[Blub...blub...blub…]

The sound of bubbling water permeated throughout Fate’s mind, as a strange mix of feelings of warmth and cold surrounded him…

[Blub...blub...blub…]

Suddenly, a bright light began to shine from above, causing him to slowly, groggily pry his eyelids open, revealing the dim blue eyes that soon met the strange radiance…

Fate: “...”

Fate silently stared at his surroundings, expressionlessly watching as a myriad of clear, wobbling bubbles made their way towards the light, floating past him…

He experienced both the warmth of the mysterious light above him, and the cold, wet embrace of his surroundings, but remained still, not attempting to move an inch from where he was floating, as he watched the silent, lifeless, blue, ocean-like scenery expand out around him as far as he could see…

[Blub...blub...blub…]

His eyes resembled those of a dead fish, as he aimlessly stared out into the blue expanse, motionlessly scanning for life, only to be met by the exact same, serene calm, no matter where he looked…

And, when he slowly began to sink, being pulled away from the bright, shining light from above the mysterious ocean’s surface, he remained expressionless, as he watched the light grow farther and farther away…

 [Blub...blub...blub…]

Bubbles continued to flow up to the surface, soaring out of his sight, as if to mock him…

However, despite his current situation, Fate felt strangely calm, as if the crippling fear that had gripped him before his arrival here had never existed. He didn’t even feel the need to breathe…

Fate’s dead-eyed expression remained fixed on the gradually fading light, as a dejected smile began to appear on his face…

Fate: “So...this is what dying feels like, huh…?”

He had attempted to project his voice through his thoughts, but shockingly found that his words were somehow echoing throughout the ocean around him…

At this, he raised his eyebrows for a moment, but quickly lowered them, resuming his dejected, lifeless expression. He rejected the surprised emotions that wished to make themselves known, as he had already dejectedly realized that such an oddity was meaningless, because…

[Blub...blub...blub…]

Fate: “It finally happened...that frightening four years in that manor...I’m finally dead...again...it’s all gone…”

Fate’s dead-eyed expression slowly became wistful, while he continued to stare at the fading radiance above, which had already lowered in brightness by about half, as he began recalling all of the painful memories that were recorded in his mind…

[Blub...blub...blub…]

Killed by those who were close to him in a previous life...tortured and subsequently framed for a self-inflicted wound by the very woman who had birthed him...isolated for two years in a storage room, with only his thoughts to keep him company...attacked by his own brother, whom he barely remembered existed…

Fate: “I’ve been drugged, slashed with wind, beaten, tortured, managed to get metal fragments melted into my back, had the sh*t beaten out of me by an old man, got mentally tortured by some figment of my fragile psyche who came out of the woodworks to make me suffer, and, more recently, nearly got mauled to death by a boar, which could have easily been a bulldozer in disguise...and somehow, I survived all of that…”

He continued to sink further, as the light above him was already becoming dim and the ocean around him was noticeably darkening…

However, rather than pay attention to the concerning, lightless depths below, where he was slowly drifting towards, his almost lifeless eyes were entirely fixed on the fading radiance from above, as he continued to recall the painful memories that made up his life…

Fate: “Really, what a sad second life I’ve lived...then again, I guess I’m not going to be continuing to live it now...not that even asked for it in the first place, this cruel rebirth…”

[Blub...blub...blub...blub...blub…]

He had been snatched from the grasp of death, and with a horrifying reveal of the purpose of his death, had been thrust into a world he knew nothing about...and found himself in a horrifying household that seemed like a prison, where he lived for years in fear and alone…

There had been no one to guide him, no one to help him to make it through the mundane and terrifying days. Even the supposed ‘goddess’ had barely communicated with him, and had basically left him to his own devices…

Most of his entire existence in this new world had been a lonely one…

Fate: “I spent two years in that damn storage room...the only people who came in...they looked at me like I was a monster...treated me like the f***ing plague…!”

He could feel his dejected smile morphing into a grimace as he thought about his time in that isolated room and his experience with the limited cast of servants that tended to him...

However, though he felt his blood boiling at the thought of his time in that room, somewhere in his heart, he knew that his situation could have been much worse…

Fate: “They kept me fed and clothed, if nothing else...and, if they wanted to, they could’ve sent a group of torturers to keep me company...after all, it’s not like my father gave a sh*t enough to come check on me…!”

---(teaser end)