Cherreads

My Descent To Insanity

Arthur_nightshade
7
chs / week
The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 7 chs / week.
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Synopsis
Lucas was born forgotten. Bullied, abandoned, and drowning in quiet pain, his world finally shattered the day his mother died. With no reason left to live, he walked into the sea to end it all… but the universe had other plans. Dragged from death by a strange, godlike cat, Lucas is thrust into a twisted divine trial: suffer through the sins of humanity — not as witness, but as victim. Each torment he endures chips away at his sanity, and with every memory that breaks, the promise of a single wish shines brighter. But how far can a boy go into darkness before he forgets why he ever wanted the light?
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Chapter 1 - The Sound of Nothing

Lucas didn't talk at school.

He had learned not to.

When he was nine, he made the mistake of trying to make a friend — a quiet boy named Eli who used to sit beside him. Lucas had shared his lunch with him. Walked home with him. Trusted him.

A week later, Eli stood in the middle of the cafeteria laughing with the same kids who used to shove him into lockers, pointing at Lucas and mimicking the stutter he had been trying to hide.

That day, Lucas learned the cost of kindness.

Since then, he kept to himself. Walked alone. Ate alone. Breathed alone.

The school hallway was loud. Kids laughed in groups, loud footsteps echoed, lockers slammed shut, and phones buzzed. But Lucas walked through it all like a ghost.

He kept his eyes down, his hands in his pockets, his hoodie up. That was the rule. Don't look. Don't speak. Don't exist.

It didn't always work.

"Hey, deadboy."

A voice cut through the noise too familiar.

Lucas's jaw clenched. He didn't stop walking.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, freak."

A shove came hard from behind. He hit the lockers, his books scattering across the floor. Laughter followed.

Three boys. Same ones as always. Rich. Loud. Bored.

 "Aw, did your bitch ass mom forget to pack your lunch again?"

Lucas didn't speak. He crouched, picked up his books slowly.

One of them kicked his notebook down the hall.

Another bent close and whispered, "Why don't you just disappear for good, huh?"

Lucas's hands trembled not from fear, but exhaustion. From how normal this was.

By lunch, the bruises didn't matter. The silence did.

He sat under the broken stairs behind the gym. No one came here. That's why he liked it. He ate dry bread and water from a reused bottle. His mother had packed it with a sticky note folded inside.

He opened it.

 "You're stronger than you think, my moonlight. Love, Mom."

His throat tightened.

She always left notes. Even when she worked double shifts. Even when she hadn't slept.

Even when they had no food.

By the end of the day, Lucas was soaked. Rain hit hard as he walked the long path home. He didn't run no point. The holes in his shoes let water in anyway.

When he reached the building, he noticed something strange.

The lights were off.

And her shoes weren't at the door.

He blinked. Maybe she was late. Maybe she forgot something.

He sat. Waited. An hour passed.

Then his phone buzzed.

Unknown Caller

"Are you Lucas Gray?"

"...Yeah."

"This is Mercy Hospital. I'm so sorry, but… there's been an accident."

He didn't understand the next few words. Something about a car. About rain. About a drunk driver. About immediate impact. About no pain.

His ears buzzed. The world blurred.

His body moved without thought. Out the door. Down the street. Through rain, through red lights, through traffic.

The hospital was too white.

He followed a nurse who didn't make eye contact. Down a hall. Through a door.

The room smelled like blood and something sterile.

There, under a white sheet… was everything he ever had.

He didn't cry. Not right away.

He touched her hand. It was cold.

His mother.

His only lifeline in this choking world… was gone.

He walked home in silence.

The apartment was darker than before.

He sat on the couch. Looked at the spot where she always sat with her tea. Looked at the old photo of them at the fair — the only one they had.

He sat there until night swallowed everything.

Then he stood up.

He didn't leave a note.

There was no one to read it.

He walked through the city. Past cars. Past strangers. All of them alive. All of them moving forward like his world hadn't just ended.

He made it to the sea.

It was cold. Loud. Honest.

He stepped onto the jagged rocks, wind tearing through him.

He looked up at the sky and whispered:

> "Why?"

> "Why me?"

> "Why her?"

"Was this some kind of punishment?"

"Do you enjoy watching me suffer?"

"God… if you're real… then you're cruel."

He stepped forward.

The water took him without resistance.

It was freezing. His chest burned. His limbs grew heavy.

Lucas let go.

The sound of the waves swallowed him — and for a moment, there was peace.

Until something grabbed him.

A claw. Sharp. Furry. Pulling him upward.

He gasped, choking out saltwater, and slammed onto stone — not sand. Not sea.

Stone.

He coughed violently and looked up and froze.

A massive cat stood before him. Midnight black fur. Eyes like swirling galaxies. Its tail flicked lazily, like it had been waiting.

 it said in a deep, amused voice. "Well,That was dramatic."

Lucas stared, shaking. "What… what are you…?"

"Me?" the cat grinned. "A humble guide. And a fan, really. You gave a very moving performance back there."

Lucas crawled back. "Am I… dead?"

 "Not yet."

"Though you tried awfully hard."

 "Now get up. The Goddess would like a word."

Behind the cat, the air shimmered a golden and violet portal opening like a giant eye.

 "She heard your cries, boy. And she's very curious."