The pain didn't come immediately—it hit after the boy's shirt was soaked in blood. That was when he felt a sharp agony piercing through him.
—What the hell? Who…?
The boy turned, almost by reflex, and locked eyes with his attacker. For a brief moment, he wondered if his eyes were deceiving him.
—You?
He couldn't finish the sentence before his attacker shoved him. The push wasn't strong, but the disorientation from the wound was enough to make him fall, driving the sharp object even deeper into his back.
—Shut up! Don't resist —the attacker growled, his voice hoarse.
"What's happening? Damn son of a bitch!"
The boy was confused. The one killing him was just a homeless man—a homeless man he had saved from a group of thugs.
A twisted smile formed on the man's face as he started patting the boy down. It was clear now: he had been stabbed over a few bills and an old phone.
"It would've been easy to fight back… but I'm too tired. This isn't the first time I've been betrayed, not the first time life punished me for doing what's 'right.' I'm too tired to accept anything but death."
He knew the ambulance wouldn't arrive in time; his death would likely be slow. But he didn't care.
"No… not this time."
A frantic emotion surged through him—he was done.
"Sorry, mom… I won't be able to keep my promise."
His leg tensed. Before the homeless man could react, his knee struck the man's leg, bending it almost unnaturally. A scream escaped the vagrant's mouth—a surprisingly satisfying sound.
The homeless man fell, and with a swift motion, the boy jumped on top of him. The adrenaline erased the pain, giving him the strength to punch the man's face with fury. Soon, the screams stopped.
"So many times I've been humiliated, so many times I forgave, kept moving forward, doing the 'right thing,' only to end up like this… almost as if fate itself is teaching me a lesson."
His vision started to blur. "Have I lost that much blood already?"
—HAHAHAHA! —A euphoric yet broken laugh burst from his throat; it was the first time he had ever felt like this.
"Fuck… it feels so good. If only I'd hit the ones who actually deserved it back then, I wouldn't be here now."
The boy sighed; it was too late for revenge. "All I can do now is savor the punches I gave that bastard."
"Maybe the old me would've forgiven him, lying to myself that he'd had a hard life… but that seems so stupid now. I was homeless once too—but I fought my way out of it."
"This must be the end. I guess I'm going to hell now for beating that filthy man… frustrating. If only I hadn't held back before, if only… I had another chance, I swear I wouldn't let anyone step on me again."
[Compatible Host Detected: *** shows mercy]
A metallic voice echoed in his mind; maybe it was a hallucination from the blood loss.
[Would you trample others to survive?]
Yes/No
The boy didn't understand what was happening, but even if it wasn't real, he wouldn't waste the chance.
"With pleasure…"
Darkness grew heavier as cold death claimed his soul. This was it—he knew it.
"In the end, no matter what you do, luck always has the final word."
[Notification: You have awakened the Chaos Demon God System – Chaos Record]
But sometimes, it's fate that twists instead.
[You have been chosen as Demon King]
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
It was a strange sensation. "Like being surrounded by a massive body of cold water—too cold." And yet, the calm floating through it was almost soothing.
"For the first time in a long while, I feel a peaceful stillness… maybe this is what death feels like—a cold sense of serenity, like an eternal dream." Still, something felt off.
[Urgent Mission: Leave the water and survive.]
[Reward: Memories of ***** – Mirror of Vanity]
A robotic voice echoed in his head, followed by a sudden rush of euphoria. The boy's heartbeat skyrocketed, as if a jolt of pure adrenaline had shot through him.
His eyes snapped open. The water was clear enough to see through. "It's like waking up abruptly from a dream, without time to react." Survival instinct kicked in, forcing him to thrash his arms and legs desperately.
His faint groan did nothing, so as soon as he regained some control, he swam with all his might toward the surface.
The current was weak, making it comparatively easy to reach the shore. The boy crawled out, exhausted. The shore was covered in rocks, but he didn't have the luxury to complain.
As soon as he escaped that watery hell, he collapsed onto the ground, utterly spent. Coughing instinctively, he expelled the water from his lungs, replacing it with fresh air. Each gasp felt like touching heaven.
But the relief didn't last long. Once his brain deactivated survival mode, hell took over. "My lungs… they're on fire…" First, his lungs burned inside his chest; then came the freezing cold, biting into his bones.
A light shiver took over his body as he curled up. "My fingers… my nose… they're freezing… but I can barely feel them anymore." The cold was brutal, but exhaustion was stronger.
Everything started to blur again; his eyelids grew unbearably heavy. "I know this feeling… the sweet embrace of death." He had felt it once before.
Then, before losing consciousness, a voice became audible. It was distant at first but grew closer. The language was indecipherable at first, yet somehow, the words started to feel familiar. Before he could understand them fully, his consciousness faded away.