Chapter 9: If Only I Was Never Born
The B-rank rift monster did not hurry.
It had no reason to.
Time itself seemed to stretch beneath its gaze, each heartbeat elongated into a cruel, deliberate rhythm. The lesser monsters remained perfectly still behind it, bodies twitching faintly, eyes glowing with obedience, waiting for permission to breathe.
This was not a hunt.
It was an execution.
Kael moved first.
Not because he believed he could win—but because standing still felt worse than dying.
His sword trembled violently in his hands as he staggered forward, boots slipping on the slick, blood-stained stone. Pain tore through every joint, every muscle, but his eyes burned with defiance.
"Alex," Kael whispered, voice hoarse. "Close your eyes."
Alex didn't.
He couldn't.
The monster raised one claw.
The lesser beasts surged.
Kael roared, swinging with everything left in his broken body. Steel bit into flesh, tearing one of the beasts apart. Another screamed as its arm was severed. For a heartbeat, it seemed resistance might matter.
Then a massive claw pierced Kael's side.
He was lifted into the air.
Alex felt the scream rip from his own chest before he realized it wasn't his.
Kael thrashed helplessly as jaws clamped around his torso. Bones snapped, flesh tore. His scream cut off violently, and his body was ripped apart and thrown like a ragdoll.
Alex collapsed.
He vomited.
Kael was gone.
Not fallen. Not defeated. Gone.
The B-rank monster leaned forward, eyes glimmering.
"Beautiful. Such spirit. Such a fragile shell."
Tavik staggered next, shaking violently.
"No… get out of my head! GET OUT!"
The monster's eyes flared.
Tavik screamed—a scream not of pain, but of mind-violation.
Alex watched as veins bulged across Tavik's neck, eyes rolling back. Invisible claws clawed into his mind, memories bleeding out: hunts, laughter, pride, fear.
The monster inhaled, savoring it.
Tavik's scream faded into a hollow gasp. Then nothing. His body collapsed, empty.
Alex could barely breathe.
The people who had fought for him, died for him—gone. And he was still alive.
Liora crawled forward, sobbing, reaching for Tavik.
"Please… stop… please…"
The monster moved toward her.
It seized her by the throat, lifting her effortlessly. Her barrier flared weakly, then shattered. Blood poured from her side. She screamed as claws pierced her flesh.
Alex saw red.
Something inside him broke.
He ran.
He didn't think. He didn't plan.
He slammed into the monster's arm, fists pounding against unyielding chitin.
"LET HER GO!"
The monster looked down at him with amusement and flicked him aside.
Alex crashed into the stone wall. Pain erupted in his abdomen, something inside tearing. He collapsed, blood gushing from his stomach.
"You… you are pathetic," the monster whispered, crouching beside him. "Weak among humans, weak among monsters. A defect."
Alex's vision blurred. Tears and blood mixed on his face.
"I… didn't ask… to be born…" he whispered, voice cracking.
The monster dragged Liora closer by her hair.
Alex's heart shattered.
"No—please—she's… she's the only one who… she helped me…"
The monster sank its fangs into her neck.
Blood sprayed.
Liora screamed.
Alex screamed louder.
He clawed at the stone, nails breaking. He sobbed uncontrollably as his strength abandoned him.
"I'm sorry," he cried. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry I couldn't do anything… I'm sorry…"
His mind twisted inward, thoughts collapsing.
If only I wasn't born defective.
If only mana hadn't rejected me.
If only I had died first.
If only I had never existed.
Darkness pressed against him.
The monster loomed, whispering, "This is your place. To watch. To regret."
Death reached for him.
Then—
Something moved.
Not above. Not around.
Beneath.
Deep beneath the ruins, where forgotten blood and ancient stone intertwined, something stirred. Not awakened—but noticed.
A voice echoed, not in sound, but in thought.
You curse your birth.
The darkness answered back, acknowledging.
You regret your weakness.
Blood pooled beneath him.
You regret watching everyone you cared for be taken.
The monster stiffened, feeling it.
Then abandon the lie you were given.
A black-red light seeped through cracks in the stone, crawling across the ruins like veins awakening after eons. It wrapped around Alex's broken form—not gently, not kindly—but possessively, claiming what had always been its own.
The monster staggered backward, eyes wide.
"This… this is forbidden…" it whispered.
The voice ignored it. Ignored the world. Ignored the gods.
You were not rejected.
The light tightened around Alex.
You were spared.
Pain returned—but reshaped, cold and burning, as though hatred and hunger had been forged into fire.
Alex's fingers twitched.
The ruins trembled.
[Ancient Demon System Detected]
[Host: Alex]
[Condition: Near Death]
[Forced Awakening Initiated]
His eyes snapped open.
They were no longer filled with tears.
They were empty.
And far beneath the world, something ancient smiled—for the first time, a defect had found a purpose.