When I woke, I wasn't surrounded by darkness anymore. In fact, my eyes opened to lights, noises of people whispering amongst themselves, the smell of perfume, and a man with an angular handsome face peering down at me. He had fiery red hair, deep brown eyes and a short haircut that somehow managed to make him look even sharper than he already was. Also, the man was gigantic—or was I tiny?

I attempted to lift my head to look at my surroundings but found I couldn't. Interesting. I tried to question the man in front of me, but found myself incapable of speech, with incoherent babble being the only sound I was capable of producing. Interesting. The man was still peering down at me with a rather peculiar expression.

His intense stare made me want to shrink back. My body refused to cooperate, for which I felt slightly grateful. I may be paralyzed but at least I wasn't paralyzed with fear. I tried to think back to before waking here. Darkness, strange voice, seven others, close eyes. Might as well do what the strange voice had said. There was not a lot else I could do.

The voice had recommended I close my eyes for 20 seconds after waking. Very well. Closing my eyes, I soon noticed something even more interesting than my current predicament.

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INFORMATION

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Name: Ferris of House Scutum

Age: <1

Occupation: Shield (Unawakened)

Affinity: Earth (Unawakened)

Achievements: None

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Ferris of House Scutum? Who was he? My eyes widened as I read the screen, focusing on the "Occupation" field. Shield? Wasn't that the path the voice had mentioned? Did this information belong to me?

A sinking feeling settled in my stomach as realization dawned. Refusing to believe it, I opened my eyes and raised my arms—which unlike the rest of my body, moved. They were short, pudgy and white. Not a single scratch or mark on them. Unmistakably the arms of a baby. The man, still staring at me, smiled when I raised my hands and grabbed hold of them with his larger, calloused hands.

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He scooped me up and held me in his arms gently. Before me was a crowd of people, dressed as maids and knights. Their eyes were completely focused on me, their gazes filled with interest. The maids and knights did not seem to be like the ones of my previous life. None of their heads were bowed in fear, none had markings of beatings or whippings, and none looked at me with anything but warmth. I was not quite sure how to react.

"Hear ye! I declare the birth of the successor of House Scutum! Ferris!"

It finally struck home. I was reborn. Reborn into a noble family at that. And unlike last time, my new family seemed well off. Memories of my previous life reared their ugly heads. Memories of losing my house to my uncle, of watching as he took away everything important to me, and of me pathetically being completely unable to do anything about it.

I turned to stare at the man holding me. He noticed me glance and smiled lovingly. That expression, I had only seen it pointed at others. Never me. Before I could stop myself, my face was covered in tears. Was my wish truly granted? A joyful beginning?

The man, upon seeing my tears, started panicking and soon I was snatched away from him by a woman. She wrapped me up in cloth raised me to meet her eyes. She had the same expression the man had had.

She had bright blonde hair and kind eyes that mirrored the man's warmth. "Now, now, little king," she cooed, nuzzling here face against mine. "You mustn't scare your father like that."

The tears which had almost stopped, started pouring out once more. This beginning—this joy, I vowed to shield it from any who dared desire to take it.