"W-what's wrong, Your Holiness?" asked a timid voice behind the man.
I couldn't see who it was, but their voice sounded young.
"Blasphemy! This child, no, this abomination has been resurrected!" He declared while pointing at me with an accusing finger.
"This old man is crazy... Can't someone gag him?"
His bloodshot eyes bore into me as if I were responsible for all the evils of the world.
"Resurrected? My baby is alive?" Another voice interrupted. It sounded weak, but with strong hope.
"Could that be my mother? I wonder what she'll be like."
I couldn't help but feel relief hearing my mother's voice. If she was there, she surely wouldn't let that crazy old man do anything to me, right? It was obvious that man wasn't in his right mind.
No mother would let a madman treat her son like that.
"No, I'm afraid not, Miss Eirian. There's not a trace of Ka in his body. This baby was born dead," the old man affirmed with a firm but compassionate voice.
"Ka? What the hell is that?"
"B-but you just said that..." the woman began, though a cough interrupted her before she could continue.
The man crossed his arms, shaking his head. His movements slower now, as if trying to appear wiser, though his exaggerated performance earlier already revealed he was insane.
"As you know, no living being in this world can survive without Ka," he explained, making a small dramatic pause before continuing his speech. "Except for the crawling abominations of Xoth, of course."
Upon saying those words, I could hear gasps around me, as if the man had mentioned something terrifying.
"No, no, no, no. I know where this is going... If this is the typical medieval world with strong religious influence, being treated as a monster at birth is the worst possible fate."
I began to truly worry, confused by the man's words.
What was Ka? Was it necessary to live?
I couldn't help but feel powerless. After spending five years in a coma, I was reborn in a defective body.
What kind of fate was that? Weren't reincarnated people supposed to receive overpowered abilities?
"Therefore, we must finish it off," the man finally said with a harsh and blunt voice, devoid of any emotion.
I could almost see how his face was covered by an ominous shadow, as if his murderous intent became tangible.
"Am I going to die again? Are they going to kill me just after respawning?"
I couldn't accept it. I couldn't let this happen.
This time I wasn't going to leave without a fight. I began to whimper and babble like crazy. I had to show them I was alive. I had to show them I was human.
"What a repulsive creature. Look how it writhes, it looks possessed," the voice said, making my efforts useless with simple words while stretching his hand toward me.
"I see the bastard wouldn't miss any opportunity to slander me."
My determination transformed into desperation. I began to scream. I let out a cry with all my strength. I had to resist.
"M-my baby..." said my mother, her voice breaking mid-sentence, interrupted by her crying.
"That's it!"
No mother would allow her child to be murdered in front of her. I just had to prove I was a real baby.
When the man lifted me by the cloth that wrapped me, I kept kicking, struggling against the man's firm grip.
Dying so soon wasn't in my plans. I would live this life to the fullest.
"Ugh, how insistent," said that old man, as if I were the most repulsive thing he had ever seen. "You, take this abomination out of here. Let the cold kill it, or if not, the rats can feast on it," he ordered, releasing me into the arms of a servant, surely the owner of the young voice I had heard before.
"Y-Your Holiness, I..." the girl began, with a trembling voice, but was immediately interrupted.
"Do you dare question me? You're very bold for a fairy! Ever since the ministry approved those stupid laws, you xenos have gotten too full of yourselves," the man affirmed, his face red with anger. I felt the girl press me against her chest, somewhat frightened. "You're not even a free elf! You're still a servant, a noname, you don't hav—"
"Please forgive her," another voice intervened, which seemed to belong to an older woman, surely more experienced. "I'm certain she's not disobeying you, Your Holiness. She's still young and inexperienced. She gets nervous easily. I beg you to be patient with her."
The woman's intervention left a silence in the room, only interrupted by my mother's weak crying.
I had stopped kicking, trying to process the information that man had given.
Fairies? Nonames? What was he referring to?
I turned to get a better look at the woman carrying me. She was young, her brown hair tied in a bun. It was when I looked more carefully that I noticed her ears. They were longer and sharper, like an elf's.
I couldn't help but get a little excited. This was definitive proof that this wasn't my world, and it also confirmed the existence of other races.
Would there be other species? Dwarves? Or perhaps demons?
But my reflection didn't last long. The conversation resumed, reminding me I was about to be discarded.
"I understand," the man said, apparently calmer. "I suppose it was to be expected from an inferior race. Perhaps she's even a hollow. I should have been more patient."
The girl's eyes opened wide, showing complete disbelief. It seemed he had insulted her, or rather, had said something horrible about a loved one, since I could barely perceive indignation in her eyes.
"Please, do as His Holiness ordered," the other woman urged, who seemed to be making an enormous effort to keep calm in her voice.
Something that confirmed my theory that calling someone "hollow" was very offensive in this world.
"I-I..." the young woman hesitated, glancing toward my mother, surely seeking her guidance.
"It's an order," the old man then commanded. As he did, his iris emitted a golden glow.
Looking at the young woman again, her eyes had become empty.
"As you order" the young woman nodded, with an almost robotic voice.
"What the hell? Did he bewitch her or something?"
She turned and started walking, reminding me I didn't have much time.
"Waaaaaa!"
I screamed, kicked, and cried again. I couldn't let them abandon me, not again.
"No! My son! He's crying, give him back to me, give me back my son!" My mother exclaimed with a wail, the desperation was palpable in her voice.
But I didn't even manage to see her. The servant had already left the room with a quick pace, as if fleeing from something.
Her insecure expression had returned, but she didn't seem to want to continue disobeying the old man's orders.
My mother's screams grew more distant, along with my hopes of being saved.
My fate had been sealed... right after being reborn.