The stench.

Seaweed, salt, feces, animal odors, vomit, and a medley of other unidentifiable smells tore into my nostrils, assaulting my senses without mercy.

Once bound, I was dragged down to the lower deck by two snake men.

It wasn't so much a warehouse as a dumping ground.

Boxes, barrels, and various goods were haphazardly piled up, with seaweed and other plants scattered around.

Some cages contained bizarre creatures, while I found myself locked in one, sharing the space with a few others… I guess they could still be called "people."

"Cough! Cough!"

"Meow…"

"Meow…"

They had cat-like ears and tails.

The two women and the man wore clothes even more tattered than mine, their hands and feet shackled.

Their drooping cat ears and frequent coughing told a silent story of their weakness. They looked haggard, ill—there was no worse fate than being locked up with such company, especially when communication was impossible.

"Woof woof!"

"Grrrrr…"

The darkness in this place was so thick that even daylight barely pierced it. But the howls and growls of the beasts in nearby cages couldn't be concealed.

In contrast, my fellow prisoners had all huddled in the far corner of the cage. The moment our eyes met, they shrank back in fear, trembling.

"Damn, this is horrible."

I leaned heavily against the iron pole, tuning out the sounds of some strange creature clawing at the bars behind me, and sighed deeply, head lowered.

A landscape of complete darkness…

My gaze drifted away from the ropes biting into my body, skimming through the gaps between the bars, and settled on the darkness above.

I thought I'd be saying goodbye to this view forever.

—You selfish scum! YYou all deserve nothing but to burn in hell!

I could still hear the screams from five years ago when I first saw that wanted poster.

The days spent locked in that wretched prison, confined to a dungeon where light never reached. The physical pain was one thing, but the real torment was the weight of the crime I was accused of—former hero killer.

Me—called the killer of the previous hero.

My grandfather's killer.

The humiliation I endured back then… I plotted revenge time and again within those prison walls, and in the end, I succeeded. My right hand was marked with the angel's seal.

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I became one of the chosen heroes.

In a society obsessed with tactical magic, where I had no magical circuits and no combat talent, that was the one moment when the heavens cast down a lifeline.

Discrimination, ridicule, abuse, and insults… I endured them all.

To become a hero.

To seek revenge.

To revive my fallen family…

Even though the world looked at me with disdain, I finally became a hero.

Yes, the seal on my right hand was irrefutable proof.

I—finally became a hero, finally…

In the end, my vision blurred.

My hands, bound by ropes, blended with the darkness around me.

On the back of my hand... there was no light left.

The candidate brand that once lit up in the prison, giving me guidance and direction, had transformed into the Hero's Seal after I became one of the six heroes, granting me hope and illuminating my future… all of it...

—You must die here.

She ruined it.

By my childhood sweetheart.

By my first love.

By the one I loved.

"Damn it… damn, damn… damn it…"

Anger, but it never ignited.

As the memories of it all flooded back, they brought with them something deeper than rage—despair.

I thought I had everything in my grasp, that my future was finally secure.

—But I've become a hero, anyway.

Self-satisfied.

—It's over.

Comfortable.

—Why did the candidate even come with me? Whatever. There's no point in overthinking it.

I let myself relax.

"Die! Die, damn it, die!"

I continued slamming my body against the iron pole, my teeth biting down so hard my lips bled, but I wasn't about to stop.

Does it hurt? Does it really hurt? Aaargh!

"What's the point of pain now? What's the use of regret now?! Aaargh! Aaargh!"

One hit, and then another. The whole cage rattled as my forehead collided with the iron, but I couldn't feel the pain anymore. All I heard was a buzzing in my ears.

"Ugh… Ah…"

Is it pain? Or grief?

My body crashed once again into the iron pole, and I collapsed, finally giving in.

Tears streamed down my face as my gaze blankly fixed on the darkness before me.

And what does any of this matter?

To be alive…