The ashes before Strife

Episode 0 : The Silver Necklace ; 3

One morning I was woken by my mother cradling me in her arms while humming a pleasant melody "ah Allen, Cayde is awake get out of the room!"

My father yelled back in response which was followed quickly by the quick tapping of footsteps and he appeared through an archway holding some pieces of paper.

"Are you seriously working when we haven't even decided how we're going to raise him now he can almost walk?" She spoke in a concerned manner but her eyes said that she's happy he's working. The man then placed his warm hands onto the blanket covering me.

"I'm just getting the next jobs planning out of the way no need to worry, besides. I already promised to go along with whatever you say didn't I?"

"Sure you are, you best remember just who it is that birthed this little demon." She said this in a loving tone but I grew concerned that this was going to be a repeat of my last family making that evident on my face until Allen my father sprouted horns from his head, I could do nothing but stare in fear from the sight of black-horns.

My mother then stared at me in amusement with a little giggle and spoke "oh you don't know what race you are Cayde." She then slowly grew horns as well and lifted me to get a closer look at them.

I reached out and grabbed onto them out of curiosity, they felt brittle and tough yet there was a slight warmth radiating from it, is it mana? "you are a demon Cayde, not from a powerful or noble family but we will still do all we can to make sure you live a comfortable life." As she said this she slowly cradled me back in her arms and I figured this must be hell for me to reincarnate as a demon.

My feelings on realizing I was no longer human was confusing yet I was happy. Perhaps it was because I truly would no longer be the Silven Windrega of the earth who was a human but Cayde Barbaten of Laegii who is a demon.

I grew with even more anticipation of what I could accomplish in this world but as I looked at my father's face I noticed he was holding his nose tightly. I then looked over to my mother who looked like she was suffocating "I think the little guy needs a diaper change."

As my mother said this she hurried to a different room where a small table with multiple pieces of cloth lay in wait. She started changing my diaper immediately and all I could do was feel embarrassed and curse the lack of control in this damned infantile body.

After she finished she carried me up a staircase off into another room where my father Rex waited and plopped me into a cage where multiple items lay.

There was a book, a pen, a crystal orb, a saddle that confused me, and a shovel which confused me just as much as the saddle. I knew what this was supposed to be, it's a test to see what a baby will take interest in at a young age and then raise them learning about that.

"Cayden sweetie please go for the book. I don't want another muscle brain in this house." My mother's voice was sweet but there was a quiet demanding threat I barely noticed inside of it.

I looked up at my mother who was standing behind the direction of the book now.

She wants me to become some sort of scholar by the looks of it away from fighting. I admit that in my last world I was somewhat smart but I don't know how that would translate to this world.

I then looked up at my father who was standing in between the saddle and the crystal orb "Don't look at me, brat. I'm in for a life of hell if you don't choose that book." My father was of no help at all in what else I should choose, if there was a toy weapon I would have gone for that as I know I would succeed but I see my mother made no choice of that happening.

So instead, I crawled around the 5 items seeing if my father had hidden any but unfortunately that was not the case so I looked back up at him and noticed his eyes staring at the saddle then I also stared at it and pondered what could it mean in this world?