Lucain tasted something foul in his mouth,
his gaze fixed on the ground
as he ate dirt and a few crumbs of bread scattered on it.
"AHK! WH–WHAT?"
His hands didn't stop, and words
didn't leave his throat. His impulses
weren't in his control.
He felt—the taste of dirt in his mouth,
the tiny pebbles he chewed with every bite,
the grass irritating his knees as he knelt on the ground…
But the sense of control was never there.
"Aww! What's happening to me??
Why can't I stop?"
"Hahaha! Look, he's literally eating it! How can a human eat dirt like that?"
Laughs echoed all around, but Lucain's gaze stayed fixed on the ground as he continued
munching on breadcrumbs and dirt.
"This…? Am I not dead?"
His last memories crawled back into his mind — he was stabbed, and the feeling—the agony,the sadness,the loss—were unforgettable.
And now—
BAM!
"Ugh!"
Lucain was struck by a kick on his back, his body crashing to the ground.
"Hahaha!"
He looked up at the towering figure. The sunlight was blocked, and all he saw was a boy around fourteen, pointing at him and laughing.
"Brat! You dare!"
Lucain wanted to punch him, but his body didn't listen — it was no longer under his control.
"Stop! All of you!",A young woman shouted, running toward Lucain, who was on the ground. She shielded him with her body as the boys flinched back.
"Ohh look, it's the Wild Cat!" someone from the group snickered.
"Lucain! Where did you go… since yesterday?"
She asked with concern, even though she knew he wouldn't understand or answer. Lucain was a special case from the start — common sense never applied to this fool.
"Ohh… so the kitty is in love with the mad dog!"
Children laughed, and the girl gritted her teeth, trying to ignore them.
Lucain remembered something — memories of a world that wasn't his:A life he had never lived.
He didn't know why, but for some reason he was inside somebody's mind, and like a prisoner, he could do nothing except see and feel the world from the perspective of owner of the body.
THUD
THUD
THUD
Children began throwing pebbles at Lucain and Miyu,her grip on Lucain tightened as she took the hits herself.
"Miyu! You and he will make a good couple!
A mad dog and a wild cat!!"
The bullies laughed even louder.
"He's like my brother…" she mumbled, voice shaking.
"Ohhh! Don't beastmen sleep with their own fathers and brothers? Everyone knows that!"
Miyu's golden eyes snapped toward the boy —
cold, furious, ready to tear him limb from limb.
Luminor is a great land under the law of "The Church of the Light" —believers of the Sun — a land
Where no one is discriminated against,
Where no one is asked what belief they hold,
What they truly are.Under the benevolence of the great Sun, everyone has the right to exist,
as long as they choose the path of righteousness
and the heart to forgive wrongdoers.
But Thornridge is different.
It is a forgotten village on the outskirts of Luminor —
a small place of refugees and the poor,
a place where even the Light of the Church feels faint.A village—Where people have two faces.
Where discrimination hides behind polite smiles.
The elders never show it openly,but children reveal everything through their blunt actions.Their true hearts leak out.Toward Lucain — a boy cursed by the heavens with a weak mind.
Toward Miyu — a half-feline demihuman whose very appearance sets her apart.They fear what they don't understand and in their eyes, Miyu's existence is an omen.
"Tch… disgusting beast..You should be proud you get to breathe the same air as us… humans!"
The boy gulped, taking a few steps back.
"I'm a human! My father is a human!"
She protested, her cold gaze locked onto him.
"Your ears? Your hair? Even those disgusting eyes!"
Miyu's mouth opened… then closed.
Her feline ears twitched downward.
"If it weren't for your father, you would've been sold and played with by lofty nobles."
ZRRR—
The boy threw sand into her eyes, and the group immediately scattered.They all knew how dangerous a cornered beast could become.
She rubbed her eyes finally looking at Lucain face,The original owner of body burried his face on her chest.
" Ah..Ah..Ahh?..ma..wha?...why is she not slapping this pervert?..or pushing him!
If I were on earth and did something like this even as an accident I would've been in a prison!"
"Hey, Lucain?"
Miyu smiled, her eyes softening as she ruffled his head–Dirt and sand fell from his hair with every stroke.
"Don't worry, I'm here. I'll protect you!"
A few tears streamed down her chin as she hugged Lucain softly.
You're hurt yourself, idiot… how will you protect anyone…
Lucian's soul sighed from within.
From the original owner's memories, she was a feline demihuman —Miyu was a few years older than Lucain, and because this world's Lucain was a slow, special child, she took care of him like her own younger brother
whenever she could.
Because in truth…
Lucain was an orphan.
"Why? Lucy, why do you have to be such trouble, hmm? Where did you run off? You know how worried Big Sis Miyu was?"
Big Sis? You're barely eighteen… I'm older than you!
Lucian's soul complained, but of course, nobody heard him.
He couldn't help the mess of emotions swirling inside him.
Never in his life had he been this close to a beautiful girl.
What did a hug feel like? He never knew.
The foolish Lucain, however, just smiled sheepishly at her flustered face.
"Idiot! Idiot! You!"—Miyu shook him by the shoulders as if trying to shake sense into him,but the weak-minded boy only laughed harder, enjoying it
as if she were playing with him.
Aww… she's pretty, Lucian's soul admitted, unable to stop himself.
Her hair was short and silver, framing her delicate features softly–her skin was rosy, her face gentle and beautiful,and her golden eyes were captivating—not to mention those cute cat-ears.She was indeed the most beautiful lady he had ever seen in person.
After the moment of his death, Lucain's soul—or a part of his consciousness—began dissipating into oblivion, his very existence fading.
While he was reliving his memories, something collided with his mind—
Memories that weren't his.
And it was painful.
As if hot, melted iron were being poured into his skull.As if sharp needles were piercing his brain.
It was unbearable, and slowly, painfully, his consciousness awakened in this new reality…
a reality that felt unreal.
His experiences here weren't as good as he hoped.
It was slow, confusing, disorienting—but he lived in this place for some days, and it felt like what people called a virtual reality movie.
He could taste everything.
He could feel every sensation.
Calling it a VR movie would be wrong—it was too real but he was paralyzed and had no control over the body.And the memories inside this mind… weren't exactly pleasant.
"Sometimes this fool in charge jumps from trees for fun,"
Lucain's soul complained, "And runs into the forest where, for some reason, animals are unnaturally kind to him—more than any human in this damn village.
I still can't fathom why! Why does that giant bear let this idiot play with its cubs!?
And one time—!"
Lucian's soul tried to gulp, as if trying to wash away the guilt that wasn't his.
"Yesterday! He set a couple's house on fire while they were… making love.
And Miyu… Miyu had to save him."
If he was caught… what fate would have fallen on him?
Or… on me?
Since I'm trapped here too, I'd feel the same punishment.
As he was contemplating his new cursed reality,
a soft old voice shouted—
---
"What mischief are you two causing now?"
An old, tired voice spoke—yet warm and kind.
"Father…? Father Ralnr?"
Miyu muttered.
" And Lucain!..your mischief is getting dangerous day by day! Child!.",Father Ralnr's smile disappeared for a while.
" You set Salina's house on fire yesterday!..you",Father Ralnr pinched the bridge of his nose.
" Those couple– she and her husband are in great loss."
Lucain hid his face between Miyu's legs like an ostrich hiding from a sandstorm, and Miyu's face turned crimson.
"Lucain!" she retorted.
"Ohh… ahh… wha?… hahaha!
God—whoever cursed me in life is now rewarding me after death,"
Lucian's soul thought, unable to control the body but feeling thoroughly satisfied and blissful.
Father Ralnr's mouth opened as if to scold them, but he only chuckled instead.
"Miyu… child, why don't you consider him as your spouse?..You're the only one in this village who sees Lucain as a person and not as trouble.You always care for him."
Miyu's face turned even redder. She looked at Father Ralnr, flustered.
"He's like my brother!..and...and I'm not a child!"
Miyu realizing the main event and the main culprit she was hiding soon barked.
" IT WAS ME! NOT LUCAIN!"
Miyu shielded Lucain.
" I SET THIER HOUSE ON FIRE!..NOT HIM!"