Planet Ardh#73—that's what the sky realm dwellings call it. However, most people refer to their home planet as Bastardia. They consider this planet to be the "bastard son of God," reflecting their contempt for the very idea of God's existence.
Despite the melodrama, Bastardia is a place of impressive tech, mind-blowing magic, and absolutely zero moral consistency. There's only one rule everyone agrees on: "The weak have no right to speak about justice." Basically, if you're not strong enough to back up your complaints, the universe politely suggests you shut up and deal with it.
"There's no meaning to life anymore?"
A skinny young man with gray hair mumbles miserably, looking like life just served him a triple combo of bad luck, bullying, betrayal, and a side of humiliation.
His face is a collage of bruises and blood, and his sobbing sounds like a broken wind instrument. Pinned to the ground by someone's foot on his head, his situation is about as dire as a street raccoon caught in a dumpster fire.
"Now you get it, huh?" the bully sneers, his grin so smug it practically qualifies as a hate crime. "Your life's worth nothing here! Even the street dogs are better than you! So why don't you just do everyone a favor and kill yourself?"
Ah, such a Bastardia norm for you today, where the population embraces the concept of suicide like it is part of a daily checklist. Some people do it out of sheer boredom, because apparently, high-tech gadgets and magical powers just aren't enough entertainment. Others, like Irvine Donovan here, are driven to the brink by the world's cruelty, injustice, and general suckiness.
Take Irvine's life for example; born into a poor family, no connections to anyone important, and to top it all off…
"Not even your mom can save you!" Mathias, the bully, announces like he's delivering the evening news. "I'm the son of the Governor of Fracklosk! I can bend the rules just to toy with your worthless life!"
Mathias proceeds to emphasize his point with some good old-fashioned abuse.
Bug!
Bam!
Dsh!
"Please, just kill me already!"
"What? You don't even have the guts to end your own life? No pride at all?"
But the real kicker isn't the beatdown. It's the betrayal that happened earlier this morning.
"Your girlfriend deliberately let us fuck her ass," Mathias crows, throwing salt into an already gaping wound. "And let me tell you, she enjoyed it. Right in front of you! What are you even hanging on for now?"
This, folks, is the part where most people in Bastardia decide to take the express elevator to the afterlife. But Irvine? He's been holding on to hope, clinging to one shred of light in this miserable existence. It's his girlfriend, the only person who made his life feel remotely worthwhile.
Well, that's ancient history now.
"Why?!" Irvine chokes out, his voice trembling with raw pain. "Why did you have to do that to her?"
"You have no reason to be mad at me! It's what she wanted."
"You lie!!!"
Mathias, clearly tired of debating, delivers a knuckle sandwich straight to Irvine's temple, smashing his head against the ground like a bad watermelon at a summer fair.
The crowd around them reacts in predictable Bastardian fashion. The paupers and weaklings avert their eyes, trying to suppress their sympathy. After all, stepping in would only get them added to the punching bag rotation. Meanwhile, the nobles and rich folks treat the whole thing like premium entertainment, laughing and munching on metaphorical popcorn.
A bald man with dirty brown skin, having two horns fused to the tops of his earlobes, throws a liquor bottle to the ground, right near Irvine's face. To humans, he might appear ugly, but this one, named Oogorim, is touted as the most handsome male among the Orcs.
And truth be told…
"Yes! We fucked your girl's ass this morning! So what? I bet you were turned on watching us!" The Orc finishes by spitting on Irvine's face.
"What can he do? He's too weak to begin with," sneers another man named Myriil Gremenor, a male from the mountain elf tribe. He is handsome and charismatic but carries an air of arrogance, as if the universe revolves around him.
Beside the Orc stands a two-headed fat ogre. "I believe you saw how much she enjoyed it," says Kurok, the left head. "It's something you can never give her, I believe" adds Glokork, the right head.
With their two heads, you can only imagine what kind of chaos those mouths can create. Unfortunately for Irvine, he doesn't have to imagine. He witnessed exactly what the two-headed ogre and his three buddies did to his girlfriend.
And that's precisely why he, in a fit of foolishness fueled by heartbreak and zero upper body strength, decided to confront them. Now, though, their words cut deeper than any punch. The memory of his girlfriend enjoying herself way too much with them leaves him too stunned to even cry.
Mathias Burke, ever the king of smug sadists, watches Irvine's defeated expression with the satisfaction of someone who's just won an argument on the internet. And because he lives for dramatic finishes, he decides to escalate things to maximum absurdity.
With zero hesitation and even less shame, Mathias whips out his penis and proceeds to urinate on Irvine's head.
Cuuuurss!
"Be grateful! I'm generous enough to make your worthless existence slightly useful! Even if it's just as my emergency toilet! Grahahaaa!"
You might think a display like this would humiliate the Governor's name, but nope. This is Bastardia. In a world where moral compasses don't exist, Mathias' act of public peeing isn't shameful. It's apparently a flex.
The crowd doesn't recoil in horror. They applaud. Some even lean closer, nodding approvingly at his size.
After draining his bladder and basking in his newfound fanbase, Mathias zips up with a flourish and struts away like he just won an award. He even pauses to pose for selfies with a group of overly enthusiastic girls, flashing a grin like he's some kind of rockstar.
"Make sure to find a quiet place to die, so as not to burden your family!" he calls back to Irvine over his shoulder.
Now thoroughly soaked, humiliated, and emotionally wrecked, Irvine seriously considers taking Mathias's advice. Suicide is starting to sound like the only logical option. But he knows the rules. And so, with nothing left to lose, he sets out to find a quiet, out-of-the-way place to die where his final act won't bother anyone.
He limps a considerable distance, even intending to exit the city border. The urine on his body dries, leaving behind a strong smell that catches the attention of some guards at the border gate.
"What's with that pathetic face? Looking for a place to die, huh?"
"Do you have a permit to leave the city?"
Irvine doesn't respond. With a numb expression, he continues walking lifelessly toward the gate.
"Hey, punk!"
"No, let him be!"
"But…"
"Just look at his military uniform! He must be a student at Ezlenmir Academy."