That day was different from the usual clamor. It lacked the monotonous rhythm of the living hell I called a daily routine. Evening was fast approaching, yet the clan's refuse—those who usually took every opportunity to pour their loathing upon me under the guise of 'concern'—were nowhere to be found. Instead, my unnervingly sharp ears caught a cacophony of raised voices, thunderous applause, and the heavy thud of furniture being overturned.
'What is all this noise about? I need to see for myself.'
Avoiding the gaze of the clan members who couldn't care less about my existence, I crept toward the source of the commotion. Through the narrow gap of a sliding door left ajar in the hallway, I saw the Clan Head's wife cradling a newborn. Beside her stood the Clan Head, looking uncharacteristically jubilant, while the Elders laughed heartily and clapped their hands. The room itself was a disaster—bookshelves were toppled, and the windows were spiderwebbed with fresh cracks.
'Hah. So that's it. More trash has simply sired more trash. Did he vent a burst of Cursed Energy the moment he was born? What a cursed amount of talent.'
The man who was my father had been the Clan Head, but he died only a few years after my birth, succumbing to the lingering ailments accumulated from a lifetime of exorcising Cursed Spirits. My mother... simply because she gave birth to a 'monkey' like me in the great and powerful Zenin household, she was cast out before her body could even recover from labor.
"Is it really such a sin? To be born without Cursed Energy?"
I hung my head, biting my lip hard to suppress the surging bile of my resentment. A thin trail of blood trickled down my chin, but I didn't have the luxury of caring. I looked up once more. Inside the room, the infant let out a robust cry. The Clan Head's wife, seemingly exhausted by the raw output of Cursed Energy the child had released, collapsed where she sat. The room fell into a minor panic. Realizing the occupants would soon be filing out, I beat a hasty retreat to my own room. The last thing I wanted was an encounter with the clan's elite garbage.
Even back in the silence of my quarters, my mind remained a whirlpool of thought. It was jealousy—pure and simple. Jealousy for the child born with talent I could never possess. Jealousy for the child who would grow up enveloped in the love of parents I never knew. Jealousy that, despite both of us being the sons of a Clan Head, our lives would be worlds apart. That night, though I lay in bed without the usual harassment, sleep was more elusive than ever.
The next morning, I straightened my bedding, letting the foreign thoughts continue to drift through my mind. It was a sensation I had never felt when looking at the other brats in the clan. Usually, since they ignored me, I ignored them back, letting their existence slide past me. But this jealousy was persistent, asserting its presence in the center of my heart. I needed a way to resolve this feeling. To do that, I first needed to see the child's face.
'I have to go. If I don't, I feel like I'll go mad.'
As if possessed, I left my room and headed toward the chamber from yesterday. I could sense that only the Clan Head's wife was resting there, so I began searching for the nursery. While wandering aimlessly, I crossed paths with one of the Clan Elders. He looked down at me with a gaze full of scorn.
"What are you doing here, Shame of the Zenin? This isn't the time for a creature like you to be wandering about. Well, no matter. It is time for us to check on the youngest Young Master. Return to your room. I shall deal with you properly later."
I had intended to just walk past him, but the title 'youngest Young Master' caught my ear. I lifted my head instinctively and then began to shadow the Elder as he walked away. When he entered the room, it was crowded, as if every member of the clan had converged there. As the Clan Head held the child aloft with pride, the words that pierced my ears were 'The Future of the Zenin' and 'The Hope of the Zenin.'
"God damn it... Who's the 'future' and who's the 'shame'...?"
The curse, fueled by a sudden spike of rage, escaped my lips, though it never reached their ears. Relieved, I focused my gaze solely on the child. Even while being held by his father, the brat simply rolled his eyes around until he heard his own name. Then, he burst into a loud wail. It was a pathetic, almost comical sight.
'Heh... Do you hate the Zenin already, too?'
I swallowed a bitter laugh. Sensing the Elders were about to exit, I slipped into a nearby room to hide. Facing the Elders at this moment would only lead to a horrific outcome. Fortunately, I went unnoticed. Once the sound of footsteps faded, I stepped out. The nursery was now empty, save for the child. I watched him for a while as he stared blankly at the ceiling. The sight only made my heart feel heavier, so I turned and left.
The next day, just as I was leaving my room to head back to that brat, I ran into an Elder who couldn't seem to suppress a smirk upon seeing me.
"Oh, Toji. Just the person I was looking for. Come with me. I have a gift for you."
The way he spoke so familiarly while wearing that disgusting smile made me want to retch, but I had no choice but to follow. He led me to a suspicious, heavy door. The Elder grinned at me, then threw the door open and shoved me inside. Laughing with twisted delight, he tossed something toward me and waved farewell.
"Zenin Toji. Do your best to survive. I'll open the door when the time is right."
The door slammed shut, plunging the room into absolute darkness. I couldn't see a thing, but my hyper-sensitive body trembled with instinctive primal fear. I felt a presence rushing toward me and reflexively swung the object in my hand. The presence vanished, only to be replaced by a flood of others closing in.
"Damn it... DAMN IT!! I'll kill you all. If I have to survive this, I'll kill every last one of you."
I surrendered myself to the tide of killing intent. To survive, that was all I could do.