Chapter 1
Rain pounded the street in steady sheets, washing dirt into the gutters. He moved through it with quiet ease, umbrella tilted just enough to shield his face. His steps slowed as he neared the corner.
A child sat there, knees to chest, soaked to the bone. No jacket. No shoes. Just a faded shirt clinging to their skin and hollow eyes staring up at him—watching, waiting.
He paused. Just for a second.
Then walked on.
When Achylys passed, the child's small hand shot out, fingers clutching the damp fabric of his pants. For a moment, they locked eyes: one gaze wide and desperate, the other dark, unreadable, as empty as the rain-slick street.
Then Achylys wrenched his leg sharply, breaking the grip and sending the child sprawling into a filthy puddle. He didn't even pause to watch.
A few steps later, he let the umbrella slip from his fingers, the handle bouncing once in the gutter water before lying still. It wasn't an offering. It was disposal. A piece of trash left behind, no more meaningful than the look he'd given the child.
He kept walking through the rain without looking back.
Behind him, the child sat up slowly in the rain, water streaming down his face like tears he refused to shed. He watched Achylys walk away until the dark figure blurred into the storm.
The rain fell harder, drumming on rooftops, until the street churned like a dark river. A car sped past, splashing dirty water up his legs. He didn't flinch as the cold rain beat down harder on his hair and shoulders, soaking through every layer.
Achylys took shelter inside a small corner shop, his expression unchanged as he scanned the near-empty shelves. One umbrella left. He grabbed it without hesitation and walked toward the counter.
Just as he reached it, the door slammed open. A girl burst in, face hidden behind a black mask, eyes sharp, breath quick like she'd sprinted over there.
"Excuse me," she asked. "Do you have umbrellas?"
"Sorry, Miss," the shop assistant said, gesturing at Achylys. "That was our last one."
Their eyes met.
The girl stepped forward. "Can I have it?" she asked plainly. "It's urgent. I'll pay you double."
Achylys didn't flinch. "Do I look like I care?."
He paid. He turned. He walked.
Or tried to-
The girl was stunned by his bluntness, suddenly grabbed his wrist with a tight grip.
"But I'm the kind of person," she said slowly, "who gets what ever I want , if I wanted to."
Their eyes locked again. Her stare was intense, like lightning trapped in a storm.
"I'm asking you one more time," she said, her voice steady, "Hand it over. Now."
He didn't respond. Didn't blink. Just kept starring at her.
The girl's smirk twitched into a scowl.
"What's with you? Acting cool? or are you really a mute? I don't really have time for this mess . Just give it to me!" As she's about to reach the umbrella.
But Achylys was faster-quickly raised the umbrella to the air as she reach for it and while doing so, he's left hand held the girl in the arm, to stop and preventing her from moving.
As the two were in a awkward position with faces was close to one another. "Listen," he said quietly:
"But, a brat like you doesn't get to order me around."
He released her and left the shop.
The girl was taken off guard and left momentarily confused as to why her heart was beating heavily.
She finally stepped outside, only to spot a younger student holding the very umbrella she'd tried to take.
"Where did you get that?" she asked.
The student pointed down the road.
"That man gave it to me."
She stared at Achylys's figure as it disappeared into the downpour—no umbrella, soaked through, just shadows and falling rain.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"…How much of a fool are you?"