The cries echoed through the dimly lit room, a piercing sound that seemed to fill the very air itself.

“Screeee Screeeeeeeechk.’’

“Congratulations are in order sire, you have sired a baby boy.” announced an old woman, standing next to a man, her voice quivering with reverence, bending her back in a bow, not daring to look up as she stretched her hands upward, cradling a newborn baby. The man sighed in relief as a smile crept up across his face. The man's tense expression finally relaxed into a relieved smile. He couldn't contain his excitement as he accepted the child from the midwife's arms, breaking into joyous laughter.

“Hahahahaha, isn’t he an adorable pup? what lovely voice he has, especially the screeches; they are just like demonic music to my ears.”

“Hehe, ain’t that right my dear?” The man glanced affectionately at the woman reclining on the bed. She nodded in agreement, her eyes filled with affection, a shared moment of joy between them. The man's smile broadened as he thought of something.

Now, hand him to me. I haven't even held my son, and you're already eager to parade him outside,” the woman retorted, an amused scoff escaping her lips as she noticed her husband inching towards the door. 

The man pouted, but he couldn't resist his wife's request. "You know we haven't had a child for ages. Thank the abyss that we were able to sire one now. I let my excitement get the better of me; I just had to one-up those old coots."

At the mention of the “old coots”, the woman’s expression soured briefly, but as she got hold of the baby, it all melted back into a smile. 

The baby had ceased its wailing and was now gazing up at his mother with wide, curious eyes. Her smile widened as she began to play with her child, her focus entirely on the tiny bundle in her arms. seemingly oblivious to the man beside her, whose playful expression turned resigned. He had tried to steal attention, but his efforts fizzled out like a deflated balloon. He joined in the playful display, surrendering to his fate.

As the couple relished this precious moment, the room's door burst open with a thunderous bang. A soldier, clearly agitated and out of breath, rushed inside. It could be seen that the soldier was in a hurry due to how he was acting all worked up.

The room's atmosphere shifted abruptly as all eyes turned to the intruder. When the soldier calmed down a bit. He saw everyone staring at him, The midwife's face mirrored her displeasure at this interruption, while the man's forehead was creased with irritation. and that's when the soldier knew he made a blunder as his boss hated his time with his wife being ruined, seeing the red veins throbbing on his boss’s forehead, he knew his boss was angry, so he stammered while giving a salute as he recognized the gravity of the situation.

“B-boss, the baron is requesting your presence immediately.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The man's face twisted in disbelief. “For what reason? Doesn’t he know I especially took a month’s leave to spend time with my newborn?”

The soldier's face turned pallid, and his nervousness was palpable as he stammered and looked flustered. A satisfactory response was critical. Otherwise, he could end up bruised and half-dead. Dread surged as he was reminded of something horrific and hastened to clarify.

“B-boss, I don’t have the specifics, but I do know that the scouts have returned from the northern front.”

The man's face twisted from shock to horror. His voice quivered as he asked the soldier, his worry evident.

“Did they mention, it was Baron Malachar’s turn?”

“I don’t know, but it’s highly likely.”

The soldier replied as he felt a cold sweat running down his back as he realized the implication of the order.

The man's gaze shifted to his wife, a profound sadness in his eyes, their unspoken communication conveying the inevitable. A hasty kiss to her and the baby's foreheads, and he issued a final order to the soldier before leaving the room.

“Gather the men at the drill ground.”

“Yes, Sir,” the soldier replied, bowing slightly to the woman before departing.

The woman sighed softly while caressing the baby, and closing her eyes to rest as she knew the inevitable had come, and they weren’t in a power to resist.

—--------------

Some unknown time ago,

As Ash was going back home from work, he felt his mind going blank as an object smashed behind the back of his head. One of the rare days, he had an impulse to take a walk back home, a bid for a change of pace and a breath of fresh air, and to think that this impulse was what spelled his doom.

Moments before his consciousness faded away from the hit, he felt the ground beneath him quiver, while the people around him were shouting and screaming in horror, painting a scene of chaos.

As he felt his body freefalling to the ground, he strained to discern his surroundings, as his vision was hazy from the hit.

‘Ah! must be an earthquake,’ He pondered.

‘Well, there goes my ticket to the ambulance, as everyone's likely preoccupied with saving themselves.’

He didn’t know why, but he knew that he was going to die as his thoughts were getting faster and clearer than usual as time slowly ebbed.

‘Must be one of the perks while dying.’ he mused, that was the last thought he had before he succumbed to the darkness and lost consciousness.

—---------------

The world around Ash blurred into an indistinct whirlwind as he was thrust into darkness. He had the sensation of falling, of being torn from his familiar reality and thrust into something altogether alien. The darkness approached enveloping him, and his very being was corroded but all of sudden something sprang out from his consciousness and reppled the very darkness he was being corroded by and then he felt weightless, suspended in time and space. 

Suddenly, the sensation of falling ceased. Ash opened his eyes, but there was nothing to see except an inky blackness. Panic surged through him as he struggled to breathe, realizing he was no longer on solid ground. He reached out in all directions, but his hands met only empty air.

Then, a sensation of warmth and pressure enveloped him, and Ash's world changed once again. He was no longer floating in the darkness; instead, he found himself in a confined space, pressed tightly against something soft and yielding.

Gasping for air, Ash blinked and gradually adjusted to the dim light that filtered through the darkness. He realized he was inside some sort of womb-like chamber. Panic gave way to curiosity as he examined his surroundings.

The walls of the chamber were made of a fleshy, pulsating material, and a rhythmic thumping filled the air, almost like a heartbeat. It was then that Ash became aware of another presence. He wasn't alone in this strange place.

With a sudden, powerful contraction, the chamber expelled him into the world with a rush of fluid. Ash cried out as he tumbled into a cavernous chamber, blinking against the harsh, reddish light that bathed everything in an eerie glow.

The first thing he saw was an old giant woman, with wrinkly skin and red eyes giving him a creepy smile. There were two horns jutted out from her forehead giving him an eerie glow.

‘Ah! I must be in hell, and this woman here is to butcher me.’ deduced Ash, as he started wailing in fright.