"Get me beer, brat," a man yelled aggressively at a small child, his voice echoing through the squalid apartment.
The child appeared severely malnourished, his thin frame suggesting he had been systematically deprived of proper nutrition for an extended period of time. The clothes he wore hung loosely on his body and were covered in grime and stains, unwashed for what seemed like weeks.
The place he walked through was absolutely filthy and neglected. Trash and empty beer bottles lay scattered haphazardly across every surface of the home, creating a landscape of despair and dysfunction.
He obediently grabbed a cold beer from the refrigerator and carefully returned to his drunkard father, handing it over without a word. Afterward, he quickly retreated to a little corner of the room where he always sat and started reading whatever book he could find.
His whole life up until this point had been spent living like a slave, trapped in circumstances beyond his control, like a rat desperately struggling to survive in the darkest corners. He had never known love, affection, or even basic kindness from another human being.
Each day he followed the exact same monotonous routine without variation: waking up in the morning, immediately getting beer for his father upon demand, sitting quietly in his designated corner trying to stay invisible, and maybe, if he was fortunate, getting some small amount of food to eat.
His eyes, which should have been filled with the natural light and hope that all children possess, held absolutely nothing—no emotion, no dreams, no expectations. His small body was covered in scars from the man's repeated physical abuse over the years, but he felt nothing anymore, having learned to disconnect from the pain.
His body and mind had completely numbed themselves as a survival mechanism, shutting down all emotional responses to protect what little remained of his psyche. As he sat quietly in the corner as usual, the apartment was suddenly and violently invaded without warning.
A fully equipped police SWAT team burst through the door with guns drawn and protective shields raised. They had been given what they believed was a reliable tip about active drug dealing operations being conducted in an apartment in this building.
Though they had unknowingly and unfortunately entered the wrong apartment by mistake, they immediately froze in their tracks when they saw just how dirty, disgusting, and utterly uninhabitable the place was, the conditions beyond anything they had encountered before.
They methodically searched through the filthy home, moving through each room with growing concern, and eventually found a severely malnourished child huddled in a corner, his small body covered in both fresh wounds and old scars that told a story of prolonged abuse.
The child did not respond to any of their gentle questions or attempts at communication—he was completely unable to, having lost the ability to trust or interact with others. The man was immediately arrested on multiple charges and taken into custody, while the child was carefully removed from the home and sent to a local orphanage for his safety and care.
Though his physical situation and living environment changed dramatically for the better, he remained emotionally the same as before, carrying his trauma with him. He stayed completely silent and said nothing to anyone, building walls around himself.
Once he finally arrived at the orphanage and began to settle into his new surroundings, he unexpectedly met another boy who would change everything.
"Hi, my name is Kevin," the boy introduced himself with a warm, genuine smile.
He didn't reply to the greeting and remained completely quiet, refusing to engage. But Kevin proved to be remarkably kind and caring, showing patience that others hadn't. He began to consistently include the boy in everything he did, never giving up on him. Eventually, slowly and gradually, the boy started to feel genuine emotions again for the first time in years.
His once completely lifeless and empty eyes now held a small spark of something that resembled hope—a spark that only shone brightly for Kevin, the one person who had broken through his walls. His once utterly dark and bleak life had gotten noticeably a little brighter, filled with moments of connection. But all things must inevitably come to an end, as they always do. Just two years later, when Kevin turned 16 years old, he reached the age limit and had to leave the orphanage according to the rules.
He didn't understand at all why Kevin had to leave him behind. Kevin had done more for him than the matron or any of the other adults at the orphanage ever had, showing him genuine care and friendship. Why did he have to go away?
The next night after Kevin's departure, he lay alone in his small bed staring up at the plain ceiling above him, feeling the emptiness return. The little light that had appeared in his eyes over the past two years had already gotten noticeably a little dimmer, beginning to fade.
The other children around him played happily among themselves, laughing and shouting, but he couldn't bring himself to join them in their games. He slowly stood up from his bed, quietly left the room so as not to disturb anyone, and entered the bathroom down the hall.
As he was washing his hands methodically under the running water, he suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream pierce the air from somewhere in the building. He quickly closed the faucet and slowly, cautiously opened the bathroom door to investigate. He saw a dead body lying motionless on the floor just outside, blood pooling around it and spreading across the tiles.
But his face remained completely neutral and expressionless, showing no shock or fear. It was one of the adults who worked in the orphanage, someone he had seen before. He didn't really care about her or feel any particular emotion about her death.
Bang bang bang
Loud gunshots continued to ring out repeatedly throughout the building, echoing off the walls. He quickly covered his ears with both hands and stayed as quiet as possible, trying to make himself invisible. Soon, after what felt like an eternity, someone walked out slowly from the matron's room at the end of the hallway.
It was Kevin, but he looked completely different from before. His body was riddled with multiple bullet holes, blood soaking through his clothes, and he was limping badly with each painful step. Blood dripped steadily from his body, leaving a trail behind him.
But the boy still didn't fully understand what was happening or process the horrific scene before him. He walked out of the bathroom cautiously and looked inside the room Kevin had just come from, needing to see for himself.
Inside the matron's room, he saw the matron herself lying on the floor. She was clearly dead, her body lying completely lifeless in an unnatural position. Still, despite the shocking scene, his face remained disturbingly impassive, showing no reaction.
He then heard a distinct click sound echo through the hallway and immediately left the room, only to see Kevin now sitting on the floor with his back resting against the wall, slowly sliding down.
He walked slowly toward Kevin, his footsteps echoing in the silent hallway, and stood directly in front of him, looking down. Kevin's eyes were still open wide, though they looked increasingly lifeless and unfocused, the light fading from them.
Something deep inside the boy suddenly cracked, like glass shattering into a thousand pieces. He clutched his chest tightly as hot tears began to fall freely from his eyes for the first time in years.
And for the very first time since the SWAT team had found him, he actually spoke out loud.
"Kevin," he said with surprising clarity, his voice breaking the silence.
"Kevin," he repeated again, louder this time.
"Kevin," he said once more in complete desperation, pleading.
For the first time in his entire life, he cried openly like a child—a child who had lost something truly important and irreplaceable, and knew deep in his heart he would never, ever get it back. He repeated Kevin's name over and over again like a desperate prayer until the police finally came and found them.
The police officers arrived at the scene and visibly winced at the horrific sight before them, clearly affected by what they were seeing. But by the time they finally tried to comfort him and help him process what had happened, the psychological damage was already done and irreversible.
The last remaining tiny light he had managed to hold onto completely disappeared, extinguished forever. A hollow, suffocating dark cloud filled his soul entirely, consuming everything that Kevin had helped him build.
From that traumatic point onward, he lived completely alone again emotionally, returning entirely to the way he was before Kevin had entered his life. This state of isolation didn't last very long—he eventually learned the full truth behind Kevin's violent death and what had led to it.
Learning exactly what had happened and who was responsible, a new, almost obsessive and consuming determination ignited powerfully within him. There was genuine evil in this world that needed to be confronted.
People like his abusive father, like the man who had tried to adopt Emily for terrible purposes, like the corrupt matron and the other adult who had tried to sell her to that man for money.
They must be completely purged from existence. The world must be fundamentally fixed and made safe. From that defining moment onward, he dramatically changed his entire approach to life. He started actively learning everything he could, carefully observing people and situations, methodically investigating wrongdoing.
He wasn't naturally smart or intellectually gifted—Emily was the smart one. But he possessed something that not many people in the world had: he could not feel physical pain due to his condition, and he had developed a determination powerful and unwavering enough to actually change the world.
He started intensively training his body every single day, extensively researching the human body and all of its vulnerabilities and weaknesses, and carefully creating his own unique combat techniques based on his findings.
By the time he finally became an adult and reached maturity, devastating wars were already occurring simultaneously throughout various parts of the world, creating chaos and opportunity.
He enlisted in the military and was eventually put on a specialized team with two others named Ryan and Kyle. Their team of three individuals was considered an anomaly by command, but somehow they worked together perfectly with seamless coordination.
They successfully completed every single mission assigned to them with absolute perfection and precision. They had never once failed a single mission throughout their entire service together. Their team became absolutely legendary within military circles, though no one outside their command knew the actual names or true identities of the group members.
Once the war finally ended and peace was declared, he genuinely tried to live a normal, quiet life and reintegrate into society, but it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy him. There were still gangs terrorizing neighborhoods, robbers preying on the innocent, thieves stealing from hardworking people, and corrupt officials abusing their power.
This reality reignited his deep anger and sense of purpose, and he started his own personal mission: to systematically rid the world of evil wherever he found it. He started methodically going around the neighborhood at night, tracking down and killing gang members, corrupt cops, and anyone else he deemed guilty of serious crimes.
Eventually, after years of working alone, he unexpectedly reunited with Emily, Ryan, and Kyle from his past. They had all decided to enter politics together in order to create change through legitimate channels. Seeing this new direction and recognizing their shared goals, he decided to help them however he could since they ultimately had the same objectives.
He would carefully and thoroughly investigate each political official they identified as potentially corrupt, and if he found something truly incriminating and undeniable, he would eliminate them permanently and strategically leave behind clear evidence of their wrongdoing for the public to discover.
He did this for 20 years until he was diagnosed with cancer. Sitting in the chair, he looked up at the doctor.
"How much time do I have left?" he asked, his voice steady despite the weight of the question.
"Sigh, approximately 10 days," the doctor answered with a heavy heart.
He stayed quiet, absorbing the information in silence. Life had been nothing but torture and suffering from the very beginning. Maybe, just maybe, he could finally reunite with Kevin at long last.
He had wanted to see Kevin for quite a while now, longing for that reunion.
"Thank you very much, Doctor," he said respectfully.
The doctor nodded in acknowledgment.
"It's my job," he replied simply.
He stood up from the chair and left the hospital building. Now that he only had ten days remaining in this world, he made the decision to live each remaining day as if it were his last day on earth.
Though he had killed for almost his whole life and had been an instrument of death, there was one thing he had always wanted deep in his heart—a family of his own.
Recently, he had discovered that Japan had a strange and unusual service: people could actually rent a family there for a period of time. Though it was weird and unconventional, he decided to try it out since he didn't have much time left to experience what he had always wanted.
Using his extensive connections and resources, he arrived in Japan the very next day. He rented a family through the service and picked one that consisted of a woman and two children. He had wanted to choose a bigger family with more members, but there weren't any other options available at the time.
He sat down on a bench in the designated meeting area and waited patiently for them to arrive. Soon enough, the family arrived at the location. The first thing the children did after noticing him sitting there was smile warmly and run directly to him with excitement.
"Father," they both said in unison.
He just nodded in response, unsure of what else to say.
During his extensive time in the military over the years, he had learned many different languages in order to infiltrate different countries successfully. Since he was half Japanese and half American by blood, he thought there would be some prejudice or discrimination, but he guessed he was wrong about that assumption.
"Husband," the woman said as she approached him.
"You can call me Sora," he said, introducing himself properly.
She nodded in understanding.
"Well then, Sora, what should we do today?" she asked, seeking his input.
"I'm not familiar with this place at all. I'll do whatever you guys want to do," he said, deferring to their preferences.
"What's your budget for today?" she asked cautiously.
"A billion," he said simply and without hesitation.
The entire family froze in place, stunned.
"Are you absolutely sure?" the woman asked, needing confirmation.
He simply nodded with certainty.
She smiled broadly and led them to a restaurant in the area. The place looked luxurious and upscale—maybe a five-star restaurant or something close to it.
They sat down at a table and prepared to order. Sora picked up the menu in front of him and looked through the various options carefully.
"Wagyu steak," he said, making his selection.
The waiter diligently wrote all the orders down on his notepad and left to submit them to the kitchen.
"Father, I want to go to an amusement park," the little girl said with hopeful eyes.
"Okay," he answered without hesitation.
"Father, I want a phone of my own," the little boy asked, testing the waters.
"Okay," Sora replied in the same agreeable manner.
The boy looked at the girl with a smug grin on his face, pleased with himself.
"Father, I want a car," he pushed further.
"Okay—" Sora began.
"Wait, don't agree to everything they say. You'll spoil them terribly," she interjected.
"Okay," he said, agreeing with her as well.
She facepalmed in exasperation.
"Why do you keep saying okay to everything?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.
He tilted his head slightly in confusion and took out a book from his bag.
Harmonious Family
He opened the book to a certain page he had marked and read aloud from it.
"Give your children presents," he said, then turned the page to continue reading.
"Trust your partner," he read again from the next section.
She shook her head in disagreement.
"No, it said presents. Not demands or whatever they ask for," she clarified.
He shook his head in response.
"It's okay. I genuinely want to spend the money on them," he said earnestly.
The corner of her mouth twitched slightly. She sighed in resignation. The food arrived at their table and everyone started eating their meals.
As they ate together, Sora opened his phone discreetly and checked their information and profiles. He had not checked earlier before meeting them. It would be rude not to know their actual names.
The wife was named Misaki, the daughter was named Hina, and the son was named Saito. He put his phone away, satisfied with the information.
"Aah," Misaki said gently as she held a spoon with food toward Sora's mouth.
He opened his mouth obediently and took a bite of what she offered. He then cut a piece of his steak carefully and returned the favor by feeding her.
The kids, seeing this exchange, did the same thing with enthusiasm. Sora took a spoonful from each child in turn, then cut more pieces and fed them both.
He gave a genuine smile after seeing their content smiles and happy expressions. After they finished eating their meal, they went to a nearby electronics shop.
"You really don't have to do this for us," Misaki said, feeling guilty.
"It's fine, I want to," he replied reassuringly.
She sighed again as they entered the shop together. The kids ran around excitedly and inspected each device on display with great interest. They each picked over a dozen different devices and ran back to him with their selections.
Sora just nodded approvingly and walked to the counter to pay. He was about to pay for everything when he suddenly noticed Misaki didn't have anything for herself.
He turned to the clerk behind the counter.
"Get me the most expensive phone you have in stock," he said decisively. The clerk nodded and quickly retrieved the item from the display case.
He paid for everything and grabbed the expensive phone before giving it directly to Misaki.
"It's a gift for you," he said before she could say anything in protest.
She gave a resigned smile and took the phone, touched by his thoughtfulness.
He spent his remaining time like this for the next few days, enjoying every moment.
"Sora, please help me," Misaki begged urgently.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked with concern.
"My mother is sick and I need money to cure her illness," she cried, tears forming in her eyes.
"How much do you need?"
"It's 50 million yen," she said, her voice trembling.
Her heart raced anxiously as she awaited his answer. His response would decide the fate of her mother's life.
"Okay," he replied without any hesitation.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Really? You'll help?" she asked, needing confirmation.
He nodded firmly. She smiled with relief and grabbed his hand before heading immediately to the hospital. Her mother was in critical condition and time was wasting with every passing moment. When they reached the hospital, he paid for everything without question.
The hospital clerk was amazed and stunned. The normal-looking man standing before her had so much money at his disposal.
"Thank you so much. You've spent so much money on us. I promise I'll repay you somehow," she said gratefully.
He shook his head dismissively.
"It's fine, you don't need to repay me," he said sincerely.
Money didn't really matter to him at all. The time he had spent with Misaki had lightened his mood considerably and he was quite happy for the first time in years.
After that particular day, she smiled more than ever before, especially when she was with Sora. Sora, in turn, smiled more often as well, finding joy in her presence. Suddenly, he got an unexpected call on his phone.
He picked it up.
"Is this Sora?" the person on the other side asked.
"Yes, this is he," he answered.
"I'm happy to say you were misdiagnosed. You don't actually have cancer," the doctor said with relief in his voice.
Sora's eyes widened in shock. He didn't know what to think or how to process this information. He had already written his will and left everything to Misaki and the two kids, prepared for the end.
He gulped nervously, swallowing hard as a powerful feeling of hope suddenly ignited deep within his heart. After he finished the lengthy conversation with the doctor, he carefully put the phone down on the table.
He immediately rented Misaki and the children again for another outing. He had already done extensive research on them and their background.
The two children were orphans who had been living in the system, and Misaki was a 31-year-old woman who was struggling with the burden of caring for her sick mother.
She was stunningly beautiful, but her difficult situation and complicated circumstances tended to ward off most men who might have been interested in her. That didn't matter to him in the slightest.
Once they met up together, he brought them directly to a huge shopping mall in the city. He wanted to buy them absolutely everything they could possibly want or need. He was going to use every last penny he had if he could.
But things didn't go according to his plan.
BOOM
A huge and devastating explosion sent the whole mall into roaring flames and chaos. Everyone fled in panic as thick smoke and raging fire swept rapidly across the building. Sora immediately grabbed the two children tightly and ran as fast as he could.
He made absolutely sure that Misaki was right behind him as they ran. Suddenly, the sharp sound of gunshots rang out loudly through the mall. He felt a searing pain shoot through his back.
He turned around quickly and saw Misaki falling hard to the ground. His eyes widened in absolute shock and horror. Seeing the culprit standing there with a gun in his hand, he gritted his teeth in determination and continued running to get the kids to safety.
Reaching outside the building, he carefully handed the frightened kids over to the waiting cops. He then forcefully took a gun from one of the cops standing nearby and immediately ran back inside the burning building.
"Wait, stop! Don't go back in there!" the cop shouted after him desperately.
He completely ignored the urgent warning and ran back inside the dangerous building, gun firmly in hand. Returning quickly to where he'd been before, he saw Misaki lying on the ground bleeding heavily.
He ran frantically to her side and immediately checked her vitals with trembling hands. He breathed heavily and raggedly as he carefully took her weakening body into his arms.
"Misaki," he called out desperately to her.
"Sora," she replied in a weak and fading voice.
"It's going to be okay, I promise. You're going to be fine," he said, trying desperately to comfort her even as fear gripped his heart.
She looked up at him with dimming eyes, blood dripping slowly from the corner of her mouth. She breathed weakly and struggled to speak.
"Well, since I'm going to die anyway, I might as well tell you something important," she said weakly, her voice barely above a whisper.
His eyes shook with emotion and tears threatened to fall.
"I like you. I really do. Though we've only known each other for a little over a week, you were the nicest and kindest person I've ever met in my entire life." She smiled through her pain, tears falling freely down her cheeks.
His whole body shook uncontrollably with grief.
"That's—no, please don't say that," he muttered desperately, refusing to accept what was happening.
Her body slowly started to lose all the vital signs of life. He held her even tighter in his arms, as if he could keep her alive through sheer will. He had just found love for the first time and was already about to lose it forever.
He suddenly heard approaching footsteps in front of him. He looked up through his tears and realized with horror that it was the same man from before, the same cruel grin plastered across his face.
In that single moment, an indescribable fury that he had never felt before in his entire life began to consume him completely. He slowly and carefully put Misaki's body down on the ground and stood up to face his enemy.
The man moved quickly and was about to shoot directly at Sora, but he severely underestimated Sora's capability and combat training.
Sora quickly hit a crucial weak point on the guy's arm with precision and made him drop the gun to the floor. He then threw a powerful punch right at the man's jaw, which caused his head to spin violently.
In that brief time, Sora systematically attacked multiple weak spots with deadly efficiency: the throat, which caused it to close in on itself and restrict airflow; the liver and spleen, which ruptured the vital organs internally; the nape, which disconnected the spinal cord completely; and finally the temple to end it all.
He watched coldly as the man fell heavily to the ground, completely dead. This entire sequence took only a matter of seconds, but it was more than enough time. Sora then returned slowly to Misaki's side and lay down gently next to her.
He looked down at his own chest and noticed there were three bullet wounds bleeding profusely. Though he would have been able to survive if he had gotten immediate medical attention, it was already far too late for that now.
He lay there quietly, just looking at her peaceful face. A strange calmness he had never felt before in his life washed over him completely. He smiled genuinely. This life was finally over at last.
Slowly and gradually, the light in his eyes dimmed and faded, and his life ended peacefully.
In the Afterlife
His eyes suddenly reopened in a new place.
"Where am I? What is this place?" he muttered in confusion.
He looked around carefully, only to see pure white—nothing but endless white in every direction. He looked at himself and realized he was in an almost spectral, translucent form.
"Sora? Is that really you?" someone asked from beside him.
His eyes widened in complete shock as he turned around quickly.
"Misaki," he muttered in disbelief.
Before they could continue their emotional conversation, someone spoke clearly.
"Misaki and Sora," they said authoritatively.
Sora and Misaki both turned immediately to the mysterious source of the voice.
"Misaki will enter the cycle of reincarnation. Sora will enter another world entirely."
He instinctively grabbed Misaki's hand tightly. They had just been reunited and would already be separated once again.
The mysterious person turned to face them directly.
"I want to stay with Sora. Please," she said pleadingly.
The person paused thoughtfully at her words, then turned to look at Sora.
"It is possible for you to stay together, but you will lose your system completely," he said seriously.
"System? I don't care about any system," Sora said without hesitation.
"Are you absolutely sure? You can even become a god with this system," he tempted, testing Sora's resolve.
"I don't care about that at all," he repeated firmly.
The mysterious person laughed heartily.
"You're quite interesting. But that still isn't enough of a sacrifice. You will also lose some of your special gifts," he added seriously.
"That's perfectly fine with me," he said decisively.
"Haha, so be it then. The gift of copy has been permanently removed. Perfect chakra control has been permanently removed," he said, then snapped his fingers decisively.
Sora and Misaki disappeared together in a brilliant bright light.
"Erik, it seems the gifts you gave him have been used, but not for the original purpose you chose," the man laughed knowingly.