Ray knew he wasn't strong enough to stop his mom from doing her thing, so he stayed silent, his face pale. Ray's mother cleaned him off, changed his diaper, and sent him to sleep once again. He slept calmly after working hard.
…..
Ray opened his eyes in terror and began gasping. After calming himself a little, he noticed the large fences on all sides, and felt the soft ground beneath him. Two gigantic hands approached him from above, wrapped around his body, then lifted him.
Ray looked down at the ground, which was far below him. He raised his head to see the person who had lifted him. But before he could, he heard the voice again.
'What…'
Before he could see the person who had lifted him or speak to the outer, he began moving at a dangerous speed. It felt like the moment he first sat on a roller coaster.
The only thing he knew was that he was moving dangerously fast. He kept spinning, then he suddenly stopped. Yet to him, it felt as if the world were still moving.
Baron held him closer to his face, "Wake up, buddy," he said before giving a wide smile.
But to Thomas, it was a devious, menacing grin—one like that of a demon enjoying himself after torturing his victim. Ray gulped, his eyes widening, before vomiting everything he had taken in so far.
"Cedric!" Baroness shouted as she strode toward Baron with a sharp gaze, "What the hell are you doing?"
Baron looked at his wife, then looked down, "I'm sorry, it was my fault."
She snatched her son away from his father, and put him closer to her chest, "He isn't even a year old yet!"
"But he isn't even a month old yet."
"So what? You don't get to do that until he turns ten!"
"But you just said he wasn't even a year old," he said with a low and calm voice, "For a moment, I thought I could do this after he turned one."
"I don't know, but you don't get to do that." She turned her head toward the baby, who still seemed to be sitting on his imaginary roller coaster.
"Now my son will get hungry again," she looked at him for a moment, then continued, "First, we will take a bath, and then mum-mum, okay?"
The father kept watching silently as she took him away to another room.
By the time Thomas came to his senses, he found himself in water barely reaching his shoulders. "Where am I?" he thought, trying to see how far the water stretched. "A white wall? Titan?"
Then he felt the sensation of a soft, large hand touching his back—a hand that had been there from the beginning. 'Ohh, the side effects of missing the ball,' he thought before closing his eyes again.
Thomas felt someone place their hand under his arm, lifting him from the water. He opened his eyes and was greeted by a bright smile. "Come on, let me wash you up."
The little boy remained silent, with half-closed eyes, until a cold breeze swept through his lower body. His eyes widened in sudden realization, then he saw a bar of soap approaching him—and they widened further before he screamed.
Even though he wasn't crying, his mom could tell by his screams that he hated soap. But as a good mother, she had to do the things her kids didn't like for their sake, ensuring they wouldn't face problems in the future—even if it meant making them hate her.
She washed her son—every corner, every body part—making sure no germs remained, all while the child kept screaming.
After cleaning him, she laid him inside the crib again. Thomas showed no expression on his face. He looked as if something horrible had happened to him…
"Honey, the meal is ready," the man informed.
"Ooh, what did you make?..."
Although voices were entering his ears, he wasn't in a condition to process them all.
…
One month passed.
At times he kept getting Outer's presence, which disappears after a few minutes.
Ray was in the crib, his eyelids half-closed and poker face, while his dad kept poking fingers on his cheeks, "What's up, buddy? What are you doing?"
"Cedric," Baron turned as he heard his name. "Don't call him 'my baby.' Start using his name so he will become familiar with it sooner."
"Oh! My Ray, are you feeling sleepy?"
Thomas kept staring at him, just like before. 'Once, a wise man said *Omare*'
His eyes returned to normal before it widened. 'Ohh, my name is Ray? That's not a bad name, actually. I wonder who gave it to me—Baron or Baroness?' Thomas wondered as he saw Siena's hand approaching him. 'Ohh, it's protein time, huh?'
Thomas raised his hand toward Siena; he had accepted his fate long ago. He followed the rule—protein is everything, no matter the source.
His eyes widened as he heard the voice.
Ray's eyes narrowed as he looked at the air. 'You think I enjoy all this? I have to work hard—it's called discipline. Haven't you heard, Gogin? Do what you hate the most. This is the thing I hate the most, but I do it like I love it.'
'No, you bastard, I just do it like I love it.'
Thomas stopped drinking and stared at the air with a narrowed gaze before gritting his tee—oh, he didn't have any teeth.
"Are you full? Let's go to bed," Mom said as she turned off the light and switched on the lamp beside their bed. "It's story time." She took a book from beside the bed.
Thomas narrowed his eyebrows after looking at the book. 'She keeps telling me stories of little kids that never even happened in the past, or some kind of myths. I want to read some real shit about this world,'
"Maic, maic," Ray murmured as he pointed to another book beside the one his mother had picked, it was blue with circles on it.
Seina grinned breathlessly, as she heard Ray. "Which baby can talk at the age of one month? Are you serious?" Her eyes widened in thought. She held the child's shoulders and stared into his eyes. "Try saying 'Mama.' Ma… Ma… try it."
Looking into Siena's wide eyes, his own eyes widened. Then he opened his mouth. "O Shi."
Hearing a weird word from her son, she looked at him with narrowed eyes, her head slightly tilted. "Ochi? Ochimaru? What is that?" She widened her eyes and leaned closer. "Try saying 'Mamaaaaa… Maaaaa…'"
'No, she isn't. She is 15 years younger than me. She wasn't even born when I got my first kiss," Thomas said, looking at the horrific face before him.
<...Why would you do that…? You are a monster.>
'What?... What did I say? Urghh whatever. I have to focus on my current situation right now.' Ray turned to another book and cried, pointing at it, his eyes became watery, and nose become runny.
"Okay, I'll tell you that story. But promise me that when you grow up, you won't go around fighting random people."
She looked at her son with concern.
Ray stayed silent, then said, "Mm."
"Alright, we'll read the story. But first, let me wipe that runny nose of yours."
Thomas had almost lost his pride and shame in front of his new parents. Now, he just accepted everything with an open heart.