Chapter 1: Arriving in a new world!

[CAUTION!]

[THE FIRST 10 CHAPTERS ARE TIME SKIP!!!]

In the depths of a dreamless abyss, he plunged, the darkness swallowing him whole.

Yet, there was an odd serenity in his descent, a peculiar tranquility that wrapped around him like the tender arms of a loving mother.

It wasn't fear that gripped him; instead, an inexplicable comfort embraced his very essence.

As he sank further into the void, the echoes of his past reverberated through his consciousness.

Scenes from a life once lived danced before his mind's eye, each moment a chapter in a story he had penned with purpose.

The satisfaction of achieving his goals and the contentment of a life well-lived filled him with a warmth that transcended the shadows.

He had pursued his desires with unwavering determination, seizing every opportunity that came his way.

His existence was woven with threads of passion and resilience, leaving behind a portrait of a man who had lived without regrets.

In the enigmatic embrace of the abyss, he basked in the afterglow of a life fully realized.

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced his soul, disrupting the serene replays of his memories.

"Urghh..."

A guttural groan escaped him, shattering the tranquility that had cocooned him. Abruptly, his soul was yanked from the comforting dreamscape, and thrust into a harsh reality.

Blinking back into consciousness, his eyes widened in shock.

A new environment unfolded before him, unfamiliar and disorienting.

"..."

His head throbbed with an insistent ache, and the dissonance between the dream and the waking world left him wary.

He found himself trapped within a body that was not his own, a vessel that carried the weight of a different existence.

As he surveyed his surroundings, a sense of foreboding settled over him, and the once warm embrace of the abyss now felt like a distant memory.

He found himself standing in a dilapidated neighborhood, a ghost town devoid of vitality.

Crumbling buildings stood as silent witnesses to the decay that surrounded him.

Among the shards of shattered glass, he caught sight of his own reflection – a mere child, no more than twelve, with crimson red eyes and disheveled dark hair.

"...Is that me?"

His clothes were ragged, a stark contrast to the memories of a life once filled with purpose and achievement.

As he surveyed around, he noticed the wary gazes of adults fixated on him, their expressions laden with suspicion.

"What the fuck are you looking at, huh?"

One of them shouted at him. However, he completely ignored the guy.

Yet, it was the sight of other children, fear etched into their faces, that sent a shiver down Raymond's spine.

Bruises adorned their fragile bodies like a cruel testament to their shared suffering.

"Hey, Raymond!"

A voice called out, snapping his attention to a fellow child. The urgency in the voice carried a warning.

"Stand down! You'll get beat up if you don't!"

"...Raymond?"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Raymond struggled to make sense of the chaotic scene unfolding around him.

Before he could fully grasp his surroundings, a searing pain lanced through his head, memories of this young body flooding back.

He winced, groaning in agony as he clutched his tiny skull.

The leader of the group sent him a disapproving gaze.

Approaching Raymond who was in pain, he delivered a swift kick to the child's stomach.

The force sent Raymond sprawling, crashing into the debris that cluttered the side of a broken building.

The impact left him breathless, pain radiating from the abused area.

As Raymond lay on the ground, the echoes of his past clashed with the harsh reality of the present. 

Raymond winced from the throbbing pain in his head and the ache in his stomach, trying to make sense of the situation.

A wave of memories resurfaced through his tiny head.

The body he now inhabited belonged to an orphan, deserted by parents and forced to survive on the streets. Alongside other kids, they begged for scraps, their meager existence controlled by a heartless gang that ruled the desolate neighborhood.

Looking around, Raymond saw the harsh reality of their plight.

"...Fucking animals."

A lifeless child lay nearby, a victim of the gang's neglect.

Memories flooded back, highlighting the routine tragedies that unfolded – sick kids left to perish, unnoticed by the uncaring thugs who only cared about the coins the kids brought in.

"Is this really worth it for such a small amount of money?"

Raymond mumbled to himself, shaking his head at the grim scene.

Despite the pain, he gathered himself and stood up, taking a deep breath. His focus shifted to the gang's leader.

The leader, a cruel figure in this bleak setting, shot Raymond a disdainful look.

"Hey, you little beggar. Do you even realize how little you earned today?"

He snapped, his frustration apparent.

Raymond paid little attention to the scolding. Instead, he picked up a seemingly ordinary object from the ground – a small stick.

It was an iron stick which most likely came from the ruins of the building.

Ignoring the leader's anger, he asked a question that hung in the air like a challenge.

"Do you know what you did wrong?"

"Huh?"

The leader's confusion turned to annoyance.

"What's your game, kid?" he retorted, growing more irritated by the audacity of the little beggar before him.

Ignoring the leader's rising anger, Raymond stood tall, playing with the iron stick in his hands while observing the person in front of him carefully.

This only fueled the leader's fury, prompting him to approach Raymond menacingly.

But Raymond paid no attention to the brewing storm.

With a glint in his crimson eyes, he darted towards the towering leader, skillfully dodging a poorly aimed kick.

"Hmm!?"

Feeling uncertain of his situation, the leader reached for a weapon, but before he could react, a squelching sound rang out.

Panic flashed across the gangster's face as he turned toward the source of the noise. Raymond had thrust the seemingly unimportant stick into the leader's neck.

Stunned, the leader couldn't muster a scream.

Realizing that it wasn't enough, Raymond quickly grabbed a dagger from the leader's side pocket, something he had noticed earlier.

With determination in his eyes, he stabbed the leader multiple times in the chest. Each strike carried certainty, the small hands gripping the dagger defying their size.

"You let your guard down, that was your mistake..."

Raymond's voice whispered into the dying leader's ear.

The gangster's life slowly drained away, his wide-eyed disbelief reflecting the horror of his impending end.

Raymond's crimson eyes glowed in the dim light as he watched on coldly.

The leader's attempts to make a sound were drowned out by the rush of blood from his mouth.

As life slipped away, the once-mighty figure crumbled, defeated by the unexpected force embodied in the tiny avenger.

The gangsters could only point their fingers at Raymond in disbelief with their mouths open wide.

"..."

Raymond wasn't bothered by the fact that he had just killed someone the second he arrived in this new world as he carefully watched his opponents.

A simple death would be too merciful for scums like these!

Gripping the dagger tightly, he frowned as his hand was trembling, realizing, "...I'm too weak, this body is malnourished."

Despite this, he didn't lose confidence. Instead, a bloodthirsty smirk spread across his tiny face, making the gangsters uneasy.

He mumbled to himself, "I can't get hit even once, is it? Sure, let's do this..."

The gangsters immediately regained their composure as they exchanged glances and then charged at Raymond with their weapons at the ready.

Raymond's crimson eyes unconsciously glowed brighter, adding an eerie intensity.

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