Last night, the commissioner of Latex City was killed in his office, guarded by numerous policemen. The style of the killer was the same as the one in the recent killings.
The unseen serial killer has left a mark in the news as the trending topic, with his victims having their heads severed and their blood spelling out, "The Abyss was here."
The police department is currently working around the clock to find the serial killer. Until then, be vigilant and stay indoors at—
"That's enough. Turn it off," said a man adorned in black clothing, his shadowed silhouette resembling that of a ninja due to the moon.
The one beside him, dressed no differently, quickly turned off the radio.
"Did you hear that? You've made the organization more exposed," the man muttered.
He was speaking to another man, who was weakly resting against the wall, his face battered and his black suit covered in blood.
There was also a girl beside him. She was wearing a red gown, her appealing body lifeless, with her head sliced off.
"Now tell us where the Umbrella Organization is located," the man continued.
"When are you killing me?" asked Zane, spitting out a few rounds of blood and smiling.
"Shoot him," the man ordered.
"Bam! Grhhhaaa!" Zane yelled. They had just shot his leg again, making him grit his teeth in pain as blood gushed out.
"Look, Zane, do you think we knew who the Abyss was? The Umbrella Organization sold us your identity. We've been looking for you for quite a while now," said the man.
He showed Zane a laptop displaying his ID. Zane had been responsible for taking out their parties under the orders of the Umbrella Organization.
He knew the parties had assassins that would come after him, but he was certain they wouldn't know him because he never used his real face in any of the missions.
So even if he was caught by the CCTVs, it wouldn't matter—that wasn't his face.
"How do you think we got these details? You're a very big bid in the black market. Why do you think the Umbrella Organization picked you every time? Like every one of their assassins, once your identity is worth a lot of bidding, they sell it out to make money."
Zane looked at the man, not knowing if he should believe him or not, but there was no other explanation.
"You've been betrayed by the Umbrella. So why don't you sell their location?"
"Sell them out? And gain what?... Cough," Zane coughed and added,
"Hehehe, even if I knew, I would have sent them to the oblivion of hell myself. And even at that, you've ruined my legs and killed my girlfriend," Zane smiled with tears in his eyes and completed his words.
"Are you done interrogating?" said Zane, knowing there was nothing to gain or lose.
"Waste him."
Bam-Bam-Bam! Three bullets straight to his head, and Zane died with a heart full of regret. He had been used and tossed away to make more money.
———————
In a dimly lit room, the cries of a baby were the only thing that could be heard. The midwives had already started talking about how adorable the baby was.
"Shit, I didn't believe reincarnation was real," Zane thought.
Then the scenario shifted—from him being a baby to him as a ten-year-old, sitting in Japanese style as he listened to a middle-aged man with brown hair like his.
"Okay, what the fuck is happening? Wasn't I a baby just now?" His mind was unsettled. He was certain he had reincarnated, but now he was a ten-year-old child.
"Listen, my Zane. Soon, you'll be fourteen, and the system will transport you to the Otherworld for your trials. As the third son of the Blood Clan, you should be like your brothers and pass the trials with ease. Don't you dare shame the family name. Is that clear?"
Before Zane could muster the will to open his mouth, his consciousness left his ten-year-old self and jumped to when he was thirteen, standing in a training compound with other students.
In this consciousness, he was holding a wooden sword against a white-haired girl.
"Fight!"
"What in the shit world is going on? Why do I keep jumping ages?"
The next thing—kweuk! Zane felt it hard to breathe as he was swiftly swept off his feet, hitting his back hard against the ground, his breathing briefly interrupted.
"Zane, are you—"
"Don't dare apologize, Ava. Even against your twin sister, you can't land a single hit? You'll be fourteen soon enough, and your trial will begin. For the rest of the year, you'll live in the lower side of the mansion," said his father.
Zane couldn't breathe. He tried to speak, but he couldn't—he just collapsed.
He had already settled with the thought that whatever was happening was showing him past events, but when would it stop?
When would he arrive at the present, or would this absurd cycle go on until death?
Then, he saw himself as his fourteen-year-old self, standing in the training compound with others the same age, Ava right next to him.
"Soon, your first trial will begin. Prove yourself worthy in the Otherworld and don't bring shame to your family's name," Zane's father said, his eyes locking onto Zane's frightened gaze.
"Don't worry, Zane. I promise I'll protect you," Ava said, smiling and locking fingers with him.
From the consciousness he had been jumping into, she was the only one who seemed kind to him. Now, he remembered most of his childhood.
The so-called family name was Nightshade, the same as the clan name.
"So it stops with me facing the trials. How great."
When he thought this was the stopping point of his consciousness, his mind entered the abyss again—this time, his eyes were closed.
"Why? Why can't I move my body?"
Then he heard the familiar voice of his mother.
"So, all the other children of Lord Nightshade passed their trials?" his mother asked. Although he couldn't see her face, Zane could tell she felt disgusted somehow.
"Yes, Mistress Alia. Young Master Zane has quit."
"Then take this useless thing out of my sight. Let it be known that I don't have a son—only a daughter," she said.
"You heard her. Take him away from the mansion. He does not bear the family name. I don't keep useless things," said his father.
It seemed that in his first trial, Zane failed and was brought home wounded and unconscious. Before he woke up, he was already lying inside a dumpster at night.
Homeless and abandoned to die.
That's where everything stopped—with him opening his eyes inside a dumpster.
[Memory Syncing Completed]