"Nightmares… damn nightmares."
Hiroki opened his eyes to the pale morning light, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Today felt strangely different from yesterday. The chaos, the hollow numbness, the sense of being nothing more than an empty doll—it all seemed to have been washed away, if only slightly.
He dragged himself into the shower, letting the cold water wake him fully. After dressing, he gathered his things and decided to leave for school earlier than usual. Anything was better than staying in this house a second longer.
Because here, beneath the same roof, lived the two people he should have trusted the most—his mother and sister. And yet, every time they looked at him, he was reminded of how easily they threw themselves at the very guy who tormented him day after day.
The bitterness weighed heavily in his chest, but he clenched his fists and stepped outside. Today was a new day… whether he wanted it or not.
As Hiroki stepped out of his room, he passed through the living room and into the kitchen on his way to the door. Just as he reached for the handle, a soft, sweet voice called from behind him.
"Hiroki? Where are you going so early, sweetheart? Aren't you going to have breakfast?"
The sound made his stomach twist. To anyone else, that gentle tone might have seemed warm and caring, but to him, it was nothing more than poison.
Kaede Mori. That was her name—his mother.
Suppressing his disgust, Hiroki forced himself to answer the way he would have before he learned the truth.
"It's fine, Mom. I just have to get to school early today. Don't worry."
He even managed a smile, though the expression was stiff, forced, and utterly hollow.
Kaede didn't notice the strain behind his smile. She simply nodded in agreement, her expression warm and motherly.
"All right. But don't forget to eat, okay? You need to take care of yourself if you want to grow strong."
Hiroki gave a quick nod, unwilling to prolong the exchange, and slipped out of the house in haste. The moment the door shut behind him, a heavy breath escaped his lips, as if he had been suffocating inside those walls.
Back in the kitchen, Kaede tilted her head slightly. Her son's behavior seemed a little unusual, but she dismissed the thought with ease.
After all, she had other things on her mind—later, she would be with Bert again, losing herself in his embrace to "relieve" the stress of her daily life.
Meanwhile, Hiroki wandered the streets, lost in his own thoughts as he made his way toward school.
High above him, unseen by mortal eyes, a sphere of violet light streaked across the sky at supersonic speed. It was fleeing—desperately—from another light, this one pitch-black and veined with cracks of blood-red energy. Slowly but surely, the black light was gaining ground.
The violet light darted and weaved, until suddenly it caught sight of a boy with blond hair and blue eyes—Hiroki, distracted and completely unaware of what was unfolding above him. In a split-second decision, the violet light circled around him for protection.
That was when the black light caught up.
With terrifying force, it slammed straight into Hiroki, fusing with his very soul. A violent surge coursed through his body, like being electrocuted, but in the next instant the sensation vanished.
"…Maybe I just imagined it," Hiroki muttered, shaking off the strange feeling before continuing down the road.
Above, the violet light cheered in triumph, believing it had escaped its pursuer by hiding within the boy. But its victory was short-lived. Within moments, it too was dragged inward, pulled against its will into Hiroki's soul.
The violet light resisted, struggling desperately to free itself, but it was futile. It was devoured—consumed by the black light that had brought it here. Yet the process did not end there.
The black light, swollen with power, turned its hunger toward Hiroki's own soul. It tried to feast upon him, to consume the very essence of who he was. But something stopped it. No matter how much it clawed, pushed, or overloaded his body with energy, Hiroki's soul remained untouchable.
The black light froze. For the first time, it hesitated.
A memory surfaced—its father, Chaos, had once spoken of such a thing.
"Before the beginning of all things, God created a body without a vessel. It was no more than a puppet, a shell with no will of its own. Yet because it was crafted by God Himself, it bore infinite gifts. All it required was a single spark… and then it would awaken, cease to be a puppet, and ascend into something greater."
The black light trembled. According to Chaos, no ordinary human could withstand the weight of divine power. If this boy could, then he was either blessed… or he was that puppet.
Trapped inside Hiroki, the black light weighed its options. It could not break free. It could not consume him. So, with no other choice, it resolved to act differently.
If I cannot escape… then I will give him my power. I will erase my own will… and let him inherit everything.
And thus began a process—one that would soon bring about strange and extraordinary changes in Hiroki Mori.