Chapter 1 – The inciting Incident Part 1
The sky was blue as Fried walked home. The clouds gathered and gave the view some character. His life was most likely going to change when he arrived at his house, because of that, he wanted to enjoy his normalcy for a little bit longer.
His parents and the parents of the girl had already agreed, so nothing Fried could say or do would change their minds. Not only did his word contain no power, but the family of the girl was better off than his and as such, he was considered to have no reason as to why to decline. His mother had the final word.
She was, put bluntly, a woman of her time. She had neither respect nor love for Fried's father and was rarely at the house. Usually, she was out hanging around other, better-looking, or more popular guys. Even though she was getting old, she didn't let that affect her life, opting to act like she was still in her early twenties and mess around with other men.
For his part, Fried's father didn't love her either. They had been forced into a marriage by the system the female lead government had thought up and couldn't opt-out of it. After Fried's sister was born, his mother began spending even less and less time at home, as her duty had been fulfilled in her eyes and she no longer needed to be tied down by people she didn't like.
"I curse the witch that came up with this wretched system…" Fried said despairingly as he walked towards his home. He knew that a fate similar to that of his father awaited him.
As he was a man, he couldn't even go and mess around, as he wasn't desired by anyone. Fried could try, but more likely than not, he would just be treated as a disposable pet or toy.
"Where have you been?! How dare you make me wait for the likes of you!"
Fried lifted his head and his eyes landed on the person he least wanted to see in his current situation. It was his soon-to-be wife, Lisandra, standing with her arm raised and her face twisted in a way that showed her annoyance.
She had long black hair and brown eyes with a stature that was unbecoming of a girl. If one were to look at her from a distance, it would be difficult to distinguish between a wild animal and her. Not to mention her face, which looked like it had been gnawed out by wild animals and put back in place just to spite the parents that had participated in the creation of this monstrosity.
Fried's stomach turned a bit when he heard her voice and the way she talked to him. He had already expected it, but talking this way to him right from the beginning, before they were even able to properly introduce themselves was telling. The only reason why Fried recognized her was because he had seen a photo of her in the past, when his mother told him he was to get married to this…abomination.
"School just ended and I came right from there." Fried replied to her.
"Don't talk that way to me! My mother is forcing me to get married to some no name ugly bastard like you. You better talk to me with more respect. If you don't apologize this instant, I'll call off the marriage." Lisandra threatened. "You know we girls get more chances to get married. If you blow it here, I wonder whether you'll be able to find another bride by the time you turn 20!"
A smile erupted on Lisandra's face, befitting an ugly creature such as herself. Her teeth were half white half yellow, showing signs of not having been washed in a while. Even her lips seemed damaged and hurt. Fried would go as far as to call it rusty looking.
Fried bowed his head and apologized to the girl. His emotions wanted to run rampant, but he couldn't let that happen. Lisandra was right. If this marriage failed and word got out that it was because of him, his chances of finding another bride were slim to none. Consequentially failing to find a wife would result in harsh punishment being brought down on him.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"That's better. The next time you talk to me that way, I'll have you kneel down and lick my feet. I'll punish you until you learn the proper way to talk to a lady!" Lisandra said everything, with a giant smile on her face.
"It won't happen again. I was just a little bit tired from the school." Fried told her.
"No wonder a useless and ugly man would get tired simply from attending school. Why is your gender still alive? You're so much worse than we are, you have a single use, and even that you suck at. Judging as how you're ugly and all."
"…"
"I mean, why does a beautiful girl like me have to settle for the likes of you? My mother told me I have to marry you, but I wonder if I should just refuse. I mean, that way, I can find a better looking guy for myself." Lisandra said.
Fried was neither bad looking nor ugly. If he had to describe himself, he would call himself average, but in reality, he was a person that had above average looks. However, none of that mattered in this female dominated world. If he couldn't be called handsome, then he wouldn't be called anything but ugly. That was just how society worked.
"If you do that, I'll get in big trouble. Please, have mercy." It pained Fried, but he had to lower his head and plead. His pride was hurt and his feelings were all over the place, but he couldn't afford to lose this marriage. It was vital if Fried wanted to live a life even resembling normal.
"Why would I care about your feelings at all. If you kiss my feet right now, maybe I'll consider-"
BANG BANG BAM
Before Lisandra was able to finish her sentence, the ground began to shake, and a cloud of dust got swept up into the air, like if a smoke bomb had been thrown at Fried's feet. Fried couldn't see anything and because of the sudden rumbling taking place, he lost his balance, falling on his behind.
"Ouch…What the hell was that?"
Fried looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. But he was inside the dust cloud, his eyesight drastically lowered. Every direction he turned, all he could see was the smoke. Because of the dust particles in the air, breathing got harder as well, and Fried wondered what he should do.
"AHHHH! What is going on?! Somebody help me!"
Lisandra's voice came from the left of Fried. He turned but couldn't see anything. She was pleading for help, but Fried didn't even understand what was happening around him. He didn't understand if she had gotten hurt or for what reason she was calling for help.
Suddenly, the smoke dissipated as a powerful gust of wind blew by and the area around Fried once again became visible. The pavement had gotten shattered and there were cracks in many of the nearby walls and houses. Even a large hole had been made in the ground, burrowing deep underground. To the point that the bottom wasn't visible because of how dark it was.
The biggest surprise however, was the "Thing" that appeared before Fried. Standing at around 4 Meters tall, with bulging muscles and four hands, the crimson colored beast stared at Fried with a grin. In one of his four hands, he held the person whose voice Fried had heard earlier, Lisandra.
-Chapter 1 End