A monochrome world. No, there were also shades of gray. It was colorless and dreary, as if it was a sketch made by a depressed teenager. Me.
Broken down buildings on both sides. A straight road ahead stretching toward the horizon. There at the far distance stood a black tower reaching straight for the heavens beyond the dark gray clouds.
Rain fell. The clear drops of water were stained with shades of gray. It was truly depressing, but it couldn’t lower my mood anymore. I was already at the bottom.
“Big brother Kris.”
A familiar voice. I took a deep breath and looked behind me.
“Katie!”
“Non non.”
A smiling man stood in the middle of the road holding a white umbrella against the rain. His face was covered with a white mask. His entire body was black, as if devoured by shadows. He wore a gray tailcoat.
“That was just my impression. Was it good?”
“Impression?”
He made an impression of Katie’s voice. It sounded just like her. Then that meant that he knew her.
My eyes shone with anticipation. A clue! A lead! I finally found it!
“You knew Katie?”
“Of course! She was an interesting fellow. I had my hopes high for her to reach the top of the tower!”
He said as he pointed at the tower rising over the horizon. I looked back and saw a hole appear in the clouds. The top of the tower could be seen, blanketed by a misty haze. In the blurry figure, I could see bright colored lights out of place in this world of black, gray, and white.
“Sadly, she made a turn for the worse.”
He shook his head.
“She challenged opponents she couldn’t win against. She fought them like there as no tomorrow. It was strange. She had always done things mathematically, always winning with the proper strategy.”
He walked toward me then folded his umbrella, letting the rain wet his clothes. He pointed the tip of the umbrella to me and said…
“You are the reason she lost!”
What? I couldn’t keep track of the conversation. He had been sputtering nonsense for a while now.
“Ahh! Ahh! She was depressed! She was sad because her older brother did not understand how she felt! She just wanted to make him happy, but what did he do? He scolded her! He shouted at her! All she did was for him, but she only got hurt in return!
“Drowned in sorrow, she fled to this world to ease the pain. But it was a mistake.”
He sighed and started walking away.
“I liked her. But because of you, she’s gone now. Hmm… Oh well. Nothing can change the past now. As retribution, I won’t give you a hint. Good luck!”
With those confusing words, he faded and disappeared. Before I could arrange my thoughts, a chilling sensation pierced my nape.
Killing intent. It was so strong and clear it felt like a cold dagger was pressed on the back of my neck.
Relying only on intuition, I jumped to the side.
BOOM!
A loud sound assaulted my senses and knocked me back. An explosion. I was thrown into a nearby ruined building. My body hit a broken down wall causing it to crumble into pieces.
“Gaah!”
The pain was overwhelming. My entire body was covered with wounds and bruises. I felt blood seep up to to my throat. I may have suffered some internal injury.
I wiped the blood that had rolled down my left eye as I stood up. There in the middle of the street was a huge black figure.
As my gaze landed on it, it turned its head and stared right at me. Bright red eyes. They were like points of light on its dark skin.
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What is it? I don’t know. A monster? Its bulging muscles were bigger than any beast I’ve seen. It was over two meters tall, and it was still crouching. It somehow looked like a gorilla, but its face was strangely human. No fur covered its skin.
Its red glaring eyes were enough to freeze me in place. The killing intent did not come from it. Instead, its presence was so dominating it made breathing hard. I choked as my throat tightened up.
This pressure was enough to kill me.
No. I don’t want to die. Not yet. Not before I find out what happened to her. I finally got a lead. I won’t let it end like this.
I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into flesh. Blood rolled down my knuckles and dropped on the rubbles on the floor.
That was enough to wake my petrified body.
The black monster suddenly jumped. It was more than ten meters into the air! It was planning to crush me as I landed.
Move!
My body moved as I commanded it to, but my shaky legs gave up on me. With stumbling steps, I managed to avoid the monster’s landing but it blew me away and crashed into another wall.
Ignoring the pain, I picked myself up and ran away.
No destination in mind. No plan. I just relied on my instincts and fear.
It aimed for me.
I dodged.
It chased.
I ran.
A game of cat and mouse, where I was the pitiful little rodent.
Every few seconds, I came so close to being crushed. Every time, I was moving inches closer to death.
This can’t go on forever. I knew that. But there was nothing I could do.
Under the gray sky and the falling rain, two figures ran between ruined buildings and streets. One a pitiful young man, the other a black monster. This would make quite the painting, but as the former, there was nothing to appreciate about this scene.
“Ha… haha…”
Between my ragged breaths I began to laugh.
“Hahaha!”
Laughter mixed with the noise of the dropping rain.
“Hahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!”
He called this retribution. In fact, it might be as he said.
How dare I call myself as her brother?
How dare I call her my sister?
How shameless!
How despicable!
I am nothing of that sort. I’m just a pitiful parasite living off the blessings that had come with her existence!
I was an orphan. My future was uncertain.
Then, a tragic accident provided me with fortune. I was given a family. I was given a life.
In exchange for a life lost.
I am not Kristopher.
Katie was not my sister.
Her family is not my family.
I am nothing. I am no one.
I closed my eyes and stood still. A small smile formed on my face.
There was a weight in my pocket. I inserted my hand and pulled out my phone. My thumb moved unconsciously.
I placed the phone beside my ear.
Empty. There was no sound. Still…
“I’m sorry…”
No reply.
“And thank you.”
I finally said the words I should have said that night.
With my heart at peace, I felt the air shake behind me.
It’s coming…
The black figure that was punishment for my sins, in this gray world that represented my existence.
2nd Chapter
"Gray Existence"
End