I slowly opened my eyes to glance at an unfamiliar ceiling. The strong light stung my eyes, forcing them shut. A strong smell of bleach and chlorine filled my sensitive nostrils.
'Wait, this smells like... Am I in a hospital or something?' my eyes wandered around to take a peek at my surroundings and then at the ceiling, breathing in the strong and vomit inducing smell of medicine mixed with chlorine, I was in room filled with infants.
'Wait, babies?!'
'If all of these are new-born babies, then why am I in this place surrounded by them?'
Panicking I turned my attention to my tiny, chubby hands, at first surprised by them. As I tried to lift my head but my neck was limp, incapable of listening to my commands. I try searching a way out but suddenly the glass panel on my carrier is opened. As 5 metal fingers reached out to me and placed me on its left arm comfortably.
I looked up and saw the one holding me wasn't even a human, but some kind of robot. Feeling chills run down my spine, expecting to feel coldness of it's steel body, but I only felt soothing warmth emanate from it's arm. Which emotionally calmed me down as I once again took a peek at it's face.
'Is that a fucking robot? Holy shit. We have robots!? No wait! did I die?'
The more I thought, the more my mind gained clarity as I closed my eyes in an attempt to concentrate on what had happened till now.
'I went to Comiket, met my fans and sold my merchs. Met that bastard after which I met up with Marvin and explored the cosplay area. Only to meet him again, then… then? I don't remember!!'
'I was in darkness and I would fade in and out of being conscious, only for that agonizing headache which woke me up, wait headache..., darkness..., I am in a body of baby now. Did I regress!!'
I then remembered the robot, I cracked my eyes open and saw it was still holding me in its arm and rocking me gently. 'Yeah this ain't a regression, this… that bet!!! I remember now. That bastard was talking something about a bet of some sort before he knocked me unconscious.'
'I swear if I meet him, I will make his life miserable.'
I fantasized of making him suffer in countless ways, with each new fantasy worse than the one before. Only to slowly calm down as I tried to explore with my eyes, but with the constant rocking, everything I saw was a blur. But that didn't deter me as I barely moved my neck to explore my surroundings only to be met with a few more of these robots making rounds within the room watching the babies sleep.
With the walls being made of glass, I could see all kinds of people walking around. I also saw different kinds of advanced machinery, with a emergency patients being treated or should I say being stabilized through magic as hazy shimmer surrounded their injured body. Machines were etched with some kind of letter glowing with neon light, reminded me of shops with neon signs.
'Ah shit, this setting. It's my novel isn't it? It has to be, with these robots, magical neon glowing letters and that fucker's bet. Couldn't that bastard have reincarnated me to another novel, anything would have been fine, even becoming a magus in another world would have been fine, but "Fever War"? What did I do to deserve this?'
I didn't want to believe it—I couldn't. Fever War of all stories? What were the chances... I couldn't—
'What did—ah goddamn it, when will this thing stop rocking me. Its... it's shaking up my thought process, so much that... that I feel... so slee...py'
I tried my best to resist the sleep that was slowly consuming me, as it's tender warmth did not help one bit with my futile resistance. I slowly started to fall asleep in its warm arms.
***
My eyes opened once again; to see myself standing wearing a neat black formal suit, something I would only wear for important events.
My thought process was immediately interrupted by the person next to me as he was holding some kind of award and called out to me.
"Mr. Hall is the winner of this year's Best Fantasy Actor's Award. How do you feel after getting this prize?"
I looked around, a bit dumbfounded from the apparent suddenness of this award. I felt a sense of wrongness filling me up.
"Mr. Halls? Are you there?" he asks? it ask—only for sudden happiness to bloom within me seeing the award in it's hand.
'Recognition! Finally, my long awaited...' I turned to look at the audience. With the lights focused on me I couldn't recognize any of the audience's faces masked with shadows, but with the cameras watching and broadcasting my every move. I steeled my resolve.
"I never thought I would one day reach this place and will ever be receiving this prize. It has always been my dream, to be on this stage and inspire the next generation, to be their role models. All I can say is, this was only possible due to the support of my parents, my love Soleil and to all my fans who were there for me throughout the journey."
"I really hope to do my best and hope that you will find my next work worth your time to read. I have always dreamed of being an actor but it was only later on that I found what I really excelled at was writing. All I wish that I can capture your heart with my next work."
As I heard everyone clapping even if I couldn't see their faces, just hearing them cheer for me made me smile more.
'Ah it's all perfect. Everything I ever I wanted, he said that I couldn't be actor, that I could never find any success. Only to then be mocked again for trying my attempt at being a writer. They never understood me, not him, not them and not even her!!'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
'Her?'
I careful observed the award in my hands, as my fingers brushed on the words "Best Fantasy Actor".
'Best actor? Why do I have this award? It should be... the best fantasy novel?'
'No, I had a panel. I... I was going to my panel. I was going back... back where?'
I get interrupted from my musing, as the presenter tugs at my shoulder.
"What do you wish to say to A̸̯̰̤̾̒͐̃̐͘ş̶͖͇̹͚̼̥̘̳̺͕̣͎̠͚̘̹͕̣̹͍̙͙̈͑̓̏̍́̏̅̓̾͑͒̈́̓̽̔͒̂̆̐̓̀̑̆̓̽͘͘ͅͅt̵͈̺̟̭̀͋͌͐̽̈͐̉̽̓̅́̾͗̈́͐́̀̇͆̉͠͠r̸̡̧̧͙̙̥̥̥̖̠̯͚̰̫̺͓̖̙̭͚͖̼̩̜̠̠̿̊̃͛̓̇̆̈̐̀̉́̇̄̓̆̀̓̅͊̓̇̕̕͜͠͠i̶͔͖̺̖͕͉͚̱͖͍̥͍̳̰̻͕̱̰͎̥̰̪̥̻̯͓̫̫͒́͋̋́̋̃̋͐̇ȩ̷̛̛̺̩͚̹̮̭̟̱̖͖̋̔̔̋̈́́̔̋̆̑͂̃̿́͆̋͜͝l̵̡̡̳̼͓͈̰̣̇̏͐̏̈͝͠ for his support and his help to mend your personal relationships and your personality, Mr. Halls?"
I slowly turned to him asking, "A̸̯̰̤̾̒͐̃̐͘ş̶͖͇̹͚̼̥̘̳̺͕̣͎̠͚̘̹͕̣̹͍̙͙̈͑̓̏̍́̏̅̓̾͑͒̈́̓̽̔͒̂̆̐̓̀̑̆̓̽͘͘ͅͅt̵͈̺̟̭̀͋͌͐̽̈͐̉̽̓̅́̾͗̈́͐́̀̇͆̉͠͠r̸̡̧̧͙̙̥̥̥̖̠̯͚̰̫̺͓̖̙̭͚͖̼̩̜̠̠̿̊̃͛̓̇̆̈̐̀̉́̇̄̓̆̀̓̅͊̓̇̕̕͜͠͠i̶͔͖̺̖͕͉͚̱͖͍̥͍̳̰̻͕̱̰͎̥̰̪̥̻̯͓̫̫͒́͋̋́̋̃̋͐̇ȩ̷̛̛̺̩͚̹̮̭̟̱̖͖̋̔̔̋̈́́̔̋̆̑͂̃̿́͆̋͜͝l̵̡̡̳̼͓͈̰̣̇̏͐̏̈͝͠? who is that?"
Only to see the presenter being a young man, in his 20s, with white lab coat draped over his white shirt.
'I know… him?' I questioned myself, only to immediately recognize that he was the one who had knocked me unconscious.
A shudder ran through my body, Coldness seemed to emanate from my very core, as the auditorium is lit up.
"Yes! tell us how was your experience?"
"Did you enjoy your time in Fever War?"
"Did you ever want to return ho—"
"Did you—"
"How was—"
"Ho—"
The auditorium erupted in noise.
Everyone was shouting questions at once, their voices overlapping until they became a cacophony. Hands reached toward me from every direction.
The presenter tightened his grip on my shoulders, refusing to let me go.
I looked around.
Everyone was A̸̯̰̤̾̒͐̃̐͘ş̶͖͇̹͚̼̥̘̳̺͕̣͎̠͚̘̹͕̣̹͍̙͙̈͑̓̏̍́̏̅̓̾͑͒̈́̓̽̔͒̂̆̐̓̀̑̆̓̽͘͘ͅͅt̵͈̺̟̭̀͋͌͐̽̈͐̉̽̓̅́̾͗̈́͐́̀̇͆̉͠͠r̸̡̧̧͙̙̥̥̥̖̠̯͚̰̫̺͓̖̙̭͚͖̼̩̜̠̠̿̊̃͛̓̇̆̈̐̀̉́̇̄̓̆̀̓̅͊̓̇̕̕͜͠͠i̶͔͖̺̖͕͉͚̱͖͍̥͍̳̰̻͕̱̰͎̥̰̪̥̻̯͓̫̫͒́͋̋́̋̃̋͐̇ȩ̷̛̛̺̩͚̹̮̭̟̱̖͖̋̔̔̋̈́́̔̋̆̑͂̃̿́͆̋͜͝l̵̡̡̳̼͓͈̰̣̇̏͐̏̈͝͠.
Everyone.
Everyone was him.
***
I suddenly woke up with a yelp, breathing heavily. While I was still reeling from the shock. My mind was taken aback by the sudden change in my environment, glancing around I was no longer in the same room with infants but in some kind of vehicle.
Thump
The loud noise jolts my sleepiness away or well whatever was left of it.
"You said, you were going to cut her off, cut your connections with that bitch. You would spend time with me, but you spent money on her. You!! told me trust you!!!"
I glanced at the arguing couple, 'Wait, I can understand their language?!!'
Feeling overwhelmed by the fact I could understand them, only to realize a simple fact, 'Its English! Of course I can understand them.'
Bang
The man suddenly slammed his fist on the steering wheel, violently snapping me out of my reverie.
"Listen to me. I can make you disappear like the whore you are, and no one would bat an eye. Or I can send you to front lines. Either way you will die and this kid? Hah! no one will believe it's mine, no matter who you go to, they will turn you away. So think carefully" he grabs the woman by the chin forcefully bringing her closer to him.
Tears began forming in her eyes. As he lets her go.
"What about the money, I can't just take care of him alone." She grabbed his shirt and desperately begged for money.
'Damn, is this for real? What's up with this dark backstory? Couldn't I just have a normal household for once? Am I really this unlucky?'
The more I thought about that bastard, the more pissed off I became. I was so close to achieving my goal, so close!
Only to come across that psychopath. 'God!! Why am I the one who always suffers?'
My attention once again fell on this couple. 'Wait, can I even call them a couple? No wait, let's not get ahead of myself, maybe they could be old sweethearts who are just arguing…'
I stopped thinking as I examined their clothes and compared them. The man was wearing some high end futuristic version of formal suits with internal lightings, while the woman in red hair was wearing normal clothes with a futuristic design as well, but with a lot of unnecessary zippers and pockets.
'Yeah, it seems she was fooled by this playboy. I mean look at their clothes.'
I mentally sigh, 'You can't be this naïve in this era, I mean its 21st century... no is it 22nd century now? Well whatever, if you fall for this cliché then shame on you.'
"Hmph, use the money in this account. It should last you for a decade even if you have to take care of that thing. Of course, after you sign this contract."
As he presents a contract, I had to squint my baby eyes to get a clear look at the contract and see the conditions in the middle were written in English, but due to how far it was I couldn't even make out the what was written. The borders were written in unknown language which glowed in white neonish light.
'Damn, is that the "Contract"? Just how loaded is this guy?'
'Wait! Is he a mana user? If he is then I am well off for this life, ain't I? I mean he is the biological father of this body, if he can use mana then I wouldn't even need to contract that damn virus.'
I looked at the young woman who had her full attention on the "Contract". Viewing it and skimming through the conditions. Only to then return it back to the man.
He pricked his own finger and smudged his blood on the "Contract" and returned it to the woman, as she copied his method of signature on the right bottom side.
At that exact moment the unknown letters that were emitting white neon light float away from the paper. Materializing into a chain and touched the couple's chest, connecting them.
As a chain of white neon emitted a strong light, only to then fade out of existence like it was never there. The paper with the "Contract" now turns back into regular paper with only conditions written in English and no sign of the unknown language.
'Woah... Damn, it looks... so—magical. That looks thousand times better than any CGI, could replicate. This really is a magical world isn't it?', I asked no one.
The man started to clear the wrinkles on his suit as he looked at her,
"You can have this vehicle as it is stated in this "Contract" and never mention this to anyone, don't even try to find a way to void this "Contract" in any way. You know that it won't work."
The woman nodded her head as she looks at the man getting out of the vehicle with a sad expression.
"Mrron, are you really leaving? Leaving me and our child?"
"Ambra, I already told you, I didn't want a child. If you had taken the birth control pills like you told me, then this wouldn't have happened. Now you want me to get into taking care of that thing with you? Listen, I have a life to live, I don't wanna get chained down so young. So take the money and leave." he replied with a cold expression.
'Damn, I don't know if it is better that he is leaving or worse. He doesn't seem to be good with kids just like...him'
As if a dam had burst, she began sobbing in the front seat after Mrron left. 'I really lost the lottery of getting reborn in a normal family, didn't I? Man even I am starting to feel bad for this woman.'
She started the vehicle and drove it across streets in night. My attention fell to the window, barely able to make out passing by billboards some covered in advertisement and some military propaganda. I observe very few cars traversing the road and guessed that it must really late night since there were so few vehicles on the road.
As the car slows down in front of an old building, she gets out and picks up her stuff. Opening the door on my side only for cold, dry air to hit my face, as she carried me in a baby basket.
I shivered as the cold air hit my face, but I ignored it in favor for letting my eyes wander.
As I am carried to an old worn-torn building, walls seemed to made of concrete and the door frames of apartments are made of metal with some kind of touch screen pad to open the metal doors.
She carries me to third floor, then puts me on the ground. As she suddenly crouches in front of her door and started to giggle like crazy.
I saw a wide distorted grin appear on Ambra's face, as she broke into a stifled laughter, only to then immediately forcefully calm herself down. She opened the door and carried me inside and place me in front of the couch and her bag next to my basket only to then walk away.
'Wait, was she laughing right now?'
'If this was her plan to get money from the rich kid then damn. I underestimated you woman.'
Ambra came back with a bottle and sat on the couch, poured herself wine in a glass and started to giggle like crazy as she took a sip of the wine. She had an unhinged look on her face, almost like she was having a maniac episode.
'Ah, if Bipolarizm had a face then it would be hers.' I watched her laugh like a maniac every time she took a sip of wine until she tapped on her wrist band which seemed to connect to a large glass connected to the wall directly in front of the couch. The glass came to life, displaying a news screen as she started switching between different channels.
'You know what, trying to survive this world may be the worst experience of my life but the technology almost makes it worth it. Almost.' I observed the glass screen as Ambra surfed through channels. I started to feel cold as my body was covered in thin hospital clothes.
'You are a mother, right? You would care for your own baby right? Please don't be neglecting mother. Please!!' I started to make baby noises to attract her attention, as the cold had started to feel unpleasant and would be dangerous for me.
She got up from her couch and turned towards me, with an annoyed expression. I raised my small chubby hands in her direction in attempt to garner some attention.
'Yeah, look at me. I am your cute baby aren't I? You must at least be worried for me, right?'
She looked at me and immediately went to her bag, opening it up to take out some kind wrapper as she tore it open and fed me. Well, more like she pushed the food down my throat, as after shoving it, she went back to laying on the couch.
While I was focused on the eating and not choking on the food, 'What the hell. Who feeds their child like this?'
Thump
A loud bang suddenly came from the couch, followed by a sound that resembled snorting. I was too preoccupied with the food in my mouth to pay much attention.
Although the cold was unpleasant, I was also hungry. So with no teeth and barely any control over my jaw I did my best attempt of eating, well it was more like melting the hard chocolate with my saliva. As I heard snoring coming from the couch.
'Oh no! No, no, no .... NO! Woman! At least put me near a heater or something. I am going to die from cold because of you.'
I screamed and cried as loudly as my tiny lungs could manage, desperate to wake her, only to be met with failure. I then understood that she was out cold and crying out loud wouldn't change a thing, as my supposed biological mother did not care one bit for her own child.
I felt sleepy due to the amount of time I had remained awake and also active, while crying and screaming. I mentally couldn't careless whether I would die from cold this night or not, as I was very tired.
I slowly dozed off to sleep in a cold room as my was mind filled with worries on how I would survive this world, with this kind of mother.
---
AN: The old ch was posted on 8/12/24