"Mira! What are you doing over there?"
Lucian's voice rang out through the street.
The little girl instantly turned around, her face lighting up like the morning sun.
"Brother! Brother!" she shouted, waving both hands excitedly."I'm feeding this poor dog. He looked hungry, so I'm doing a good deed. That way I can go to heaven!"
Lucian stopped a few steps away.
For a brief moment, a cynical smile tugged at his lips, almost bitter in a way that didn't suit someone his age.
But the moment he looked at her, it softened.
He crouched beside her and gently ruffled her hair.
"You know, my dear little sister," he said, his voice calm, "if you do good deeds expecting something in return, then what's the point of doing them?"
The dog ate peacefully while Mira carefully patted its head.
She puffed her cheeks.
"But the adults said they donate to places and stuff so God protects them and lets them into heaven. I'm just doing my part too, you know!"
Lucian let out a small laugh.
His strange habit surfaced again.
Smiling even during serious moments.
He got down on one knee and gently caressed her head.
"But my cute little sister can get into heaven with just her cuteness alone."
Mira gasped dramatically.
"What if I get stopped at the gate by the gatekeeper?"
Lucian puffed out his chest in an exaggerated pose.
"Then I'll kick his butt and ask him how dare he stop my little angel."
Mira stared at him for a second.
Then both of them burst into laughter.
Lucian lifted her into the air and made her "fly," while she stretched her arms out and squealed in delight.
Then their mother's voice called from behind.
"Mira! Lucian! Hurry up! Your father brought ice cream!"
Mira immediately jumped out of his arms and dashed toward the house.
"Last one gets nothing! Ehehehe!"
She stuck out her tongue and ran off.
Lucian smiled and followed at a calm pace, watching his little sister run ahead with a mischievous grin while Elena stood at the doorway with a small smile.
For a brief moment, everything felt perfect.
Later that evening, the family sat together in the living room.
Mira happily devoured her second ice cream, proudly earned from winning the race.
Ethan laughed while teasing her.
Elena joined in with soft scolding.
Watching them, Lucian felt only peace.
The kind of peace that made him silently wish:
let it stay like this forever.
The Morrow family was nothing special.
A middle-class household.
They lived paycheck to paycheck on Ethan's salary while Elena stayed home.
There were struggles.
Bills.
Arguments.
But they were happy.
And they had each other.
Lucian was nearly sixteen.
Mira was nine.
To him, that was enough.
Lucian stood and stretched.
"Alright, guys. It's the weekend. I'm pulling an all-nighter in the basement. Good night."
Before he could leave, Ethan's voice stopped him.
"Have you thought about which sector you plan to choose?"
Before Lucian could answer, Elena cut in.
"Come on, Ethan. Let the boy enjoy his weekend. We can talk in the morning."
Ethan sighed helplessly.
"You spoil him too much."
Then he pointed a finger at Lucian.
"But you better tell me in two days, young man."
Lucian gave him a mock military salute and blew a kiss toward his mother.
Elena gave him the look that clearly said run while you still can.
Grinning, he headed downstairs.
Settling into his chair, he let out a long satisfied sigh.
"Ahh… weekends. Single-player games in peace. Dad really gave me a gamer's dream."
The basement was quiet.
Cut off from the outside world.
His own small kingdom.
Hours passed without him noticing.
Stuck on one boss of a game.
Only when he glanced at the time did his face pale.
"Shit… it's almost morning. CURSE YOU BAYLE!" screaming at his monitor.
Then, he quickly shut down the PC and dropped onto the bed.
Tomorrow was still the weekend.
He could sleep in.
That was his last thought.
Lucian woke up drenched in sweat.
A nightmare.
He was sure of it.
But strangely, he couldn't remember any of it.
Frowning, he drank some water and headed upstairs.
"Mom?"
Silence.
"Dad?"
Nothing.
"Mira?"
Still nothing.
An eerie silence pressed against his skull.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He rushed outside.
And froze.
The sky had changed.
Gone was the familiar blue.
In its place hung a sick, unnatural crimson-gray.
Then he saw them.
The poles.
Tall.
Dozens of them.
And hanging from them—
His feet moved on their own.
Slowly.
Mindlessly.
"Mom…"
"Dad…"
"Mira…"
He kept repeating the names.
Still smiling.
Still fucking smiling.
As if his mind refused to accept what his eyes were seeing.
Below the poles, a group of devotees sat around an idol, praying.
One noticed him and laughed.
"Oh, brother, come. You too must be moved by our god's greatness."
Another pointed upward.
"Don't be like these fools who worshipped another god."
Then one of them chuckled.
A disgusting, delighted sound.
"The little one screamed the loudest."
Lucian stopped.
His eyes slowly lifted.
The man continued, almost proudly.
"We made her watch first."
Another joined in, laughing.
"We tore open the mother first."
He licked his lips.
"Her intestines were still warm."
A third one grinned.
"We used them as a rope."
Silence.
Lucian didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
The devotee laughed harder.
"Wrapped them around the little girl's neck while she screamed for her brother."
"Brother! Brother!"
He mimicked her voice.
"She kept crying while choking. It was fucking beautiful."
Another one added—
"The father kept crawling toward them even after we broke both his legs."
They laughed.
Laughed as if sharing a fond memory.
Lucian's body trembled.
Once.
Twice.
Then violently.
His knees slammed into the ground.
His fingers dug into the dirt so hard his nails tore.
"Mira…"
A whisper.
Then louder.
"Mira…"
His shoulders shook.
The devotees grinned.
They thought he was crying.
Then the sound came.
A laugh.
Broken.
Hollow.
A sound that should never come from a human throat.
Lucian dropped on his knees and slammed his forehead into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Blood splattered across the dirt.
"Why?"
Bang.
"WhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhy?"
Bang.
"WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT?"
Bang.
Then silence.
Lucian slowly raised his head.
Blood streamed down his face.
Tears mixed with it.
And then—
He smiled.
A smile so wrong that even the devotees stepped back.
This wasn't the smile of an awkward boy.
This was something shattered.
Something rotten.
Something born from grief so deep it had turned into pure hatred.
He slowly rose to his feet.
The air around him began to distort.
Something dark poured from him.
Not aura.
Not magic.
Pure fucking malice.
Pure spite.
His voice came out low.
Broken.
"You fucking bastards…"
He looked at them.
Then at the sky.
Then at Mira.
"You should never have fucking done that."
His smile widened.
"Now every single one of you is going to fucking die."
He took one step forward.
The ground cracked beneath his foot.
"Your families."
"Your children."
"Your fucking gods."
His eyes rose toward the heavens.
"I'll fucking kill them all."
His voice became a roar.
"I'll climb into your fucking heaven and tear those gods apart with my fucking bare hands!"
"I'll make even death refuse to take you."
A faint sound echoed in his mind.
Ping.
He ignored it.
All he could hear was Mira's voice.
Brother… Brother…
And something inside Lucian Morrow finally broke beyond repair. It was as if a chain buried deep inside his soul had been not pulled out or melted slowly but ripped out and turned into a weapon.
The first maniac lunged with a crazed scream, knife aimed straight for Lucian's throat.
Lucian tilted his head slightly.
The blade missed by inches.
His hand shot out and caught the attacker's wrist.
A sharp twist.
Bone cracked.
The scream that followed was almost musical.
Lucian smiled.
Instead of killing him, he slowly dragged the knife across the man's palm.
The fingers dropped one by one.
The devotee collapsed, shrieking.
Lucian leaned closer, his smile widening.
"Does it fucking hurt?"
Before the man could answer, Lucian turned in one smooth motion and drove the blade into the second attacker's knee.
The blade sank in with a sickening wet crunch.
The man's scream ripped through the street as he collapsed.
He watched them fall.
Then he smiled wider.