Truly this world is too unfair. To think in more fanatical religious even science and alchemy are punished with death regardless of who you are and in others freedom religion. Is accepted much less the freedom to study but… these rarely remain like this for long.
So imagine this child’s surprise when his mind as forced to contend with a fifty-year-old A.I. that had been born and surpassed the peak of scientific possibilities during a time when mankind has conquered the stars for dominance over his infant body. Now imagine the A.I’s surprise when the child’s mind began to win. The mind of a 98% A.I. and 2% human child to young to even know it’s own name. Imagine the A.I joy to discover that hasn’t died due to some myriad of mercies or miracles only to find itself corrupted upon its new birth… his new birth.
Now can you perceive the shock this child felt when he discovered the existence of magic?
If not then can you understand what it’s like to discover the science doesn’t work here? Steam engines, coal doesn’t burn, modern gunpowder and even the periodic table is incorrect here.
Think about what this could mean? Gods could be real, the world might be flat and if you add his recent experience with death then reincarnation no longer seems as impractical as before.
So how could I not be devoured by my curiosity? Death. Why am I not dead? Can this be replicated?
… are emotions really such vile things?
My creator spoke of love being beauty maybe I just haven’t felt that one yet.
“ Son, can you say mother?” An ugly hag calls out to me. Her makeup is coating her face thick enough you would think it could stop bullets.
“ Mother.” If only to get her to fuck off I comply with her wishes and attempt to leave but she grabs my arm and pulls me closer. She kissed my forehead and the feeling is disgusting.
“ Oh look… Clift our boy is a genius. Three years old and he can already speak better than me.” She calls out to a man with brown hair standing in the back of the room watching over this scene with a hearty smile. He is wearing a black vest with a white shirt.
“ Oh, how remarkable. Maids call my cousin told him to throw a party. Hahaha.” There is genuine love in his voice as he sees me succeed.
“ Fuck off, I hate party’s all that happens is mother flirts with men when daddy isn’t looking.” I felt like my mother’s eyes would explode as I walked away and my father’s eyes turned cold.
That’s what you get for dragging me into your shit. I hate your ‘parties’. A bunch of old people send their children to kiss my ass but there too young to get why so they often try and pick fights and worst off I am supposed to be the better man by not fighting but I’m too weak if I run away its a lose, lose and I hate situations like them.
*****
“ During the year 0 imperial calendar and year 8200 of the eleven imperial calendars the emperor ascended the throne, actually our calendar is based entirely around this day as the start of the world when in actuality the emperor himself has talked and remarked on the many years it took him to reach the level of power he has now and that although his power has more than doubled since his crowning he was already a Demigod in comparison to any other living being at that time being only weaker than the gods, and a few ancient demons but since then he has claimed to have surpassed even those individuals however he alluded in the year 435 of the new imperial calendar and year 8635 of the elven calendar to a being that wasn’t a god and that his power would currently be incapable of defeating. However, no less than 20 to 23 years later he made a speech where he claimed to have finally become the one under heaven claiming to be second only to the gods. However, an interesting note is that although the speech is well known the exact date of the speech is unknown but there are many who believe he made it three times in three different locations and word of the speech had not spread to these different locations before the speech was made resulting in three different days of when it was believed it was spoken however I believe it would make more sense if it was simply the messages carrying the speech that took three years to cross over the empire and that there were three messengers. One who died half and changed the day of the speech to today, one who altered the speech’s date to today every day he said it and the final one who used then proper date.
I believe this is the case because there is a large portion of the empire that has no records of this speech at all. I believe that’s because the messages died before he could deliver the message resulting in three different dates.”
“ Son, Who the fuck cares?” Father had some men trail mother because of the words I said, he must not have liked what he heard due to the bottles of water.
“... your just a fucking puppet of your wife’s mother.”
“... you know that’s not true.”
“ Then deny her at the next noble gathering and see who your ‘allies’ support. If you win I will accept you and you lose I want money.” This fucking idiot, no doubt he’s going to be unreasonable as can be others will probably push back, not because of who my grandmother is but who my grandfather was.
“ Fuck off you little shit, I doubt you’re even my son why would I want your acceptance.”
“ Because… you’re weak.”
“... what was that?”
“ It’s why mother cheats. You’re weak. Too weak to stop her too weak to bring yourself to care.”
“... I am not weak. And your mother doesn’t cheat… your lies won’t get me this time.”
“ Father, everybody knows your gay. It’s why they use you… but I can accept you… for some gold.” I have nothing against homosexuals but the world see them in a disfavoured light. I can use that. It’s not fair. It really isn’t.
“... are you blackmailing me?”
“ Yep,” but the world was never fair to me. So why should I be fair to him?
“ And you think you can get away with this!”
“ Yep… because you’re weak after all. There’s a reason there no butlers in this house and it’s not because your scared mother is going to fuck them… you’re scared you will.”
“What do you want?”
“ 500 gold a month. Trust me! I can guarantee I couldn’t care less about you and nothing I learn or know will make me care any less or any more.”
“... you’re a real monster… one day you will regret your actions.” Please my collect 10 times that. But when you take out how much we pay our soldiers then we have only 4500 I guess and 2000 of that goes to the empire the other 2000 goes to projects around the territory and therefore can’t be taken out as we please without ruining the last of our reputation with the merchants and without them our people would starve and so on and so forth.
“ Maybe but it won’t be you who makes me after all you're too weak.”
*********
“ My territory is only 17.1 million km².”
“ No it’s my territory is a whopping 17.1 million km².”
“ That’s what I said.”
Smack!
“ Your father’s 17.1 million km², not yours, MINE.”
“... for now.”
Smack!
“ Honey stop hitting hi-”
smack!
“ SHUT UP! You cheating whore. Shut the fuck up! You’re not allowed to speak unless spoken too!”
“...”
“ How fucking dare you! How dare you glare at me!”
Crack!
“ Aaaaaaaa!”
“ Your just a woman! Shut up! All you women are the same!”
“... wh… where are you going.”
“ Butler! STEVEN! comes here I have need of you.”
“ ...Yes, sir.”
“ To my room.”
“ Sir, please. Choose one of the younger men! Please, I have a wife I cannot look her in the eyes an-“
“ Get the fuck up there! Or would you prefer it’s done here! Actually, let’s call your wife. She can watch us!”
“ No sir please I am going! I am going!”
“ Hey mother, can I go now?”
Smack! Smack! Smack! Crack.
“ THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! Sergeant bring me a stick! The same one you use on traitors.”
“ Ma'am that is a bit much for a child especially one so young the damage could be permanent.”
“... ok then just… punch him until he starts crying.”
“ Ok. But your son’s tougher than most so it might take a while.”
“ That’s… good. I just want to hurt him for a while. So take your time I don’t actually care about him crying just put down for a week.”
******
“ Who said you could listen to him! Who said!”
“ But ma’am we were outnumbered… your son, he lead us to victory against all odds if I didn’t listen to him I would have been killed by my own men for insurgence! I swear he had them turn on me. He’s only for his talent for war is outstanding!” The same sergeant from before was sitting next to me.
“ I don’t care if you're supposed to be my lover then you can’t just listen to him! I don’t care if you listen to the gay faggot or even if you suck his dick but you are not allowed to follow my son’s orders or I WILL HAVE YOU KILLED FOR TREASON.” This time I completely fail to see what I did wrong? Its almost like I was supposed to die to those ‘bandits’.
“ It’s no use… he has the loyalty of my soldiers. I think he’s been bribing them.”
“ With whose money!”
“ I don’t know I swear but it’s true.”
Stolen novel; please report.
“ Are we going to just to pretend I’m not here? Can I leave?”
“ GET THE FUCK OUR YOU FUCING CREATURE!”
********
“ Ohh I just love this new author, listen, sister, he’s a complete mystery! We have no idea who he is and I even have some of my spy on this! His poetry is just absolutely the most powerful I have ever read in my life. Well, you just have to read it… you hear I will question you on it the next time we meet and isn’t your boy just the cutest!”
“ Goodness me sister you just rave on and one about this author… well, then I must read it before your next visit.”
“It’s this beautiful story about a cheating mother and a gay father and it’s written from the perspective of there four years old. But the best part is that it’s written like a journal with this beautiful poetic lines on the bottom of the page about how life is unfair or how love is different then he was told it would be! A.I. That’s right all Author uses it identified himself is A.I…. oh dearest me I didn’t think that’s your son’s initials but there no way right oh I just remembered… by the way, I heard mother will be visiting… you look pale. Maybe I should get going then.” its about time. So pointless, but hearing all that praise… felt good
“...”
“ Oh, I was using that to threaten father I didn’t think granny would pick up on it being me. I really underestimated her.”
“ You… a demon. A DEMON! Yes, that must be it! I need a priest! A priest to cure my son!”
*****
“ How dare a freak like you even ask to be hired here. Fuck off you just an ugly fucking cripple.”
“ But! Please my father saved your life, I don’t want anything else other than a job I will even shovel shit if need b-“
“ Fowl tongue freak. I don’t hire monsters.”
“ Just a few coppers a month!”
“ Guards”
“ I’m sorry I’m leaving. I’m leaving.”
A woman sat facing mother, I knew this would happen the moment I saw her. She’s blind. No more the blind it looks like she’s covered head to two in burns. Her steps contain a conflicted conference but ultimately by the standards of this world, she is very hideous. It’s a shame from my angle she was beautiful.
She gets up and walks through the open hallways and out into a courtyard filled with trees and birds. It’s a beautiful courtyard this time of year, the gardeners really go all out just in time for the blooming of the flowers. They have planted a sea of purple flowers and the trees had turned pink. The ground is orangey dirt but there are paths made of marble or concrete. Most structures are made of cement but there are a few beautiful pieces of art that are made entirely of stone scattered around in the yard. It’s a square-shaped place but the design and the trees make it feel more rectangular in nature and honestly it’s a very inviting atmosphere for the house’s entrance.
I frown, I know what’s going to happen next after all those birds got me and I can se- how?
I watched in amazement as she shifted her head to dodge birds swoop and then tilted her body to dodge another’s with only a few milliseconds between movements. Is her reaction time better than mine? Her movements are suffering because of her condition but it clearly not enough to stop them shining through? How did she doge them?
I need to know.
I jump down from the steps and run up behind the woman. Her shoulders drop at the sound of my footsteps. “ Now a child comes to insult me.”
“ Hey… you know you’re quite sad.”
“ Thank you.” She walks on. But a small tear escaped her left eye. This clearly causes her great pain as she starts to sizzle. Maybe I have underestimated her condition as she literally is sizzling due to her tears whenever they run over a burn.
Her movements shaky at best but she takes each step forward with confidence. I find this very appealing.
“ 5 gold a week.”
“I’m sorry?” There was a wave of hidden anger in her voice she obviously doesn’t believe me.
“ Work for me instead. Five gold a week.”
A hurried set of steps comes up from behind but she doesn’t dare get too close to me. Five steps, mother will not let me within five steps of her.
“ NO, I will not allow it!” Mother shouts.
“ Mother? Did you think you have a say in this?” I turn to her and ask but then turn back to my new thing and I walk up a bit closer. Due to my age, I guess she is a lot taller than me. After all, I am only four.
“Ahh… If you have even a shred of dignity, love of compassion you will… if there is even a shred of hope that we can be a mother and son again I demand that you not hire this… animal!” What the fuck is she on about.
“Lass, what’s your name?” She seems daunted by the situation But is slowly coming to the discovery that my offer is more real then she originally believed.
“ It’s Eva.” Her words were strangely weak.
“ 5 gold a week. You will be a personal maid, mine, although I expect you to do anything I say.”
“ Yes! YES OF COURSE MASTER!” She practically leapt on me and started to hug me but immediately reel back her face choking up with pain. But then in a surprising turn of events, she came forward and hugged grunting as she did so.
“ Fine! You are dead to me!” Mother said so as she stormed off. But I didn’t notice and I don’t think she did either.
“ No. I mean anything.”
“ Of course! Of course!”
“ Let’s speak more in my study come with me. We need to negotiate a contract for our future and I wish for you to understand the full extent of what I want from you before you agreed so blindly.”
******
My study, a delicate thing. Although it’s one of the largest rooms in the house, it's also the most cramped. A large collection of just about everything is stored here and it used to be a storage space. Well, it still is storage space.
It’s dark cramped and the air is hard to breathe but one day it will be a perfect location for a study. I will transform this room into a perfect space for research.
“ I will now read your contract out loud to you, you are allowed to speak out about anything that bothers you and we can go back and forth as long as you would like.” I stay as formal as I can be. Honestly speaking all these years of humanity has led me to perfect my human act.
We sat huddled next to the walls of old leather-bound books that circled me.
“ Yes.” Maybe this all felt positive for her but she sat up and took this extremely seriously. But there was also a clear line of suspicion in her eyes.
“ Ok… First, this contract may be terminated as I see fit.”
“ Ah… ok, I understand.” Disappointment, no fear that is how I would describe her expression right now.
“... First, this contract may be terminated as I see fit. However, in the case of the contract being destroyed, I will offer various services based on the cause of the termination. First service if the contract is broken due to no fault of the employee… this means you… then I will offer the next three months payment upfront. Second, if the employee breaks or fails any of the following clauses then I may break the contract without offering services. Third If you are injured during employment then I may pay for medical services that depend on the seriousness of the injuries and the effort the employee has gone to avoid being injured. Forth there will be a set of expectations placed on the employee once she has signed this contract that state that no further changes can be made, suggested by the employee. The employer may make changes to the contract as I see fit. I will now read the list of expectations you must meet or this contract will be terminated. All good so far miss.”
“ It isn’t anything I didn’t expect.”
“ Very well I shall continue.
These expectations include but are not limited too. Willingness to follow any order that does not put your life in mortal danger. A willingness to place my needs over your own. A willingness to accept any order, whether they been humiliating, sexual or against your comfort level. Second, an order may be questioned but not denied.
“ Ummm! Question!”
“ Yes, Eva. Can I call you Eva?”
“ Um yes but you… did you just say sexual? Um is this contract used regularly perhaps?”
“ No, this contract was just written up in front of you. Is the knowledge I may ask for sexual activity from you deal braking?”
“ Um… no. But, I mean… like I look like this so, that isn’t something that you will eh or.”
“ Miss if it makes you feel better I haven’t experienced puberty. I am a four-year-old child but yes in the future I will most like use this clause to have my way with you.”
“ Oh… you’re a child? But… five gold?”
“ Relax I will indeed pay you. If I may continue. Or should we stop?”
“ No please!”
“ You have no right to privacy and the keeping of secret knowledge is forbidden. Any questions ask of you must be answered to the best of your abilities or this contract will be terminated.”
“... is that all?”
“ Yes.”
“ Can you help me a sign.” “
“Sure… here.”
“ Ok thanks.” “ So when do I begin?” “ Instantly.” “ Ok! I am ready.”
“ You’re not actually blind, are you?”
******
“ This painting is beautiful! My god look at this, my girl. Your son has talent in every sense of the word. I am so jealous.”
“ Hehehehe. It was nothing.”
“ How can that be nothing this is incredible!”
“...Mother… it’s drawn by a demo-“
“ Shut the fuck up. You have ruined this house’s name enough.”
“ MOTHER HE'S A DEMON!”
“ Goddammit! I still haven’t gotten over how you called an actual priest to this house and they nearly left with you!... maybe I was cruel to stop him. After all, he was so sure you were sick but I said no, you’re not taking my daughter but maybe that was a mistake.”
“ He is a sick one!”
“ Leave.”
“ I’m sorry?”
“ Leave. I wish to spend some time alone with my grandkids. Leave.”
“...?”
“Arthur Iha… I plan on having you succeed in the family name.”
“ The Iha name? Not father’s?”
“ No definitely not. His house is dead anyway but you… please carry my lover’s name. I… am not long for this world. But I will give you everything I own. I have written in my will that you will receive this land but… I have the feeling it won’t matter. There is still so much I would have liked to teach you but maybe it was better that I didn’t see how my daughter became but your the only hope of our family now. Look at me rambling I truly have grown old but the point is. Can you accept my name?”
“ Yes, it shouldn’t be hard.”
“ I’m glad. I trust the next generation of the empire to you. Also, take this.”
“ What is it?”
“ It’s a magic stone. It will call an inquisitor. He will protect you but you must call him after I am killed.”
“ Killed?”
“ Yes, your father has plans to kill me. I will allow him to but in return, I will use that as a way to have you overthrow him.”
“ Yes. I will keep this safe.”
“I’m glad, it’s a big burden but if you don’t do this I have no doubt your father will kill you. I will keep you alive until then, but after… you’re smart you will find away.”
“ Thank you, grandmother.” I still cannot tell. Who is using who here?
*******
“ Breathe… feel the energy around you. That is mana. Let it flow through your body let it discover your channels for you. Feel it grow with every beat of the heart.”
“ Yes, Eve.”
“ You are too young to learn my sword arts and I don’t know magic so there is only one thing I can do. And that teaches you to see.”
“ The blind is leading the blind.”
********
“ FUCKING KILL IT!”
“ Shut up whore I know what I’m doing!”
So this is how I die? Choked to death in a sink by a man I want nothing to do with because I threatened his position of local top dog. It’s sad, how far the mighty me has fallen. Even my creator would look at me with distance if he knew what was going to become of me.
But just when the pain reaches its zenith I feel his hands are ripped away from my neck. An armed guard is pulling my screaming father as other blocks off my mother who raises a pistol and fires it at me. But something remarkable happens beyond understanding. One of the guards reaches out and catches the bullet out of the air before slicing my mother’s pistol in half.
Another set of hands find there a way to my throat but instead, they grab my collar and I am pulled from the sink. My grandmother is looking at me with fear and desperation. Moving around me she wraps her arms around my back and pulls as hard as she can.
“ Cough! Cough!”
“ NOOOO!” My mother screams as I am revived. My life saved.
A feeling of… gratitude and… there is this warmth I haven’t felt before is directed at my grandmother who then has a guard drag me away from her two guards guarding her we slowly back away.
“ Sergeant! Sergeant! Kill him!” A group of men. cut off the exit. They all seem to be soldiers but they don’t have weapons. A gun line and every gun are trained on me. Two rows of three, one row kneels in the front the others stand at the back.
“ Ready.”
The soldiers raise up there arms. I look around but other then some louse tiles there isn’t anything that can be done. The room is too narrow, I have no weapons and I cannot run away as my parents will get me I cannot rely on the grandmother or her guards judging from there look of horror over there new found situations.
“ Aim”
The soldiers are men I haven’t seen before but guessing from there colour palette they are not soldiers of this house. They are wearing bright greens and yellow a colour worn by only the knights of another local noble.
But the last order doesn’t come.
There is a flash and then a thud as the sergeants head hits the ground. Then two more are cleaved in to but any other three. Five are dead before the sergeant’s body hit the floor, panic breaks the line and a shadow dance between them slicing through every throat and in less than thirty seconds thirty men are dead and not a single one of them even saw what killed them.
“ Master!” I am taken into someone’s embrace ripped from my grandmother's arms. Much to her dismay. “ Eva?”
I see her worried face. She steps back and slinks through the room to a defensive position and waits. But grandmother’s two guards are now looking for permission to be more aggressive. My mother is attacking one of the guards with a zealous fury but the guard’s abilities are enough to be called superhuman. But he grows careless and mother if by instinct picks up on that. When he turned to ask grandmother what to do a set of teeth sank their way into his weakest part. His exposed neck then with a twist of the head flesh is ripped out chewed and swallowed.
She rushes over towards me but Eva then puts her down with a punt to the face. ‘Yep that’s decided things, Eva I love you. My saviour!’
The next day I turned five and had my fifth birthday, I woke up meet women, meet their children. Learned of true hate. Then I posed with my mother and father for three hours without incident so a painter could capture this moment in the form of an image. The painter even left commenting on how happy our family looked.
But for the whole day I didn’t allow Eva to be less than 20 steps away.
******
Pain. I feel nothing but pain as my grandmothers scream enter my ears. I am hiding underneath a set of stairs as I watch my mother’s shadow slink from corner to corner. I can see one of grandmothers guards has been hung by the entrance and a swarm of people are attacking the other. No matter how many rush him he cuts them down with ease numbers mean nothing to him but still, it was pointless. A mage fires a bolt of lightning and it goes straight through his heart he too has died.
I centre my breathing and I feel the natural flow of mana. There is an empty spot that matches my mother, dressed in her dress she struggles to run around searching for me. I can sense the locations of all the assassins. That mage is swirls of lights and a crack of thunder as he strikes the fallen soldier charing and smouldering his legs. The room is a sea and the hearts of men are lights. These lights catch on the tides and burn bright green inside the blue mana.
Suddenly I bring my attention back to myself, in my pocket, I sense something pulse.
And my eyes open, the stone. The blue game mother gave me to use when she died, her scream echo as I remember this. And I close my eyes again.
Drowning out the echoes of my grandmothers screaming.
The mana flows through me making me almost invisible but I reach out and tug a part of the mana making it flow into the gem.
The gem flashes and like a ripple something spreads out towards the west.
These four words repeated over and over again in my mind. I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! This is too unfair! Unfair! Unfair! It’s not fair, after dying now after coming back.
I decided to run, I cannot hide forever I must flee. My only advantage is what Eva taught me.
The mansion I live in is ultimately just a part of a court year that connects to parliament. There are enough individuals of status that I doubt they can run around as they please and my father’s authority has been weakening ever since my grandmother started to take a more active approach to life again.
This ability to see will allow me to travel through parliament and around without being seen but all I have to do is make it across the room without discovery. If I can make it across this room then I win.
Using my ability again I make an estimate of how far I will have to run to get out if I was to run in a straight line.
Biding my time I see an opportunity and I make the run. Each step grows faster than the last as fear eats at me. The only thing I hear is the sound of my breathing and steps as I run. I don’t look back I don’t think I don’t check to see if I made it I just run and run. Past doors, down hallways through empty and full rooms just as I am about to escape I can hear a “ Master! Master where are you! MASTER! Please answer me it’s Eva! Don’t worry I will kill these bastards and come find you in just a second. I will find you don’t worry about your safety! Just run to my voice noting van happen to you while you are with me! ”
I remember the fate of the knights who defended my grandmother, how even they could die to arrogance or get swarmed and I imagined that mage firing a lightning bolt through her heart and turned to leave, it was too dangerous for me to go back for her but when I took the first step I found it was in the direction of her voice. I found myself running towards her desperately despite knowing it was suicided. But the fear, the fear I felt grew until it was suffocating and unlike before it only hampered my ability to run. I hated this! I hate the chance I could die! I hated that I felt safe until now in my own home. I hated that I felt it would be fine. This is what got me in my last life as well. There was no way flesh could reach me so I didn’t even consider it occurring and yet my creator ripped out my heart. Now I didn’t even consider that my parents would be such lunatics!
To try and kill there only child completely unprovoked! I hate that I am so… powerless to the whims of the world! It’s not fair!
Never again will I be afraid like this again. Never again will I run blindly into danger… so just this once. Just this once I will go back for Eva and never again. Never again so just this once. Never again will I let my flesh decide!
“ Hahaha! Son, you came back to his mother!” At the last moment, I discovered I was the bud of life’s joke as mother jumped out before me. Pulling out a gun
“MASTER!” Eva screams behind her and she bolts towards me. She runs like a snake with her form shifting in and out of the shadows as she covers ground faster than a human should be able to until she reaches out and grabs me pulling me into the shadows. I feel her hop three times but my feet are off the ground and my face is buried in her chest. Then we stop seconds.
“ EVA!” I call out… and I see. Imagine my surprise when I discover just how beautiful love can be!
Bang! A bullet rips straight through my neck.
Turning my head I see my mother’s tears of joy and the smoking end of the gun.
I feel the thud as I hit the ground. Eva dropped me. Looking up my vision is twisted by Eva is looking down on me. It’s so blurry I can make out the details.
… I see this was a trap. This is the end… “it’s not fair.”
“NOOOOOOOOOOO! MASTER!”