Prologue: A New Beginning

Despair. Sadness. Loss.

These were all emotions Chris thought he would feel as he felt the ruse around his neck.

Instead, he had felt absolutely nothing. No, maybe he felt a sense of excitement, a sense of freedom, from the shackles of this world.

This was not where he felt he belonged to.

"A peaceful world huh..." Chris jeered as he took his final breath.

He was different from the rest.

He was born with special powers, powers that made him stand out from the rest.

But they came with a hefty price— he would never be accepted as one of them.

Deemed the "Strongest Esper", he was given names such as "Monster" "Demon" and "Freak". However, he was most commonly known as the "Angel of Death".

He, was the "Soul Esper". Wielding the power of Souls, he was essentially unrivalled among all humans, even the strongest of Espers could not stand against him.

However, he had never desired such great power. He had just wanted to be accepted. All he wanted was to be normal, to be accepted by society.

Yet all he ever received was fear from them. They had always feared him, no, his power so greatly that he could never make any friends.

Being ditched by his parents who called him a monster, he was abandoned and grew up in an orphanage.

Even so, he never felt kindness. If not for her, he would not even have a single shred of humanity remaining in him.

It was always her who took the effort and time to care for someone like him. She had fed him, dressed him, and taught him, bringing him up when no one wanted to.

She was always a motherly figure to him.

She was their caretaker, and they all fondly addressed her as "Mom".

She had always taught him to treat others with kindness, with love, and someday, they would accept him as one of them. She had always taught him never to give up regardless of the circumstances, and he would always succeed. She had always taught him not to hate himself, for his ability would definitely be useful to the world one day.

Heeding her advice, he desperately trained his abilities and eventually ended up working for a secret organisation under the world government to uphold the security of the world. He was their sharp weapon, one that would tear through the flesh of anyone who dared stand against them.

Although it was so, as an top assassin, he was given much freedom and did not have to obey commands, other than during special situations.

She would always feel proud of him, that he could put his powers to good use, to protect the peace of the world, and hence even though he had to do a lot of dirty work, he did not mind.

Yet on that very day, she died.

Hit by a speeding car that did not give heed to the traffic light glowing crimson-red, it dyed the surroundings in the same colour.

"Fuck! My car is ruined because of you! Just my luck!"

The driver had growled angrily as he drove his Mercedes into the horizon.

The case was swiftly closed, ruling it in favour of the driver. He did not need to face any punishment. As the only Son of the Head of the World Government, no one dared to stand against him.

Enraged upon hearing this news, Chris held down the impulse to take revenge and rushed to see her, yet it was to no avail.

It was too late.

All her vital functions had stopped, and she had passed on from this world.

"Mom..." Chris was at a loss of words as tears trickled down his cheeks. It would be the last time he cried.

As his sadness transformed into anger, his eyes went bloodshot as he dialled a number.

"Who was it!" Chris shouted angrily.

"Mr. Chris... Well... that person is of noble status... why don't we just let this pass in look the other way? You don't want to get involved with that man..."

"Tell me! I don't care who it is! I will make him pay for his life!"

"It's that man's Son..."

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Bastard!"

Chris smashed the phone to pieces as he understood what had happened.

Unable to control his emotions, he released a killer aura which permeated the atmosphere, making people feel a sudden chill down their backs.

As two wings made of light emerged from his back, he rushed towards the headquarters of the World Government.

"Martin White! I swear by my name that I will make you and your whole family pay! I will make the World Government cease to exist!" Chris growled as he unleashed his power.

He abruptly landed above the building as he snapped his fingers, releasing a ball of light split itself into many smaller blobs of white light that that attached itself to everyone within the building.

"Soul Sap!" Chris muttered under his breath as streams of light could be seen travelling from their heads to the ball of light in his hands.

All they could do was scream in pain and agony as their bodies slowly became empty shells of what existed before.

"Angel of Death! What are you doing!"

"Stop what you are doing!"

"You are going against the World Government!"

Those who lasted longer could only shout before they too fell like puppets who had their strings cut.

Chris quickly scanned the building with his Spiritual Sense before he found his target.

The cause of all this tragedy. Michael White, the driver who had murdered his beloved Mother in cold blood.

"Why! You could have stopped and called an ambulance! She could have been saved!"

Chris growled as his anger started to surface.

"Who are you talking about? If it is that commoner who you are talking about, then I have already been merciful to her to not punish her for dirtying my car. She tainted my precious car with her filthy blood! Death was letting her off too easily!"

"BASTARD!"

Chris exploded with fury. The flames of anger took over his mind, burning away every last trace of sanity in him.

Just as he was about to strangle him, two burly silhouettes came out of the shadows.

"Sir, I'm afraid we can't let you do so."

They were the elite bodyguards that Martin White had hired for him.

Being the heir to a vast political empire, such tight security was naturally expected. Even the bodyguards were top-tier Espers, ranked amongst the top 100 espers in the world.

They were twin brothers with power over Shadow and Light, Yami and Hikari.

Known for their impeccable teamwork, they were a combination to be feared.

"Even they are working as dogs for the government..." Chris felt a slight sadness, in the midst of his rage. Even the strong had to bow down at the face of the World Government, who controlled the world's economy and resources.

"Shadow Fist!" "Light Arrow"

A dark fist appeared from his shadow as it aimed for his abdomen.

Moreover, an arrow of light rushed towards his heart.

Swiftly dodging it, he fired an invisible beam at Yami which struck him, causing his soul to vibrate quickly, tearing his soul, causing him to be incapacitated. His sea of consciousness was severely damaged and he would likely live as a vegetable for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, he could not dodge the incoming arrow in even, as it penetrated his flesh, just barely missing his heart.

"Get out of my way!" Chris roared as a tangible soul could be seen emerging from his body.

He was going to use a risky technique that he swore he would never use. He had promised to her that he would not ever use this technique unless in a life and death situation.

But now, it did not matter. The one who killed her in cold blood was able to escape unscathed. He had not even one bit of remorse.

Thinking of this, he activated the technique as his soul could be seen burning up in flames.

"Forbidden Technique— Soul Combustion!"

It was a technique that literally burned his soul in exchange for immense power.

"Die!" Chris shrieked as he aimed a ball of white flames at Michael White. He did not care about anything else. Not even his own life.

Disregarding all defences, he was determined to take down the perpetrator of his mother's death. Even if it meant going down with him.

As result, he got what he wanted. He had ended the life of the person he hated so much. The person who destroyed his family, who killed his loved one. However, Chris was sure that he would not be going to the same place as her. She went up, while he, would go down.

"No, you won't!" Hikari immediately reacted and shot a thick beam of light through Chris while he defenceless, and Chris could only take the full brunt of the shot as he gritted his teeth in preparation for the incoming pain.

"Arrrrghhhh!" Chris shrieked in agony as his left arm , as well as some of his shoulder, was burned to smithereens by the scorching light.

He knew this battle had to end.

Swiftly, he manipulated his powers which were amplified as he unleashed one final burst of power.

"Soul Shred!"

Immaterial shockwaves travelled through the air, causing the soul of every living thing in an 30 metre radius to vibrate, causing cracks in their sea of consciousness.

As Hikari started grovelling on the ground in pain, he knew the battle was over.

He had won, but had suffered devastating damage. Feeling the increasing mental fatigue from expending and over-exerting his soul, he knew he could not stay for longer.

Gathering the last bit of his power to form wings, he swept through the air, flying in the direction of the orphanage, the only place he could feel safe in.

*********************************

"HOW DARE HE! THAT SON OF A BITCH!" After receiving the news of his sons' death, Martin White was devastated. It did not take long before the seeds of sadness and loss developed into anger, hatred and revenge.

"I'LL MAKE HIM PAY!" After screaming out his hearts desire, he felt unexpectedly calm.

Looking at their chairman's eerie calmness, the rest of the officials felt a chill down their spine.

"Mobilise all our forces! I swear by my name that I won't make him see the sun tomorrow!"

"Yes sir! We will not let this threat to world peace live to threaten the peace of the world for another day!" said a scholarly youth.

"Yes sir! We will immediately purge the world of this threat to our governance." said a rugged-looking middle aged man.

*********************************

The world feared him greatly, and on that fateful night, they took decisive action to get rid of him.

Meetings were held between the members of the World Government, and decisions were made.

"For the peace of the world!"

They had claimed such.

Deeming him a threat to their governance, they used their full power to take him down.

Threats, Torture, Temptation, they had used every trick in the book to get rid of this thorn in their eyes.

And on that fateful night, they had succeeded.

Betrayed by very companions he trusted, one injection was all it took for him to lose all consciousness of the world around him.

"Why?" was the only question he had to know. All else did not matter.

Yet, as if it was the playful joke of fate, he would never be able to know this answer as his consciousness fell into darkness, for the second time, and probably the last.

Chris, was dead.

And yet, this was just the mark of a new beginning, one that no one would have expected...