BEFORE WE STARTED I AM FLOOEYE YES I AM INDEED NOT COPYING OR STEALING IDENTITY I HAD MY GMAIL LINKED TO MY REAL ACCOUNT BUT IT BANISHED AND CREATED A NEW ACCOUNT SO I THOUGHT MAYBE ITS BECAUSE OF THE RECENT NOVEL IVE RELEASED THE HERO THINGY SO BEFORE CONTINUING THE STORY
CAUTION NEXT CHAPTERS WILL BE DEPRESSING IF YOU ARE LIGHT IN HEART DON'T CONTINUE I DON'T PROMOTE ANYTHING LIKE HURTING IS GOOD HURTING SOMEONE WILL BE ALWAYS BAD SO THAT'S ALL THIS IS AN 18+ NOVEL IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE SAD THINGS JUST LEAVE FOR THE SAKE OF YOU, IF YOU WANTED LIGHT HEARTED STORY YOU CAN CHECK MY NOVELCOOL ACCOUNT WAYS TO BE LOVED IS THE TITLE
**Chapter 14**
*Gosei's POV*
It's been two months.
Still no progress.
Naoki, my nephew, sits like a hollow statue in his hospital bed. Eyes open, body alive, but something inside him is gone—burned, broken, vanished. My sister, his mother, is still in a coma. A machine breathes for her, and I pray every day it doesn't stop.
We've moved far from that cursed city. I used the money Kazuki gave me—blood money—to disappear. We're now in a small coastal town. Quiet. Safe. Or at least, that's what I tell myself.
My wife and kids live in a small house near the hospital. I watch them every morning, pretending this life is normal. But I can't lie to myself. Not when I see Naoki like that.
I visit him every day.
I talk.
I joke.
I beg.
But he stares at the ceiling. No recognition. No light.
I keep trying. But every word feels like it vanishes in a void.
And every time I see him, I ask the same questions in my head:
**Why? Why didn't you contact me?**
I punch the hospital wall once. My knuckles bleed. I don't care.
"My nephew is broken," I whisper to the hallway. "My sister is dying."
**How could those with power be this evil?**
---
*Flashback: Two months ago*
It was just another quiet afternoon. My kids were playing, my wife preparing dinner. The sound of laughter echoed around the house—until my wife stepped into the room. Her face was pale.
"There's something you need to know," she said softly, handing me the phone.
It was Kazuki.
The tone of his voice chilled me to the bone.
"Come to St. Augustine Hospital. It's... it's Naoki."
I raced there without even putting my shoes on properly. When I arrived, I saw a body in the ICU that barely resembled my nephew.
Bruises.
Burns.
Scars.
Words branded into his skin with heated metal. Cruel, mocking words.
'TOY.'
'FREAK.'
'DOG.'
I staggered back. My knees hit the floor.
The rage came like a storm.
And then I saw Kazuki. My childhood friend. Now a police officer.
I grabbed him by the collar.
"WHO DID THIS!?" I screamed. "TELL ME!"
He stared at me with tired, broken eyes. Then pushed me away. And punched me.
"You've grown soft, Gosei. Too soft since you left the battlefield."
I clutched my jaw, panting. "What are you talking about?!"
"I'm talking about forgetting this," Kazuki said. "Drop it."
"Are you out of your mind?! THEY TORTURED HIM!"
Kazuki threw two briefcases at my feet.
"What the hell is this?"
"Enough for a new life. There's a credit card, too. Take it. Disappear."
I was stunned. "You think I'd accept this?"
Kazuki didn't flinch. "You have a family, right? A wife? Kids? Don't make them a target. These people... they're monsters with influence. You go after them, you'll drag everyone down with you."
He turned away.
"I hope I never see your ugly mug again," he muttered.
---
*Present: Back in the coastal town*
I tried every back channel, every former comrade I knew. They all gave the same answer:
**"You can't win."**
Even soldiers I bled with turned their backs. Fear clung to their voices like chains.
Until I reached out to someone who owed me his life.
**Mash.**
A ghost from the old world.
A man with a scar down his cheek, marking the day I dragged him from death in a desert long ago.
We agreed to meet in a city bar, packed with middle-aged drunks, neon lights blaring like false hope. I spotted him at the back—same crooked grin, same dangerous aura.
"What's up, M?" I greeted.
He gave me a hug. "Yo, Gosei. Damn, life after the army really softened you up."
I chuckled weakly. "Peaceful life. Or it was."
Mash gestured to the drinks. "You here to drink or dig?"
"Dig," I said. "I need info. On a group of rich brats. High schoolers. They're untouchable."
He raised an eyebrow. Then slid an envelope across the table.
"It's all there."
"Thanks, M. You're the only one who said yes."
"No prob, bro. Just don't read it here."
I nodded, gripped the envelope—and then everything went black.
---
I woke up in a dark room. My head pounded. My vision blurred.
In front of me sat Mash.
Behind him… my family.
My wife. My son. My daughter.
Tied. Gagged. Terrified.
"No... no…"
Mash leaned in, knife glinting. "Let this be a lesson."
"Why, Mash?! WHY!?"
"You think I'm just 'Mash' now? You think I don't have connections?"
I wanted to kill him. I wanted to scream. But the sight of my kids kept me frozen.
"I'm letting you go. Just this once. Because we were brothers."
He stepped back, slicing the ropes off my family.
"But this is your last warning. Walk away. Or next time, you won't see them again."
We left. My wife cried all night. My children clung to her like scared animals.
I didn't sleep.
And the next day, I stood in Naoki's hospital room.
He stared at the ceiling.
Lifeless.
"Naoki…" I whispered. "Do you still remember Unc
le Gosei?"
He didn't blink.
Didn't move.
Didn't breathe a different breath.
He was still alive.
But something inside him was long, long dead.
**To be continued...**