Night had fallen over the wasteland. A broken city once full of life now lay in ruins, with only the wind left to whisper through shattered glass and crumbled towers. On top of one of the last standing buildings, Sorata—once known as Saito—stood, staring at the radiant moon. Its cold light painted the world in silver. The wind tugged at his jacket, but he stood still, lost in the memories that crept through the silence.
A flashback played in his mind.
Thirteen years old. Kojin's voice roared at him.
"You're a disgrace! A failure!"
The words echoed like a curse burned into his very soul.
Back in the present, Sorata smiled faintly. It was not a smile of joy, but one of defiance—sharp and bitter.
"Maybe I was a failure, one who couldnt meet your expectations," he muttered to himself, eyes fixed on the moon. "But it'll be that same failure that kills him. One that burns his entire life apart."
He glanced down at his hand. The familiar burn mark had worsened. The skin was darkened and raw. He flexed his fingers with slight pain.
"Guess I should stop overdoing it," he said to himself, half-laughing at his own recklessness.
Just then, his phone rang, buzzing with a soft hum that broke the stillness. He answered.
"Yo."
"Have you started searching for the Millennia Stone?" Ukina's voice chimed from the other end, light and teasing.
Sorata frowned. "Which one are you talking about?"
Ukina giggled. "The Wind Stone, silly. I told you already."
He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I'm already on it. Stop bothering me."
"Don't get yourself killed, alright?" she said playfully, and the call ended with a beep.
Sorata pocketed the phone. Without hesitation, he stepped off the edge of the building, landing gracefully. The ruins stretched ahead like the skeleton of a forgotten dream. He began his search.
Eighteen Years Ago
Six-year-old Saito sprinted into the living room, full of excitement.
"Dad! Dad! Come see what I can do!" he shouted, eyes glowing with anticipation.
Kojin, then 34, looked up from his seat with a cold, disgusted gaze. "What do you want now?"
"I… I've started to get the hang of using destructive energy!" Saito said, holding up his small hands.
"Stop deceiving yourself," Kojin muttered. "Get lost."
"KOJIN!" Shizume barked from nearby. The red-haired woman who's hair resemble flames, glared at her husband. "He's excited to show you something. At least pretend to care."
Kojin sighed. "Fine. Meet me in the training room."
"Yesss!" Saito grinned. "I won't let you down!"
Later in the training room, Saito struggled to gather destructive energy in his palms. His face was strained, every ounce of effort pouring into it. The result was… underwhelming. He was only able to release a small amount of destructive energy, one that resembled dark flames mixed with dark lightning.
Kojin's face twisted with disappointment. "That's it? You wasted my time for this?"
"Wait! I'm not done! I was able to pull of something better a while back. I'm telling, my output was huge" Saito cried. But the unstable energy burst, scorching his small hands.
He screamed in pain.
Shizume rushed in. "What happened?!"
Kojin turned away. "Take this disgrace of a child away."
Later, Shizume sat in the living room gently treating the burns on Saito's hands. He looked up at her with teary eyes.
"Why doesn't Dad want to accept me?" he asked softly.
Shizume smiled through her pain. "He's just busy. But that doesn't mean he doesn't love you."
"I just want him to see how hard I'm trying… I wanna be strong like him."
She hugged him close. "You'll be stronger. Stronger than both of us one day."
She ignited a small flame in her hand. "And this flame? One day, your power will burn brighter than even this."
Weeks Later
Shizume gave birth. The boy had red hair like his mother.
"It's a boy," the doctor said.
Kojin, surprisingly smiling, named him. "His name will be Sōn!"
Saito looked at the baby, smiling. "I cant believe it, I'll be an elder brother.... im actually an elder brother..! I'll be a good big brother," he whispered.
Shizume patted his head. "You'll be the best. Just take care of your kid brother from now on"
Seven Years Later
Seven-year-old Son blasted massive fireballs into the stream. At this time, he had reached D-rank.
"That's enough training!" Shizume called. "Time to eat. You've worked up a good amount of sweat."
Elsewhere, Saito—now older—trained alone in the forest, his hands raw with burns. He'd been pushing himself past his limits, gathering destructive energy and blowing down trees. The pain didn't matter anymore. Saito had beraly made it to C-rank.
Kojin appeared behind him.
"You've trained for years and you still get burned by your own power. Not just that, but your output isn't even that great. What's potency without huge power to back it up?" he said coldly. "You'd be dead in a real fight."
He paused. "And… why is your hair turning purple? Did you dye it?"
Saito, numb, didn't even notice.
Kojin sighed. "You're hopeless. Just get lost."
He turned away.
Saito broke. His eyes filled with tears.
"Why can't I ever impress him…?" he whispered to himself. "Why…?"
That night, he sat under the moonlight, the moon light was reflecting into his eyes, it was like a form of therapy to Saito.
Son tapped him on the back. "Big bro? What's wrong?"
Saito wiped his face. "Nothing. Just thinking."
"Dad praised me today!" Son smiled. "He said I was strong!"
Saito forced a smile. "Good job. You're gonna be strong, Son. Stronger than me."
He looked up at the moon. "I hope Dad praises me one day too…"
He turned to his little brother with a warm smile. "Let's both become strong, okay?"
"Yeah!" Son grinned.
Later That Night
Shizume brought tea to Kojin's room.
"You're too harsh on Saito," she said firmly.
Kojin shot her a cold glare. "Get lost."
"You treat him like trash. Sometimes I wonder how you're even a lord."
"Shut it. I don't want to hear it. A kid who cant even reach the normal strenght standard is not mine. And fo top it off, his power kills him. There's no way he can ever make it, he'd be dead on a real mission." Kojin snapped.
"If you keep this up, your hate will consume you. You only like people who have power, with no regard for others who aren't as strong." she warned.
Kojin exploded with rage. A blast of destructive energy erupted from him, slamming into Shizume and leaving her broken on the floor with burns. Luckily, she was able to cover herself with flames to protect herself to an extent from Kojin's intense blast.
Saito rushed into the room.
"MOM!"
Kojin stood above her, hands still crackling with dark energy.
"Anyone who can't impress me is a failure. Weaklings don't deserve my respect. That includes you."
Kojin's eyes burned into his son. "You're a disgrace. You're not even worth being my son."
Saito trembled with tears in his eyes. His heart broke completely.
"I… I looked up to you," he whispered. "I wanted to be like you…. That's why... THAT'S WHY I KEPT TRAINING! TO BE AS STRONG AS YOU ARE!"
But his pain turned to rage, Saito's dark eyes started gleaming purple.
"One day… I'll become stronger than you. And I'll kill you."
Kojin struck him to the ground and slammed him into the wall with powerful destructive energy.
Saito roared and struck back, landing a punch with all the energy he had, it was enough to tear a building on half. But it wasn't enough. Kojin knocked him to the ground effortlessly.
That night, bruised and broken, Saito left the house.
With fire in his eyes and hatred in his soul, he swore,
"I will become powerful. I'll kill Kojin for everything he's done. For looking down on me. For constantly regarding me as a disgrace.... I'll show him."
Back in the Present
Sorata walked through the ruined city. The moonlight cast shadows around him.
"I'll kill him… no matter what," he muttered with a smile.
A massive beast lunged from behind, it's teeth was huge and it's claws were terrifying.
Sorata didn't flinch.
"I'm not dying before that happens."
He raised his hand—and in a burst of pure, purple destructive energy, he obliterated the monster in an instant.
The wind howled once more through the lifeless city.
Sorata kept walking.
END OF CHAPTER