As a child, I knew I wasn't normal, like a cold unfeeling machine. Even though I read about psychology and other books, the mysterious feeling called emotions remained a far-fetched dream for me.

That's why I labeled myself as a psychopath, a person who felt nothing.

I grew up fast, and when I reached highschool, I could already tinker with a.i. and had some reputation within the community.

Did it carry fame? Yes, but I never used my real name online. Fame was a pointless thing, what made me jump was the wonders of ones and zeroes, the potential of artificial intelligence.

“If the human mind can't process emotions, how about a computer?” Was what I wondered when I got into programming. Naive, it was a naive thought, something I quickly found out. Artificial intelligence was just like me, unfeeling and emotionless.

‘Is there no hope for me?’

Everyday was the same, a desolate desert where no flowers could bloom… until one day, a flower bloomed amidst the tumbling sand dunes.

“Olivia, was it?”

Atop the rooftop, a girl confessed her feelings for me, carrying a bundle of roses in her arm while wearing light makeup and the school uniform. Thinking back then, she looked as pure as a blooming daisy, not yet tainted by human sins, and will never be.

But foolish me said cold words to her in reply, “I don't love you.”

But…

“I don't care, I love you!” She yelled back.

Since then, she pestered me in and out of highschool. At first, she was like an annoying fly, buzzing here and there. Yet no matter how tough, walls made of stone will crumble before the daily ocean waves.

I can't recall when it started, but I found myself pushing aside the computer whenever she called, and whenever she sat next to me, I felt my lips curving upward. Time flew by whenever we're together, until one day, I found myself yet again atop the rooftop with the loveliest girl I knew.

“Kurgo, I—”

“I love you too.”

Seeing her unique topaz eyes and the faint blush on her face as she stared at me with wide eyes, my chest started pounding, and it felt like I placed my face between hot charcoal. I don't know why, but she chuckled back then, telling me that I looked silly.

‘Perhaps I did.’

With her, I shared my thoughts, my troubles, my joy, and my woes. Yet not once did we tarnish the red string tied around our wrists, holding hands as we climbed the stairs of life. Time was short, that was true, and we graduated from college together.

She wanted to be a teacher, and I let her chase her dreams. As for me, I easily found a job that earned dozens of thousands a month… and I felt myself growing nervous.

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Many claimed that people change with money. That's why some people would pretend to have less money than they owned, but I couldn't bear to lie in front of her. Even as I told her the truth, I found myself vowing to keep loving her, even if the daisy turned out to be poisonous.

“What? Really? Really?” She was surprised, that was expected, but as days agonizingly passed, she didn't molt her skin. Her petals remained white, and she remained the Olivia I knew.

It was then that I knew I found a treasure, and I was a greedy hunter. I armed myself with a ring, wore the golden armor made for kings, and knelt before her to present my life. She was my princess, and I was her loyal knight.

After flowers rained down and a ring wrapped around our fingers, a new sprout bloomed on the unforgiving desert. It was the symbol of our love, our son, quietly resting inside my beloved's body.

Yet, as the fateful day of his arrival, the world shook, crumbling as I knew it. The lights went out, and I was blown away like a fragment of glass, pinned on the wall as I watched two lives be taken away right before my eyes.

It was an alien with pitch black skin on the left half of its body and pure white on its other half. Its eyes glowed a menacing blue, and as it looked at me, I begged. I begged to be killed, to let me join the world that my beloved had entered, to forget the nightmare that I was living—yet fate was cruel.

The ceiling crumbled, and the sunlight pierced through the darkness, scorching the alien and making it run in terror. Standing there, I didn't know what to do, but that would be answered by another being.

Another alien whose skin was darker than tan, his eyes glowing like amethyst. The man claimed to be the Demon King, and he invited me to join his army to take my revenge.

Without a second thought, I shook hands with the demon.

Demon King Losvher led me to the Mortal World earlier than all the other humans, and through his army, I learned to harness mana… yet, my affinity for it was a resounding zero. I was talented, yes, a genius even.

Despite having zero affinity for magic, I managed to climb the ranks and become a Demonic General, someone just below the Losvher. My power was unmatched among the army, and my understanding of magic surpassed even Losvher’s.

But all of it was pointless. I was forsaken by gods, or so I've been told, and the one that gods chose were the heroes. One such hero bursted through the gates of Losvher's castle alone, defeating more than a hundred thousand demons on his own and killing Losvher, even though he was fighting me and Losvher at the same time.

As for me?

He spared me, all because I was a human and not a demon. He even gave me a merciful blessing, “Purification.”

It was a holy magic that purified the soul, giving them clearer minds and healthier bodies but to me, it was a curse. A curse that the gods cunningly made. My body grew weak, and the mana around me grew more violent—a phenomenon of having lesser mana affinity, making my already zero affinity somehow worse.

Just like the little man Eve said, Gods will make you weak, toying with you until they get bored, until you're nothing but a pile of grime on the ground.

“Tell me everything you know about this world. Don't hide anything, and since you're joining me, this benefits you too.”

Hearing the tiny man who promised a revolution, I chuckled.

“Of course. I'm blind to the world, but not to reality.”

+

“Our homeworld, Earth, was a simple one that had no magic,” Kurgos started after bandaging his eyes. Knowing his clay soldier's deeds, Eve couldn't help but look away.

“No,” Kurgos frowned. “Perhaps our world had magic, but the Gods left centuries ago.”

Eve hummed, letting the latter know he was listening. Kurgos coughed, “Anyway, after the abnormals, demons, angels, and half-lings invaded Earth and destroyed it, the human race were transported to this world called the ‘Mortal World.’ I, on the other hand, came into this world when the Demon King took me in.”

“This Demon King,” Eve narrowed his eyes. “Is he still around?”

A demon king was a common figure in most worlds. They were the “embodiment of darkness.” But Eve knew better, demon kings and him back then were the same, they were toys.

“No,” Kurgos clicked his tongue. “He's dead, he was killed by a hero from that Sapphire Guild.”

“Sapphire Guild?” Eve raised an eyebrow. Now that was a familiar name.

“Tell me more about that guild.”

Kurgos’ face twisted, looking confused, but he continued. “The Sapphire Guild was founded by a hero who couldn't awaken his stigma no matter how hard he tried,” Kurgos scowled. “In other words, it's like he was born with wings but he can't use them.”

Eve nodded, opening his mouth, “A stigma?”

“It's a mark humans awakened after entering the Mortal World. It boosts their magic powers,” he scoffed. “Yet that guy killed Losvher's army and Losvher on his own, all without any help from the so-called stigma.”

“I see. Where's your stigma?” Eve asked, his eyes tracing Kurgos’ arms and face.

“I have none. Let alone a stigma, my affinity to magic is nonexistent.”

Eve frowned. “If you have no affinity with magic, why do you insist on using it? That's—”

“It’s stupid, I know,” Kurgos’ frown eased. “But I'm a genius... and stubborn. I was able to use magic despite having mana itself reject my very existence. I wanted to use magic to kill Losvher, who plotted my family's death…”

“You persevered through sheer talent,” Eve chuckled. “I'm curious how you managed to use magic, but for now,” Eve stood up.

“I'll bring you back to the forest. You should rest there, and when I get back, I'll give you something to practice.”

He knew a myriad of magical systems that didn't use mana. For example, sorcery and witchcraft.

“But isn't it more efficient to…” Kurgos paused, smacking his lips. “Alright. I understand,” he nodded. “But how will I follow you? I'm blind, and you're tiny.”

“Don't worry about it,” Eve said, ordering his army to gather around Kurgos, who was lying on the ground. “On the way back, tell me more about the surrounding area.”

“I can tell you about the whole world if you want me too,” Kurgos smirked.

“If we have the time.”