Monogusana Kenja Vol 1 Prologue

Prologue
“Nooooooo!”

My consciousness was awakened upon hearing a shrill cry.

The voice was filled with unending sorrow, a cry full of melancholy. Before hearing the voice, my consciousness was fuzzy, like I was in a dream. My mind was in a haze, a place with no pain and no suffering, then everything began with a single intense emotion. &h.e.l.lip;Wait, did it really only just begin?

Did I truly not feel this same despair once before? As soon as that voice snapped me out of my stupor, I felt like I’d forgotten all manner of things and became confused.

Where was this place, who was I――.

“Acht, what’s wrong?”

A black-haired boy came running into the room.

Aah, that’s right. He was Claude, though I always called him Clau; he was kind of like my older brother. And I was Acht.

“Acht, are you okay? Hang in there! Acht!!”

Clau grabbed my shoulders and shook me, then the sorrowful scream stopped. &h.e.l.lip;No, that’s not it. The source of the scream was me. It didn’t just stop, I stopped.

“C-clau!!”

Sudden tears came, distorting Clau’s face.

I’d been living in a world free of pain and suffering before, but now that seemed to be all there was. Unable to deal with the sudden onslaught of emotions, I could only cling to Clau’s small frame. If I didn’t, I felt like I would break apart.

“Clau&h.e.l.lip;Clau&h.e.l.lip;Clau&h.e.l.lip;”

“When did you learn to say my name&h.e.l.lip; No wait, what’s wrong? You’re crying so much&h.e.l.lip;”

I didn’t know.

I was just sad, so incredibly sad. In my small panic attack, all I could do was cry.

“Where did Noel-san go? And right when Acht’s not feeling good.”

Noel-san&h.e.l.lip;

I suddenly understood that to be the name of my mother. At the same time I wondered why it made me sad. I should have been lost in sleep, then came to a sudden realization.

“Clau&h.e.l.lip; She’s gone. Mama’s gone.”

I didn’t mean that she had abandoned me. She had literally disappeared from this world. I instinctively knew I would never see her again.

“Clau, Clau&h.e.l.lip;Uwaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Pain, sadness, and loneliness. I clung to Clau as he rubbed my back until I was unable to shed another tear.

Thus, in exchange for my mother’s death, I was awakened in this world.