Birth (?)

"Let's see... Ah, I know. It was during my final year of high school. I went to the hospital because I was having a fever for about two weeks. I didn't go sooner as the last time I became sick was 3 or so years ago and thought that the fever would go away. And~ when the fever got worse, I visited the hospital... I got examined and the reports showed that I had COVID. It was so painful that I wished I died so many times. But, all my struggles till then gave me the strength to fight against it. And, after a month, I got my wish in an anticlimactic way while I was eating my breakfast. I would say that it was the most satisfying breakfast I had ever eaten. The memories are fuzzy after that. And, here we are right now."

In a plane full of grass covering the horizon, a young man, and another young man were talking to each other. After the black-haired guy finished telling his story, the blonde noble-looking guy opened his mouth.

"But I only asked why you were so cheerful."

...Both of them paused for a while and the blonde guy talked again.

"In any case, I was able to lift some of my boredom because of you. With that said, I would like to send you away real quick in hopes that a more interesting person comes next."

The blonde guy stood up and extended his arm. A series of purple runes appeared on his arm and the space around them started to distort. He said,

"Let's go."

The Asian guy stood up and went towards the distortion. They arrived on a long path illuminated by various kinds of colors. The black-haired guy looked around him and saw a mysterious and boundless space. Countless stars and galaxies could be seen in all directions.

The blonde guy waved his hand beckoning the black-haired guy to follow him.

"We will go to the cycle of reincarnation. Prepare yourself, Ragnar."

"...Okay."

Ragnar was mildly sweating from both thrill and fear. The blonde guy led the way and Ragnar followed him for about half an hour until something came into sight. The blonde guy stopped and Ragnar went ahead to see what it was.

"... A CYCLE?"

Ragnar screamed and both of them became silent again. After a few seconds, the blonde guy broke the silence.

"This is the cycle of reincarnation. You have to ride this and reach the bright light over there."

The blonde guy pointed in the front. There was a bright source of light 20 meters away from the end of the path. The cycle was at the edge so Ragnar turned around to ask the blonde guy.

"How am I supposed to?"

The wild blonde guy fled!

"That bastard... is this some kind of trial? Well, I'm dead already so what's the worst that can happen."

Ragnar rode the cycle and prepared himself.

'I just have to go to that light. There's nothing to worry about.'

Legs in the pedals, hand firmly gripping the handle, and ass in the air. Ragnar was perfectly ready to do this. He pedaled the cycle as fast as he could and went flying through the bright light.

"AM I FLYING RIGHT NOW?"

***

***

"He was able to clear the test of courage, huh?"

The blonde guy appeared out of thin air at the end of the illuminated path.

"Not surprising if I consider his previous lives' achievements. Hmm... since he passed the test, I'll give him the gift."

His hands were again covered by the mysterious runes, a bit different this time. A silver-winged seed came out of his hand and went through the bright light.

"I hope you can survive this world, Ragnar Dominio."

***

***

***

***

***

"Shit shit shit shit shit."

Ragnar was falling from space to what looked like the earth with less land. Seeing that he was descending to a place near an ocean, he had a grin on his face. The reason was that he had never seen an ocean in his entire life. After a while, a huge city could be seen that extended to the horizon in the west as the east was covered by the ocean. His soul rapidly fell into a black mansion with a red roof and occasional golden designs. It had a grand and eerily elegant feel to it. Seeing the mansion, Ragnar connected the dots.

"This must be where I will be reborn."

As the distance decreased, the speed increased even more as if he was being sucked into something, until he passed through the walls and landed inside a woman's belly. Unsurprisingly, he lost consciousness right after.

*Nine months later*

"My lady. Please get ready."

A woman in an apron called out to the silver-haired woman sitting in a rocking chair who was caressing her huge belly while looking through the window. A look at her face and anyone could see the burden she had. Dark circles and stress marks were two of the many physical features that represented it. She turned around and replied,

"Okay."

She went to the bed and slowly lay down.

"I'm counting on you, Sheila."

"Yes, my lady."

The apron lady quickly started her job.

*Meanwhile, in the training area*

The knights were practicing and sharpening their sword skills by fighting with each other. Some used magic and some relied on pure skills. There, a knight talked with his training partner.

"Today is the day the duke's third child will be born, right?"

The other knight leaped back and said, "Yeah. And, he is nowhere to be seen."

"Shhhh. Do you want to die? You shouldn't talk about him like that."

"I don't want to die but if I were him, I'd stay here. I mean, his wives are so beautiful. Well, the first lady is so strict so I prefer the second lady..."

The training grounds became silent so the knight looked around and saw many knights blankly staring at him. The other knight turned around and said,

"... I'm leaving. I don't want to get killed by staying with you."

***

***

***

***

'...How long have I been asleep for?... What is this place? That light... Am I in a cave?'

Ragnar regained some of his consciousness and looked around.

'So tight. What in the JoJo is this place?'

He saw a hand coming from the light and smiled a bit as if it came to help him. The light grew bigger and he saw a woman who was there just smiling.

'Eeek. Who is this? Help.'

"My lady... the child."

'English?'

The midwife carried the newborn Ragnar to his mother. She was profusely sweating but there was a slight smile on her face. After taking Ragnar in her arms, she intently looked at him for a while. The midwife watched the mother and son bond with one another. A second later, the motherly smile distorted into tears and mucus. Seeing this, the midwife immediately sat on the bed and comforted her with a confused face.

"He didn't come... even today. Why... WHY DID I END UP LIKE THIS? EVEN THOUGH HE PROMISED ME TO COME."

"Calm down, my lady. You must calm down."

"How can I calm down?... I... I've been abandoned. What should I do now?"

She grabbed her head and cried even more. The midwife wanted to ease the woman's pain so she looked around for people. After confirming that no one was in the vicinity. She said,

"The child... look at him. You must stay strong for him. The day will come when he will make you happy. Please... for his sake."

The woman looked at Ragnar and gently hugged him.

"Yes. Sniff, sorry that you had to see me like this."

The midwife slightly smiled.

"It's okay. There are such times in life."

The midwife stood up and watched the mother and the child again. Ragnar's mother took out her breast and fed him milk for a while, and placed him on the lap. After the situation calmed down, the midwife excused herself and the woman stared at Ragnar again. She gently patted his head then, stood up while limping and said,

"You are so small. I thought you were bigger considering the pain I went through earlier... Even though you has my hair, your eyes and face- they are of Raphael... It's repulsive. Why did you have to look like him when I was the one who went through the bother of birthing you? The only thing you gave me was nine months without sex and a lot of pain... In the end, even my son abandoned me."

She walked slowly and sat on a desk near one of the windows, took out a paper, and started writing.

***

[I'm leaving the house. The child, you can do whatever you want. I see no future staying with you and I'm tired of acting like I do. Even though you know that my sex drive is high, you never have sex with me. The one time that we did have sex, it was over in five minutes. That is why I've decided. I'm going with a man who can fulfill my desires. I hope you can forget about me. The time I spent with you, they were the worst of my life. I have nothing more to say.

- Serena]

***

She wrote the letter and kept the pen down. Ragnar, who could read English, looked at the letter and thought,

'I will definitely kill this bitch.'