The muddy ground hindered Bosko's movement as he struggled to carry the boy, his small legs splashing through the thick muck. Still, the loyal dog pushed forward, determined to get the boy far from the village.
Back at the village, Kit Mi Kai's father felt a brief moment of relief. His son was safe, far from harm—for now. But his distraction proved costly. In that instant, the bandit leader, filled with raging flames, burst free from the crumbling stone trap.
"Remember this name, even in the afterlife—Barukaka! It is I who killed you!" Barukaka snarled, his flames no longer yellow but an eerie, burning blue. With one swift motion, he swept his left arm—engulfed in searing blue fire—across Kit Mi Kai's father's neck. The blade of fire severed his head clean from his body.
Barukaka gripped the lifeless head by its beard, holding it aloft. "Look!" he taunted, turning the head toward his henchmen who were already in pursuit of the boy. "Your son won't be far behind. His death certificate is signed, sealed, and delivered by me."
In his final moments of consciousness, Kit Mi Kai's father mouthed a silent prayer, *May our god watch over you, my son*. His lips moved, but no sound escaped.
Barukaka hurled the severed head toward the remaining villagers, who were being rounded up and shoved into a hut by the bandits. "Get them all inside!" he ordered.
"Yes, leader!" the bandits replied in unison, dragging Kit Mi Kai's mother, Miarra, into the hut with the other survivors.
The head of her husband rolled across the floor, coming to rest on Miarra's lap. As her trembling fingers brushed against the familiar texture of his beard, she froze. Slowly, her gaze dropped, only to see the lifeless eyes of her husband staring back at her.
"AAAAHH! NOOOO!" Miarra's scream pierced the air, her voice rising in desperation. "My husband! My son—where is my son?!"
As her cries echoed through the hut, Barukaka set his hands ablaze, unleashing a torrent of blue flames that engulfed the structure.
The villagers' screams merged into one horrible, agonizing chorus as the fire consumed them.
Miarra's last cry was her son's name—"Kit Mi Kai!"—before the flames swallowed her whole.
In the distant rain-soaked fields,. Kit Mi Kai, felt his mother's scream reverberate through his chest like a physical blow. The boy turned, his eyes wide with terror, toward the village.
A sharp, stabbing pain shot through his heart. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut—his parents were gone. Both of them. Forever.
He began to struggle, writhing in Bosko's grip. The dog, startled by the boy's sudden movements, lost balance. They tumbled together into the mud, rolling to a stop. Mud caked Bosko's eyes, and he shook his head furiously, trying to clear his vision.
When the dog finally opened his eyes, he saw something that made his heart stop. Kit Mi Kai was no longer the helpless boy he had been carrying. The child stood menacingly, gripping the piece of cloth that had once tied his mother's hair. His eyes glowed with a fierce, unnatural red, and the air around him seemed to darken.
Behind him, twenty bandits closed in, their weapons drawn.
Bosko, sensing the danger, darted toward the normal forest in a panic. Without looking back, the dog sprinted, disappearing into the thick undergrowth.
Left behind, Kit Mi Kai stood in the rain, his body trembling with fury. "How... how... how dare you!" His voice, filled with a mixture of rage and despair, cracked in the air.
His fists balled up tightly, and he began punching his own left cheek, over and over, until blood trickled from his nose. His fingers clawed at the side of his face, leaving deep, bleeding scratches across his eye, which now glowed with a crimson light.
The bandits drew closer, their laughter filling the air.
But the ground beneath them began to tremble. The earth itself seemed to resonate with the boy's raw, unfiltered rage.
"Come!" Kit Mi Kai shouted, his voice booming as the trembling ground responded. With a violent rumble, the earth split open, creating a massive crack beneath the feet of the approaching bandits.
"What the—!" one of them yelled, but it was too late. The bandits screamed in terror as they fell into the abyss.
Not satisfied, Kit Mi Kai's bloodied hands clenched, and the crack deepened. The earth shifted again, forming jagged spikes at the bottom of the pit. The bandits' terrified screams filled the air as they were impaled by the earth itself.
"Monster!" one of the bandits gasped, his chest impaled by a spike, looking up at the silhouette of the boy standing above him. Kit Mi Kai's silhouette was shrouded in darkness, his eyes glowing with a murderous red light. The killing intent that radiated from him was suffocating, and the remaining bandits, if any survived, would forever remember the terror of that moment.
The atmosphere grows darker, and the celestial shift signals a profound change as Kit Mi Kai stands in the center of the chaos. The sun is swallowed by the moon, casting eerie shadows over the battlefield. Strange, disembodied whispers fill the air, echoing around him, "His descendant... his descendant... his descendant..."
Kit Mi Kai's heart pounds as the voices circle him, but no gods reveal themselves. Suddenly, a sharp crack tears through the fabric of reality—a portal, glowing with an ominous purple hue, rips open to his left.
Emerging from the portal is something grotesque, something beyond Kit Mi Kai's comprehension—a monstrous being. The creature's lower half is that of a horse, four legs moving in eerie precision, while its upper body resembles a woman, though far from human. Where its arms should be, only stumps remain, as if the limbs had been violently removed. Black ooze drips from its gaping mouth, eyes, and ears, and its long, slick black hair cascades down, partially covering its exposed breasts. The minotaur-like being is gagged, its mouth bound by chains that lead to the figure riding on its back.
The rider, draped in dark, glistening armor adorned with the blood-red insignia of the God of Destruction, tugs at the chains, keeping the creature in check. Its presence is suffocating, oppressive, as it approaches the boy with heavy, deliberate steps.
Twelve steps. The minotaur halts, looming just behind Kit Mi Kai, its massive, hulking frame casting a long shadow over the boy. Slowly, the creature lowers itself, its massive, tortured form bending to meet the boy's eye level. Kit Mi Kai doesn't flinch—he's lost in a storm of grief and rage, barely registering what is happening.
Then, in the silence, a voice enters his mind, fragile and soft: *"Help me..."*
Kit Mi Kai shudders. He blinks, his mind struggling to make sense of it all. He turns his head slowly, eyes widening as he takes in the ghastly creature. But it feels distant, like a dream—or a nightmare. The boy's thoughts remain rooted in the loss of his parents, the shock too fresh for anything else to seem real.
The rider, sensing the telepathic link between his mount and the boy, yanks hard on the chains. The minotaur straightens up, its tired, vacant eyes staring forward as the rider draws his sword—a massive, glinting blade etched with ancient runes.
He holds the sword out, pointing it toward Kit Mi Kai. The air feels heavier, as though even the sky is waiting, holding its breath.
Without a word, the rider raises the sword higher, preparing to strike. His eyes—cold and merciless—lock onto Kit Mi Kai's, and for a moment, time stands still. Then, with a swift motion, the rider swings the blade downward, but instead of striking the boy, the sword tears open another portal.
From this smaller, swirling vortex, a monstrous arm extends. Long, clawed fingers stretch out from the portal, the nails jagged and blackened. The scrawny, deformed arm hovers in front of Kit Mi Kai, its open palm waiting beneath the boy as if inviting him to take its offer.
Kit Mi Kai stares, confused, but as he watches, glowing letters begin to appear in the air before him, shimmering just above the hand.
**NOTICE**
- *The God of Destruction has noticed you*
- **NAME**: Kit Mi Kai
- **LEVEL**: Mortal
- **MISSION**: Destroy a world
- **REWARD**: Immortality (immune to all attacks, can overcome death)
A choice flashes at the bottom of the notice:
- **YES**
- **NO**
Kit Mi Kai's mind reels. The weight of everything—his parents' deaths, the destruction of his village, the betrayal of the world around him—crashes down. The once innocent boy is consumed by the darkness within, a maelstrom of rage and sorrow bubbling over. And somehow, despite never having learned to read, he understands the words.
He stares at the notification, then at the monstrous hand. The choice is clear.
"If my mother and father do not exist in this world..." Kit Mi Kai whispers, his voice trembling, "...then why should this world exist?"
Without hesitation, his hand rises. Slowly, almost agonizingly, he presses **YES**