It's bright.
Am I dead?
Is this where judgment finally finds me?
Above him, clouds stretched across a clear blue sky. Golden chains coiled around his body, binding him from feet to head as they dragged him higher. He couldn't move. He couldn't hear. Only the pull.
His name was Luke Davin.
And he had lived a life most people called wasted.
---
Luke had been born into brilliance. His mother was a respected national news anchor. His father, the founder of a successful company. His relatives—accomplished, admired, celebrated.
And then there was him.
The Davin who never shined.
Why was it me? Out of everyone in the family, why did I have to be the one who didn't fit?
He remembered his parents pushing him into everything—sports, arts, acting, martial arts.
On the football field, he was always picked last.
At a recital, he forgot his rhythm halfway through.
During a live audition, he froze, the lines vanishing from his mind.
He tried. He really did. But nothing ever made him stand out.
When he turned Twenty , his parents finally said the words that broke him.
"We've done all we can. The rest is up to you."
It sounded supportive. But to Luke, it felt like the spotlight had gone out.
---
At family reunions, he became the joke. The example of failure.
His siblings only made the comparisons sharper.
His sister was the face of global brands.
His brother, a rising football prodigy.
His youngest sibling—a child genius who had already built an AI system that shocked the world.
Compared to them, Luke was nothing but a footnote.
And yet, he couldn't bring himself to hate them. They never mocked him. They quietly supported him. But he could feel it—the silent disappointment behind their kindness.
I tried to escape it. Tried to run from the name Davin. But no matter how far I went… I could never outrun it.
A surname that opened doors for others.
And chained him in their shadow.
He carried the title the world gave him:
The Disappointment of the Davin Family.
---
Then came the end.
A sunny Sunday. A family gathering. Laughter. Warmth.
And then—
BANG.
The bullet tore straight through his chest.
The shooter was his uncle. A man from the Daevin branch—a branch family whose name carried a single different letter, but centuries of resentment.
"You don't deserve that surname!" the man shouted, drunk and unsteady.
"Even with all my achievements, they still laugh at me! Still look down on me! Because I'm not a Davin! Worthless! All because of a name!"
His words rang louder than the screams of Luke's family.
Then came silence. Not real silence—just the sharp ringing in Luke's ears as his body collapsed.
---
And now… here he was.
Suspended in the void. Dragged by golden chains. Waiting for the judgment the sacred books said.
The pull grew stronger. Faster. Darkness swallowed him whole.
No light. No sound. Only emptiness.
---
"Oi, stop spacing out, idiot!"
The sudden voice cracked through the void, sharp and impatient.
Luke's eyes flickered open. His lips moved.
"It's bright… Have I finally found peace?"
"Peace? What are you, an idiot?" the voice snapped. "You're not here to daydream. Wake up already!"
Luke froze. His thoughts stumbled over the words.
A voice? Someone's talking to me? Then… I'm not dead?
Or maybe this was something else.
A chance.
A curse.
A new beginning.
---
And so, his story began.
Not as Luke Davin, the disappointment.
But just Luke Davin. Whether this world will change him or he'll stay grounded to his original identity.
No one to judge him, no one to hinder his passion for learning. And no stares of pity and discontent.