I drove back home, the car stopping in front of the house.
I stepped out slowly, my head pounding with pain.
I walked to the door, my breath heavy.
I unlocked it, entered, and dragged myself to the bathroom.
I needed to wash away this dust.
I stripped off my clothes, standing before the sink.
The water poured down on my face—
but I couldn't feel it.
Had my body dried up?
Or was it that nothing remained in me but pain?
I turned my eyes toward the mirror.
And froze.
My body… it had changed. So much.
I leaned closer, staring at my hand.
It trembled, but it pulsed with something unknown.
> "This hand… what is it capable of?
Is this power… only flesh and bone? Or something darker?"
The only relief—
my eyes had returned to their natural state.
I left the bathroom, heading to my room.
To speak with my solitude.
> "How will I ever find him?
Ah… my head hurts from thinking."
I looked at my phone… then set it aside.
Changed my clothes.
And stepped out into the night.
---
> "Why… do I feel nothing in my heart?
Why… does my chest feel like a barren desert, cracked with time?"
Every day passed emptier than the last.
I watched people around me—
moving, laughing, living.
> "Are they truly human?
Each one of them carries sins, yet they smile, they prosper…
But me?
What sin chained me to this hell?"
Tears fell down my face.
> "Are these tears… the last trace of my humanity?"
… Silence.
The world around me stopped.
The dark street stared back at me.
I lowered my head, still.
My face—pale, drained of life.
My fingers trembled.
Not from the cold… but from the fire burning in my veins.
Then, a whisper tore out of my broken chest:
> "I did not die…
I was buried alive, bleeding hatred."
Silence returned—
heavy, suffocating, as if the world itself held its breath.
Then… a sound.
Thin. Faint. Inhuman.
It was as if the earth whispered beneath my feet:
> "They took everything from you…
So take everything from them.
Let them die slowly."
My heart quivered—
not from fear…
but because something within me had awakened.
I raised my head…
and no humanity remained in my eyes.
Only one thing.
> A shadow waiting for vengeance.
---
I wandered without aim… until I found myself in the old city park.
I sat on a bench, my head bowed.
> "That voice…
Was it really me?
Was it my rage speaking?
Was it my soul begging for vengeance?
Or… am I only afraid of killing?"
I sat there—uncertain, trembling.
> "Who am I?
What do they believe in?
What do I believe in?"
Time passed.
Night fell.
I drifted to a cheap tavern nearby—
a place where people drowned themselves in false joy.
I sat at a table.
The bartender approached.
> "Sir, what's your order?"
I stared at him blankly.
> "Ah… anything."
He looked at me with contempt.
A glance sharp enough to judge me.
> "If you can't pay, then leave."
I clenched my teeth.
> "What…?
Do you think I'm broke because of my clothes?
Don't test me."
He smirked faintly.
> "As you wish."
He turned to leave.
> "Wait."
My voice cut through the air.
> "Bring me your most expensive drink.
And make sure someone worthy of me serves it."
The bartender's eyes narrowed.
He stared at me, irritation boiling in his face.
> "Fine."
And then, he disappeared into the back.