"Tell me about him," the little girl with white hair and crimson eyes wearing dirty white gown whispered.
"That person who worked with you before, the one who started from the lowest layer, and defied all of the gods."
"Ah, you want to know about him?" the old weathered man with no hair asked.
He was leaning against a tree, and seemed to be looking at the distance.
"Hmmm… I see, well…"
"Grandfather, please tell me!"
"Hmmm… he was a man with a great godly talent and willpower, he was… different from the others." The old man's voice was raspy, as he dozed off.
"Grandfather!"
"Oh! I'm sorry. Well… where shall I begin?"
"I want to know everything!" the little girl said. Her eyes were shining with anticipation.
"Well… It all began, a long time ago…"
"Gahhh! What's going on?!"
A man with jet black messy hair, grey eyes, black pants, a torn shirt, and no shoes woke up, and quickly stood.
Attention! Mortals!
The voice thundered in the massive throne room, which had at least ten thousand strangers inside, all looking around in confusion, fear, and surprise.
It was hard to see, but the man looked around, and saw five colossal thrones in front of them, four of which were already occupied by figures, who had shadows all over them, as if they were being obscured on purpose.
Only the last one in the right corner was empty.
"Who is there? Show yourselves, gods or devils!"
A person in the crowd said, with anger in their voice.
You Spoke Too Loud! You Should Have Been More Careful!
The voice roared again, and the person was lifted into the air, struggling and screaming, before being squished into a ball of flesh, blood, and broken bones.
The bloody pulp fell down, and quickly dissolved into a black smoke, which then was blown away by a sudden strong gust of wind, which didn't touch anyone.
I Will Not Repeat It Again!
So Listen Well, Mortals.
"Who are you?"
"Stop, be quiet!"
"What is going on?"
"Let us go back!"
"Please!"
The voices rose and fell, with some people being angry, scared, or just confused.
"Stupid people…" the black haired man sighed.
Finally, the voices went quieter, as the figures spoke again.
We Are The Gods Of The Divine Pantheon.
There Are Thousands Of US!
"Thousands?" the man thought.
But Still We Are Not Complete.
"Not Complete? What does that mean?"
That Is Why We Created The Race.
"A race?"
So That We Can Find The Perfect Mortal.
"The perfect mortal?"
The one to become our sixth member!
"This is getting interesting." the man thought. "The sixth member? So they say there are thousands of gods, but only four in this pantheon? How does that work? Who cares…"
"You guys want a mortal to become a god?" a man in the crowd asked. "Then I volunteer!"
"Fool! Shut up!" a woman said, pulling the man back.
You Are All Mortals, And You Will All Participate!
Nobody had the courage to protest at that time after what just happened to that one man, who spoke too loud.
"Grandpa, what happens then?" the little girl asked.
"Ah well... some people tried to protest, but… well… it didn't work out for them."
"So, the gods just killed them?"
"Well, I suppose they didn't like those people speaking out of turn."
The girl was silent for a moment, before continuing.
"So, what happens next?"
"Well, then…"
Now Remaining Are Four Hundred Mortals!
We Gave Each And Every One Of You A Godly Talent.
"Godly Talent?" the man thought. "I wonder what mine is."
The Godly Talents Are All Unique.
You Can Do Anything With Them, As Long As You Train Them.
So Train Your Talents, Grow In Strength, And Fight Each Other!
Only one shall remain, and become a god!
"What?!" a person exclaimed. "What kind of joke is that?"
"So we have to kill each other off, until only one remains?" another person asked.
Let The Race Begin!
The voice said as the two person's head exploded from the inside and others got teleported to different places.
The black haired man also disappeared.
"Grandpa! Grandpa! Did you also get a Godly Talent?"
The girl asked excitedly.
"Ehmm… well…"
"What was it?"
"Well… that's… well… I can't tell you yet."
"Grandpa, please tell me, please!"
"I will tell you later when the right time comes."
"Okay, but then you must tell me."
"Alright, now, where was I?"
"Hmm… oh right! The man had been teleported!" old man said with a cough.
"Oh yes, so where was he?" the girl asked with sparkling eyes.
"Haah! Haah! Where the fuck am I?!" the black haired man asked with a hoarse voice. "My chest hurts! Haah! I can't… breathe… Did they do something to me?"
The man slowly walked around, looking at his surroundings.
"Oh Shit!" the man cursed as he saw the fire ingulfing the village, and people running around, being cut down by what seemed to be bandits.
"Help! Please!"
"Someone save us!"
"Kill them!"
"Rape the girls!"
"Hahaha!"
The man just looked with a frown on his face. He then looked at his hand, which was covered in a blackish mist, which seemed to have some crimson in it as well.
"What's this? A Godly Talent? I wonder what it is, well only one way to find out."
"Ahhh! That's it for today, it's getting dark, we should get inside." the bald father said.
"But grandpa just a little bit more please, I want to know what kind of talent he got."
"Tomorrow."
"Please grandpa!"
"You want me to tell you or not?"
"Please!"
"No!"
"Please please please please pleaaaaase!"
"I won't continue the story even tomorrow unless you go inside."
"Fine… I will go inside…" the girl said with a pout before going inside.
The old man just smiled, as he started gathering wood.
"A talent huh?" the old man thought as he looked at his hand. "I wonder… if I can still use it?" he chuckled.
Ahh… the good old days…
I wonder how my friends are doing…
"I guess it's time to go inside as well…" the old man said, as he took the wood and went inside the house.
"Grandpa! Wake up! I want to know more!" a little girl's voice said as she shook the old man sleeping on the floor.
"Bo... Bo... Boarrrrrrr?!" the old man woke up with a shout.
"Grandpa!"
"Ah yes… it's you. I thought the boar came back." he chuckled as he got up.
"Did you have a nightmare about a boar again?"
"No… well yes… it ate me in my dream…" the old man laughed.
"Grandpa is stupid!"
"Hey!" he exclaimed with a smile.
"Sorry grandpa!"
"It's okay now, why did you wake me up?" the old man asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"Because I want to hear the story!"
"Oh right, right… which story?" the old man said as he scratched his bald head.
"The one about Shin Koroshi!"
"Ah yes… Shin Koroshi," the old man muttered, his playful tone fading.
"So what happened next?" the little girl leaned in, hugging her knees.
"Well… he was staring at his own hands. That was when he realized something had changed." the old man exhaled.
-----
"What's with this liquid?" Shin thought as the red liquid seemed to drip from his fingers.
"It's like water, but warmer… and more dense."
Shin Koroshi raised his trembling fingers, watching as the mist in his hands were replaced by a familiar scarlet liquid.
"What the hell is this…?" Shin whispered as his chest felt tight, his breath ragged.
"It's not water… too warm… too thick…" His voice trailed off as he lifted his hand closer to his face, the metallic scent invading his nostrils.
"Blood?"
"Strangerrrrr… hhhhelp… me…" a voice croaked.
"Huh?" Shin looked towards the voice.
A girl, maybe a few years younger than him, lay on the ground, her clothes stained red.
Her eyes, wide and pleading, locked onto his, desperation shining through.
"H... help…" she repeated, her voice weak, fading.
"Why? Why should I help you?" Shin said as he clenched his fists, ignoring the girl's desperate gaze.
"You bastard! She's dying! Help her!" a young boy yelled as he ran towards Shin. "Please! You have to! She's… she's my sister!"
"Look kid, your sister is already dead, she just doesn't know it yet. So why bother? I have better things to do than waste my energy on a lost cause." Shin said coldly.
"But… but you can save her! Please!" the boy begged, tears streaming down his face.
"Grow up, kid. Nobody's coming to save you or your sister. The world doesn't work that way." Shin said as he shoved the boy aside.
"Don... don't…" the girl took her last breath and closed her eyes.
"Sis?" the boy said as he shook his sister's body. "Sis… wake up!" the boy started crying as he realized his sister was dead.
"Pathetic." Shin scoffed as he turned away.
"They're all pathetic…" he muttered.
"You! You could have saved her!" the boy yelled, his grief turning into anger as he lunged at Shin with a broken dagger. "You bastard!"
Shin barely had time to react before the blade sank deep into his side.
"You little piece of shit!" Shin cursed as he grabbed the boy's hand, twisting it brutally.
"I'm not here to save anyone, you hear me?" he said as he pulled out the dagger and stabbed the boy in his leg.
"Now fuck off before I kill you."
"Ahhhhhh!" the boy screamed in pain. "Y.. you! You're a monster!"
"And you're dead." Shin said coldly as he raised the dagger.
The boy's eyes widened in terror, his body trembling.
"Wait! No! Please!" he begged, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"I don't take requests." Shin said before he was about to stab the boy.
"Stop!" a voice roared.
Shin looked back to see a woman with a spear pointing it at him.
The woman's silver hair was tied up in a ponytail, her crimson eyes narrowed in a threatening glare.
Her lean, athletic figure was covered in a black, flowing dress, embroidered with crimson threads that glimmered faintly under the moonlight.
"Leave him alone, bastard." she said, her tone firm and commanding. "He's just a boy."
"And you're just a woman." Shin retorted, his eyes flashing with defiance. "So?"
The woman didn't flinch, her grip on the spear unwavering.
"I won't let you harm him."
"Then take the brainless brat and get out of my sight." Shin said with a frown as he wiped the blood from his side wound.
"Ok! I will do just that. C'mon kid, let's get out of here." the woman said as she lowered her spear and approached the boy.
The boy, still trembling, looked at Shin with fear and hatred in his eyes.
"You are bleeding!" the woman exclaimed as she looked at the boy's wound.
"Ahhh! Yes it hurts!" the boy cried.
"Weakling." Shin muttered under his breath. "Can't even take a stab to the leg without crying like a baby."
"Shut the fuck up!" the woman yelled as her hands emitted a white glow, enveloping the boy's wound.
The wound quickly closed, leaving a faint scar behind.
"What the hell was that?" Shin asked, his curiosity piqued despite his indifference.
"That was a Godly Talent. I can heal injuries." the woman said.
"A Godly Talent?" Shin scoffed. "And here I thought you were just another delusional fool playing hero."
The woman's eyes narrowed, a spark of anger flashing in them.
"And what would you know about Godly Talents?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion.
"Enough." Shin replied, his gaze fixed on her. "I know that yours is useless in a fight. If you can't protect yourself, you can't protect others either."
"Hah!" the woman snorted, a smirk tugging at her lips.
"At least I am not talentless unlike you." she said mockingly.
"Oi! Look there!" a bandit yelled as he pointed at them.
"Ah damn." the woman muttered.
"Who are you calling talentless?" Shin asked as he pulled out the spear from the dead bandit.
The woman looked at him with a frown.
"Haah! Trying to be brave? Hahaha!" a bandit laughed.
"Hah! This will be fun!" another one said.
"You are right, this will be fun." Shin agreed.