"I’m not you." The boy echoed the main villain.
Step by step, the long haired young man closed their distance. His movents were erratic, twitchy and zombie-like yet so fast. In less than a few seconds, the villain’s smile was right in front of the boy.
"You’re not ." Kaon repeated, his hand was reaching out to hold the boy’s face.
anwhile, Jay was screaming inside. System! System! SYSTEM!
Before the villain’s finger could touch his skin, the transmigrator felt the ground gave out underneath him. In a blink, he was falling into the darkness.
.
.
.
The toddler’s eyes snapped open, and the first thing he did was tapping on the sleeping bag to feel if his parents were around. The familiar stale detergent sll of his blanket kept him grounded enough for his violet eyes to focus on the dingy ceiling above him while his heart was beating a mile a minute.
What the hell was that? Was it a nightmare? Another mory side quest that the System put him through?
When he called for the System a mont ago, the scummy thingy didn’t respond, so it might just be Jay’s mind conjuring up a nightmare after all.
But... But how did he know exactly what the original Kaon looks like? The main villain was vividly real. It’s just like that ti he got flashes of the original Red King back when they haven’t renovated their little house.
Talking about the guy, a shadow covered the toddler, and a gentle hand landed on his shoulder.
"Hey, hey, little guy, what are you doing?"
His adoptive father’s voice pulled him out of his head, and his eyes focused enough to see the teenage boy. With his eyebrows knitted closer in concern, the Red King picked up his toddler and put him in a sitting position on the sleeping bag.
"KJ, you alright?" The Red King ran his hand through the little boy’s hair, hoping to soothe him. "Say sothing, little guy."
"Dad..." The transmigrator managed to breathe out. "Dada... Bat tream."
He looked around the cabin, and apparently, everyone was already up and out except for the toddler and his adopted father. No one would leave a kid unattended.
"Bad dream, huh?" His male caretaker nodded as his large hand gently ran down the toddler’s back, calming him down a little. Naturally, Jay leaned into his dad’s touch. He laid his head on the teenage boy’s forearm; that cute action earned him a kiss on his forehead.
"I get those sotis, too. Nightmares ruined a good sleep." Red King chuckled a little as he slowly stood up with the toddler in his arms. "Let’s get so breakfast. Jam on toast sounds good?"
At the ntion of food, the transmigrator smiled up at the teenage boy. Pirate bakes the best bread, after all. Even with their janky oven, the only one available in the junkyard, the one eyed woman still makes wonderfully large loaves that are crusty and crunchy on the outside while soft and fluffy on the inside.
After breakfast, Jay followed his adoptive dad around the junkyard. They eventually ended up helping JJ with patching up the well, and thankfully they finished before lunch.
After lunch, Pirate put two loaves of bread in JJ’s hands before hugging each mber of their little family goodbye.
Before they left the junkyard, the transmigrator looked at Eugene one last ti. The Last Wonder Soldier seed to be welcod into the community, especially when he’s helping Wolf and a girl... June? Yeah, he’s helping Wolf and June fix a rusty car.
Scarlet red eyes t violet ones for a second, and it was enough for Jay to blink at the Wonder Soldier in thanks. He probably won’t get that.
Eugene blinked back, probably confused, but he didn’t say anything and went back to looking at the engine. With a sigh, the toddler raised his arms when his adoptive mom picked him up and put him on the motorcycle.
Instead of taking a nap this ti, Jay kept his eyes open and watched the scenery. Pale brown stoney desert land eventually turned greener, and valleys turned into small mountains.
No matter how many tis he paid attention to nature in this world, he didn’t see any wildlife aside from insects, but he didn’t want to give up. Maybe one day, he’ll see a raccoon or sothing. Hell, maybe even a deer. Lady Blue couldn’t have killed all the animals in this area. The weather is also getting colder by the day, so the transmigrator didn’t want to set his expectations too high.
When they’re a couple miles away from their little ho, Jay’s eyes caught sothing black moving in the corner of his vision. Several little black shadows were zooming in and out of the tree lines. Since the motorcycle was still moving, it’s hard to see what those black shadows really are, but those shapes are unmistakably—
"Mom! Birds!" His eyes sparkled as he pointed at the ravens in the sky. "Birds!!!"
JJ’s chuckle rumbled through the toddler as she hugged him tighter to her torso.
Even though it’s hard to hear anything when they’re on the move, the teenage girl responded, "Yes, Kaon. Birds! They’re called crows."
Crows, not ravens, huh?
"Haven’t seen any of them for a while!" The Red King joined their conversation. Jay could already hear the smile on his face. "They’re probably migrating out of the city!"
Maybe this world isn’t completely hopeless after all.
.
.
.
The first snow fell while Jay was outside in his backyard.
He jumped up to catch a snow flake, and he pouted when it lted in his hand.
What did he expect?
Damn, he’s getting used to being a kid these days.
The toddler let out a sigh and dropped himself to the ground. His back, protected by his puffy jacket, hit the ground. Then, his arms began moving up and down, back and forth while his eyes looked up at the white sky with speckles of white falling on him.
Most of the trees didn’t lose their leaves when it started snowing, so their yards were a ss of orange and red leaves dotted with half-bald trees, and yet it felt so much like ho.
The transmigrator didn’t want to forget the world he originally ca from, but what’s left for him there? It’s been a few weeks since the nightmare. The original Kaon made him feel like he didn’t belong here, like he stole the villain’s place in this little family.
Before his thoughts could get the better of him, a creaking from the back door announced that either or both of his parents ca to find him.
A brunette girl sat down next to him on the ground, and her dark blue eyes squinted when she smiled. His adoptive mom was still in her pajamas and socks, no jacket on.
"You like the snow?" JJ bead at the toddler, and she gently reached out to tap his nose.
Jay giggled in response, and he shook his head when more snow fell on them both.
"Cold. It’s cold, mom!" He lifted his hands up and wiggled them around. Even though the transmigrator didn’t really talk with his hands back in his previous life, but this life, he did it anyway because it would make him more childish— more fitting for his age— and plus, it makes his mom happy whenever he gets animated. "Are you cold?"
"Not really," The teenage girl shrugged. "I like snow. Look..."
She lifted her hand just above her head. In the next second, snowflakes began gathering on her palm, making a mini blizzard at the tip of her fingers.
Without hesitation, the transmigrator copied her movents. Wouldn’t be so cool and convenient if he could control the water molecules—
His violet eyes sparkled when a couple of snowflakes began swirling around his chubby fingers.
Huh?! Maybe it’s just an illusion—
Stop.
Just like a spell was lifted, the group of snowflakes dancing around his palm dispersed.
"Mom, mom!" Jay excitedly called out for his caregiver, and he received a proud grin in return.
"That’s amazing, KJ." The teenage girl tightened her hand into a fist, which made her little blizzard disappear. "Now, let’s do it again."
Reviews
All reviews (0)