Sin's consciousness faded instantly. For a short moment, all he could feel was excruciating pain tearing through his skin, muscles, and organs.
In the next second, all of that pain was erased from existence. Now, in a world of black where nothing but pitch darkness could be seen, a single thought echoed throughout.
'Why?'
A flash occurred, and visions that felt like memories began to flow into Sin's head like a thunderous tsunami.
...
Five years ago. Lucel, Captainia—a city on the complete outskirts of a small kingdom.
The beautiful, orange morning sun had just begun its climb up over the horizon.
Sin remembered this in detail, as he always loved sitting beside a small stool over a tiny window in his shack of a home and staring out at the sky.
Brisk and refreshing winds of the day's start calmly flowed down the hill in front of the town and throughout its narrow streets.
People had already begun their day. Some fetched water from the well, greeting each other with smiles and waves.
Kids darted across the dirt paths, while horses chewed on hay in their stables.
It was a humble town. Even carts and carriages were rare here, let alone anything made out of metal.
What Sin remembered most about this day was that brilliant morning sky. He was only ten years old. His pupils danced with an amazed glare as he stared out.
Not just orange, but the color of the sky was almost red in its flare.
"Son?" An endearing, womanly voice called out from behind the young boy.
Sin turned, catching a glimpse of his mother.
She wore an old dress that was sewn together many times with multicolored clothes. Her bright, golden hair was encased in a white bonnet, and her eyes were a mesmerizing azure as bright as the mid-day sky.
Sin smiled, running over to his mother and jumping into her tight, warm embrace. His eyes were shut tightly, and his body felt like it simply melted into his mother's arms.
In that moment, Sin felt there was no better feeling in the entire world.
That warm embrace... however, became slightly too hot. It was as if he was next to a cozy fireplace just a second ago, but now, he had sat too close to the fire.
He could feel the tingling sensation of flame waft at his skin every now and again.
He furrowed his brows, his eyes still shut. Confusion filled his mind as he began to hear the crackling and popping of fire nearby.
More, a horrible odor escaped into his nostrils. The smell of burning hair. Of burning skin and bones.
Chills crawled up his back as his eyes immediately flew open.
He panted heavily, looking straight ahead as he saw a bright orange sky.
However... the sun was not climbing over the horizon this time. No... in fact, night had already fallen, and that day had passed.
This red glare was coming from the flame all around Sin, which had engulfed the very town he adored.
As his body shook uncontrollably from the shock, his eyes slowly surveyed everything around him.
The air was no longer brisk as it was that morning, but rather, scorching hot—searing the small hairs on his arms every time it went by.
All of the buildings were burnt down to a crisp. The streets were filled with cut body parts that were burned down to nothing more than bones and charred flesh.
The horses let out piercing screams of dismay and horror as the stables around them burned down and set them ablaze.
'What happened...' was all that Sin could think, his memory failing him at that moment.
Finally, the putrid stench of burning flesh got to him. He couldn't hold it any longer... and looked down to see what he was embracing. What he was holding on to.
A distraught look contorted on his face. His eyes opened as wide as two planets, his eyebrows scrunching inwards. The tears that seemingly had already been trickling down from his eyes tickled his cheeks as his nostrils flared and his mouth quivered.
The burnt remains of his mother lay in his arms. His body was smothered with yellow, boiling blood.
His mother was unrecognizable. Her skin was black as coal, with cracks of red and yellow flowing through.
His eyes slowly traveled to her face. Half skeleton, half char. His body couldn't help but gasp sharply with shock.
His heart pounded out of his chest. The strength in his limbs left him as he went completely limp.
Then... his memories of that day came back to him all at once.
'An explosion from out of nowhere,' he said to himself.
He remembered it clearly. A blast that sent dozens flying—their body parts dismembered and set on fire.
*BOOM*
Another blast, even bigger this time. Before he knew it, everything had turned to burning rubble.
Multiple... no... dozens more blasts ensued. It took mere seconds for Lucel to be turned into what looked like a battleground.
In the end, he remembered his mother running toward him. She shielded him from the explosions, sacrificing herself to protect him to the best of her ability.
After that moment, Sin had gone unconscious. Only now he woke up and realized everything that occurred.
Sin clenched his fists so tightly that his nails bit into his palms, fresh rivulets of blood mixing with the soot and ash on his skin.
His body trembled uncontrollably, but it wasn't just from the overwhelming grief or the smell of burnt flesh that clung to the air.
It was the weight of everything—the destruction, the loss, and the cruel reality that he was utterly alone.
His breath hitched as he looked down again at what was left of his mother, her fragile remains crumbling in his grasp. The thought crossed his mind to simply give up, to let the fire consume him as it had taken everything else.
What was left to live for? The faces of everyone he'd known, everyone he'd loved, flashed through his mind. They were gone—reduced to ash and memory.
But amidst the chaos of his thoughts, something stirred within him. A sharp, biting clarity.
He wasn't dead. For some reason, he had survived. As much as it felt like a curse, it was also undeniable: he was still here.
"Why?" he whispered, his voice hoarse and barely audible. "Why me?"
The question burned in his chest, but there was no answer.
Only silence and the distant crackle of flames. He was alive, and that had to mean something—didn't it?
His fingers loosened from the fists they had formed, trembling as they fell to his sides.
Sin's gaze swept over the ruined remains of his town. Everything was gone. His mother, his friends, the streets he'd run through as a child—it had all been taken.
At that moment, he saw a glint of firelight in the distance. Atop a hill, under which his town once was. The glints resembled that of armor...
The realization came like a knife to the gut.
"Knights..."
As he whispered this, the knights, riding atop their horses on the hill, turned their steeds.
"That should have taken care of business. I'd be surprised if a fly was still alive in that place... let alone anyone else," one exclaimed with a chuckle of laughter.
More amused noises followed as the knight squadron disappeared down the hill.
Sin never heard any of this, but he undeniably saw their shadowy silhouettes coast down that hill.
They had done this. They had destroyed everything for reasons he couldn't begin to understand.
His breath steadied. The ache in his chest was replaced by a hollow determination. There was no one left to fight for. No home to rebuild. No family to protect.
He was all that remained.
And because of that, everything he did from this moment forward would be for him.
Sin closed his eyes, letting the truth settle in. The gods hadn't spared him. If anything, they'd abandoned him, left him to fend for himself.
His city wouldn't rise again—it was gone. His mother's warmth would never return—it was gone.
But in losing everything, he had also been freed from everything. No one to answer to, no one to tie him down, no one to protect.
He stepped forward, his legs weak but his resolve unshaken.
"It's for me now," he muttered, his voice firm and unyielding. "Not for the gods. Not for the city. Not even for her. I have nothing left to lose, and because of that, everything I do from now on will be mine. My choice. My life."
His grief burned inside him, but it no longer weighed him down—it sharpened him, hardening his resolve like tempered steel.
His fists relaxed completely, and the storm in his chest steadied into a smoldering flame.
Sin stood, his eyes focused on the dark forest ahead. There was no going back.
The knights would pay for what they had done. That was first on the chopping block without doubt, no matter how long it took him.
But that wasn't the only thing driving him. He would grow stronger.
He would take whatever this world had to offer and make it his own. Because now, he belonged to no one but himself.
...
...
...
*Ding*
Sin's spark of consciousness was suddenly re-enflamed. He couldn't move, or barely even think for that matter. However... he could perceive what was going on.
'What... was that noise?'
[System initializing...]
[WARNING]
[Health critically low]
[Attempting forceful use of strongest Spirit]
[...]
[Attempt failed]
[Attempting forceful use of all Spirits]
[...]
[Attempt failed]
[No Spirits detected]
[Overriding body parameters]
[...]
[Attempt successful]
[Spirit Energy pathways unlocked]
[No limits detected]
[Scanning body for potential Spirit candidate]
[Searching for supernatural power]
[...]
'Supernatural? But I have no--'
[Attempt successful]
[Supernatural power found: Natural human healing ability]
'W-what? But that isn't supernatur--'
[Attempting forceful creation of Spirit through "Natural human healing ability"]
[...]
[Attempt successful]
[Supernatural power "Natural human healing ability" has been converted to new Spirit: Healing Bug]
*Ding*
[New Spirit unlocked: Healing Bug (Active)]
[Description: A small, golden cicada that has been alive for thousands of years. Throughout its lifetime, it has consumed enough nectar to create a healing concoction within its body. This bug grants its user a significant burst of natural healing ability upon manual command. The effectiveness of regeneration depends on how much nectar the cicada has in storage]
[Attempting forceful use of Spirit "Healing Bug"]
[...]
[Attempt successful]
'What... the fuck.'
-----
Now that my book is officially in the vetting process, id highly appreciate any and all gifts of love (:
Weekly goal: 50 Powerstones = 2 chap mass release on Friday.