『You have been branded by the skill【Pale-Moonlight Penance】, you have now been subordinated by Agatha Schneider.』

『Further details about the terms of subordination can be found under the ‘registered skills’ tab in ‘Fate’s Journal.’』

-That f*cking demented bitch!

…

…

-What can I gain from a situation like this?! Come on me, think! You’ll be in there in just a second, Jacob’s already knocked on the door!

Fate had been panicking since Jacob had dressed him and carried him down the hall in his arms. His injuries from the previous day still hadn’t fully healed, as indicated by his ‘status page.’

-I’m not even fully healed and Jacob is giving off a more malicious feeling than usual! I really don’t see this going in a good…

Agatha: “Enter.”

-Direction.

Fate: *gulp*

*creak*

The large wooden door once again creaked and pushed forward under the force from Jacob’s arm. The interior of the room was again exposed, much to Fate’s chagrin. For he had terrible memories of the past few months, especially of the events that occurred within this room. Fate, as it had become so common, once again saw Agatha sitting on the couch across from the wooden chair where he often sat.

-Quite a few times she just had me sit, propped against one of the shelves, while she placed a book on my head until I answered whatever she wanted, correctly.

Jacob: “I have brought the child, my lady.”

A moment of silence followed.

Agatha: “...”

Jacob: “My lady?”

-Is she getting ready to yell?

Agatha: “Set the child down and leave.”

Agatha spoke in a cold tone that Fate had seldom heard her use as she usually spoke in a calm, slightly delighted voice.

-But everything seems to be going the way it usually does, so I’d better get ready for whatever she decides to dish…”

Jacob: “Yes, my lad…”

Agatha: “Lock the door and gather all the staff in the garden for a celebration in appreciation of their hard work in recent years.”

Silence overcame Jacob’s voice for a short moment.

-...What?

Jacob: “M-my lady, what do you intend to…!”

Jacob sounded genuinely frightened for a moment.

-I’m with him on this...I don’t like how this sounds...not at all…

Agatha: “That is none of your concern!”

-Oh f*ck, she’s pissed…

Agatha: “Now, fulfill your orders and make sure no one disturbs me.”

Jacob seemed hesitant to respond, giving a gaze to Fate which almost seemed to pity him. It was a gaze that Fate had never seen from Jacob before. But nonetheless...

Jacob: “Yes...my lady…”

Jacob walked to the wooden chair, sat Fate down, and slowly exited the room before shutting the door. A commotion filled the hall.

-Are they all really going to believe that an event like this came up spontaneously with no suspicions?!

The commotion and loud whispers outside turned to quiet cheers before the sound of a massive amount of footsteps came together and faded down the hall. This left Fate and Agatha seemingly alone in that section of the mansion, not a single sound could be heard outside.

-Oh..god, what the hell...what’s going to happen to me…?

Agatha stood up from her seat and walked slowly to where Fate was sitting. Her fingers flickered with a pale-blue glow for a split second before returning to her seemingly natural, pale skin color.

-What the hell was…

Agatha stood directly behind Fate, but before Fate could turn his head…

Agatha: “Today...I will show you the strength of my god. For I will not let you steal the affection of my beloved, nor shall I let you cloud the all-seeing grace of Luna!”

Two of her fingers re-ignited with the pale-blue glow and plunged themselves into Fate’s neck!

-Aghhhh...what the fu….!!!

He could feel the fingers splitting apart from their conjoined position and traveling in opposite directions, carving a crescent shape in his flesh.

Fate: “AGGHHHHHHHAAAAGHHH!!!”

-WHY...WhY Is ShE doINg this?!!?!

Agatha: “Why must he care for you?! With my god’s strength, I will show him what sort of demon lies below your flesh!!!”

-I DoNT GIVE a shIt ABout WHoEVer YOU’Re TALKING ABOUT...!

???: “Calm down.”

-...What was…!

Fate could no longer feel the pain that caused him to scream, it was as if his mind had been disconnected from his body. In his previous life, he had read novels and listened to old recordings about people disconnecting their minds from their bodies, to escape the mental degradation that resulted from torture.

-But that kind of thing has to be consciously done and it’s not just on command, it should be gradual! How in hell did...wait...that voice from earlier…?

???: “Miss me and my emotional regulation ability? Come on, admit it! You missed my gorgeous self, didn’t you?”

-Not really, ‘Witch.’ Besides, I thought you couldn’t interfere or you would get found out by your ‘siblings’ and I would be found out by extension?

Indeed, the Witch of Fate had previously indicated to him that the advice she could give him would be periodic and that she couldn’t give him a full blessing. Both of these stemmed from the fact that she and Fate would be found out by the other Gods, with her being punished for an unauthorized reincarnation of an individual and his most certain death for being sent on a mission to ‘kill their precious reincarnators.’

Witch of Fate: “Do you want to go back into the crippling pain of having your new Mother carving a crescent moon in the back of your neck?”

-Please no…

Witch of Fate: “Alright then, but I’ll be wanting a full apology for questioning me, later.”

-What do you mean, later?! I can’t feel the pain, but whatever she’s doing is probably going to kill me right here and now in just a minute, there will be no later!

Witch of Fate: “I’m trying to make sure that you do not die and that you do not get discovered by your Mother’s guardian. SO maybe just a little less doubt and a little more allowing me to do what I can, would be a nice change of pace?”

She spoke coldly, in a tone mimicking his Mother’s from earlier.

-Y-yes ma’am!

Witch of Fate: “Wow, with all the snark from before, I’m surprised she managed to break you this much this easily, with just a few months of hurting you. She didn’t even use any implements of torture, but I guess this just shows that you’re currently more snark than you are bark and bite.”

-...

Witch of Fate: “Now I’m going to send her a fake message from the Moon Goddess, telling her to stop.”

-...Moon Goddess, what does that have to do with…?

Witch of Fate: “Or I could just leave you in a seeming state of shock until she kills you and covers it up as an accident...”

-Not that! Sweet f*ck, anything but that!

Witch of Fate: “It seems that I still can’t calm you down entirely. I had been meaning to fix that for the next time I needed to speak with you in person, but this...was a little too soon.

-I’m...sorry...I guess. I guess I didn’t think this would happen either, if at all.

Witch of Fate: “No, this was one of the possible outcomes I foresaw, it’s why I was able to react so quickly. Although I foresaw it, it doesn’t make this convenient.”

-...

Witch of Fate: “You’re not going to put on the snark and ask why I didn’t tell you or want me to tell you what outcomes I foresee?”

-...*sigh* I’ll just trust in your judgment on that...I have no choice but to anyways…

Witch of Fate: “Ohhhh, is a certain someone finally willing to have a little faith in a god, like myself? ~”

-Absolutely not, my faith in will never waver.

Witch of Fate: “Of course…”

He had mentioned it before, but Fate was a Christian albeit not an extremely devout one. However, he would not lose his faith, even when faced with the supposed ‘Gods of other worlds.’

Witch of Fate: “Regardless, this matter will soon be resolved. I’m glad that you’ve been keeping up with training, even though you have an extremely young body.”

-Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask about that. Why was I reborn as a baby, more specifically why did you allow me to see my own birth from the womb?!

Witch of Fate: “...You’re not truly wondering about your age, but you’re wondering why I didn’t suspend your consciousness until your current body was born?”

-Yes, it sucked ass seeing that! It was like when those people with perfect memory describe every single second of their mother being on the operating table, but so much worse!

Witch of Fate: “Ha ha ha ah ha ha!”

-What’s so funny about this!? It’s disgusting to look at the convulsing...ugh...I’m gonna be mentally sick for days thinking about that...

Witch of Fate: “Ahhh….It’s so funny listening to lesser beings talk, I’d almost forgotten it entirely. But the main reason is, that if I hadn’t placed your soul in then, another soul would’ve been placed or created within the body.”

-So my reincarnation would’ve been made inconvenient, is that what you’re trying to say?

Witch of Fate: “I could’ve said it better myself, but let’s go with that. It would’ve been noticeable if there was an infant’s soul and a reincarnated soul, occupying a single body. Therefore I put you in at the opportune moment and that’s all that matters, right?”

-I guess, but I would’ve liked if there was some big reason you picked me or something like that…

Witch of Fate: “What that you’re some sort of 1/1,000,000 chance find or something like that? No, it’s just that my siblings wanted me to give all my powers to some insects to advocate their causes, essentially they want me to lose all my powers and rot for their sakes. When I found you, a man who would be killed by their desire, I figured it was a good chance...since I had found someone with such motivation to go against them. That’s all this really is.”

-Fine, but are we almost done here?

Witch of Fate: “What, you don’t want to spend time listening to my angel-like voice?”

-Well, I just got told I was worthless and that’s been going for a few months now and all the time in my previous life so I’m sort of bored with it.

Witch of Fate: “I guess I’ll see you next time, but don’t expect any more favors from now on, you insect…”

-Ok, let’s get this over with.

…

???: “Agatha.”

Agatha: “!”

Agatha was still carving the mark into Fate’s neck when she heard a voice. One that she had heard before in her days with the clergy.

-It can’t be...my Goddess…Luna..!?

‘Luna:’ “Correct, my child.”

Agatha: “You honor me with your words, I am not worth….!”

‘Luna’: “Silence, child. I understand you have attempted to channel my divine power, to delve the depths of your child’s soul.”

-It’s been so long...I don’t know...I did….

‘Luna’: “Pay attention to my words, child. I can hear your every thought and as always, nothing is hidden from my divine light!”

Agatha: “I’m so sorry!”

Agatha let go of Fate, letting him drop to the floor with his neck still bleeding. She immediately dropped to the floor, prostrating herself to the ‘Goddess.’

Agatha: “I attempted to use your gift for something so mediocre and self-centered, please have mercy, my Goddess!”

‘Luna’: “...I shall be lenient...and since your faith rivals and surpasses so many of my believers...and if you swear to continue your loyalty to the faith, I shall reward you with the knowledge you seek.”

Suddenly, a status screen appeared in front of Agatha.

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• Name: Fate Schneider
• HP: 12.33/33.29
• MP: 1/1
• Level: 0
• Race: Human
• Age: 10, 1/2 months old
• Job: None
• Previous Jobs: None
• Titles: None

--------------------------------

• Stats:
  • Strength: 1.249
  • Endurance: 7.24
  • Wisdom: 1.2
  • Intelligence: 2.57
  • Stamina: 2.566
  • Agility: 1.0
  • Fortune: 1.0
  • Magic: 0

---------------------------------

• Passive Skills: None
• Active Skills: None
• Unique Skills: None
• Equipment: None

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Agatha: “...It’s...weak...so weak….A-an average child should have an HP of 50 at least...Stats of this grade are possible if the mother is weak or malnourished, but….”

‘Luna’: “The fact that you could not see within its soul is no surprise, it seems to be the only thing going for this one aside from its endurance. You were right to hold to the traditions I laid out centuries prior, it has shown me your faith.”

Agatha: “But I can’t possibly raise and show you a pitiful...thing like this, I am truly ashamed…”

-It hasn’t even spawned a Mageroot, I could overlook the poor physical stats if it were talented in magic...Worthless...I can’t possibly show anyone, much less my Goddess!

‘Luna’: “...I foresee that your children in the future will be more prosperous and more suited to serving my faith than this one. My guidance for you is to keep it at arm’s length and attempt to train it or teach it however you wish.”

-I...will be a mother to children worthy of serving...my Goddess?!

‘Luna’: “Indeed you shall, but if you cannot make anything out of this one within five years, you shall make use of it as you see fit...for any purpose you wish. For now, brand it with my power and do not let it disobey you or obstruct the faith. ”

-Something will happen in...five years...is this a revelation? Such that every member of the clergy and the faith pine and devote their lives for...and I have received it! Such guidance from the Goddess is…!

Agatha: “Yes, My Goddess! I shall do as you instruct and follow your revelation...I am not worthy, yet I shall do all that I can to serve the faith and satisfy your desire!!!”

‘Luna’: “As it shall be, now clean up the filth and devote yourself. May the future of the faith prosper in my name and through the works of the devoted!”

Agatha stood up and held one hand to her heart, while the other she held to the ceiling or more accurately, the sky.

Agatha: “On my name, I swear I shall do as you instructed. Glory to the moon and it’s Goddess, may she forever shine bright!”

Agatha looked around, but the voice of the ‘Goddess’ could no longer be heard. Instead, she focused her attention on her child on the floor.

Agatha: “My Goddess has instructed me to keep you alive for five years, you worthless filth! I shall no longer conduct lessons with you, yet you must never disgrace this house more than you do with your very existence! Am I clear?”

The child seemingly gave a short nod. Agatha, though, was not satisfied with that answer and dug the heel of her shoe, slightly into the child’s back.

Agatha: “Am I clear?!”

Fate: “Y-ye..yes...mama-a….”

She dug her heel further, drawing blood.

Agatha: “I am not a mother of a thing like you, the Goddess has declared it so! Refer to me as...as Jacob would, it will be a bit less repulsive...now, am I clear?

The child answered weakly to her demand.

Fate: “Y-yes...s...my l..ady…”

Agatha lifted her heel and dragged it on the floor to get the blood off of it. It was a gruesome display.

Agatha: “Good enough, for now, that is.”
–-----------------------------------------------------------
P.S. - Can anyone make a guess as to what was wrong with that ’revelation?’