Abel replied: "God, who brought us into the world, will avenge me. He will require my blood at thine hand if thou should slay me. God is the Judge, who will visit their wicked deeds upon the wicked and their evil deeds upon the evil."
On an island, Exorcists exist; some have a gift — a mark on the back of their right hand. There are many stories about these marks; one is that God chooses you the moment you are born to bear such immense power. But the actual story is a bit different.
There once were two brothers, Abel and Cain, sons of Adam and Eve, two of the first humans, both gifted by God with a mark and a symbol on their hands. One bore the power to control blood by touching other humans; the other bore the power to control water.
Cain was evil, and he always felt lesser than Abel because their parents constantly praised Abel for his good deeds and how he used his powers. Abel could purify water and remove water from mud, and the water would still be drinkable.
Cain, on the other hand, would kill animals for no reason and rob people by forcing them to hand over their valuables. With blood manipulation, he could make people do whatever he wanted; he was feared by his sisters and the other humans — except for one person: Abel. This enraged Cain. He wanted Abel to be afraid; he wanted to feel in control. So he decided to act. While Abel was not looking, Cain struck him on the back of the head with a rock and tossed his body into the ocean. Abel survived. He was washed ashore on an island with little to his name, but it felt right. He believed he was destined to make this island his home.
He decided to bring someone else to this island. He had two twin sisters — one similar to Cain and the other resembling Abel himself. Azura was Cain's twin, but they were the only two without a mark on the backs of their hands.
He asked Azura to become his wife and help him create a place where everyone could smile without fear of death. She agreed, leaving the life she knew and traveling to this lonely island.
Some people say that their souls ascended to heaven and left their bodies to turn into rocks; others say that Cain killed Abel and took back Azura.
It is still uncertain whether any of these stories are true, but on the island, they built an unnamed chapel and library where two statues of a man and a woman sit side by side, gazing toward where the sunset falls.
In this library, some books are older than any elder on the island — and even those elders recall that those books predated them.
There is another story, set in the present day: a boy from this same island, a direct descendant of both Abel and Cain, a direct descendant of the fathers of humanity. They call him Noah. He is an intelligent boy — too bright, to the point where people mistake it for arrogance. Everyone has always told this boy that he looks like Abel: the same slim figure, blue eyes, and black hair.
Noah was born from his mother's bloodline of Abel, who lived on the island, and his father's bloodline of Cain, whose parents had come to the island by accident. Their boat sank, and the only two survivors were a man and his wife. The island's people did not know there was anyone else in the world. They did not trust these newcomers but tried not to make too much of a fuss about it.
A year later, a baby was born — a son of "the people from the outside," as the islanders named them — and twenty years after that, another baby was born: a mix of Abel and Cain. Noah Port was born with two marks on the back of his hand. 血水 — a translation from one of the books in the library — meant "blood water," though they had to look up each symbol separately. By the color of his eyes, the elders thought he was the reincarnation of Abel, but they noted that Abel's mark had been 水, meaning "water." There was no second symbol.
They dismissed the possibility of Noah being the reincarnation of Abel.
The child began seeing things a few months after birth and could never stop crying, until one day he was taken to the chapel. He was baptized by the only Exorcist on the island.
The Exorcist looked the boy in the eyes and smiled, then turned to the parents and said, "Your child is a very special boy. He sees beyond the light of God — he sees what real monsters are. Your son has never sinned, but he has been blessed, or cursed, to see what is bad. He sees curses that are invisible to a normal person's eyes." The pupils of his eyes were red instead of black.
This was called the Eye of the Dead Captain: the ability to perceive what a normal human cannot — the realm of the dead.
The man gave the boy a Bible for Exorcists, containing demonology, a cross made of gold, and Exorcist tools — heavenly weapons created to hunt down curses.
"Let me train him. I may not have the mark of God, but I will teach him to survive," the man said, and he finished the baptism. Noah's grandparents were present, and later they spoke with the boy's father.
When they were home, the grandparents pulled their son aside. "We know what it is, son," they said. "But where we come from, women are the ones who bear that mark — no male has ever inherited it. They call them Knights. They say such people can see hell itself. If your son becomes an Exorcist, he will surely die a painful death. We only want what is best for the boy, but it is up to you and your wife — and ultimately, it will be his decision."
The man looked at his son resting in his wife's arms, holding the Bible with love and tenderness.
"I believe my son will need this training one day. When he turns eight, I will ask him a question: do you enjoy being an Exorcist? If he doesn't like it, he can quit at any time. He is free now and will always be free," the man said, gently caressing his son's face.
Years passed, and it was Noah's eighth birthday — and with it came his first taste of real danger. First, he witnessed an exorcism; then he watched his teacher kill curses roaming the island. There were natural ways to defend against curses: certain plants, when rubbed on the skin, left a scent that repelled the energy that creates curses. You could also brew tea with the leaves for the same effect. Combine other herbs, and you had a weapon capable of killing low-level curses.
Since it was an island, there was little need for Noah's combat ability — until one day, while his teacher was hunting three low-level curses, Noah became separated from him in the small forest near the village. He was walking through the trees when he began hearing voices.
He heard his mother's voice: "My son… why is he this way? He is not like other children. He is strange. It scares me to think he could someday become a monster. He is just too strange to love." The boy heard those words. But this was not his mother — not the woman who said sorry when he came home with cuts and bruises, not the woman who held him the tightest when he returned trembling from the things he had seen.
Then he heard his father's voice: "I hope he dies one day, so I won't have to take care of him. I hate him so much I can't even stand to look at him. It makes me sick." Yet his father, whenever Noah returned from training, always brought him his favorite fruit — a dago fruit — and sat beside him, laughing and asking about his day, always smiling and patting his head. Is this what they actually feel? Noah looked around, a child drowning in questions, wondering if his parents had ever truly loved him.
Then he heard a third voice — his grandfather's: "A child marked by the devil. That child will not live long. He will die a painful death! You must all kill him before he becomes an unstoppable monster!" Noah's eyes began to water. His family did not love him; it had all been a lie. Even his father saw him as a nuisance. Why had he been fighting so hard? Why was he training? Why was he giving up his childhood for a family that never loved him? The happy memories of his family smiling and laughing faded into a dark fog, with only a single bright smile almost hidden within it.
"That's right — why are you trying so hard to impress them?" A new voice, raspier and darker, spoke. "Why so much effort? You don't need a family. You are strong — far stronger than any human on this island. You could kill everyone, because that is what you were made for. You were made to be a monster." A smile emerged from the darkness, then two lizard-like eyes opened, yellow as sulfur, a white grin stretching from ear to ear.
"Join me. Be me. I'll be you. I'll show you what you can do. Just let go of your life," the thing said as it stepped into the moonlight. It was black, as though burned to a crisp, rotting flesh dropping as it moved — lurching on all fours in a strange, wrong way, as if it had never quite learned how. The only visible features were its fangs, bare without lips to cover them, and its eyes — where its mouth should have been.
"What do you think? You are hurt, you are sad, you feel alone. I can take those emotions away. You can be happy… alone," the thing said, its grin somehow growing wider.
Noah fell and landed on his back, grabbing his head and crying. The thing drew closer and then bellowed, "Yes! Like that! Fall into despair and feed my hunger with your suffering! YOU INSIGNIFICANT RAT! AHAHAHA!"
Noah remembered something — something important that pulled him back from the edge. His father's voice, the real one: "Baby, whenever you feel sad, remember that no matter where you are or where you decide to go, we will be happy that you made that decision. And if one day we leave this planet, our souls will remain with the man you choose to become. Because you are free, and you always will be — and that is what makes you special." He had said it while patting Noah's head, as his mother carefully bandaged his wounds.
Then his mother had smiled and taken hold of the hand she was tending. "Your father is right. It doesn't matter if you hate us for not giving you a normal childhood. We will always… love you."
Noah remembered those words. He began to see clearly again — no fog to cloud his memories. Why had he doubted that his family loved him? They were the ones who smiled at him, who hugged him, who showed their love every day.
Noah stood and wiped his tears. "What am I doing? Where is that sharp mind everyone always talked about? Where are the memories of my parents smiling at me?… No — it's you!" he said, pointing at the curse. "This is your trick for possessing a human body — you use what isn't real against us!"
"Oh, hoho. But something is true… You are a monster. You were created to be a weapon. I'M RIGHT, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" it said, pointing back at Noah.
Noah started running toward the curse, his small fist drawn back. The thing smiled. "I don't even know what my ability is," Noah said, "but I will kill you no matter what — because no one makes me hate my parents!" He kept running.
When his punch connected with one of the curse's legs, nothing happened. The curse laughed. "Well, isn't that unfortunate? I'll give you this, kid — you're brave." It lifted its other leg and swung it down. "But you can't kill me!"
As the leg struck Noah's left arm, a wall of red water appeared — and in an instant, it became extremely hard red ice. Where the curse touched it, the ice burned its skin like frostbite. The beast shrieked in pain, staggering backward. Noah felt lightheaded, but he looked at his hand: a bubble of red water was seeping from his pores. He felt cold — too cold. He searched for warmth, for air. When he exhaled, white steam curled out, and his eyes shone like the moon itself in the night sky.
"Who are you?! What are you?!" The smiling curse had stopped smiling. Horror filled its eyes.
"Ha — look at you," Noah said, hugging himself for warmth, but still pointing at the curse with a grin. "IS THE LITTLE RAT SCARED?!" He heard his teacher's footsteps approaching through the trees.
A golden cross tore through the curse's heart, killing it instantly.
Noah finally passed out. The danger was gone, and he could rest. As he fell, his teacher caught him and noticed he was freezing. He pulled out his jacket of deerskin and wrapped Noah in it. Only then did he notice the tower of red ice standing at least nine feet tall at the center of the clearing — but he didn't linger on it. He hoisted Noah onto his back and ran.
As he ran, his thoughts circled back to the red ice. Was that blood? Was that Noah's blood? Is that why he's so cold?… No — his blood… is cold. His body is pumping cold blood through his entire system. The Exorcist reached Noah's house and knocked desperately on the door.
A few minutes later, Noah's mother opened it quickly and smiled. "Noah! How was training?" Her smile vanished. Her eyes went wide with horror. "Dear lord — Jaune! Jaune, please, come quick!"
"We need a fire — fast. And blankets," Noah's teacher said.
The father ran down the stairs, having overheard. He went straight for wood and rocks, gathered some blankets, and built a fire in the chimney. He placed the stones near the flames, and once they were hot, he arranged them as a kind of bed, layered blankets over them, and wrapped Noah inside. Noah's breathing was labored, but he was slowly improving.
Noah's teacher was thoroughly scolded by Noah's mother — though she calmed down after a few minutes. By then, Noah had opened his eyes.
"Dad," Noah said. His mother and father rushed to his side, and his mother pulled him into a hug. "Dad, Mom — do you hate me?" He stared into the fire. He couldn't bring himself to look at them.
His father sat beside him near the warmth and smiled. "From what I heard, you showed that curse who's boss. I'm so proud of you."
"That's not what I asked."
His mother let go of the hug and sat beside his father, taking his arm. "I heard you learned a little about your ability today. I'm so proud of you," she said with a smile.
"That's not what I asked!"
"Everyone has doubts about themselves. You're eight — it's the age when you start noticing them. But when you're older, the only thing you'll remember is that your parents were always proud of you," Noah's father said.
"All the things a curse says are doubts you already carry — doubts you would rather bury until something forces them to the surface. That is how a curse gains control of a human body," Noah's teacher added, sipping his hot tea.
Noah's mother turned and slapped him on the back of the head. "That tea is for my son, you old fool." Then she looked back at Noah.
"But always remember — we are so proud of you, baby. We always will be. Do you know what that means, Noah?"
"Yeah, yeah. I know what it means, Ma," Noah said, and buried himself in the blankets.
A few weeks passed, and Noah visited his grandparents' house as usual. He often stopped by after long hours in the library, sometimes staying the night. He loved his grandparents deeply, though he had never met his mother's side of the family. His mother occasionally spoke of them — how they had died protecting her, leaving her alone when she was still very young. They had been Exorcists before his teacher. He had learned from them, so in a way, Noah felt they were still part of his life.
On one visit, his grandparents told him about a different world — a terrible world of endless battles and conflicts sparked by the smallest provocations. The last thing they had heard before boarding the boat that brought them here was a rumor of a second great war, one in which people planned to weaponize the powers that their symbols granted. "But there is beauty in that place too — magnificent creatures, breathtaking views. There are these places called dungeons, filled with monsters. And if you are lucky, you find a good woman who is kind to you… I was truly a lucky man."
"Anyway — there are good things and bad things. In that world, many divisions and groups are funded by the government, each formed to exterminate curses. There are six in total: the Lionhearts, the Lostshadows, the Solarflares, the Firewalkers, the Soulseekers, and the Hellhounds. The last of these is feared by all the other Exorcist divisions. To join one, you must first complete a test that earns you a place among those a division may choose."
For months afterward, Noah rarely used his ability — it hurt him. He discovered he could walk on water, or rather, freeze it beneath his feet. This did not hurt him. He could also coat himself in the red water and found that in a river or the ocean, he could swim faster than any human.
But using it in combat made him freeze over from within, and he would faint after only seconds. He also discovered that the water he created tasted like blood — yet he was not drawing from his own body's water or blood. He simply… made it, somehow.
Since he could not rely on his combat ability, he turned to holy tools to hunt curses. He trained harder than anyone, studied more than was required, and grew skilled at killing low-level curses. It was, in all honesty, a happy life.
Or was it…