people right? They can't be my parents' name, right?
"Please, be strong, Master. For your newborn son and daughter. They will need you more now that the madam has gone," another one of the servants tried to comfort the man.
Well, damn it. I guess they are.
And just like that, images and flashes flood my head.
In my mind, I was in the same room.
I was in the arms of a maid along with my younger twin brother. I woke up crying along with my brother from wailing cries of my father. He was mourning the death of his beloved wife after giving birth to twins.
Because of that, my twin brother and I are subjected to scorn and hatred not only from Father, but also from our older brothers.
However, our household operates in a way where respect is earned by being strong, powerful, and staying on top of others.
You can do what you want to achieve respect. You can use your powers, magic, physical or mental skills, all that jazz, whatever floats your boat.
As long as you prove that you are one of the best, recognition and respect will follow you in this type of household.
Thanks to that rule, while my younger brother awakened his powers before mine, he earned the respect of the servants and our Father and brothers, albeit begrudgingly. He found a place for himself in the household because of that.
Meanwhile, I was left alone, considered as weak and a bother by the staff and my family. And when the time came for my powers to awaken, I was still considered as weak and an outcast within the household.
But I digress.
What matters the most is not because of how weak I was.
It's that this stupid moment of my first life is replaying once again! Right before my eyes!
Yes. Before I was a corporate slave on Earth who lived on games and 2D men, this was my first life. And this was how my life as the only daughter of the Darlingtons played out. And it sucks!
But that doesn't mean I'll let it happen the second time around. Besides, living a life back on Earth was such a pain. I dare say it was even more painful than my life here in my first life.
I don't know how I managed to live another life here again in Raksmith. But I'm not going to take things lying down. Thanks to my experience living on Earth, I think I managed to grow the backbone just for this moment.
Emboldened, I start to struggle in the maid's arms.
"Young Miss!" she gasps and struggles to adjust her hold on me and my brother. "You shouldn't do that so suddenly! I almost dropped you!"
"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Ugh. My brother is such a crybaby. I wish he grows up already. He always ends up making other people cry the moment he stood up on his own two feet.
Though, now that I recall. Ever since he awakened his powers, he went and beat up as many kids and made them cry. But he never, not once, did he make ME cry.
...weird.
Anyways, I have to get to my mother. I remember that there was something I have to do about this situation.
I remember I overheard something from my father and a doctor before. If my father becomes an evil jerk to me again because he's blaming me and my twin brother, then I need someone on my side as a shield.
And who a better shield than Mother? Seeing how much he's in despair right now, doubt he'll say anything about me and brother with Mother around.
But first, I have to get to her.
“Wah! Woooo!”
I try to mumble and grumble, telling the maid as best as I could that she takes me to Mother. I struggle to lift my chubby short arms towards the woman lying motionless in bed.
Come on! Come on and notice what I'm doing already, maid! Can you not see that I’m trying to go to where Mother is?
“Oh? Oh, what is it, Little Miss?” the maid asks. She probably noticed me trying to reach out towards Mother. Finally! “Oh…Little Miss? Uhm…” she pauses.
“What does that brat want now?”
Both the maid and I, and also my twin brother, flinched at the sudden harsh growl.
Turning my head, I see my father. He’s still kneeling on the floor with his upper body draped on top of the bed where mother lies. But now, he’s craning his neck to the side where we are, glaring daggers at me, my twin, and the maid.
And no, he’s not JUST glaring. He’s staring at us like he’s going to murder us! Knowing my father in my first life as Ysabelle, I know and don’t doubt that he’s capable of that.
That memory was enough to send a chill down my spine. However, this is no time for me to cower. If there’s something more scary than my father as Ysabelle, it’s the experience of having no money to pay for the rent that’s coming up on Earth.
Living that brutal way of existence on Earth can sure toughen you up. And whether I like it or not, I'm kind of thankful for the experience, actually.
“I think…the Little Miss is trying to reach out towards the Madam, Master,” the maid hypothesize meekly.
“Why in the hell would a little rat do that? They killed my wife!”
“Rafe, please,” a man’s voice spoke all of a sudden. I try to crane my head towards the voice, but it seems that he’s standing far away where I can’t see him . “The children have nothing to do with her passing. Do you think they wanted to grow up in a world without a mother?”
Wow. Whoever that man was, he was so brave. And now that I think about it, I don’t recall anyone showing up at this time in my first life.
Well, whatever. I’m going for it. I need to assure myself that I have a shield no matter what. From what I can remember, as long as Mother isn't buried, this can work. Ignoring everyone, I continued struggling to try and reach for my mother.
“Here, come here, baby,” the man's voice was suddenly so close that I flinched a little in surprise.
He coos as big, strong arms wrap around me, gently taking me away from the maid. From the dim light of the room, I squint and my eyes widen when I finally see the man’s face.
It was Uncle Midnight! Mother’s big brother!
So that’s why he was calling father by his name. But…if I recall correctly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Uncle Midnight in my first life. Never. Not once. Ever.
He cradles me in his arms, gently moving me to one side of his arm so he can also take my twin brother in his other arm. All the while thanking the maid and smiling at her.
Gee, look at how that maid is blushing from that mere attention. I never thought Uncle Midnight was such a ladies man, either.
Uncle Midnight stares down at us and I just look up at him. Blinking.193Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6tUKTSfYe
I have to say, now that I'm looking up at him like this. Despite the dimness of the room, Uncle Midnight seems to glow with ethereal beauty.
He has long, silky smooth green hair. Like soft leaves. He has a small golden crown of laurel leaves that wrap around his forehead and his gleaming lavender eyes seem to sparkle down on us. His smile is just as sparkly as his eyes.
Okay, I take it back. I don't blame the maid reacting that way. If he wasn't my uncle, I'd totally fall for him as well.
From the corner of my eye, I finally realize that my brother isn't crying anymore and that he was also blinking up at Uncle Midnight just as I was.
Then all of a sudden, Uncle Midnight smiled wider.
"Let's take these children to their mother, shall we? I feel...something interesting is going to happen."
ns 15.158.61.20da2
