"Ren, come and have your breakfast!"
"I'll be there soon Mom!" I got up, put on my slippers, and jolted down the stairs, breathing in the delicious aroma.
"Jesus Ren, you need to lose some weight and hit the gym!"
"Don't worry Mom, I'll be fine," I replied, chuckling. She always cared for me; and although the constant nagging from her was annoying, I knew she meant well.
"That aside, come and eat; the food's gonna get cold", She chided. I nodded, making my way to the table.
"So, how's school?" Mom asked, looking up at me.
"So-so, can't say it's been good but it's fine," I replied nonchalantly, directing my gaze to the floor.
"Ren, I raised and know you better than anyone else; I know you avert your eyes when you're lying. Tell me, what's wrong?"
"Nothing Mom, I'm fine. It's just that the other kids at school have phones while I don't."
This time my eyes were locked onto hers.
"I see. Well, you need to appreciate what you have, young man. Life is already hard enough as it is; we can't afford a phone. We've been over this before."
"Fine! I get it." I yell, my expression turning sour. Suddenly, Mom got up, heading to her room. I know I'd upset her again. The floor creaked with every step she took.
"Mom, where are you going? You haven't finished eating yet."
"Eat the rest Ren, I'm not hungry anymore."
"Alright then."
After finishing my breakfast, I stand up and head to my room. On the way, I noticed little wet spots on the stained wooden floor leading to my Mom's room. I ignored them as usual and continued to my room.
When I arrived, I shut the door and leaned against it and I felt my chest get lighter; all my stress disappeared, the weight ascending off my shoulders. This was my sanctuary; away from everything else. Although it wasn't much to look at, for me, it was my personal space; a space where I can be myself. No one apart from my Mom was allowed to go in, not that anyone else was willing to. Inside my sanctuary, I'd often wish that I was born with a better life; one that wasn't as messed up as mine.
With my Father gone, my Mom fell into depression; I was the only reason she wanted to live. I love my Mom, but at the same time, I hate her. Falling in love with someone that was up to no good whilst leaving us with a huge debt was the reason why we were like this. Adding on to that, my life outside my home was more or less the same. I was at the bottom of the social ladder; someone that didn't 'deserve' to be a human.
Sentient beings, like the human race, were able to adapt and evolve, hence giving us an edge. This, however, was a curse in the guise of a blessing; our talent was a double-edged sword. With power comes great responsibility, but having too much of the former disrupted the balance. Instead of responsibility, it was replaced with greed which in turn turned to corruption. This led us to how everyone's life turned upside down. In the year 3020, all the resources were sucked dry, to the point where only 6 of the most influential countries were able to survive. The countries were called Geno, Xeno, Gorno, Torno, Lilo, and Rilo. Geno and Xeno were the strongest whereas Lilo and Rilo were the weakest. Gorno and Torno were in the middle, combining their forces to keep Geno and Xeno in place, hence maintaining an unsteady balance. My Mom and I used to live in Geno, but ever since she met 'him', our lives abruptly changed. It went from us having a bad life, to have no life at all. Then, a few years later, a massive breakthrough in technology took place, allowing humans to further enhance their bodies. With the breakthrough at hand, each individual was able to awaken a 'Soul', giving them unique powers based on their traits and bloodline. Each soul was determined by levels, starting from 1 to 12, 1 being the weakest whereas the latter was considered the strongest. Each level resulted from a huge increment in the souls' ability, hence making gaps between levels wider. Adding on to that, souls were able to level up but each level up would get increasingly harder based on the potential of their bloodline, whereas the traits would determine what kind of soul the user would inherit. Bloodlines were graded from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best and vice versa. Bloodlines were usually dormant but due to the help of science, it was able to be discovered and awakened. Although this suggested a new theory.
This started a new age for humanity; a hierarchy system was built. Those with useless souls were treated like slaves and were labeled as Akuma, whereas those with souls above level 4 were treated with respect. As for my Mom, she awakened a soul with a level 1 and as soon as news of it got out, all of our friends and relatives disposed of us, mostly because they didn't want to be implicated by the collateral damage her mere presence would cause. As for me, I wasn't faring any better. I couldn't awaken a soul, making me worse than an Akuma. Maybe because my Mother awakened a low-level soul made my bloodline worse or reality was just cruel, either way, it wouldn't have changed the fact that my life was meaningless.
My train of thought was interrupted by the footsteps coming closer to my room; each step was accompanied by the wood creaking. The door burst open and a small figure came in. Contrary to what she was expecting, what greeted her instead was a sight of me with my hands under the blanket right where my two balls of hope met with the Excalibur.
"Ah, Ren...I guess I'll come back later" My Mom murmured with a smirk plastered on her face.
"NO WAIT, this is a misunderstanding!" I yelled, but the silence was the only answer I got back. "Fuck, I spaced out too much, I forgot that I still had an itch around my balls," I thought out loud. "Why must the timing be so immaculate?"