Sunlight spilled through the curtains, warm and golden, painting the room in quiet serenity. He breathed it in, savoring the faint aroma of breakfast — eggs, toast, something sweet his mother had baked. For a moment, life felt infinite. Perfect. Ordinary.
Haruto remembered the laughter. His parents joking, teasing, humming in the kitchen. Their warmth was a shield, a world that promised safety. That world ended the day he was five.
Tires screeched. Smoke filled the air. Screams — his parents' screams — etched into his mind like fire. He tried to move, to stop it, to change it… but he was powerless. Their eyes, wide with fear, their voices torn by agony, burned into him. The world folded. He was left with nothing but silence and ash.
Years passed, each one colder than the last. He became a salaryman, blending into gray streets and gray offices. He stared at spreadsheets, listened to endless meetings, and went home to empty apartments. Life was a monotone hum, punctuated by fleeting moments of distraction — a beer, a cheap thrill, a smile he didn't feel.
And then, suddenly, the world broke again.
Shadows moved strangely across the pavement. Shapes flickered in the corners of his vision, grotesque and impossible, like broken sketches trying to take form. The city bent, twisted subtly, as though reality itself were a page being rewritten.
Instincts kicked in. World Observation skill activated. Patterns, anomalies, potential threats — every possibility flickered before his eyes.
Then he saw it. On the next rooftop, a figure moved. Subtle, quiet, yet… aware.
Like him.
Someone from outside this story. Someone who could stop him. Stop his rise. Stop his dream of becoming the protagonist.
A thrill of power surged through him, hot and electric. He realised he has two abilities: Insta-Kill and World Observation. No hesitation. No thought. Just action.
He struck.
The figure collapsed instantly, erased before it even had a chance to react. Silence stretched for a heartbeat, then he laughed. Maniacally. Wildly. Unrestrained.
> "Hahaha! I am the absolute! No one can stop me! I am untouchable! I am the protagonist of this world!"
At his feet, the Codex appeared, silver edges glowing faintly. Its pages fluttered like a silent observer, acknowledging the act but offering no command. Monsters lifted their heads. The world watched him. He wasn't just part of the story anymore. He was the storm that would rewrite it.
-------