Kairo was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling of his dark room.
The events of the day kept repeating in his mind again and again, like a nightmare he could not escape.
The angry voice of his grandfather…
The cold silence of his mother…
The laughter of his siblings…
He slowly closed his eyes and whispered in his mind,
Why am I like this?
Why am I the only one who has no power?
Why was I even born in this family?
In this world, power was everything.
Those who had power were respected.
Those who had talent were loved.
And those who had neither… were ignored.
And Kairo had neither.
Or at least, that's what everyone believed.
Just as Kairo was lost in his thoughts, the door of his room suddenly opened without a knock.
A boy walked in with confident steps.
It was Ketlos.
He looked at Kairo and made a disgusted expression.
Chi… Kairo, you're still lying here? Doing nothing as always, Ketlos said with a mocking smile.
Do you even feel shame? We're both turning fifteen tomorrow… but you still don't have any cultivation power.
Kairo slowly sat up on his bed but said nothing.
Ketlos continued walking around the room, looking at things like he owned the place.
Look at me, Ketlos said proudly. I'm already at the peak of Qi Gathering. Very soon, I'll break through to Meridian Opening Stage.
He looked straight into Kairo's eyes and smirked.
And you?
You're still a nobody.
No power.
No talent.
Nothing.
You're a disgrace to the family.
Those words felt like knives stabbing into Kairo's chest.
Kairo's hands slowly tightened into fists.
His breathing became heavy.
A strange burning feeling started rising inside his chest — anger, pain, humiliation…
everything mixed together.
Ketlos turned around, about to leave, but then he said one more thing:
Sometimes I wonder… why did this family even keep you?
That was it.
Before he could even think, Kairo suddenly stood up and threw a punch toward Ketlos's face with all his strength.
But Ketlos was calm.
Very calm.
He easily caught Kairo's punch with one hand.
Kairo's eyes widened in shock.
Ketlos looked at him with cold eyes.
You're too slow.
In the next second, Ketlos punched Kairo hard in the stomach.
The impact was heavy.
Kairo felt all the air leave his body.
His body bent forward and he fell to his knees on the floor, holding his stomach in pain.
He couldn't breathe.
He couldn't stand.
It felt like his insides were burning.
Ketlos looked down at him with disappointment and disgust.
Pathetic, he said. You can't even fight back properly.
He turned around and started walking toward the door.
Before leaving, he stopped and said without looking back,
Tomorrow is the family talent test. Don't embarrass us again.
Then he left.
The door closed.
The room became silent again.
Kairo was still on the floor, holding his stomach, his body shaking from pain.
But the pain in his heart was far worse than the pain in his body.
He slowly lay down on the cold floor, staring into the darkness.
In his mind, only one thought kept repeating again and again:
Why am I so weak?
Why am I such a failure?
Why… am I like this?
His vision started to become blurry.
His consciousness started to fade.
And slowly…
Kairo lost consciousness.
But he did not know…
That this night—
The night he fainted in pain and despair—
Was the night his life was going to change forever.