Later that day, I was back in the nursery room, lying in the crib, watching the static ceiling, and contemplating about things.

I had yet to come to term with my situation. My motivation so far was petty things like taking revenge on the maid, or trying to die.

I wonder if my 16-year-old mentality was the cause of this new me. I did not act like this when I was 16 years old. I was a wimpy girl who isolated herself in the corner that that time, wishing the bullies had lost interest in trashing my table and hiding away my glasses every day.

But being emo and hated the world? I had really become a teenager, hadn’t I?

I had been avoiding the serious questions like a procrastinating student.

Is there any purpose in all this?

The torturing of the ignorance maid and the tears of the mother had made me realize the fact that I was alive in this world. I might be invincible, but I was not immune from pain, physically or emotionally.

The people in this world were also capable of pain and joy. This world might be meaningless to me, but it was real for everyone else involved. If I wish not to feel pain, I should not inflict that on others.

So that would be the motto of my new life, then. Don’t cause pain, don’t let pain come to yourself. I wouldn’t dream about something as noble, impossible and stupid as happiness.

Soon as I had figured out how to deal with my second life, a switch went off somewhere in my head.

It was like I suddenly grew a new hand in my cranium. My vision was filled with vivid colors, deforming the lines of decoration on the wall into twisting noodles.

When the dizziness had subsided, I exhaled heavy breaths. The world in front of my eyes had changed. I could feel objects overlapping with reality, and a mysterious flow of energy in the air.

Other dimensions?

I suppressed the excitement growing in my heart, failing miserably. My tiny hands curled into fists.

So you have to acknowledge your existence in this world to perceive other worlds? What is this sh*tty shoujo anime plot?

I smirked to myself. All of my promises to live well and proper were thrown into the back of my mind.

FIREBALL HERE I COME! Time for revenge, devil maid!

A tiny voice beckoned at me. “But Elise, you have promised not to cause pain to other people…”

FUTILE! GO AWAY, MY VOICE OF REASON!

Have thy forgotten how many times that b*tch broke my neck and cracked my spine?

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I’m going to repay her every ounce of pain she had given me! Nothing would make me happier than replacing her face with a fiery crater!

***

I woke up the next day with a throbbing headache. The repeated failures of last night’s experiment added another heavy weight of grogginess to my eyelids. I battled with my body’s instinct to be inanimate throughout the day, as babies usually are. I needed food, and a call to the maid was an essential sacrifice to my ego.

However, when light finally peered into my retinas, the face I expected to be looking at me with a disgusting affectionate smile was not there. Instead, there was a dude.

He looked in his twenties, blue eyes, light orange hair, face riddled with freckles. A full-blown ginger.

Don’t tell me that’s my dad.

I shut my eyes, hoping to wake up from this nightmare somehow. This is a dream inside a dream, isn’t it?

I didn’t have anything against gingers. I just hoped I wasn’t one of them. Okay, maybe I was not the most open-minded person, but you did not have a ginger ex-husband who took your child away from you.

The mother was a middle-aged woman. The age difference was at least two decades. This place was progressive in the most unnecessary aspects, it seemed.

I felt a finger poking at my cheek. Ed Sheeran wasn’t giving up, but I didn’t intend to lose, either. I turned myself upside down in the crib, with my face in the pillow. Babies should not lie in this posture, but it was effective at protecting your cheeks against personal space invaders.

After a while, I could hear footsteps heading outside the room, and I was left with various irrelevant thoughts.

I couldn’t breathe lying like this. It felt nice…

After about ten minutes of unsuccessful self-suffocation, I gave up. That was disappointing. I didn’t even lose consciousness.

Another day was ahead of me, whether I wanted there to be or not.

I turned my head to the side and called out.

“Sofie.”

My voice couldn’t escape the room. I missed the maid. I probably was going crazy.

***

“My brother hates me for some reason.”

Chris smiled wryly to the woman on top of the bed.

“Don’t worry, your brother seems to hate everyone, but he’ll open up to you soon.” Jean chuckled. “You have just come back, you should clean up and get some rest, Chris.”

“Ah, Sofie will be back from the market soon, you should talk to her before that,” Her voice softened to a whisper, “she has been worrying about you.”

Seeing her son’s face turning a bit red, Jean grinned with satisfaction. Her son might be a skilful warrior, but he was a complete blockhead in romantic endeavour. Teasing him was as fun as always, she thought.

“I-I’m alright, mom, I have slept plenty on the carriage. Would you like me to do something for you? Would you want some tea?”

“You don’t know how to make tea, Chris. I love you, but your tea is horrible.” Jean laughed. “It’s okay, just sit here and tell me about your trip. Let Sofie take care of the chores.”

“You know the story, mom. We went to exterminate another dungeon before the new one turns up.” Chris raised an eyebrow. “The new dungeon opened up in Rivenpoint. You read the news, didn’t you?”

“No, I haven’t read the paper recently. But a new dungeon opening up in a city? Was there any…” Jean paused a bit, hesitating to continue.

Dungeons were the mysteries of the world. Every five years, as precise as clockwork, a new one would appear somewhere, bringing what some called blessings, other referred to as tragedies. No one knows where the earth would collapse next, revealing dark tunnels filled with monsters and treasures.

The thing everybody knew was, if an unlucky soul happened to stand where an entrance to the new dungeon was formed, they would be dragged to the deepest layers, home to the most powerful savage magical creatures.

There were many words to describe such terrible event, “The swallowing”, “Devorretur”, “The lottery of death sentences” etc., and Jean struggled to choose the appropriate one, if there was any.

“Two houses, two families, the children of one were spared as they were playing in the front yard. You should not be too sentimental about this, mom. Such is the way of life. Only the most unfortunate of the unfortunates would be swallowed.”

“I know. Stop teaching your mom how to feel!” Jean lightly punched her son’s shoulder, grinning. “With the leader of ‘The Dungeon Chaser Company’ here, what dungeon would ever dare to appear in Cangarde?”