(Theme: A New Beginning in Flames)
Sunlight dripped through ancient leaves, dappling timber huts like scattered coins. Deep Forest Village breathed softly. Farmers bent to soil, weavers spun threads of quiet lives, voices murmured like the stream's constant song. By its banks, a family picnicked. Mother, Father. And me. Young Kaito.
Deep within a secluded forest, an underpopulated society thrived…
We laughed. Juicy berries burst on my tongue, sweet as the moment. Mother's smile was warm. Father's hand ruffled my hair.
We were happy. Or so I thought.
Then, a shift. A shadow crossing the sun. Behind cupped hands, their whispers cut the air like cold blades. Tense. Afraid. I watched, small and unseen.
"…they're getting closer." Mother's voice, hushed, trembling.
Father's face hardened, stone carved by dread. "We'll protect him."
Protect me? From what? The question died unasked. Memory tore open.
Fire.
It ate our home. Hungry tongues licking timber, painting the night orange and black. Shadow figures, sharp-edged and cruel, dragged my screaming parents away. Their cries shredded the air—CRACKLE-SCREAM!—melding with the fire's roar.
I was five when the epistemology of loss struck.
I hid. Curled under splintered furniture, eyes wide, breath trapped in my throat. Terror was a living thing, coiling in my chest.
Then… nothing. Not darkness. Worse.
White.
An endless, sterile void. No door. No window. Just suffocating, mind-gnawing white. I huddled in a corner, knees drawn tight.
Loneliness clawed at me… maddening silence. Days? Weeks? Time dissolved.
I wasn't alone for long. Just broken.
Glass cells. Cold, transparent coffins. Other children. Hollow eyes. Scientists moved like ghosts, needles glinting. HSSS! Glowing serum burned its way into my veins. One kid fought. Fists flailing against the inevitable. Guards descended. Electricity crackled. A strangled cry. Then stillness. I watched. My own fists clenched, nails biting palms.
Escape was useless. The thought echoed. But to kill… that worked.
Teenage desperation. A stolen scalpel, cold and sharp in my grip. A guard's throat opened like a grim flower. SHINK! Warmth sprayed my face. Copper tang filled my mouth.
I ran. Staggering through labyrinthine city alleys, clutching the wound in my side. Pain pulsed with every ragged breath.
I escaped… into homelessness.
Trash bins became treasure chests. Rotten fruit, stale crusts. Then… warmth. Rough fur nudging my hand. A mangy dog, ribs showing, eyes wary but kind. Rusty.
It wasn't too bad… I had him.
Shared bread in a cardboard cave. His happy whimper—WHINE…—a fragile melody against the city's drone. He slept curled against me. A tiny anchor.
Anchors break.
I searched. Desperation clawing my throat raw. "RUSTY!" My scream echoed off uncaring brick. Then… the gutter. Stillness. Mud matting his familiar fur. Lifeless.
I fell. Knees hitting cold concrete.
I should've known nothing lasts.
Cold seeped into my bones on the sidewalk. Curled in on myself. Defeated.
Then, a small finger pointed. A bright, clear voice. "Look, Papa! He's cold!"
Mary. Her eyes wide, not with fear, but concern. Her father looked down. Kindness etched in the lines of his face. A hand extended.
"Come home, son."
Salvation tasted like warm stew. A table. Laughter. Mary beaming, shoving a bowl towards me. "Eat!"
My savior. Because of her, I had a family.
The father placed a heavy book in my hands later. Gray's Anatomy.
"Study hard, Kaito Nejimi."
I wanted to be something of value. Something worthy of this fragile warmth.
I devoured knowledge. By twenty, the accolades came. Kasisen University's hall echoed with applause. Top honors. Diploma in hand. Mary cheered, a burst of sunlight in the crowd. Prodigy. The word felt hollow, yet necessary.
Silica Company Labs. Mary's excitement crackled like static. "This changes everything, Kaito!" We hunched over the ancient fossil. Its stone surface hinted at impossible forms. A relic promising revolution.
The Amazon Excavation Site. Heat. Humidity. The oppressive weight of the jungle. Then… light. Not fire. Pure, annihilating white. Erupting from the fossil's suddenly opened, golden eye. Engulfing the team. Engulfing Mary.
KABOOOOOM!
Until… darkness.
Rubble. Smoke stinging my lungs. Agony in every limb. Crawling. Dragging myself forward.
There. Najemi. Still. Eyes vacant in a pool of crimson.
Why…?
Movement. Mary. Half-buried. Reaching towards me. Her smile was weak, fading like a dying star. Blood painted her lips.
"Kaito… I love you."
Her hand fell. Her body went limp. Cold. The familiar, hated chill of absolute loss.
Laughter bubbled up. Broken, jagged. Blood dripped from my mouth, hot and metallic.
"Haha… why must it always end this way?"
Strength fled. The world tilted. I collapsed. The void above, vast and uncaring, swallowed my sight.
So this is the end. Dream well, Kaito.
Commentator's Note: "Well..that was something. Dramatic, inn it? Dear Readers you can Call me Orion ;)"