the era of calamities

As soon as I stepped into the house, a stench invaded my nostrils. That smell—it was rot. This time, it wasn’t an illusion created by the parasite but reality itself, because I could see the bodies of two adults—a man and a woman—lying on a bed, holding hands. At their bedside, a young girl with pink hair, about twelve years old, remained still. In front of me stood a boy, around fourteen, with black hair. He was gripping a kitchen knife, pointing it at me.

You didn’t need to be a genius to understand what had happened. Their parents had gone through the Awakening and failed, leaving them alone in the world.

They reminded me of my childhood. Instinctively, my heart tightened. I couldn’t explain it in words, but I had finally understood. The black aura hovering above their heads represented the hatred they felt. I looked at the boy.

"Hey, pretty boy, so..."

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I had barely opened my mouth before he rushed at me, knife in hand, aiming straight for my heart. But I didn’t move an inch.

He stabbed me directly in the heart—but he was the one who screamed in pain and stumbled.

A mere human could never even scratch an Initiate with a kitchen knife.

Even after failing, he kept staring at me. All I could see in his eyes was hatred. No matter what I said or did, nothing would change that. It was too late. He had let himself be consumed by it.

I glanced at his sister. There was no light in her eyes, only emptiness. She, too, was lost forever.

They had so much to hate, yet so little to love.