Chapter 1
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In a back alley, three burly men flickered with mocking expressions under a dimly lit light which met a tattered and worn teenager boy, who could only be described as skin and bone. His face seemed to be shaped with age and stress whilst grey hairs fluttered clearly on his bleak, black hair.
A simple looking stone hung down the boy's neck on a rusted neckless, from which he clenched.
One of those looming shadows approached the limp boy and laughed whilst pulling on the boys wafer thin hair. He hunched his back toward the face of the boy, smiling whilst looking at the two shadows behind him.
"Hey, this little shit here fucking refused to give me cigs and told me that I have no id! Can't you see that I am obviously at the age anyway? Huh?"
Listlessness shone in the boy's hazy eyes as he looked at the 3 gazes, remaining unchanged to everything. He just sat there as they pummelled him like a ragdoll, staring right into space...
People may not understand, but he chose this life. He, with conviction, chose to live a life of weakness. It may not make sense, and it may seem absurd, but he chose it. He chose it because of memories he doesn't want to rekindle.
However, there are costs to this way of life. Costs that, even if you disregard your own wellbeing, matter. It's a cost that, when you are weak, you are powerless to help. Powerless to save someone you like, someone you know, someone who helps you.
He will understand such costs soon. He will burden the cost with fire. With Anguish.
And he will bring hell because of it...
...
...
An aggrieved echo resounded in his soul.
'W-what is t-that? Su Min what's in your eyes?!'
'M-monster!'
*COUGH*
Spraying a layer of sharp pained blood on the rough tarmac, a rugged and aching boy staggered under a few shattered bones, here and there. Remnants of a chilling fire shone in the boy's eyes before completely going hazy. As that happened his clenched hand let go of the rock and fell to the ground with very little strength.
The shadows of the three figures trembled with laughter down the alley, fading over time. The boy silently waited for it to dull into silence until a malevolent laughter shook with a deep melancholy.
"HA GHAA! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!"
Not even having the strength to punch a few scattered bottles around him, Su Min whimpered under the seemingly unending night. Rodents of all sizes scattered around him, either ignoring his existence or trying to bite at it.
However, as he was shouting, a light spring of steps emerged from the end of the alley, where a girl revealed herself under the lamp. She has a petite appearance, but her face was full of worry.
"Su Min, you here?!"
She shouted out as she walked down, and with a pause, she saw Su Min on the floor.
"Goddammit! What is with you doing things like that? Huh?! Stop getting yourself into trouble..."
She spoke with a soft anger as she looked at his disfigured frame, and without his consent, she walked up to him and supported him by holding his shoulder. However, Su Min, with a light flail, pulled himself off her and spoke with a hoarse voice.
"Miss Yu... Y-you should get back, I can get up myself..."
"W-wait!"
Not giving her a chance, Su Min stumbled to a limped walk and went out of the alleyway towards a desolate apartment complex, glittering with a couple fly light traps. The girl stood listlessly as she watched him stumble down the alleyway, looking like she wanted to say something.
However, paying no heed, he passed by a few houses neighbouring the apartment complex that looked equally as run down, from which the expressions of a couple homeless near sighed at his slumped body.
With a shaky yet incredibly hopeful hand, he eventually pushed the key into the damp door before a *clack* rang out as the door, under the force of the leaning weight, slammed open causing Su Min to trip over due to the sudden momentum.
*CRASH*
A thump thudded as he stumbled into the room, and like an instinct, laid for a while before pushing himself off the floor and locking the door behind him.
A simple sofa in front a small tv stood out in front of Su Min, and the only other piece of decor which accompanied it was a miniature fridge and a grubby microwave on a shakily built counter with a sink. There were also various medical appliances scattered around the room, almost reminiscent of a hospital environment.
Su Min hurried to the sink before twisting the knob and guzzling the luke-warm water down. He ignored the sharp pain of walking or breathing, as it was practically what he always felt, nearly numbing it completely.
Regret dwindled in his hazy eyes as that cry resounded in his head until it was eventually silenced.
*Poof*
Collapsing on the worn sofa, Su Min stared at space for a while before turning on the television for the news channel awaiting, which was enough for him.
"Breaking news!"
"The Mortal Ranked Dojo 'Limitless' has officially announced its yearly Tournament~######_@~##"
"Ah. The signal's gone out again..."
Su Min sighed as he switched the TV off and snuggled into the sofa for a sense of comfort. He brought down the blanket beside him and drooped it onto his frail body. The blanket had an intricate design wove in the middle of it in the form of a beautiful tiger roaring, carrying a surreal majesty.
Su Min shone with a soft gaze as he started to caress the blanket, but it also contained a hint of sorrow.
'At least I got a new sofa today so I better get to sleep-!? What's this hard thing?'
Su Min felt a painful sensation on his backside, resembling that of a hard object, so, he shoved his hand behind him and stumbled to find the object that was delaying his sleep.
"B-book?! When did I get a book? Must've been in the sofa since I brought it..."
What he found was what most would describe as an antique from a historic era. It was covered in a crusted brown leather and accompanied with cracked edges and worn outlines. Its thickness was equivalent to an encyclopedia which in turn gave it a rather hefty weight.
A contoured title was woven on the front of the book with the presence of rushed calligraphy, further emphasized with the rotting leather.
All it said was 3 simple words.
"'The Martial Book'?"
Su Min yawned in an aggravating manner as he stared at the book which appeared out of nowhere, obviously uninterested at whatever content it contains.
"Fuck off!"
Su Min couldn't be bothered to care about a book with the immense fatigue weighing on him, so he just went and threw it onto the floor before collapsing onto the arm of the sofa, following which a smack sounded out on the floor, where a book now lays.
...
*BEEP*
A bloodied and withered boy stumbled on himself as a piercing beep swept into his dazed consciousness and forcing him out of his dream.
A straining headache throbbed in his head, which he seemed to be unable to get rid of.
"Agh..."
Still half-asleep, Su Min clambered onto the side of the sofa until his hand slammed onto an already dented plastic alarm, and with a clank, silence prevailed once again.
Su Min yawned before sitting in an arched upright position, scratching the dry wisps of blood on his face.
"Hrmmm, work huh?"
Su Min stared at the flickering time on the alarm before stretching his distorted body on the sofa, moaning occasionally in pain or pleasure. However, he couldn't help but shiver as his headache continued to ache at an increasingly booming rate. He began to worry as he thought about something from his memories.
'That isn't meant to awaken for at least 1 month... So.. It can't be that, right? Although I should probably take some meds...'
Feeling the required reaction to move like a normal human, Su Min decided to ignore the headache and proceeded to settle his feet on the ground and walk to rinse his face in the sink.
*Splash*
The blood flakes on his face flickered under the streams of water as it tumbled down into the sink, and with this Su Min blankly stared at the small whirlpool of warm, bloodied water sinking into the plug. The uneasy feeling in his mind grew with an unbridled momentum as the thumping headache grew and grew in his head until it began to even affect his thoughts, and with this Su Min couldn't help but grunt at the piercing pain in his head.
He panicked as the 'thing' that he didn't anticipate was about to happen.
'H-how?'
*BADUM*
The water continued to drain as his heart surged with blood and sped up and up, booming with a rattling stutter until Su Min's consciousness seemed to snap and the haziness in his eyes went crazy and thrashed at what seemed like a boundary in his pupils. Terror gushed out of the haziness before, with a light cough, a darkness lit and scarred itself in its trembling place. If anyone were to see him right now, then they would find that both of Su Min's pupils had somehow turned into an inhuman blackness.
"N-NOW?"
*BADUM*
A deep rush of emotions flashed into Su Min's mind as his body turned limp. With this, an intense call emerged from deep within his blood as a spew of immeasurable pain thrashed at his soul. Su Min's facial expression distorted and his hands crackled, forming two fists with Droplets of blood fluttering around them as sharp nails dug into his flesh, supplemented with the tearing of already scabbed cuts and bruises.
"Ah...."
Bloody tears welled as his tempered will shattered under a intense mental stress, and with this, he became unable to retain his consciousness and collapsed. However, the pain didn't let him sleep and forced him back into the world.
As he looked around, the room he was in was nowhere to be seen, instead, a sprawling environment replaced it. Yet, he didn't seem shocked at all...
The call from his blood had disappeared, but Su Min seemed to have expected that as he looked around.
This place seemed to reject his gaze as his eyes bled over and nearly ruptured, yet he still saw the vague form of a simple looking hut in front of him. Accompanying this, screeching winds shrieked around him as numerous black blades of air pierced towards him.
It was like he has been transported to another world, leaving his apartment completely.
Su Min realised this, and although the pain was gone, despair replaced it. He ignored the incoming wind that wanted to eat him alive; like he knew something was going to happen.
"Why am I here again? This shouldn't happen for a month!"
As he shouted, a strange field of white surrounded him as the rock on his neck glowed a weak light; the light made tearing noises at the surrounding space, where the blades of wind crashed into it at an ever-increasing rate. They were beyond strange, but Su Min didn't seem to care as he ignored them completely. Instead, he stared at the hut in front of him.
The hut stood there with a shaky gait as if it could topple at any moment. However, With Su Min's stare, the hut trembled ever so slightly, causing a tuft of blackness to flutter towards him, swaying with the shrill wind that was shoving endless pressure onto him. The grating intensified as the light that enveloped Su Min was forced to retreat.
An agonising pain pierced into his soul as his body shivered with a coldness of death, causing Su Min to tremble with a sad smile. Though it was like the pain was nothing to him, and that he has felt it numerous times.
"Ah, shit..."
Su Min couldn't even breathe in this space as he felt this crushing pressure surround him; following this, desperation started to fill his eyes as the tuft slivered towards his eyes, disregarding the tattered glow enveloping him.
With this, his eyes seemed to quiver, and a cluster of black blood seeped into his pupil. An uncanny ocean of blackness invaded Su Min's remnants of haziness, and as if such a haziness represented his sanity, Su Min's mind started to rupture and descend into a point of no return. Although it seemed that this wisp of blood had no ill intentions, the vessel of a mortal is too brittle to support it.
Su Min's mind blanked as he felt himself lose touch, where death was starting to approach him; looming over him with an everpresent scythe.
However, such a tuft of blood seemed to be unable to remove that stubborn haziness in that short moment, and with that Su Min's eyes lit up with a never seen before determination that made the muscles on every inch of his body to ignore whatever weighed down on them and convulse rapidly to attempt clench at the strange rock on his neck, nonetheless no matter how hard he tried he could only lift his arm halfway.
The stone on his neck shuddered as it released an intense light, but it seemed to be unable to leave and enter his body. Su Min saw this, and like it was his hope, he trembled.
"N-NO!"
With this Su Min felt an eternal, foreign power rumble in his mind and body as all pain he felt became petty and a burning overwhelming heartbeat rattled in his body. Nevertheless, with this a muggy feeling strutted itself around his mind, clouding his existence but also replacing whatever pain he felt with a sharp, piercing cold trickle of undaunted agony.
*BADUM* *BADUM*
It is the type of agony where simply lacerating your pain sensory system by tugging nerve by nerve out of your body could only be considered minor in front of it. Though, where most would die, this vigorous agony ties you with rope and plunges you with it in a sea where death is but a fairy tale.
It is the tiger of tigers that cries with the burning blaze of anguish.
Su Min's face seemed to become limp before he could even scream. His whole body started to wither and decompose as it experienced something that no mortal vessel can handle, yet, With the last remnants of his hazy sanity that contradicts his mortal stature, he forced that constricted arm to draw on what little muscle it has and throw itself at the stone on his neck.
An unreal light shone from the stone as an absolute force reinforced the shield supporting him, giving him time to breathe.
*BADU-*
*THUD*
"AGHHHHHH!!"
A mysterious force spread out from that stone until it went throughout Su Min's body. It seemed to scan his entire being before focusing all of its attention on his eye.
The force looked at the eye with a strange intelligence before forming a pale white film around his black pupils. This film seemed to be semi-corporal as it started to constrict with numerous popping sounds until the wisp of blood in Su Min's eye started to cry in frustration as it became unable to contend with the force.
Though, maybe it was because he wasn't prepared, the stone that hung on his neck crumbled just afterwards. It sprinkled its remenants on the dirt that laid beneath him, fading out of existence with the wind...
His vision became blurry as he lapsed into unconsciousness, but within this was a hint of ease.
*poof*
After an unknown amount of time, Su Min laid like a dead man on his apartment floor as the remnants of his fiery black eyes faded and shifted once again into a dull hazy grey gaze at his left, bloodied hand.
On his hand, the index finger was clearly bent in a way it shouldn't be followed with knuckles that revealed traces of brittle bone and inflamed flesh. He also seemed visibly thinner as his bones started to protrude under his skin.
He felt weaker than weak.
"Shit."
Su Min brought his other hand and thrust the dislocated finger back into place without even flinching. After making sure his hand still functions, he pushed himself off the counter and checked the time.
"Work..."
Realising that it was 7:10 in the morning, Su Min brought some medical bandages from the counter and wrapped them around both of his hands with the skill of a medical professional, although not as shakey.
Whilst doing this, Su Min walked towards the sofa and folded up the blanket with the same care earlier and drafted it onto the side of the sofa. He paused for a moment as a slight smile broke his usual frown, only to disappear again.
Unnoticed by him, however, an old looking book laid in the corner of the room, fluctuating with a mystical presence. It seemed excited as a silent, surreal feeling swept over Su Min.
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In a back alley, three burly men flickered with mocking expressions under a dimly lit light which met a tattered and worn teenager boy, who could only be described as skin and bone. His face seemed to be shaped with age and stress whilst grey hairs fluttered clearly on his bleak, black hair.
A simple looking stone hung down the boy's neck on a rusted neckless, from which he clenched.
One of those looming shadows approached the limp boy and laughed whilst pulling on the boys wafer thin hair. He hunched his back toward the face of the boy, smiling whilst looking at the two shadows behind him.
"Hey, this little shit here fucking refused to give me cigs and told me that I have no id! Can't you see that I am obviously at the age anyway? Huh?"
Listlessness shone in the boy's hazy eyes as he looked at the 3 gazes, remaining unchanged to everything. He just sat there as they pummelled him like a ragdoll, staring right into space...
People may not understand, but he chose this life. He, with conviction, chose to live a life of weakness. It may not make sense, and it may seem absurd, but he chose it. He chose it because of memories he doesn't want to rekindle.
However, there are costs to this way of life. Costs that, even if you disregard your own wellbeing, matter. It's a cost that, when you are weak, you are powerless to help. Powerless to save someone you like, someone you know, someone who helps you.
He will understand such costs soon. He will burden the cost with fire. With Anguish.
And he will bring hell because of it...
...
...
An aggrieved echo resounded in his soul.
'W-what is t-that? Su Min what's in your eyes?!'
'M-monster!'
*COUGH*
Spraying a layer of sharp pained blood on the rough tarmac, a rugged and aching boy staggered under a few shattered bones, here and there. Remnants of a chilling fire shone in the boy's eyes before completely going hazy. As that happened his clenched hand let go of the rock and fell to the ground with very little strength.
The shadows of the three figures trembled with laughter down the alley, fading over time. The boy silently waited for it to dull into silence until a malevolent laughter shook with a deep melancholy.
"HA GHAA! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!"
Not even having the strength to punch a few scattered bottles around him, Su Min whimpered under the seemingly unending night. Rodents of all sizes scattered around him, either ignoring his existence or trying to bite at it.
However, as he was shouting, a light spring of steps emerged from the end of the alley, where a girl revealed herself under the lamp. She has a petite appearance, but her face was full of worry.
"Su Min, you here?!"
She shouted out as she walked down, and with a pause, she saw Su Min on the floor.
"Goddammit! What is with you doing things like that? Huh?! Stop getting yourself into trouble..."
She spoke with a soft anger as she looked at his disfigured frame, and without his consent, she walked up to him and supported him by holding his shoulder. However, Su Min, with a light flail, pulled himself off her and spoke with a hoarse voice.
"Miss Yu... Y-you should get back, I can get up myself..."
"W-wait!"
Not giving her a chance, Su Min stumbled to a limped walk and went out of the alleyway towards a desolate apartment complex, glittering with a couple fly light traps. The girl stood listlessly as she watched him stumble down the alleyway, looking like she wanted to say something.
However, paying no heed, he passed by a few houses neighbouring the apartment complex that looked equally as run down, from which the expressions of a couple homeless near sighed at his slumped body.
With a shaky yet incredibly hopeful hand, he eventually pushed the key into the damp door before a *clack* rang out as the door, under the force of the leaning weight, slammed open causing Su Min to trip over due to the sudden momentum.
*CRASH*
A thump thudded as he stumbled into the room, and like an instinct, laid for a while before pushing himself off the floor and locking the door behind him.
A simple sofa in front a small tv stood out in front of Su Min, and the only other piece of decor which accompanied it was a miniature fridge and a grubby microwave on a shakily built counter with a sink. There were also various medical appliances scattered around the room, almost reminiscent of a hospital environment.
Su Min hurried to the sink before twisting the knob and guzzling the luke-warm water down. He ignored the sharp pain of walking or breathing, as it was practically what he always felt, nearly numbing it completely.
Regret dwindled in his hazy eyes as that cry resounded in his head until it was eventually silenced.
*Poof*
Collapsing on the worn sofa, Su Min stared at space for a while before turning on the television for the news channel awaiting, which was enough for him.
"Breaking news!"
"The Mortal Ranked Dojo 'Limitless' has officially announced its yearly Tournament~######_@~##"
"Ah. The signal's gone out again..."
Su Min sighed as he switched the TV off and snuggled into the sofa for a sense of comfort. He brought down the blanket beside him and drooped it onto his frail body. The blanket had an intricate design wove in the middle of it in the form of a beautiful tiger roaring, carrying a surreal majesty.
Su Min shone with a soft gaze as he started to caress the blanket, but it also contained a hint of sorrow.
'At least I got a new sofa today so I better get to sleep-!? What's this hard thing?'
Su Min felt a painful sensation on his backside, resembling that of a hard object, so, he shoved his hand behind him and stumbled to find the object that was delaying his sleep.
"B-book?! When did I get a book? Must've been in the sofa since I brought it..."
What he found was what most would describe as an antique from a historic era. It was covered in a crusted brown leather and accompanied with cracked edges and worn outlines. Its thickness was equivalent to an encyclopedia which in turn gave it a rather hefty weight.
A contoured title was woven on the front of the book with the presence of rushed calligraphy, further emphasized with the rotting leather.
All it said was 3 simple words.
"'The Martial Book'?"
Su Min yawned in an aggravating manner as he stared at the book which appeared out of nowhere, obviously uninterested at whatever content it contains.
"Fuck off!"
Su Min couldn't be bothered to care about a book with the immense fatigue weighing on him, so he just went and threw it onto the floor before collapsing onto the arm of the sofa, following which a smack sounded out on the floor, where a book now lays.
...
*BEEP*
A bloodied and withered boy stumbled on himself as a piercing beep swept into his dazed consciousness and forcing him out of his dream.
A straining headache throbbed in his head, which he seemed to be unable to get rid of.
"Agh..."
Still half-asleep, Su Min clambered onto the side of the sofa until his hand slammed onto an already dented plastic alarm, and with a clank, silence prevailed once again.
Su Min yawned before sitting in an arched upright position, scratching the dry wisps of blood on his face.
"Hrmmm, work huh?"
Su Min stared at the flickering time on the alarm before stretching his distorted body on the sofa, moaning occasionally in pain or pleasure. However, he couldn't help but shiver as his headache continued to ache at an increasingly booming rate. He began to worry as he thought about something from his memories.
'That isn't meant to awaken for at least 1 month... So.. It can't be that, right? Although I should probably take some meds...'
Feeling the required reaction to move like a normal human, Su Min decided to ignore the headache and proceeded to settle his feet on the ground and walk to rinse his face in the sink.
*Splash*
The blood flakes on his face flickered under the streams of water as it tumbled down into the sink, and with this Su Min blankly stared at the small whirlpool of warm, bloodied water sinking into the plug. The uneasy feeling in his mind grew with an unbridled momentum as the thumping headache grew and grew in his head until it began to even affect his thoughts, and with this Su Min couldn't help but grunt at the piercing pain in his head.
He panicked as the 'thing' that he didn't anticipate was about to happen.
'H-how?'
*BADUM*
The water continued to drain as his heart surged with blood and sped up and up, booming with a rattling stutter until Su Min's consciousness seemed to snap and the haziness in his eyes went crazy and thrashed at what seemed like a boundary in his pupils. Terror gushed out of the haziness before, with a light cough, a darkness lit and scarred itself in its trembling place. If anyone were to see him right now, then they would find that both of Su Min's pupils had somehow turned into an inhuman blackness.
"N-NOW?"
*BADUM*
A deep rush of emotions flashed into Su Min's mind as his body turned limp. With this, an intense call emerged from deep within his blood as a spew of immeasurable pain thrashed at his soul. Su Min's facial expression distorted and his hands crackled, forming two fists with Droplets of blood fluttering around them as sharp nails dug into his flesh, supplemented with the tearing of already scabbed cuts and bruises.
"Ah...."
Bloody tears welled as his tempered will shattered under a intense mental stress, and with this, he became unable to retain his consciousness and collapsed. However, the pain didn't let him sleep and forced him back into the world.
As he looked around, the room he was in was nowhere to be seen, instead, a sprawling environment replaced it. Yet, he didn't seem shocked at all...
The call from his blood had disappeared, but Su Min seemed to have expected that as he looked around.
This place seemed to reject his gaze as his eyes bled over and nearly ruptured, yet he still saw the vague form of a simple looking hut in front of him. Accompanying this, screeching winds shrieked around him as numerous black blades of air pierced towards him.
It was like he has been transported to another world, leaving his apartment completely.
Su Min realised this, and although the pain was gone, despair replaced it. He ignored the incoming wind that wanted to eat him alive; like he knew something was going to happen.
"Why am I here again? This shouldn't happen for a month!"
As he shouted, a strange field of white surrounded him as the rock on his neck glowed a weak light; the light made tearing noises at the surrounding space, where the blades of wind crashed into it at an ever-increasing rate. They were beyond strange, but Su Min didn't seem to care as he ignored them completely. Instead, he stared at the hut in front of him.
The hut stood there with a shaky gait as if it could topple at any moment. However, With Su Min's stare, the hut trembled ever so slightly, causing a tuft of blackness to flutter towards him, swaying with the shrill wind that was shoving endless pressure onto him. The grating intensified as the light that enveloped Su Min was forced to retreat.
An agonising pain pierced into his soul as his body shivered with a coldness of death, causing Su Min to tremble with a sad smile. Though it was like the pain was nothing to him, and that he has felt it numerous times.
"Ah, shit..."
Su Min couldn't even breathe in this space as he felt this crushing pressure surround him; following this, desperation started to fill his eyes as the tuft slivered towards his eyes, disregarding the tattered glow enveloping him.
With this, his eyes seemed to quiver, and a cluster of black blood seeped into his pupil. An uncanny ocean of blackness invaded Su Min's remnants of haziness, and as if such a haziness represented his sanity, Su Min's mind started to rupture and descend into a point of no return. Although it seemed that this wisp of blood had no ill intentions, the vessel of a mortal is too brittle to support it.
Su Min's mind blanked as he felt himself lose touch, where death was starting to approach him; looming over him with an everpresent scythe.
However, such a tuft of blood seemed to be unable to remove that stubborn haziness in that short moment, and with that Su Min's eyes lit up with a never seen before determination that made the muscles on every inch of his body to ignore whatever weighed down on them and convulse rapidly to attempt clench at the strange rock on his neck, nonetheless no matter how hard he tried he could only lift his arm halfway.
The stone on his neck shuddered as it released an intense light, but it seemed to be unable to leave and enter his body. Su Min saw this, and like it was his hope, he trembled.
"N-NO!"
With this Su Min felt an eternal, foreign power rumble in his mind and body as all pain he felt became petty and a burning overwhelming heartbeat rattled in his body. Nevertheless, with this a muggy feeling strutted itself around his mind, clouding his existence but also replacing whatever pain he felt with a sharp, piercing cold trickle of undaunted agony.
*BADUM* *BADUM*
It is the type of agony where simply lacerating your pain sensory system by tugging nerve by nerve out of your body could only be considered minor in front of it. Though, where most would die, this vigorous agony ties you with rope and plunges you with it in a sea where death is but a fairy tale.
It is the tiger of tigers that cries with the burning blaze of anguish.
Su Min's face seemed to become limp before he could even scream. His whole body started to wither and decompose as it experienced something that no mortal vessel can handle, yet, With the last remnants of his hazy sanity that contradicts his mortal stature, he forced that constricted arm to draw on what little muscle it has and throw itself at the stone on his neck.
An unreal light shone from the stone as an absolute force reinforced the shield supporting him, giving him time to breathe.
*BADU-*
*THUD*
"AGHHHHHH!!"
A mysterious force spread out from that stone until it went throughout Su Min's body. It seemed to scan his entire being before focusing all of its attention on his eye.
The force looked at the eye with a strange intelligence before forming a pale white film around his black pupils. This film seemed to be semi-corporal as it started to constrict with numerous popping sounds until the wisp of blood in Su Min's eye started to cry in frustration as it became unable to contend with the force.
Though, maybe it was because he wasn't prepared, the stone that hung on his neck crumbled just afterwards. It sprinkled its remenants on the dirt that laid beneath him, fading out of existence with the wind...
His vision became blurry as he lapsed into unconsciousness, but within this was a hint of ease.
*poof*
After an unknown amount of time, Su Min laid like a dead man on his apartment floor as the remnants of his fiery black eyes faded and shifted once again into a dull hazy grey gaze at his left, bloodied hand.
On his hand, the index finger was clearly bent in a way it shouldn't be followed with knuckles that revealed traces of brittle bone and inflamed flesh. He also seemed visibly thinner as his bones started to protrude under his skin.
He felt weaker than weak.
"Shit."
Su Min brought his other hand and thrust the dislocated finger back into place without even flinching. After making sure his hand still functions, he pushed himself off the counter and checked the time.
"Work..."
Realising that it was 7:10 in the morning, Su Min brought some medical bandages from the counter and wrapped them around both of his hands with the skill of a medical professional, although not as shakey.
Whilst doing this, Su Min walked towards the sofa and folded up the blanket with the same care earlier and drafted it onto the side of the sofa. He paused for a moment as a slight smile broke his usual frown, only to disappear again.
Unnoticed by him, however, an old looking book laid in the corner of the room, fluctuating with a mystical presence. It seemed excited as a silent, surreal feeling swept over Su Min.
In a back alley, three burly men flickered with mocking expressions under a dimly lit light which met a tattered and worn teenager boy, who could only be described as skin and bone. His face seemed to be shaped with age and stress whilst grey hairs fluttered clearly on his bleak, black hair.A simple looking stone hung down the boy's neck on a rusted neckless, from which he clenched.One of those looming shadows approached the limp boy and laughed whilst pulling on the boys wafer thin hair. He hunched his back toward the face of the boy, smiling whilst looking at the two shadows behind him."Hey, this little shit here fucking refused to give me cigs and told me that I have no id! Can't you see that I am obviously at the age anyway? Huh?"Listlessness shone in the boy's hazy eyes as he looked at the 3 gazes, remaining unchanged to everything. He just sat there as they pummelled him like a ragdoll, staring right into space...People may not understand, but he chose this life. He, with conviction, chose to live a life of weakness. It may not make sense, and it may seem absurd, but he chose it. He chose it because of memories he doesn't want to rekindle.However, there are costs to this way of life. Costs that, even if you disregard your own wellbeing, matter. It's a cost that, when you are weak, you are powerless to help. Powerless to save someone you like, someone you know, someone who helps you.He will understand such costs soon. He will burden the cost with fire. With Anguish.And he will bring hell because of it.........An aggrieved echo resounded in his soul.'W-what is t-that? Su Min what's in your eyes?!''M-monster!'*COUGH*Spraying a layer of sharp pained blood on the rough tarmac, a rugged and aching boy staggered under a few shattered bones, here and there. Remnants of a chilling fire shone in the boy's eyes before completely going hazy. As that happened his clenched hand let go of the rock and fell to the ground with very little strength.The shadows of the three figures trembled with laughter down the alley, fading over time. The boy silently waited for it to dull into silence until a malevolent laughter shook with a deep melancholy."HA GHAA! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!"Not even having the strength to punch a few scattered bottles around him, Su Min whimpered under the seemingly unending night. Rodents of all sizes scattered around him, either ignoring his existence or trying to bite at it.However, as he was shouting, a light spring of steps emerged from the end of the alley, where a girl revealed herself under the lamp. She has a petite appearance, but her face was full of worry."Su Min, you here?!"She shouted out as she walked down, and with a pause, she saw Su Min on the floor."Goddammit! What is with you doing things like that? Huh?! Stop getting yourself into trouble..."She spoke with a soft anger as she looked at his disfigured frame, and without his consent, she walked up to him and supported him by holding his shoulder. However, Su Min, with a light flail, pulled himself off her and spoke with a hoarse voice."Miss Yu... Y-you should get back, I can get up myself...""W-wait!"Not giving her a chance, Su Min stumbled to a limped walk and went out of the alleyway towards a desolate apartment complex, glittering with a couple fly light traps. The girl stood listlessly as she watched him stumble down the alleyway, looking like she wanted to say something.However, paying no heed, he passed by a few houses neighbouring the apartment complex that looked equally as run down, from which the expressions of a couple homeless near sighed at his slumped body.With a shaky yet incredibly hopeful hand, he eventually pushed the key into the damp door before a *clack* rang out as the door, under the force of the leaning weight, slammed open causing Su Min to trip over due to the sudden momentum.*CRASH*A thump thudded as he stumbled into the room, and like an instinct, laid for a while before pushing himself off the floor and locking the door behind him.A simple sofa in front a small tv stood out in front of Su Min, and the only other piece of decor which accompanied it was a miniature fridge and a grubby microwave on a shakily built counter with a sink. There were also various medical appliances scattered around the room, almost reminiscent of a hospital environment.Su Min hurried to the sink before twisting the knob and guzzling the luke-warm water down. He ignored the sharp pain of walking or breathing, as it was practically what he always felt, nearly numbing it completely.Regret dwindled in his hazy eyes as that cry resounded in his head until it was eventually silenced.*Poof*Collapsing on the worn sofa, Su Min stared at space for a while before turning on the television for the news channel awaiting, which was enough for him."Breaking news!""The Mortal Ranked Dojo 'Limitless' has officially announced its yearly Tournament~######_@~##""Ah. The signal's gone out again..."Su Min sighed as he switched the TV off and snuggled into the sofa for a sense of comfort. He brought down the blanket beside him and drooped it onto his frail body. The blanket had an intricate design wove in the middle of it in the form of a beautiful tiger roaring, carrying a surreal majesty.Su Min shone with a soft gaze as he started to caress the blanket, but it also contained a hint of sorrow.'At least I got a new sofa today so I better get to sleep-!? What's this hard thing?'Su Min felt a painful sensation on his backside, resembling that of a hard object, so, he shoved his hand behind him and stumbled to find the object that was delaying his sleep."B-book?! When did I get a book? Must've been in the sofa since I brought it..."What he found was what most would describe as an antique from a historic era. It was covered in a crusted brown leather and accompanied with cracked edges and worn outlines. Its thickness was equivalent to an encyclopedia which in turn gave it a rather hefty weight.A contoured title was woven on the front of the book with the presence of rushed calligraphy, further emphasized with the rotting leather.All it said was 3 simple words."'The Martial Book'?"Su Min yawned in an aggravating manner as he stared at the book which appeared out of nowhere, obviously uninterested at whatever content it contains."Fuck off!"Su Min couldn't be bothered to care about a book with the immense fatigue weighing on him, so he just went and threw it onto the floor before collapsing onto the arm of the sofa, following which a smack sounded out on the floor, where a book now lays....*BEEP*A bloodied and withered boy stumbled on himself as a piercing beep swept into his dazed consciousness and forcing him out of his dream.A straining headache throbbed in his head, which he seemed to be unable to get rid of."Agh..."Still half-asleep, Su Min clambered onto the side of the sofa until his hand slammed onto an already dented plastic alarm, and with a clank, silence prevailed once again.Su Min yawned before sitting in an arched upright position, scratching the dry wisps of blood on his face."Hrmmm, work huh?"Su Min stared at the flickering time on the alarm before stretching his distorted body on the sofa, moaning occasionally in pain or pleasure. However, he couldn't help but shiver as his headache continued to ache at an increasingly booming rate. He began to worry as he thought about something from his memories.'That isn't meant to awaken for at least 1 month... So.. It can't be that, right? Although I should probably take some meds...'Feeling the required reaction to move like a normal human, Su Min decided to ignore the headache and proceeded to settle his feet on the ground and walk to rinse his face in the sink.*Splash*The blood flakes on his face flickered under the streams of water as it tumbled down into the sink, and with this Su Min blankly stared at the small whirlpool of warm, bloodied water sinking into the plug. The uneasy feeling in his mind grew with an unbridled momentum as the thumping headache grew and grew in his head until it began to even affect his thoughts, and with this Su Min couldn't help but grunt at the piercing pain in his head.He panicked as the 'thing' that he didn't anticipate was about to happen.'H-how?'*BADUM*The water continued to drain as his heart surged with blood and sped up and up, booming with a rattling stutter until Su Min's consciousness seemed to snap and the haziness in his eyes went crazy and thrashed at what seemed like a boundary in his pupils. Terror gushed out of the haziness before, with a light cough, a darkness lit and scarred itself in its trembling place. If anyone were to see him right now, then they would find that both of Su Min's pupils had somehow turned into an inhuman blackness."N-NOW?"*BADUM*A deep rush of emotions flashed into Su Min's mind as his body turned limp. With this, an intense call emerged from deep within his blood as a spew of immeasurable pain thrashed at his soul. Su Min's facial expression distorted and his hands crackled, forming two fists with Droplets of blood fluttering around them as sharp nails dug into his flesh, supplemented with the tearing of already scabbed cuts and bruises."Ah...."Bloody tears welled as his tempered will shattered under a intense mental stress, and with this, he became unable to retain his consciousness and collapsed. However, the pain didn't let him sleep and forced him back into the world.As he looked around, the room he was in was nowhere to be seen, instead, a sprawling environment replaced it. Yet, he didn't seem shocked at all...The call from his blood had disappeared, but Su Min seemed to have expected that as he looked around.This place seemed to reject his gaze as his eyes bled over and nearly ruptured, yet he still saw the vague form of a simple looking hut in front of him. Accompanying this, screeching winds shrieked around him as numerous black blades of air pierced towards him.It was like he has been transported to another world, leaving his apartment completely.Su Min realised this, and although the pain was gone, despair replaced it. He ignored the incoming wind that wanted to eat him alive; like he knew something was going to happen."Why am I here again? This shouldn't happen for a month!"As he shouted, a strange field of white surrounded him as the rock on his neck glowed a weak light; the light made tearing noises at the surrounding space, where the blades of wind crashed into it at an ever-increasing rate. They were beyond strange, but Su Min didn't seem to care as he ignored them completely. Instead, he stared at the hut in front of him.The hut stood there with a shaky gait as if it could topple at any moment. However, With Su Min's stare, the hut trembled ever so slightly, causing a tuft of blackness to flutter towards him, swaying with the shrill wind that was shoving endless pressure onto him. The grating intensified as the light that enveloped Su Min was forced to retreat.An agonising pain pierced into his soul as his body shivered with a coldness of death, causing Su Min to tremble with a sad smile. Though it was like the pain was nothing to him, and that he has felt it numerous times."Ah, shit..."Su Min couldn't even breathe in this space as he felt this crushing pressure surround him; following this, desperation started to fill his eyes as the tuft slivered towards his eyes, disregarding the tattered glow enveloping him.With this, his eyes seemed to quiver, and a cluster of black blood seeped into his pupil. An uncanny ocean of blackness invaded Su Min's remnants of haziness, and as if such a haziness represented his sanity, Su Min's mind started to rupture and descend into a point of no return. Although it seemed that this wisp of blood had no ill intentions, the vessel of a mortal is too brittle to support it.Su Min's mind blanked as he felt himself lose touch, where death was starting to approach him; looming over him with an everpresent scythe.However, such a tuft of blood seemed to be unable to remove that stubborn haziness in that short moment, and with that Su Min's eyes lit up with a never seen before determination that made the muscles on every inch of his body to ignore whatever weighed down on them and convulse rapidly to attempt clench at the strange rock on his neck, nonetheless no matter how hard he tried he could only lift his arm halfway.The stone on his neck shuddered as it released an intense light, but it seemed to be unable to leave and enter his body. Su Min saw this, and like it was his hope, he trembled."N-NO!"With this Su Min felt an eternal, foreign power rumble in his mind and body as all pain he felt became petty and a burning overwhelming heartbeat rattled in his body. Nevertheless, with this a muggy feeling strutted itself around his mind, clouding his existence but also replacing whatever pain he felt with a sharp, piercing cold trickle of undaunted agony.*BADUM* *BADUM*It is the type of agony where simply lacerating your pain sensory system by tugging nerve by nerve out of your body could only be considered minor in front of it. Though, where most would die, this vigorous agony ties you with rope and plunges you with it in a sea where death is but a fairy tale.It is the tiger of tigers that cries with the burning blaze of anguish.Su Min's face seemed to become limp before he could even scream. His whole body started to wither and decompose as it experienced something that no mortal vessel can handle, yet, With the last remnants of his hazy sanity that contradicts his mortal stature, he forced that constricted arm to draw on what little muscle it has and throw itself at the stone on his neck.An unreal light shone from the stone as an absolute force reinforced the shield supporting him, giving him time to breathe.*BADU-**THUD*"AGHHHHHH!!"A mysterious force spread out from that stone until it went throughout Su Min's body. It seemed to scan his entire being before focusing all of its attention on his eye.The force looked at the eye with a strange intelligence before forming a pale white film around his black pupils. This film seemed to be semi-corporal as it started to constrict with numerous popping sounds until the wisp of blood in Su Min's eye started to cry in frustration as it became unable to contend with the force.Though, maybe it was because he wasn't prepared, the stone that hung on his neck crumbled just afterwards. It sprinkled its remenants on the dirt that laid beneath him, fading out of existence with the wind...His vision became blurry as he lapsed into unconsciousness, but within this was a hint of ease.*poof*After an unknown amount of time, Su Min laid like a dead man on his apartment floor as the remnants of his fiery black eyes faded and shifted once again into a dull hazy grey gaze at his left, bloodied hand.On his hand, the index finger was clearly bent in a way it shouldn't be followed with knuckles that revealed traces of brittle bone and inflamed flesh. He also seemed visibly thinner as his bones started to protrude under his skin.He felt weaker than weak."Shit."Su Min brought his other hand and thrust the dislocated finger back into place without even flinching. After making sure his hand still functions, he pushed himself off the counter and checked the time."Work..."Realising that it was 7:10 in the morning, Su Min brought some medical bandages from the counter and wrapped them around both of his hands with the skill of a medical professional, although not as shakey.Whilst doing this, Su Min walked towards the sofa and folded up the blanket with the same care earlier and drafted it onto the side of the sofa. He paused for a moment as a slight smile broke his usual frown, only to disappear again.Unnoticed by him, however, an old looking book laid in the corner of the room, fluctuating with a mystical presence. It seemed excited as a silent, surreal feeling swept over Su Min.
