As I lay in the arms of this newborn body’s father, I tried to steel myself for the path ahead. Gauntlet of Suffering – the words echoed ominously in my mind. This was going to be the greatest challenge I’d ever faced.
I couldn’t help but shed a mental tear of pure fear towards the future. It quickly became evident that I would be trapped in the body of an extremely abused child for over a decade’s worth of time.
As a primordial who was meant to live for millions of years and lead his own species toward greatness, experiencing such diverse and different perspectives could be beneficial. However, I firmly believe that it was too soon in my case. I didn’t even spend three months of my life as a primordial yet and I would be forced to live a trauma-filled childhood for over a decade.
Anyhow, I could only accept reality for what it was. Even if I could get out of the test and go back to ‘reality’ I would just get blasted by a fire spell the moment I returned.
Oh…
Now that I think about it…
Did the Soul Records take that into consideration? Maybe it wants to increase my tolerance for pain so that even when I get burned alive I can continue functioning as a combatant instead of rolling around on the ground and screaming from the top of my suffocating lungs at Seraphiel for healing. Continue your journey at freewebnovel
…
The first year of my simulated reality went extremely slowly but at least I lived the life of a normal baby.
Both of Iris’ parents were very loving and caring.
From the small tidbits of information that I managed to gather, we were a small baron family in the Ravenshade duchy, the place that bordered the Alliance of Elvardia, and the one who enslaved my gorgeous healer elf when she was forced to invade the human kingdom.
We were distant relatives of the duke family, hence our Ravenclaw family name, however, we were not mainline members of the family. In fact, over the passage of generations, we’ve become more or less strangers to the main family, making us just another baron family without support from our superior’s superior.
We were rather poor to boot since our only town was sidelined by the count’s city which was built close to ours, taking nearly all possible commercial venues for revenue generation away from us.
However, in this world, being an impoverished noble was already a much better fate than what 99% of the population received, so we had no right to complain as far as I was concerned. Iris’ father – named Gilbert Thornclaw – though begged to disagree. Over the months he had become more and more frustrated with our declining financial situation.
Lastly, I’ve come to a harrowing realization.
I was not in control.
I was merely a bystander, experiencing everything that the baby Iris did such as hunger and sleepiness, but I could offer no inputs of my own. At first, I thought that the reason why I couldn’t move my limbs was due to me having just been born, but that notion had to be thrown out of the window over the past year.
I could only go along with whatever the baby Iris decided to do, making me a prisoner in the body of a baby.
Sadly I understood why the Soul Records did what it did.
This was a simulation meant to make me suffer and to make me surpass the pain and emotions that came with it. It was not created so that I could outsmart those who hurt me and escape from my situation, which I most likely could do sometime in the future when the opportunity presents itself due to my adult head.
To be brief; I was here to suffer and to overcome said suffering.
I’m not gonna lie, I was horrified by the prospect.
Time was a cruel mistress. I’ve only spent a few months at most in the company of my lovers, yet I now found myself dragged away from them for such a harsh reason. I spent most of my time in the past year reminiscing about my beloved girls and thinking up new ways on how I could show my appreciation for them, and how much I will enjoy feeling their warmth and love once this test was finally concluded.
“Iris, it’s time to eat!” Vernice’s jovial tune sounded as she grabbed me out of the baby crib, sat down on a lush sofa, and began breastfeeding me. “Your big brother Damian just stood on his adorable stubby little legs and managed to run for a short while before falling straight on his nose for the first time today! He will grow up to be a strong boy so that he can protect both you and me…” She said in a dreamy voice. Vernice was nothing but a happy mother who had no grandiose life goals of her own, she just wanted to see her children flourish and live a good life.
I know that I should’ve done everything in my power to prevent this from occurring, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve grown slightly attached to Vernice. She spent basically every waking moment of hers caring for either Iris or Damian, Iris’ older brother, when it should’ve been the job of a maid and she should’ve enjoyed the life of a noble lady, such as drinking tea, chatting with other wives at parties and the like. Vernice was very motherly to the point of reminding me of Lumi and Miri.
Furthermore, since I was imprisoned in the body of a child, her presence was sadly the most memorable moment in my long days of miserable, excruciatingly boring solitude.
I’ve arrived at the realization that if I want to torture someone in the future, and I have the time as well as the resources, chaining them to a bed to the point where they can’t even move a finger would be a rather effective method. My poor Ayame had also endured something similar, though she at least had the company of her caretaker from time to time, and her talks with potential buyers.
“Waa!” Iris cried cutely as she reached for her breast when Vernice took her off of it to check whether her daughter was full or not.
“Ah! I’m so sorry my famished baby, here you go.” Vernice apologized while pushing her bosom back into Iris’ gaping mouth while rocking the baby back and forth in a relaxing motion.
…
Another year had passed, making Iris two years old.