The day started to dawn, coloring the sky with pale oranges. The sun peeked through in the morning, warming the world and reviving life that remained slumbering.
There was an orphanage behind a church, a small home for abandoned children. A boy named Rey Ryuga stood at the window, watching as the sky slowly lit up. He was 19 years old, but he had known nothing but loneliness since the day he was born.
Rey did not know his parents. He grew up with the nuns who ran the orphanage, but even their affection was not enough to fill up the emptiness in his heart. He had always been trying to be a good boy from the time he was a child—intelligent, diligent, always willing to help anyone in need. But his kindness only made him a pushover for those people who wanted to take advantage of him.
Since he was four years old, Rey had been bullied at the orphanage. The other children thought him weak and too kind, so they ruthlessly exploited him.
"Give me your food, Rey!" a bigger kid ordered.
"But I'm starving." Rey tried to refuse, his voice barely above a whisper.
"What? You dare to disobey?"
Not even allowing him to react, a fist was punched into his head. Thud! A burning pain spread from his temple, and warm blood began to trickle down from a small wound on his forehead. Rey collapsed onto the ground, his body quivering.
"I'm sorry. Here, take it," he stammered at last, holding out his food with trembling hands.
He knew it would only make things worse to fight back. For years, he was terrorized, and the abuse could not be defended against.
When Rey was 14, he began assisting the nuns with the care of the younger children in the orphanage. He loved them like they were his siblings, not wanting them to end up as he did. Though he never experienced love himself, he still wanted to provide it.
But remember, bad luck did not let go of him.
At school, this bullying persisted. Rey was regularly obliged to give money even if he had none. On refusing, punches and verbal abuse followed.
The only driving force behind him was Akane and Rian, the two friends who did not leave him alone. They were the only ones who acted towards him as a human and not trash. With them, Rey felt momentarily happy—however, in his heart, he always doubted.
"Do they genuinely view me as a friend? Or do they feel sorry for me?"
Rey walked alone in a serene park that morning. His walk was slow, savoring the rare quiet he never had.
All of that tranquility was shattered at once.
BANG!
There was a gunshot, breaking the morning quiet. A burning feeling struck his chest. His eyes widened, his body becoming unstable.
Rey collapsed on the pavement. His eyesight faded, but in the suffocating quiet, he could still see the familiar figure standing far away.
Arka.
Rey did not think so. Arka, his roommate, stood above him, gun in hand.
Arka's face was grim, his face blank.
"You should've been dead a long time ago," he whispered, the words only penetrating Rey's waning consciousness.
"Why.?"
He could feel himself numbing. Blood trickled under his skin, the heat far away now.
"Is this. dying?"
There was no fear. No guilt. There was only relief.
"Finally. I am free."
In his final breath, Rey wished for only one thing: that the children at the orphanage would know peace. That Akane and Rian would be happy, and not recall him.
And then it went black.
Arka was always envious of Rey. To the rest of the world, Rey was a good kid—hardworking, intelligent, and blessed by the nuns. Arka believed that Rey was only pretending to be good and always received the attention that was meant for him.
Arka had fought for everything in his life since childhood. He had developed a hatred for people who were above him. Rey, who was so "perfect," only made him angrier.
There was another reason, a deeper reason—Rey had caught Arka in his darkest secret once.
One night, Rey accidentally witnessed Arka stealing money from the nuns' drawer. Arka threatened him to remain silent, and even though Rey never spoke a word, Arka still felt threatened. He feared that one day Rey would expose his secret.
That fear eventually compelled him to do something extreme.
Arka had begun hanging around a gang of city street children some months before the killing. They haunted the city's streets, and one of them had black-market illegal weapons within his reach.
One night, Arka visited them and asked for their help. He needed a gun—on account of "self-defense." He purchased a homemade pistol with some money he had stolen—a short, lethal firearm in close-up firing.
He kept it in a safe place, waiting for the right moment.
And when he saw Rey walking alone in the park, he knew that moment.
One bullet.
One shot.
And Rey Ryuga would cease to be.
When his consciousness returned, Rey felt something strange.
His body felt small, light. warm.
Whispery voices chatted around him.
"Look, dear. isn't our baby lovely?"
A woman smiled warmly, embracing him in her arms with eternal love. A man stood next to her, gazing at him with hopeful eyes.
"Let's name him Vyn Altar."
Sunlight streamed through the room from the window, warming his tiny body. Birds chirped outside, proclaiming the beginning.
Rey—now Vyn—could only gaze at them with wide eyes.
"Didn't I. die?"
(to be continued.)