Chapter 11: A child who was born with nothing
"YOU BASTARDDDDDDDD!"
"YOU PSYCHOPATH!"
"YOU MONSTERR!"
"Oh my my, this much love for me? I am truly touched," the Destruction God said, placing a hand on his face dramatically, as if about to cry.
"Anyway," he continued, suddenly reverting to normal as if the emotion was just an act—which it was.
"I don’t have much time, so I’ll have to say goodbye, dear second brother, and third and fourth sisters. I will miss you," he added, turning to the cup in his hand and muttering incomprehensible words.
"*@^#<+@/$%!?#," he chanted before being sucked into the cup.
The cup shone with a blinding brightness—like a second sun—before the light abruptly vanished within seconds.
Then, the cup began to float in space.
"No, you don’t!" the Dragon God screamed and tried to grab the Soul Cup, but it was futile. His hand shattered into countless particles.
The Soul Cup didn’t remain; it soared into the dark universe, leaving behind Heaven’s cursing children and a gaping hole in the fabric of space.
...
Thirty years later
In a hospital located in an unknown country, two nurses stood by a hospital bed, engaged in conversation.
"Did you hear? That child who was admitted yesterday was being abused by his parents—beaten nearly to death, and not just once," nurse one said.
"Really?" nurse two asked in disbelief, unable to imagine parents doing such a thing to their own child—one connected by blood.
"Yes. There are scars and broken bones all over his body. The doctors believe he’ll never live like a normal person, even after he recovers," nurse one explained.
"Oh my God... just how much has this poor child endured?" nurse two exclaimed, horrified.
"What happened to those two monsters?" she asked, calling the child’s parents exactly what they were—monsters.
"Unfortunately, they fled before the police arrived. They abandoned the child in the house, but thankfully, the neighbors reported them and we were able to save him on time," nurse one said, feeling relieved.
"I see..." Before nurse two could say more, a voice called out.
"You two, go to room number 17," a passing doctor ordered.
"Okay," they replied in unison, leaving the room.
Left behind was a child connected to life support machines, his body wrapped in bandages.
...
Far above Earth’s atmosphere, a small object neared the planet. As it entered the atmosphere, it slowed down, making four or five laps around the planet before halting.
Then, it descended.
As it approached the top floor of a building, instead of crashing into it, it passed through as though intangible, heading toward a specific room.
The room looked like any standard patient room—bed, table, sterile walls. On the bed lay a child: the same child the nurses had discussed.
The Soul Cup glided toward him. His eyes were closed, his body completely wrapped in bandages.
The cup began to sink into his chest, phasing through flesh and bone as if they weren’t there, merging silently into him.
...
In a boundless, pure white room stood a man with black hair and crimson eyes.
"Hmm, so this is the body the Soul Cup selected. Not bad. Though injured, it holds tremendous potential... and carries the bloodline of the God of Observation," he mused aloud.
Suddenly—
"Who are you?" a childish voice asked behind him.
The Destruction God turned around.
Behind him stood a child, no older than 7 or 8, with jet-black hair and crystal green eyes.
But his eyes—those eyes—were dead. Like the eyes of a lifeless fish, drained of all hope and emotion.
"So you’re the original owner of this body. Well, I guess you were... because now it’s mine," the Destruction God said casually.
"Anyway, let me introduce myself. I am the God of Destruction, Noctarion Veydrak. You can just call me Noct," he said, straightening his posture and expecting awe.
But instead of awe, the child responded with something that surprised him.
"No. You can’t take it. This is my body. I’m not giving it to you," the child said, a flicker of light returning to his dead eyes.
"Huh? Who said I was asking for your consent? I’m taking it," Noct replied, turning around to walk away.
But he felt a tug on his clothes. Turning back, he saw the child gripping him, repeating:
"No. You can’t. This is my body. You can’t have it."
Noct sighed, turning around, causing the child to release his grip.
"So you’re not—"
THUD!
Before the child could finish, Noct kicked him, sending him flying.
The boy hit the white floor hard, but didn’t scream. He just lay there, staring upward.
"I never asked whether I could take it or not," Noct said coldly, lowering the leg he used to strike.
"And what can you even do? You’re just a child," he sneered, now smiling.
At that moment, old memories flashed through the child’s mind.
A dark room. Bruised, broken. Lying in the same position. A man standing over him with a pen in hand, saying those exact words:
"I never asked whether I could take it or not. Also, what can you even do? You’re just a child."
Other memories followed. Same man. Different objects. Same horror.
’No,’ the child thought. ’I can’t let him have my body. It’s all I have. It’s mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.’ He repeated it like an obsessed mantra.
The boy stood up, surprising Noct.
"This body is mine. No—"
CRACK!
He was hit again, thrown even farther, sliding across the white floor.
’I don’t want to give him my body... it belongs to me... but what can I do... I’m weak...’ he thought, lying motionless.
"Why are you being so stubborn? Even if you keep the body, you’ll just sit in one place for the rest of your life, paralyzed by injuries," Noct mocked, speaking to him like he was a child.
"Oh wait... you are a child," he added with a smirk.
"I’ll just check your memories," he said, waving his hand.
A glowing orb floated out of the boy’s chest and entered Noct’s head.
He stood in silence for a full minute, processing everything. Then, he opened his eyes, walked toward the boy, and squatted beside him.
"What a poor child you are... going through all that at such a young age. What a sad, miserable life you’ve lived," Noct said.
Then, leaning in, he whispered like a devil close to his ear, grinning ear to ear:
"But good for you. I’m here now. How about you let me have this body—and in return, I’ll get revenge on those two monsters you call parents."
"Revenge...?" the child repeated softly.
"Yes. Revenge. I’ll take it for you," Noct said, reassuringly.
’He’ll take revenge? He’ll take my revenge?’ the boy repeated internally.
’He’ll take my revenge from me?’
That thought—more than anything else—sparked a fury in the child deeper than even the request to take his body.
’NO. No, no, no. That revenge is mine. No one else can have it. Only I can take it. Only I can kill them. Only I can hurt them. Only me. Only me. Only me,’ he raged silently, sitting upright.
Once more, he tugged at Noct’s hand.
"Oh? So you finally—"
"NO! YOU CAN’T! THE BODY IS MINE! AND THAT REVENGE IS ALSO MINE!" the child screamed into his face.
Noct’s patience snapped.
"I see. Good for you," he said coldly, pulling his hand back to strike and end the boy.
But—
He couldn’t move it.
"Huh...?" he muttered, glancing at his left hand. It was breaking into white particles, just like before.
"What the hell?!" he screamed, backing away.
"What the fuck is happening to me?!" he shouted in panic, trying to stop the disintegration. But the more he resisted, the faster it spread.
Within seconds, his entire body vanished in a final scream of terror.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO—!"
From the remnants, a single golden shard emerged and floated into the child’s chest.
As it entered him, a voice echoed in his mind, before he passed out.
"YOU ARE CHOSEN, CHILD."
And so, on that day—
A child who was born with nothing...
Got blessed with everything.