"Mother~ the breeze outside today feels warm." A voice, warm, gentle, and gigglish, said from a distance as she chased fireflies under the night sky.

  Her mother sat on the grass, stitching together a piece of clothing before looking up, slowly.

  "Indeed. The breeze is... wonderful tonight." Her voice was smooth and sweet, in resembnce to that of honey, even.

  Suzaki, however, was with his father by the side of the mountain at the river where the moon shone brightest.

  "My boy." He said, ruffling his hands in the boy's teal blue hair. His sapphire-colored eyes glinted with warmth and excitement.

  "You'll be a strong kid one day. Even if you can barely hold up a paddle for the boat." His father joked and ughed at the same time, amused at the compliment he gave his son.

  "Father?"

  "Yes... son?"

  "What if I don't want to be strong?"

  "..."

  The question alone left the old man speechless and made his mouth open too.

  "Come again." The father said, unsure if he had heard his son right.

  "I said, what if I don't want to be strong? What if all I want is a normal life, like the one you have with my mother, and the one I have with my sister, and the one we all have together as a family?" The boy extended the question this time.

  There was a brief pause before his father answered... slowly, as he pulled the boy closer to him on the boat.

  "There is one thing I need you to understand, Suzaki," he started, pointing a hand lightly at the boy's small chest.

  "Strength isn't all about having big muscles and your ability to fight. Strength comes in many ways."

  He paused to see if his son understood what he meant.

  "Strength comes in many ways?" the boy quizzed, but his face looked more curious than confused.

  He nodded slowly, then continued.

  "Yes. I am not disputing the fact that we need physical strength, but one also needs emotional strength. This is the ability for you to control your emotions and not let them rampage or outburst."

  "Like when something goes missing, and you stay calm." The boy responded immediately.

  "That is an example of emotional strength, but not everybody can control their emotions. A very terrible mistake that we all humans make is that people take action on us, and we react in a way that causes us to regret ter, but we are constantly unaware that we have the power to determine the reaction. Yet, when we react in the wrong way, we tend to bme them for our reactions."

  "Like when I didn't get here in time, even though you told me to get here in time to follow you to go fishing. An angry father would have been angry, but you only reprimanded me and moved on. You didn't even change from your mood."

  "Never let people change the way you feel at certain times. You are the owner of your body, your mind, your soul."

  He then pulled the boy closer and ruffled his hair some more, making the boy giggle loudly this time.

  "So never let anyone dictate how you should feel. Or control your reactions to certain things, understood?"

  The boy kept ughing and forced out a nod.

  "Now. Where were—?"

  Before he could complete his statement, his head fell and dropped into the water in an instant.

  The boy froze. The action took him by surprise. And when he finally caught sight of what happened, he was wide-eyed, body shaking, hands trembling, mouth wide, looking at his father's body — head gone, blood spraying from the neck.

  "F-Father?"

  The body dropped onto him, lifeless. Blood staining his clothes, his hands, and some on his face.

  He turned around. And saw a bck ripple tear across the sky. Descending from it was the masculine creature, taking human form, but was more gothic and mythical.

  A Satan.

  "Poor thing. I was pnning to twist your neck, but your head fell instantly, showing how weak you are. Or well, time to move to the next test project."

  The voice was low, commanding, resonating, and echoing repeatedly. Though it spoke in another nguage, the young boy was able to understand what it meant. And he also knew the right response to it.

  Run.

  Instantly, he struggled to get the lifeless body off him and went off the boat, feet spshing into the waters before meeting sand, as his legs carried him as fast as he could go. The people on the shore with him were all decapitated as well. Their screams echoed behind him. But he — but he didn't care right now. He only cared for his life and that of his sister and mother.

  Soon, he fell, got up again, and continued running. Even when his legs gave out, he continued running. Until he reached the side of the mountain, he saw his sister chasing fireflies as usual every night.

  "Run! Shiori! Get out of here!!" He yelled with everything in him, still running.

  She paused at first, unsure where the voice was coming from, then continued chasing fireflies.

  He ran towards her in an attempt to drag her along with him.

  She turned quickly, and they bumped into each other.

  "Brother?" She asked. "Why are you running? Are you — are you pying?"

  "We need to run!"

  He quickly stood, grabbed her by the wrist, and pulled her along with him, just as he pnned.

  She screamed, attempting to find out why her brother was pulling her so aggressively. And even more, why he was running.

  Soon, they reached where their mother was on the grass. But this time, she had finished sewing the clothes, and immediately she saw them. She smiled.

  "Oh, there you two are. I've been looking for you—"

  "Mother! Run!" Suzaki yelled seriously.

  "Huh? But why?"

  He didn't expin, but kept pulling his sister towards her, until he — until he had to stop immediately. The Satan had appeared behind their mother.

  Shiori's eyes widened as she raised a shaky finger to point at the Satan. Tugging fiercely at her brother's shirt.

  "B-broth-ther... what is that thing?" Her voice rose and fell as fear took over her mind.

  His eyes widened as well. Though it was not out of curiosity this time, but out of surprise. Besides, he had seen what the thing could do. And he wasn't going to let it repeat itself.

  But how strong was he to determine that?

  "The people at the beach screamed too loudly," the Satan said slowly. But the sound made his sister cover her ears.

  "Mother. Do not turn aro—"

  Immediately, her body tore into two. Then her legs were amputated, as well as her arms. And stly, her head.

  "Sad. Another one who cut your head off. And your arms and legs. But you just had to make a twin of yourself." He mocked.

  Shiori trembled. Her hands shook as she attempted to run towards her mother, or what remained of her.

  "Mother!!"

  She screamed, extending a hand and attempting to run, but her brother pulled her back.

  "You want to join her, too?" The Satan questioned.

  She kept quiet and put a hand over her mouth.

  "Do not harm my sister!"

  His voice came out firmer than he intended.

  "And what if I do?"

  He couldn't answer. He only hid her behind him in fear. Her trembling body was clinging to him.

  "If you hurt her, I will kill you."

  There was a brief pause. Then...

  A ugh. Not just an ordinary ugh — a ugh of mockery. An arrogant ugh.

  "Seriously. You humans have a high degree of stupidity." The Satan said, in between ughs.

  The boy remained silent, gulping in fear as sweat trickled down his forehead.

  Immediately, the Satan stopped ughing.

  "Rex, mortal. I won't kill your sister."

  Immediately, he released something like a dark liquid from his palm raised high. The dark liquid took form and became something in resembnce to a human. But it was not — it was a sin. And then it moved towards her.

  "Shiori, run!" Suzaki shouted, extending a hand towards her. When he wanted to run, however, his legs got pinned to the ground as roots sprouted upward, holding his legs in pce.

  The sin, however, kept creeping towards her. When she attempted to run, it pressed down on her.

  "Stay away from my sister! Do not y a hand on her!" Suzaki shouted and overpowered the roots on his legs, snapping them and running towards her. But when he approached, the aura of the sin prevented him from coming any closer. The stench oozing out from the body weakened him.

  "Brother..." His sister said slowly. And then the sin touched her. And her body started dissolving into ash.

  "Brother!" She cried out. And then — only her hands remained, as well as her upper body, as she leaped and hugged him.

  "Brother! Help me! Please!"

  He stayed there, frozen, frightened, pressured by what to do. Her cries mixed with the arrogant, mocking ugh of the sin and the Satan.

  She cried until only her head remained.

  Her head dropped into his hands as she cried out.

  "I'm... sorry," he whispered.

  She stopped crying, but it only dissolved into sobbing.

  "It's... It's okay, brother. Just remember... I love you. I love you so much." She cried again.

  "I'll meet you on the other side. Soon..."

  Now, only half her face remained.

  "...Brother."

  He stared, squatting, looking at where her head had been.

  "I love you too, sister." He whispered before dissolving into tears.

  When the Satan had been satisfied with the show, the scene got resolved into the Satan, as the sins did. And descended, looking intently at Suzaki.

  "Kill me! Let me join my sister, mother, and father." He wept.

  But the Satan came closer. His aura choking him.

  The Satan ughed. And then...

  "You're funny and... interesting. What should I do with you? I don't want to kill you... yet. Yet. And you've already met the requirements..."

  After much thought, he decided and raised his index finger only towards his face, though it was still moderately inches apart.

  The air there gathered into a dark blue orb, and then he pced it towards Suzaki's chest. His aura holding him in pce. And then he released it into his chest, chanting:

  "Behold, vessel of emptiness.

  Into your veins I pour the sacrament of ruin.

  From this day, your heartbeat is not your own —It echoes for the hunger yet to come.

  O vessel, become the husk.That the King of Sin shall wear."

  And then the dark blue energy spread all over his body before his body color returned to normal.

  He fell unconscious, and everything went dark.

  .........

  [Suzaki's POV]

  My eyes opened slowly. The first thing I caught sight of was the ceiling fan.

  "Where am I?"

  Vesparine_

  SpoilerNext Update:

  Chapter 2: Monday

  [colpse]