Lark awoke to darkness. Did he feel… wet? Then pain, so much pain, as if he was getting the one-way express onto a boa constrictor's stomach, then, finally, peace. He felt cool air on his skin, and warm hands on his body. He opened his eyes for the first time.

Screams. Everything was still blurry, but he could tell that the woman holding him was on the verge of panic. He heard a deep voice talk with authority, and then the woman holding stopped screaming. She looked at him like he was the devil himself, but Lark’s… Father? Was holding fast. Father picked Lark up and gave him to his mother. She looked incredibly weak, and Lark was surprised that she had the strength to hold him.

Lark wasn’t super surprised at what was transpiring. He was surprised that it was happening to him, but the story unfurling around him was not unfamiliar.

‘I got fucking isekai'd, didn’t I? Goddamn it, why couldn’t it have been possession, instead? I hate the baby trope.’ Lark thought, trying to remain calm with false confidence. It wasn’t working.

Then he noticed that his mother was looking pale. Very, very pale. He instinctively tried to ask if she was alright, but all that came out were cries. She looked relieved to hear him cry, but that didn’t help with the fact that she looked incredibly ill.

His father had tears in his eyes. He was talking softly to both of them. Lark couldn’t understand the words, but he could understand the intentions. Father was saying that he was going to take care of Lark as best as he could, and telling Mother to not worry. He was saying that she could rest.

Lark’s mother laid her head down and closed her eyes, and then she stopped breathing. Lark’s father started openly weeping, and hugging Lark as gently as he could. He cried with him, even if he didn’t know this woman, seeing the death of his mother still shook him deeply. Especially after just being reincarnated and losing his real parents.

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“Henry, he has the eyes of a demon, you must bring him to be excised. The king will not be able to save you if the church finds you're hiding a cursed spawn.” The midwife spoke.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Melissa, please. I just lost my wife, I will not give up our son. You owe me for saving you in Hulary, so please keep this quiet.” Henry said.

“Fine, but if the church snatches your head, don’t haunt me.”

Looking down at his son, Henry was so scared. He knew that this child's life was going to be a hard one, but Henry hoped he could help mold this child into someone who could survive hardships. He was no stranger to conflict, after all. And he would suffer no man that tried to interfere with his child's life.

“So, I know this is a hard question, but what are you going to do about feeding him?”

“Uhh….”

“I know a woman who has just given birth as well. She owes me for delivering the rest of her children, so she will keep him a secret.” Melissa said

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Lark guessed that he must have misinterpreted his father’s final message to him and his mother because the first thing that he did after hugging Lark was send him to live with someone else.

‘I guess thinking someone would accept me as my adoptive family did, again, was too hopeful.’ he thought sullenly

Lark was noticing a trend of being adopted that he wasn’t sure that he liked. Maybe they would be like Mark and Stacy, though. If so, that wouldn’t be so bad. When they adopted him in his first life, it had been a defining moment for him, so maybe this will be a good thing. Biological parents for him didn’t have a great track anyway.

When Lark reached his new home, he wasn’t… the most impressed.

‘Don’t judge a book by its cover Lark, they could still be lovely people’ he thought.

Entering the home was not much better. There were crudely whittled toys strewn all over the floor, and the matriarch of the family was herding seven children away from her sewing supplies, with an eighth child hanging from her breast.

‘I guess I’m going to have plenty of company…’

The little wooden hut had a thatched roof, and standing at the front door, he could only see one other room.

‘A little cramped, but it’s… cozy? Oh god, this shit is medieval, isn’t it? Wait… does that mean? Swords and Sorcery! Magic! Badass! Oh, I can’t wait!’

Lark could deal with less-than-ideal housing if it meant he could have magic! What fantasy book nerd didn’t want Magic? Name one, and I’ll name you a liar.

Then the other shoe dropped. The Matriarch finally got a good look at his eyes. She jumped back and nearly screamed, but the Midwife managed to calm her down before she could freak out the rest of her family.

They had a hushed conversation with a great many hand motions, it appears that the matriarch is less than thrilled about having a demon child. Lark didn’t know what they were saying, but he could make a solid guess.

‘So I guess this isn’t going to be one of the pleasant isekai’s then. Fuck.’