I was still clinging to my sanity, despite the agony burning through my body. These people were carrying me into a small wooden cabin—humble, but strangely warm.
At the doorway, a boy about thirteen, with dark auburn hair and brown eyes, looked at us with deep concern.
—"Mom, Dad... what happened to my little brother?"
The woman sobbed.
—"I don't know, son... I don't know. Go to the masters' mansion and tell them we need a doctor urgently."
—"Yes, father, right away!"
My mind was racing.Master? Slaves?What the hell was going on?
But before I could piece anything together, the last bit of my blurry vision faded... and everything went dark again.
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in an unfamiliar bed.A rough wooden ceiling loomed above me, with thick beams crossing overhead.My head throbbed, but the pain was more tolerable than before.
Beside me, the woman who had called me "Sam" was gripping my hand tightly.Her face was streaked with tears, but there was relief in her eyes.
—"Thank God... you're still with us..."
I tried to speak, but my throat was dry. I barely managed to form a word.
—"W-where... am I...?"
She gently ran her hand through my hair.
—"At home... you're home, my little Sam."
A chill ran down my spine.
"This can't be happening... This isn't a dream, right?"
Before I could even begin to process it, the door burst open.
The big, broad-shouldered man from before had returned.
—"Elisa! How is our son?"
The woman—apparently named Elisa—let out another sob before answering.
—"Richard... he's still with us..."
The man exhaled in relief and knelt beside the bed.
—"Little one... you gave us quite the scare."
I tried to speak again, but the knot in my throat held me back.
That's when I saw the same boy from before, the one I'd seen right before I blacked out.I had no idea how much time had passed, but I could see he was genuinely worried about me.
—"Mom, Dad! You still haven't told me what happened to my little brother!"
Richard looked away, as if the words refused to come.Elisa took a deep breath, wiped her tears, and turned to him.
—"Let's wait for the doctor, my son... but... prepare to say goodbye to your brother forever."
Her words hit me like a bucket of ice.
"What kind of twisted comfort is that?"
"I'm not even dead!"
"I'm right here, I can hear you!"
But no one could hear my thoughts.
And for the first time in my life... I felt true fear.
Hours passed.
That's when a man arrived to examine me.His face darkened after the check-up.
—"I'm sorry... Elisa, Richard... but little Sam... he has at most five days left to live."
My eyes flew open in horror.
"WHAAAAAT?!"
I was screaming on the inside.
"I JUST REINCARNATED AND THEY'RE GONNA KILL ME OFF ALREADY?!"
"WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS?!"
Meanwhile, Elisa and Richard burst into tears.My supposed brother stared at them, teary-eyed.
—"Mom, Dad... is my brother... going to die?"
Richard looked away again.Elisa pulled her son close, wiping his face tenderly.
—"Your brother will always be with you, son... You'll always see him in your dreams..."
"THAT DOESN'T HELP AT ALL!"
Even worse...
"WHAT KIND OF CONSOLATION IS THAT?! I'M STILL HERE, DAMMIT!"
No matter how hard I screamed in my head, nothing changed.
I was going to die.
Again.
And this time... there was nothing I could do.
The next day...
A heavy, mournful air hung over the Valentine estate.Whispers flowed through every corner of the property like a ghostly wind."Little Sam won't make it," they said."Such a pity, so young..."They were already planning my funeral—and the worst part was, no one questioned it.
Ever since I woke up in this body, a chill ran down my spine every time I saw the pity in the adults' eyes.There was no hope in them. Only resignation.
My mother—or the woman supposed to be my mother in this world—sat sobbing in the corner of the tiny wooden room,while my father tried to console her with awkward words.
But Ryan...
My supposed brother hadn't left my side for even a moment.
His deep brown eyes held a quiet resolve, like he refused to accept what everyone else already had.He looked at me with an intensity that was almost unsettling, as if trying to memorize every feature of my face before I vanished.
Finally, I broke the silence.
—"Hey, Ryan..."My voice was hoarse, as if shredded by frustration.—"Where are we?"
He frowned and tilted his head.
—"Did you really hit your head that hard? We're on our masters' estate."
My entire body tensed.
—"MASTERS?!"
Just hearing the word sent ice through my veins.
Ryan nodded calmly, like he was stating a fact as obvious as "it's morning."
—"Yeah. Dad, Mom, you, me... we're all slaves. Don't you remember?"
A deafening buzz filled my head.My breath turned erratic.My hands trembled slightly on the rough, tattered sheets.
—"S-slaves...?" I barely whispered.
Ryan sighed, as if explaining something to a small child.
—"Yeah. Our masters are the Valentines—one of the most powerful families in the Lichstein Kingdom.You don't remember that either?"
Valentine. Lichstein Kingdom.
—"Anyway, little brother... I can't stay to look after you anymore.Mom has to return to her duties in the mansion, Dad's back to the fields,and I have to go serve young master Jeremy."
Once they all left the cabin, I was completely alone.
And that's when the air left my lungs.
That name combo—those cursed words—hit me like an avalanche.Crushing every last hope that this was just some sick dream.
"No... it can't be..."
The dizziness returned with greater force.Suddenly, every fiber of my being snapped into a sickening puzzle.
My body.My strange surroundings.The way people talked and acted...
It all made sense.
I didn't know how.I couldn't explain it.
But this...This was the worst nightmare imaginable.
This feudal world, this twisted structure...There was no doubt about it now.
This was War of Kingdoms.
"I've reincarnated... inside a new game world... No.Screw this. I refuse this shit."
The horror gripped my chest like a noose.This couldn't be real.It shouldn't be real.And yet, every damn thing told me it was.
My body acted before I could stop myself.A rage I'd buried deep erupted without warning.
And I screamed—pure, broken, agonized:
—"FUUUUUCK THIS GAAAAAMEEEEE!!"
My cries echoed through the cabin, but no one could hear them.My fists clenched so hard, my nails dug into my palms.
Years of planning.Everything was set...I had finally stopped being a Dreifus.I had Liliana. My friends. My family.
I was finally seeing the light.And yet... this?
Hot tears poured down my face.
—"Sniff... Universe, what did I ever do to you?"My voice cracked.
My breath came in gasps.I felt trapped—suffocated in a destiny I never asked for.
—"Sniff... I'm sorry..."My sobs became broken whispers.—"BUT PLEASE... LET ME GO BACK TO MY LIFE..."
I looked up, hoping some invisible god would listen.
—"BRING ME BACK TO LILIA!"
But the sky stayed silent.