Years ago, a simple home laid on the perpetually serene hospitality of Kazoku Village.

A wife tended to the garden outside. Without warning, as she nipped the last weed, she felt peculiar wetness below. Her heart raised, and she rushed back inside. Her husband cooked pepper steak in the kitchen. She ran to him and held both of his shoulders. “Honey, the time has come! We’re parents now!”

The husband made haste on preparing the Tanngrisnir goat carriage. They flew to the sky, and the steak he left at home burnt to a crisp.

The wife clutched her belly and held it in tightly. Villagers looked upon the couple as they entered the local clinic.

Nurses moved her away from the other patients. They suffered the “Icarus Folly.” Orange vein-like lesions covered their bodies, and their temperature literally cooked them from the inside.

In an isolated room, the agony worsened in bed. Yet, the wife constantly reassured the nurse she would carry on. She never screamed, and her husband held her hand. At worst, she grunted with every push. It never became louder.

After another minute, the nurse considered the ordeal very smooth. The wife stayed healthy.

The midwife handled the newborn son to wrap him in cloth. However, she gasped upon witnessing his nape. More nurses stepped in, curious about the commotion. They stood in shock next. “By the Gods…” said a young Ingrid.

“Let me see… Let me see my angel…” the wife demanded faintly. The nurses agreed to her request, so Ingrid handed her the baby. She gasped as well—but became mesmerized. The first reborn human in the village’s history came to be.

The infant opened its eyes, which surprised the mother more. She saw blood-red corneas and fiery yellow-orange pupils.

The doctor stepped in. “By the Gods…! In all my years of serving others—you birthed the most remarkable child, milady. To think the slaves of old tales were true all along…” he stroked his beard.

The nurses felt their feet turn cold. They also read stories of their unfathomable strength and nigh-immortality. However, the mother saw it in a different light. She smiled and shed tears. “What beautiful eyes… Oh, my sweet little angel. You’re home now….” She held him very close.

The father felt the same way, and he felt another feeling. Somehow, he saw an impeccable man within his child. More than ready for the cold, cruel world.

A year went by. The parents knew what to expect from a reborn human. They spoke to their son as if he were an adult. He could not talk back, but he never acted like an infant. He was blunt, smug, and even condescending.

More years later, the parents had a chat with their now four-year-old son. “What’s your name?” the mother asked.

He scratched the back of his head. “Oh, yeah… Um, Hokori Udemaeno.”

She gasped. “I see… I never met reborn humans from Japan. I only knew one, and she was my French neighbor.” She cleared her throat and spoke in Japanese, “Hello. How do you do?”

The father stepped in. “That’s nothing. Watch this.” He cleared his throat as well. “Good morning, Hokori. Do you wanna play ball?” he smiled.

Hokori, on the other hand, was not impressed. He even felt a little embarrassed. However, an idea popped into his head. He decided to ridicule their grade-school understanding of his native tongue. He smirked at them. “Damn, babycakes… I bet ya get a lot of dick in bed, don’t ya? Is he a better daddy to you than me?” In his mind, he believed they understood not a word.

The mother covered her mouth and gasped. “Now, hold on, young man…!” her eyes narrowed. “You may be an adult in your past life—but vulgarity has no place in this house. And that was gross all around.” She winced.

“Listen to her, my son,” said the father. “If you keep this up, I’ll ground you from eating pepper steak. In other words, don’t be an asshole. Or a creep.” He crossed his arms.

Hokori stood flabbergasted. “Huh…?” his mind wandered everywhere. Not only did they speak Japanese, their fluency was all but perfect.

He now felt the weight of the world over his shoulders. “Sorry… How can I reconcile?” He performed dogeza.

“Well, first off, young man, go to your room.” She pointed. “It’s way past bedtime.”

Hokori bowed to his new parents and walked upstairs. “Damn… I took it too far….” he said, lying in bed.

It was now morning. Hokori’s mother walked upstairs and touched his nose while asleep. As his eyes opened, he saw her sitting beside him. She giggled. “Thanks for what you said yesterday. We had the last laugh—and we got too excited and did the deed.”

He rubbed his eyes. “Wh-What do you mean?”

She smiled and neared his ear. “We never cared about your bad mouth. Neither did your dad. We only wanted to hurt your ego.” She giggled again with her eyes closed.

Hokori’s eyes lowered. He felt he got bamboozled for an eternity. Yet, one thing still confused him. “Why do you Japanese, tho?” he turned to her.

She moved closer. “We’re teachers, honey. We know more than Earthly Studies. People kept mocking our town for being a backwater shithole.” She held his shoulders. “But I promise you, Hokori. Your dad and I will give you the best damn education there is. Whaddaya say?”

He chuckled. “You’re really anal ‘bout dis shit, aren’t ya?”

“Oh, believe me,” she smiled and shook her head. “I love that more than what I get in bed.” She hugged him with her eyes closed. “Let’s all live life to the fullest. Even if the world fucks us over….”

Hokori felt deep warmth in his heart. He hugged her back with a smile. “You read my mind… Mom….”

More years later, Hokori scored second in his school. No one could fathom such a brute to achieve that. The valedictorian next to him stood in shock. So did most of the faculty. On the other hand, his parents cheered him on loudly. The mother shed tears.

When it came to P.E., Hokori invented a new power standard no one ever conquered. He won all the medals. However, his parents became concerned over his choice of friends. They were bullies he beat up effortlessly. He formed the largest gang in school alongside them.

“It’s aight, Mom,” Hokori demanded. “If they weren’t loyal to me, I would’ve sent them flowers in their white rooms.” He chuckled.

She sighed over his words, and they went home.

Dinner tonight was pepper steak. For Hokori to consider his parents “cool” would be an understatement. They were not only family. They acted like longtime war comrades—and viewed each other as equals.

The father put down his plate and raised a toast. “Cheers to you, my son. I hope you haven’t forgotten our one true goal in this world.”

He chucked. “Why would I, Dad? I believed in that even before I came here. My old parents were cool, too, back then. Both were freedom in the flesh.”

The mother smiled. “Well, I hope you’re not too arrogant about that, honey. So much dangerous shit out there can kill you in seconds. I suggest we stick together.”

After hearing those words, Hokori’s heart raised with sheer excitement. He found out the best way to express their passion together. “Let’s do it tomorrow, guys. Better late than never…” he lent out a fistbump.

They complied with a million smiles.

It was the dawn of day. Alongside his parents, Hokori defeated his first monster a day before he would turn eight. Kaltblütig, the man-eating and crop-burning firedrake dwellbeast that lived high in the mountains, was no more.

Walking uphill, still with his parents, he climbed his first mountain. They sat down and feasted their eyes upon the remarkable sunset.

Looking at the vast stretches of land below strengthened their passion further. So many fantastic things awaited them.

Hokori rested his hands behind his neck. “Let’s make this a life to remember, guys. For real.”

His father chuckled. “Of course, my son. It’s like you always say….”

“‘Let’s live a damn good life.’” His mother smiled with confidence.

Back to the present, Tokino shed tears when Ingrid told her how Hokori’s mother viewed his eyes. “There, there, sweety,” the latter comforted. “Do you want me to end the story?”

She dried her eyes. “No…” she shook her head. “Tell me more. I insist….”

Ingrid smiled. “Okay….” She told her more tales of the Peerless Champion’s life. The recurring theme was wanton violence, yet freedom rang true in every escapade. “He used to raid firedrake nests to make his version of eggs and bacon.” She giggled.

Tokino smiled for a time, but it faded upon realizing, “Are you going to tell me the tragedy now?”

She took a sip of her tea. “Sadly, yes… But I won’t say much for now. Is that okay?”

She nodded and agreed with any small information.

With that, Ingrid’s eyes lowered. “Hokori’s hedonism was nothing like Ted’s. He had a conscience—yet put a sock on it forever. Everything to him was a toy. That Manson bastard imagined everyone having wind-up keys on their backs.

“And so, he believed they deserved a hammer. They were plastic to him. His ‘Funtime’ was stealing the Cores of their souls.” She began tearing up. “One day… Hokori’s parents stood in the wrong place at the wrong time. And—and….” Her hand shook. She dropped her cup and covered her face.

Tokino comforted a sobbing Ingrid. “Come, now… You calmed my tears before. I don’t want to see you like this. Please….”

Ingrid sniffled. “You’re right. I know Ted gave your husband so much heartache as well. Hokori told me. But I’m sorry—my heart can’t take more of this. I was a victim, too. Why do you think I rejected every man before me?” She got off her chair and looked over a window. “Ted murdered far more—than a measly few… This village used to be lively….”

Tokino’s heart sank. She felt no word could comfort the grieving mother. A single tear flowed out, but she walked in front.

Ingrid turned to her. “Don’t be like that, sweety.” She held her hands. “Here’s the last thing you should know. It’s about how Leuchten died.” She told her the tragic tale for four minutes.

As it went on, Tokino’s heart matched a rabbit’s. She felt her heart stabbed and her soul torn apart. The sheer inhumanity Ingrid told her made the waterworks flow out like a river. Then, she felt something else. Her head throbbed intensely all of a sudden. She fell to her knees, and Ingrid got frightened and came to her aid. “What’s wrong?” she kneeled.

She grunted. “Aaaagh…! Aaaaaaagh! M-My mind. It’s splitting!” She fell on her back and shook violently on the floor. “Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!!” Her chest near the heart glowed yellow.

Ingrid called for help from Tokino’s family. They immediately rushed her to another bedroom. She continued screaming in utter agony—until Kenkō put her to sleep via her innate ability.

Accompanied by Yukino and others, Kenkō made an incision to check her Core. “No wonder… I should have foreseen this back in Smaragdos.” Kenkō healed her incision.

“What do you mean, Big Sis?” Yukino walked closer from behind.

She turned around. “In rare cases, when mages near death via horrific injuries, their Cores don’t recover right. It loses integrity—like ‘fixing’ a bent spoon.”

“So you’re saying it’s magical brain damage?” Kakunō raised an eyebrow.

“No…” she shook her head. “It’s not permanent, even when the worst cases come with 90% loss of cognitive function. When victims experience recollection in any way, they suffer unbearable pain for a while.”

“So, is Mama gonna be okay?” Yukino asked.

She patted her head. “Yes, Yukichi. Her Core’s returning to normal. But she won’t wake up for now.”

Morning shined through the windows. Tokino opened her eyes and heard birds singing.

Yukino went inside and placed her breakfast on a bed table. She hugged her in relief. “I hope you’re well, Mama.” She exited the room.

Tokino never touched her meal. Instead, tears flowed out. She recalled the times when she “first met” Hokori. She covered her eyes and sobbed for fifteen minutes.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry—brother….”