The next morning, the young man slowly began to wake from his sleep.
His consciousness returned bit by bit—like something being pulled out from a deep, heavy darkness.
The air around him felt warm.
Different… from what he was used to.
Without realizing it, his hand moved slightly—touching something soft within his grasp.
"Mmh…"
A soft murmur escaped—gentle, almost like a whisper slipping through his half-awake mind.
The young man frowned faintly.
His eyes were still closed, his thoughts not fully awake.
Yet a subtle curiosity pushed him to squeeze that softness once more.
"Ngh…"
This time, the sound was clearer.
More real. More… alive.
His eyes snapped open.
His red eyes, still clouded with haze, slowly sharpened—and that was when his awareness truly returned.
He… was in someone's embrace.
Wrapped in an unfamiliar warmth.
He didn't move—
frozen in silent shock.
Within that embrace, a girl slept peacefully.
Her small body pressed close to him—so naturally… as if it had always been that way.
The young man couldn't fully grasp the situation. His thoughts were sluggish—almost refusing to process the reality before him.
And in that confusion—
he didn't realize that the girl holding him was beginning to wake up.
"Nn…"
A soft yawn escaped her.
She slowly opened her eyes—then immediately looked at him,
without hesitation, without a trace of awkwardness.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?" A pure smile appeared on her face.
Warm and sincere. As if there was nothing strange about their current situation.
But the young man remained silent.
His gaze didn't waver.
His crimson eyes simply stared at her—sharp, filled with unspoken confusion.
Time seemed to slow.
Stretching the silence between them.
His eyes stayed locked on her—
unblinking, unwavering.
Just watching…
as if trying to understand something he had never felt before.
—
Rexdeus' Perspective — a being who has lost his name and identity
I began to wake from a sleep that felt long and heavy—as if my consciousness had just been pulled up from a deep, unfathomable darkness.
Slowly… very slowly…
I realized my body was lying on something soft.
A bed.
But before my thoughts could fully clear, my hand—moving on instinct alone—touched something incredibly soft within my grasp.
Soft… warm… and strangely… alive.
"Mmh…"
A faint sound escaped.
It was so close. Too close.
I frowned slightly, my eyes still closed.
My consciousness had not fully returned yet, but curiosity began to creep into my mind.
What… is this?
Without thinking, I squeezed it again.
"Ngh…"
This time—
The sound was clear.
It wasn't just a noise. It was… a girl's voice.
My eyes snapped open.
The world around me seemed to pause for a moment.
And that was when I realized something that froze my entire body in place.
I… was in someone's arms.
A girl's arms.
A girl with bright blonde hair—almost white—sleeping peacefully while holding me without hesitation.
Her small body felt fragile.
Yet her warmth… was undeniably real.
My head rested against her shoulder.
I could feel her soft breathing brushing against my skin—slow, steady, almost ticklish. Her rosy lips were dangerously close, too close. And her scent…sweet. Too sweet for the world I had known.
I didn't recognize this feeling.
And yet… my body did not reject it.
Warm.
This sensation slowly wrapped around me—
without pain, without pressure.
I didn't even notice when my body stopped tensing.
I fell silent.
For the first time… I didn't feel the urge to pull away.
I was simply swept away by a sensation I couldn't understand.
Before I realized it, the girl was beginning to wake up.
"Nn…" She let out a soft yawn and slowly opened her eyes.
And immediately looked at me.
That gaze—made me freeze.
I was used to seeing hatred, disgust, fear, or that filthy kind of lust. But none of those existed in her eyes.
Behind her sky-blue irises—there was no darkness. No hidden intent. No distance. Only… something I couldn't describe.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?" She smiled, a light, effortless smile… as if the world had never hurt her.
And for some reason—seeing that smile, something inside me that had long since died…began to beat again.
Slowly. Weakly. But undeniably alive.
And strangely—that heartbeat didn't feel painful. Not like before. As if… I was truly coming back to life.
"Hm? Is something wrong?" Her voice pulled me back from my own thoughts.
She waved her hand in front of my face—like she was making sure I was really awake.
Without realizing it—
I grabbed her small hand reflexively.
Or perhaps… it was something I myself didn't understand.
All I knew was— her hand was warm.
Warm… but not like fire that burns and destroys. Rather… a warmth that quietly filled the empty spaces inside me.
I stared at her—closer, deeper.
Who is she…?
And why… do I not want to look away?
My hand didn't let go. And strangely… I didn't want to let go. It just stayed there. And I didn't know… how to make it stop.
This feeling—foreign, unfamiliar… yet undeniably real.
I… couldn't stop looking at her.
Then—
The door burst open with a violent crash.
Harsh. Sudden.
Completely destroying the fragile silence that had just formed. As if the world that had just grown quiet…was forced to crack in a single instant.
"Oh, I see." A woman's voice rang out—sharp, cold, and laced with accusation. "So you're not interested in my body… but instead, you're interested in my little girl's?"
I flinched. My half-faded consciousness was violently dragged back to reality.
A pink-haired woman stood at the doorway—her gaze piercing, filled with anger that seemed to come out of nowhere.
The moment she saw us—
A bad feeling crept up my spine. No—a very bad feeling.
Just as I thought—
without warning, without logic—
THUD!!
The world spun.
My breath stopped for a split second. My wounds—felt as if they had been torn open again, forced to remember that I hadn't truly survived yet.
The pain—sharp and burning.
My unhealed wounds tore open again.
My body was thrown off the bed, crashing onto the floor.
"N-No… that's not what I—" Her tone shifted—panicked, yet still overflowing with uncontrollable emotion. "I will not allow you to touch my girl. No man. No contact. No possibility!"
Touch…?
What exactly is she imagining…?
"Rurika, are you alright?" The pink-haired woman's voice changed again—now filled with concern.
Too fast.
As if two conflicting emotions were colliding inside the same person.
"Auntie… I'm okay…" The blonde girl answered softly.
But strangely—she looked more afraid of her aunt…than of me.
…What?
And worse—that fear only made everything spiral further out of control.
She wanted to explain—I could see it.
But the pressure from that woman—her sharp gaze, raised voice, and the already heated atmosphere—turned everything into a mess.
Instead of calming things down—
it was like pouring oil onto an already blazing fire.
And that fire…was now burning me.
Damn it… of all times.
Without another word—
The woman started hitting me again.
Blow after blow landed without rhythm.
Unfocused and irrational—clearly unfair.
My already weakened body could only take it. My vision blurred. My consciousness slowly began to fade—
Yet… strangely, I could still hear them.
Her voice trembled now—filled with guilt that came far too late. "I should never have left you alone with him…I was careless…so careless…oh, my little girl…"
She pulled the girl into a tight embrace—
too tight.As if trying to make up for something that hadn't even happened.
"Auntie… what are you talking about?"
The blonde girl's voice was hesitant. "I… I don't understand… and why are you hitting him?"
…Yeah. Good question. Finally, someone sane.
"Of course! He did something indecent to you! He forced himself on you!" The pink-haired woman's voice rose again—desperate, almost—as if trying to justify her own actions. "How dare he…!"
"I should just cut it off so it never grows back!" she snapped.
§¥¢£%$@#!!!
…What the hell was that?!
I could only curse in my head—because if I spoke, I might be the next thing getting "cut."
"Au… Auntie…" The girl sounded even more unsure now. "He didn't force me… he just held my hand…"
She paused for a moment, then added innocently—"Does that count as something indecent?"
…
…
Silence.
One second.
Two seconds.
Even my pain lost to the sheer weight of that silence.
"Of course not—I mean… wait…" Her voice faltered instantly. "Hold on… he didn't do anything to you? Nothing happened?"
Of course not, you crazy woman!!
I was half dead before I could even "do anything"!
"Yes. Nothing happened." The girl answered honestly. Then, without hesitation—completely unbothered—she added: "So… why were you hitting him?"
…
…
That second statement hit harder than the first.
"…He just looked suspicious." The woman fell silent for a moment. "…I'm not wrong. I was just being cautious."
Damn it…
Just my luck.
And the worst part—
Even as I was still cursing internally…my consciousness finally gave in.
Darkness began to swallow my vision.
Their voices grew distant.
My body felt light—
too light. And before I could resist any longer—the last thing I saw…
was the girl's face.
Confused. Worried.
And somehow…that made me hold on—just one second longer than I should have.
…before everything went dark.