Wan sat in the dim light of his room, the flickering glow of his computer screen illuminating his pale face. Outside, the world bustled with life—children played in the streets, laughter echoed through the neighbourhood, and the sun glowed warmly over the trees. But for Wan, the vibrant sounds felt like a distant echo, a cruel reminder of the normalcy he could never embrace. Inside, he was a tempest, a swirling vortex of emotions he couldn't control, tainted by a darkness that had taken root long ago.

From a young age, Wan had been different. While other children drew pictures of rainbows and puppies, his sketches were filled with grotesque creatures and unsettling scenes that sent shivers down the spines of anyone who dared to peek. At first, his parents brushed it off as a phase, a reflection of his vivid imagination. But as he grew older, his artistic expression morphed into something far more sinister.

Wan first felt the rush of power coursing through his veins when he discovered a tiny, abandoned kitten in a cardboard box behind the grocery store. It mewed softly, its fragile body trembling in the cold. As he cradled it in his hands, excitement pulsed within him. In that moment, he felt alive, as if the kitten's innocent life was a canvas waiting for his brush.

But his actions soon spiralled into a dark obsession. The thrill of control became intoxicating, and before long, the innocent creature was gone—its life extinguished by his own hands. In his young mind, he justified it as a necessary act to rid the world of what he deemed weak. The sensation of its small heart slowing to a halt was a secret he locked away deep within the recesses of his mind.

When the whispers of what he had done began to spread through the playground, he became an outcast. Children turned their backs on him, their laughter replaced by harsh taunts. "Freak!" they called him, their voices sharp like daggers. "Monster!" Those words stung deeper than any physical blow. The bullying became relentless, leaving him isolated in a world that no longer felt safe.

Initially oblivious to the whispers of their son's actions, his parents eventually caught wind of the rumours. The disappointment in their eyes shattered him more than any insult ever could. They confronted him, their voices trembling with anger and fear. "What's wrong with you, Wan?" his mother cried, her hands wringing together. "How could you do such a thing?"

"I didn't mean to," he pleaded, his voice cracking. "It was just a mistake!"

But they couldn't see beyond the horror of his actions. His father's face twisted in disgust like Wan was a monster born from darkness. "You need help," he said, a finality in his voice that made it clear they had already decided his fate. "We can't have you here."

That was when his world shattered, the moment he understood that he was forever an outsider, a pariah in his own home. Disowned by the people supposed to love him unconditionally, Wan felt the weight of despair settle heavily on his shoulders. The darkness that had taken root within him blossomed, intertwining with the remnants of his shattered innocence.

At school, the torment escalated. He became the subject of endless ridicule, the target of his peers' cruelty. They called him names, shoved him in the halls, and spread vicious rumours that haunted him like shadows in the night. The whispers followed him everywhere, an unrelenting chorus of hatred. "Look, it's the kitten killer!" they'd shout, their laughter ringing in his ears, a cruel symphony of his undoing.

Despite the pain, Wan was brilliant. His intelligence test revealed an IQ of 210, a number that marked him as a genius. But his intellect felt like a curse, a cruel joke that further separated him from the world around him. He could easily solve complex equations and dissect literature, but the abyss within him was too vast, too consuming for logic to penetrate.

Teachers praised him for his intelligence, unaware of the turmoil beneath the surface. They never saw the boy who sat alone at lunch, who found solace in the company of his own dark thoughts. They didn't understand that the shadows of his mind overshadowed his brilliance.

At night, the darkness grew louder. In the solitude of his room, Wan would lie awake, haunted by the images of his past. The faces of the kittens and puppies he had harmed flashed before him, a relentless reminder of the monster he had become. Sleep eluded him, replaced by the ever-present whisper of despair that echoed through the silence.

He felt a strange kinship with the darkness in those moments of isolation. It was both a refuge and a prison, a place where he could explore the depths of his own mind without judgment. He would sit in the stillness, contemplating the nature of his existence. Was he truly a monster, or was he simply a product of his pain?

But even in his darkest moments, there was a flicker of rebellion, a yearning for something more. He refused to let the world define him, to be reduced to the label of "freak" that had been thrust upon him. In his mind, a plan began to form, a twisted desire to escape the torment that had become his reality.

As he stared at the reflection in his bedroom mirror, the boy who gazed back at him was a stranger—a visage of sadness mixed with an unsettling glint of darkness. He could feel the sinister pull within, urging him to embrace the chaos, to unleash the monster that lay dormant beneath the surface. The darkness whispered promises of power and liberation, tempting him with the idea of becoming the architect of his own fate.

At that moment, Wan made a choice. He would no longer be a victim of circumstance, a passive observer in a world that shunned him. If he were to be a monster, he would be one on his terms. He would embrace the shadows, harness the darkness that flowed through his veins, and find a way to unleash it upon the world.

Little did he know that this choice would lead him down a path of unimaginable horror, awakening a force within him that would forever alter the course of his life. The hell that lay ahead was not a consequence of his actions but a reflection of the chaos that had always dwelled within. And soon, he would discover that the darkness he embraced had a will of its own, ready to take control and plunge him into a nightmare beyond his wildest imagination.