"Oi! Lucy! Can you bring the package lying over the kitchen table to the Staffen family? I'm a bit late on the production of ashen, so I won't be able to deliver the package myself, and they'll start pestering us if we don't deliver the goods this morning." My father shouted from his small workshop far into the distance.His powerful voice echoed throughout the entire building, making my whole body shudder for a while. I was currently trying to learn how to speedrun a game, and that moment of distraction made me input the wrong command right after I performed a jump, essentially killing the run.Fuck.I threw the controller away in frustration; after many failed attempts throughout the entire night, my nerves were so tense they felt as if they were about to explode.It was extremely early in the morning; the sun had just risen on the horizon, and that man had already begun working."Don't call me Lucy! How many times do I have to tell you that? It sounds like a woman's name!""Stop arguing over nothing and go deliver the package! If you don't, I'm going to confiscate your game thingy!" He shouted."It's called a Playcube!" I yelled in return, pissed that he had chosen to annoy me this early in the morning during the holidays."I don't care!"It was a horrible situation; I hated his job; I hated everything that had to do with that rainbow-colored powder, and I especially hated how everyone took our kindness for granted.They should all be licking our feet, begging us for our mercy, and sending special offerings monthly! Mother was kind enough to let them live under the isolated dome she conquered! We should expect something in return! Shouldn't we?We lived in a rather lush and secluded area within a large dome that contained a large quantity of cities and metropolises.A small cemented road connected us to a small city visible in the distance, and that's all I knew about the place I lived in.Although the city had long lost its colors, the residents of this area had were paying large quantities of money to keep the colors of the sky, the sun, the moon, and the stars projected inside the dome.When I got to the kitchen, there was a plate with a toasted sandwich containing scrambled eggs, some sausage, and probably some salad. There was something a sour and mushy spread on top of the large and crunchy layer of cabbages, but I wasn't about to spit it just to check what it was.The large package was waiting beneath the lunch table.Out of curiosity, I checked the contents of the package and found the usual thing lying inside, plastic-wrapped packages of that rainbow powder; he was probably already working on the next batch to deliver.Do I really have to deliver those? Me? This is why we should've hired a butler or a maid. I'm the son of the stronger being, not some errand boy! We shouldn't forgive them because they're powerful families—we're the strongest.I stood still, staring at the package.In my mind all the bad memories with that family were resurfacing, every time we visited the third wife of the head of the family would usually make her inappropriate comment about my weight, his second wife would glare at me with her cold eyes while the first one would ignore me.The sons were not better. The first son was a piece of shit, always picking on me, flaunting all the present his parents would buy him, and excluding me from any group activity.Damn it, Dad, you promised that by my eighth birthday we would start living together in the upper cities; we even bought a house there, so why are we still living in this shithole!No matter how much I wanted to curse him, I knew the answer: my mother. She was the cause of all my misery; her horrid naming sense and violent tendencies are all I remember of her, apart from her beautiful red hair I inherited.I took a clean-looking glass lying upside down near the sink and filled it with some newly bought milk lying inside the fridge and ended up drinking the whole pack out of stress.I'm stuffed; what even was in that sandwich? Maybe I should go and lie down for a bit; it's not like the Staffens will complain that much about a late delivery.As I was thinking of what to do and what excuse to come up with, I heard someone ring the doorbell, so I headed to check who it was, and when the display turned on, it showed Glaive Staffen accompanied by Gloria Staffen waiting in front of our door.The family head accompanied by his first wife.Glaive had been working within the rapture all of his life, and because of that, he still looked in his early twenties, with blond hair and purple eyes. A side effect of his demonic power, most likely, since everything else had no colors apart from black and white.He constantly fixed his hair with his hands, ensuring his bangs were evenly distributed on both sides of his face and that his long hair didn't cover his ears;Both of them had fair skin, light-colored hair, and were dressed in elegant and fancy-decorated clothes, with the head of the household even putting on some fancy-looking earrings and adjusting his suit in front of the camera.Well, it's even better this way."Oi, Rob, do you have my package ready? I've been feeling dizzy all day; I desperately need it, especially because today I've got a special appointment with a noble regarding the permit I talked to you about. I had an entire speech ready to say but can't really memorize it because of this headache constantly getting in the way." He said while he kept pressing the doorbell."It's me, Luke, uncle. My dad is currently preparing the next batch of ashen, but I think he has some left from yesterday. Let me go check; I'll bring it to you as soon as I get my hands on some of it." I responded while looking at the package destined for them.I didn't want to see the uncle in the face, nor did I want to meet his eldest son in case he was hiding somewhere. Whenever we met, they always made stinging remarks at me, so this was my way of punishing them for it."Oh, sure, but can you open the door? We also have something important to discuss with him." He suddenly asked.Shivers run down through my spine; my father and Sir Staffens were good friends, that was sure, but he was never allowed inside whenever Mom was at work; everyone knew about it; it was a rule set by her.Like the control freak she is, she has also planted lots of cameras everywhere, so if I were to open the gates of the house to them, not only would I condemn them to death, but I would also get the spanking of a lifetime.Why would you… I mean... I know, you know, everybody and their mothers know about the cameras; you're staring directly at one of them."But uncle… You can tell me what you want to say to him; I can deliver the message as soon as he's free." I tried giving it a second chance; maybe it was me who heard it wrong, but that wasn't the case."No, I need to urgently speak with your father; it's a matter of life and death. I know he's working and all, but this time something serious has happened." He repeated himself while visibly getting more impatient.A scammer? Is this an illusion? This is the first time I see an illusion; wow, it's so detailed I can't even tell the difference from the real thing. What do they want? The ashen? What kind of decrepit junkie would even think to come here to steal?The worst-case scenario was that those were really our neighbors and had come here to deliver bad news about my mother, like an affair or an illicit child.The corridor to the front door felt as if it was slowly growing longer over time; the world around was spinning. Nothing about that situation felt real.I could already picture her coming back with a meek-looking man, carrying him in her arms like a princess.Their child would be in his arms, coddling up in between the two, with the signature red colored hair that defined our family.Kicking the door open as usual and barging in without a care in the world, dropping her newfound partner somewhere in the living room, and yelling my father's name in order to call him.That was the type of person she was: loud, ignorant, violent, and controlling.As usual, she would sniff his body to make sure there wasn't the lingering smell of another woman, and then she would present him to her new man, in the same way she would call me and force me to accept that new brother of mine.The mere thought of that scene was enough to make my stomach twist in disgust; I would've a thousand times preferred to strangle whatever new kid she would've brought rather than accept it as my brother.Haa, I should stop having such negative thoughts; I might end up doing something I regret later on. Last time I was caught bringing the topic of divorce to my father, I was left without food for half a week.I then took one last deep breath to calm myself down; I relaxed my nerves and summoned my weapon, a blue revolver made of a strange power, one of the few gifts left behind for me by my mother, put the package under my right armpit, and prepared myself for what was about to come.