There was a boy in a certain town. He was sixteen years old. His name was Arashi.
He was out to buy something to eat.
The boy handed over a few coins for the fruit. The vendor's eyes narrowed.
"Hmph. Where'd a kid like you get that kinda money?" He leaned in, smirking. "Bet it was her, right? That pretty little thing... she embarrassed me. Rejected me in front of everyone. Stronger than she looked, too."
His grin twisted, eyes dark. "But if I had any way... tsk."
The boy's fist clenched. His vision blurred red.
A moment later, the vendor was on the ground, his nose bloody. The boy's punches kept coming.
But the crowd swarmed him—kicks, fists, curses.
He stumbled away, bruised and humiliated.
Wind howled down the empty street.
The sky was dark, clouds swirling—but no rain yet. The mud was leftover from earlier storms.
As the boy walked, a small girl slipped in the mud nearby. On instinct, he reached out, steadying her.
Her mother ran over—not to thank him, but to snatch her daughter away.
She whispered, "Stay away from him... he's cursed."
He walked away silently. Because he hear this kind of words everyday.
Thunder rolled—not above, but deep inside his chest. His fingers twitched. His eyes burned.
The rain had softened to a drizzle, but the clouds still hung low and heavy over the town. People walking beside the boy's house muttered to each other.
"That house... it belonged to her once... she left so many years ago."
The boy sat on the rooftop of his home.
From up there, the muddy streets stretched out like veins through the town—the same streets where they'd beaten him. The same whispers echoed below:
"Cursed."
"Monster."
"Stay away."
He pulled his knees to his chest, staring up at the sky.
A cold drop of rain hit his cheek, sliding down like a tear.
"Today's just like every day," he muttered. "No change."
A memory flickered in his mind—a girl, her face half-hidden in shadow.
"You are strong," she said.
The rain had quieted to a drizzle, but the thick clouds still pressed down on the town like a suffocating hand.
And then, without warning, the sky split.
A jagged tear of light ripped through the heavens just beyond the town. A swirling black portal bloomed open—silent, terrifying—and from its depths, something began to crawl out.
Something massive.
The first thing to emerge was a cracked, stone-covered arm, laced with thick, writhing vines.
Then came a horned head, with hollow, glowing eyes and a face carved from stone, twisted in silence.
The creature pulled itself free with a thunderous growl that shook the wet earth.
For a moment, the town stood frozen in fear.
Then—screams.
Parents clutched their children. Merchants abandoned their stalls. Rain-soaked footsteps echoed as townspeople fled in every direction.
The creature stomped forward, its heavy limbs cracking the earth beneath. With a guttural roar, it swung its vine-covered arm, smashing through a nearby home like it was made of paper.
Screams filled the air.
People ran. Some tripped in the mud. Others frozen in fear.
A scream pierced through the chaos as the monster's vines snatched a man from the crowd. The tendrils coiled around his chest, lifting him into the air, squeezing tightly. The man gasped, his face turning pale.
Then—
CLANG!
A rusty sword slashed through the vines with a sharp spark. The severed tendrils snapped back, and the man fell to the ground, gasping.
Arashi landed in front of the monster, breath heavy, gripping a worn-out sword chipped along the edges.
He grit his teeth. The man he'd saved lay behind him, too shaken to move.
The monster let out a deep growl that echoed through the narrow streets, its glowing eyes locked onto Arashi.
"I won't let you hurt anyone else," Arashi muttered.
He dashed forward, feet splashing through puddles, raising the battered blade.
But—
CRACK!
A vine whipped out and slammed into his side.
"Guh—!"
Arashi flew through the air and crashed into a stone wall.
His sword clattered beside him. He lay crumpled, gasping.
The monster approached. Another man was hurled into a wall. A child screamed. Blood mixed with the rain.
Arashi's fingers twitched weakly.
"They're getting hurt..."
His chest burned—not just from pain, but helplessness.
He heard the crowd—crying, screaming, running.
Even if they hated him…
Even if they feared the thing inside him…
"Even if they hate me… I can't watch them suffer."
But his body refused to move.
The drizzle soaked his cloak. His heart burned with resolve.
His vision went black.
Silence.
Then—from the abyss—cracks of thunder slithered through the darkness like glowing veins.
The sky above churned.
A low hum filled the air.
Thunder crackled—not in the sky, but from Arashi's body. Jagged bolts danced across his skin.
His eyes snapped open.
But he was no longer the same.
The look in his eyes—sharp, cold, wild—was not human.
He stood slowly, lightning coiling around his body like living chains.
The monster paused. It sensed something… monsterous.
With a roar, it charged, vines lashing forward.
CRACK!
Arashi's fist surged forward, wrapped in roaring lightning. His entire arm blazed like a spear of thunder, and the moment it connected with the monster's right side-
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion. The impact shattered the monster's massive body. Shockwaves tore through the town. Half of it was caught in the blast. Stone,wood and debris flew. The sky turned gray with dust and smoke.
In the silence that followed,a silhoutte stood behind the monster,unmoving.
Arashi.
The smoke curled around him,flickering with electric light. Sparks leapt off his shoulders and arms. His eyes stared forward, blank and unbearable.
The monster turned slowly. Its face twisted in fear.
It saw him—Arashi, cloaked in storm.
The creature trembled.
Then-rip.
It opened a dark portal behind itself-the same one it had arrived from-and with a panicked snarl, vanished into it.
The portal sealed behind it.
The town fell silent.
Arashi dropped to his knees.
His eyes slowly widened as the storm inside him faded. He looked down-his hand still crackled faintly with lightning.
He looked up.
The town—shattered. People injured. The destruction—his doing. The townspeople slowly rising in fear.
"Was this… really me?"
Arashi's hands trembled.
"I couldn't even control it… I became a monster."
His head lowered.
"But in the end...I was the only one they needed protection from."
The aftermath of his strike had saved everyone-but it had also terrified them. Some people got hurt because of him.
Footstep echoed behind him. Murmurs turned into whispers. Whispers grew into shouting.
"He destroyed everything."
"Monster!"
"That power-he's cursed!"
Someone yelled, "You brought that thing here!"
Another, "Just leave! Before more of us get hurt!"
Arashi didn't argue. He simply stood there... silent...staring at his own trembling hands. "They're right",he thought. "If I stay, they will get in more danger."
The voices became a dull echo in his ears. His eyes shifted toward the edge of the town-where land met sea. A small wooden boat was docked there, gently rocking with the tide.
Without another word, Arashi turned his back to the crowd and began walking.
The rain whispered on his shoulders. No one stopped him. No one called out.
He stepped into the boat and sat, eyes staring blankly at the horizon. Water tapped gently at the sides. The cold wind brushed through his hair.
They never really saw me—only the power. Only the fear. Maybe they never would.
He lowered his head. The town behind him had fallen silent. But inside, his thoughts were loud-chaotic-filled with sorrow and doubt.
Inside, his thoughts roared with sorrow.
Then, barely a whisper, more to himself than anyone else, he said:
"I just want peace."