For a moment, I truly believed I had died.
Not the endless black hole from before—
but something deeper.
Nothing.
Then—
Sound.
Muffled voices reached me, distant and unclear, as if traveling through water.
Woman's Voice: "Congratulations, madam… it's a boy."
The words struck me like lightning.
A boy?
I didn't understand how, but I understood what they were saying. The language flowed naturally into my mind, as if I had always known it.
God had said I would be reborn into another world.
Maybe this is his way of helping me… without giving me power.
My thoughts drifted, heavy and slow, until something changed.
Sensation.
Warmth.
Pressure.
For the first time since my rebirth began, I felt that I had a body.
And then—I felt it.
My eyelids.
I could open them.
With effort, I did.
Light flooded my vision.
At first, everything was blurry, colors blending together. Then slowly, shapes formed.
And there she was.
A woman in her early twenties, holding me carefully in her arms.
She had pale, porcelain-white skin and long hair the color of deep blue crystal. Her eyes—those eyes—were the same shade of blue, shining brightly as they stared down at me.
She was beautiful.
Not in a shallow way.
But in a way that felt unreal, as if someone had painted her from a dream.
More than that—
Her eyes were filled with something I had never seen directed at me before.
Love.
Pure, overflowing love.
Her lips trembled as she smiled, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
Mother: "Hello, my baby…"
Her voice was soft, shaking.
Mother: "This is me… your mother."
She hugged me gently against her chest.
The warmth wrapped around me completely.
My heart—no, my soul—shook.
For the first time in my life…
I felt loved.
I didn't understand it.
I didn't deserve it.
Yet it was there.
Overwhelming.
Unconditional.
My chest tightened, something burning inside me, and before I realized it—
I cried.
Loudly.
Messily.
Like a real baby.
Mother: "Oh… oh my little one…"
She laughed through her tears.
Mother: "How cute you are…"
Mother: "Crimson hair… rare crimson hair, just like his…"
She brushed her fingers gently over my head.
Mother: "And blue eyes… my eyes…"
Mother: "You'll grow into such a handsome boy."
Her happiness felt fragile.
Too fragile.
Another woman stood beside her, her expression tense.
Sasha: "Madam… his hair color…"
The room fell silent.
Sasha: "Crimson hair is a royal trait."
Sasha: "If people see it, they'll know."
Sasha: "They'll know he's the king's son."
My mother stiffened.
Sasha: "If word spreads that His Majesty slept with a commoner—"
Sasha: "The queen may kill you."
Sasha: "Other kingdoms could take you hostage."
Sasha: "And this child… won't survive."
My mother closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, her gaze was steady.
Mother: "I never told the king."
Sasha: "But madam… he stayed here for months. You could have—"
Mother: "It was my choice."
Mother: "I fell in love with him."
Her voice didn't waver.
Mother: "I seduced him."
Mother: "He doesn't need to carry that burden."
Mother: "It's better he remembers me as nothing more than a one-night mistake."
Sasha clenched her fists.
Sasha: "You could live in luxury."
Sasha: "He could protect you."
Mother: "And live as a concubine?"
Mother: "Have my son live as a bastard?"
Her voice hardened.
Mother: "I know our history, Sasha."
Mother: "I know how society treats women like that."
Mother: "They call us whores."
Mother: "I can endure that."
Mother: "But I will not let my son grow up despised by his own blood."
Mother: "I won't let royal children look down on him."
Mother: "I won't let him be humiliated for something he never chose."
She looked down at me again.
Mother: "I'll raise him alone."
Mother: "Even if it's hard."
Sasha's shoulders slumped.
Sasha: "Are you prepared?"
Sasha: "Raising a child alone isn't easy."
Mother nodded.
Mother: "I know."
Then she looked up suddenly.
Mother: "Sasha… do you have bleach?"
Sasha blinked.
Sasha: "Bleach?"
Mother: "Yes."
Mother: "I'll dye his hair."
Mother: "No one will ever know he was born with crimson hair."
She looked down at me again, smiling softly.
Mother: "I should give you a name…"
She leaned close, whispering.
Mother: "Daniel."
Mother: "Daniel Heartlock."
Mother: "Welcome to my small world."
---
So… I'm the king's bastard.
My mother is a single woman with no wealth.
I glanced around as much as my newborn body allowed.
Clay walls.
A modest room.
No technology.
No luxury.
A world far behind my previous one.
A world destined for destruction.
I felt her arms tighten around me.
Warm.
Protective.
This time…
I won't live just for myself.
I will save this world—
For her sake.