Life was hard.

That was the truth of the matter for most people and it was no different for Nirko, he was a young man living in a world unlike ours one where the supernatural, the magical and all kinds of fiction mixed, one where anything was literally possible.

This was due to something special in this world, it had supernatural energies that could be bend and controlled by people to various effects, and the most important of those was something known as a particularity. A absolutely unique ability that only its user has, and was said to awaken at the age of 18.

At least that was supposed to be the case, but here he was, many many years older than that and Nirko had no signs of awakening, he was an inept, an individual with no particularity and thus no real access to the supernatural elements of the world.

In a world where people could be the closest thing possible to Gods with the right particularity, someone who was normal, an inept, was the abnormal one, a defiance to the natural order, a true abomination.

There were only 68 inepts in all of history before him and they all faced the same fate... death.

His family was terminated as an act of hate towards his existence as an inept, their sin to try and protect him.

___________________________________________

Throughout the years Nirko found himself in various situations with all kinds of things taking place and this changed him, showed a new world, and new him.

It could even be said, that Nirko died that day with his family, and something new was born, someone new. He was called and called himself N or even Nik if he was feeling fancy that day, after all his name was not kindly seen, and not exactly common, so he changed to something close after all, people would not expect him to stay so close to his real name.

-Day 3-

Running off together with a bag groceries, Sino and Nirko entered a portal of the prior's making as the sirens of the police could be heard.

Coming from the portal they were at Sino's house with Nirko's eldest sister, a rather cozy apartment that had more than enough space for them.

"Huff… Hufff…. Man that was a close call. How was it worse than when we tried see the graves of your family…" Sino complained as he sat down on the couch.

"Couch… Cough… Cough… Cough… You…. Huff… Hufff… Can't be serious?! If we keep coming here they'll catch us for sure!" After catching his breath Nirko complained to his brother in law.

"Relax, it's not that deep. They have searched this place for us hundreds of times by now. They won't be back anytime soon, let's just enjoy the time we have here before it gets sold." Sino shrugged not nearly as worried.

This didn't convince Nirko who still felt this was a bad idea, but as they sent the day together there, ate the food they stole, got to finally take baths after 5 days, watched Tv from a subscription plan that Sino had before all this, and just overall got to have a rather relaxing.

"Ok, I guess it wasn't that bad…." Nirko admitted feeling refreshed with a smile but there was a sense of emptiness to his eyes, as the idea that his family was gone was still settling even after he saw their graves.

"Yeah, you can't be so worried all the time, or you won't enjoy anything." Sino who saw his look pat him on the back.

"Yeah…" Nirko contained the tears he still had in him, and just confused on what was going on right now.

"Hey! I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere." Sino smiled widely after he said that.

Time passed there and they were having a rather good time as something of a normal life was back for them. They would steal food when needed and go back there.

-Day 38-

"What do you think would be the best option today? Chicken or pork?" Sino asked as it was his turn to cook that day.

"Chicken… Anyway, how long will your electricity subscription last? We've been here for a while now." Nirko asked curious.

"I don't know… 3 months max. I think that was what it said last time I checked… I wonder if they can sell the house before my lifestyle subscription pack ends." Sino was wondering then shrugged. "Oh well, we'll think about that when the time comes."

This caused Nirko to raise an eyebrow. "I sometimes think you're a bit too easy going…"

"Ha! As if! On the contrary my friend, I think you are too worried about things." Sino responded with a smile.

"I will never understand what my sister saw in you." Nirko crossed his arms.

"That's just because you haven't discovered my charm yet, give it some time." Sino chuckled.

"I don't any amount of time will change my mind." Nirko shook his head.

As the conversation continued and they continued to enjoy their time, Sino was just hit with two bullets one that went through his right ear, and another that pierced his stomach.

"This was a warning shot! Surrender now! Or you'll have no choice but to shot again!" The sound of the cop announcement reached them.

As soon as it did, Sino who was now on the floor was covered by Nirko who stood in the way of the line of fire, while Sino opened a portal.

They managed to get out of the apartment, but Sino was bleeding out, so Nirko had to carry him to hospital as he was not conscious enough to open anymore portals.

Once he reached the hospital however, such a thing did not work as Nirko had expected so as the people were busy calling the cops on him, he stole equipment and later used a holo phone he stole to watch a video on how to patch bullet wounds, and patched Sino himself.

Later Sino woke up bandaged up, in some basement of an old building.

"Man!…. I thought I was dead for sure." He said.

"We're even now." Nirko says in response.

Their journey together really started from that day on.

-Year 5-

It had been a journey for Nirko and Sino, but at this point they had not quite yet fallen to their worst side.

In an abandoned building they occupied a room they had made into their home for now.

"So, what did you get for us to eat this time?" Sino asked as Nirko returned from a portal he made, it was safer to him as they would not shot even after finding the Inept. The brother in law however would not be so lucky.

"It's canned beans and instant noodles again, we don't have too much time to be cooking or anything like that. The security at the stores has been getting scarier." Nirko responded with an awkward expression, extended a can of beans at him.

"F*ck that! We eat this bullsh*t almost everyday! How incompetent are that you can't get anything better!" Sino slapped away the cab of beans in his hand.

"It's not my fault all stores encrypt the lock of all the items they sell and there are the less protected ones! I'm getting what I can! If you don't want to it then just starve!… Happy birthday, by the way." Nirko frowns as he does whatever he can to get them something at least, only to be berated, and he was not going to take that.

However he could not be too mad on his birthday.

A sigh left Sino's mouth as he sat back against one of the walls in the room.

Then he began rubbing his face in a erratic manner the stress building up in a very visable way.

"Hahahaha… Forget it! Thanks, thanks… Thanks. Though I have to say, it was my birthday, you could have at least gotten me a red velvet cake, I love those." Sino responds as he hits his own head against the wall behind him.

Things had become hard, as the system to stop criminal activity evolved and they had to adapt with the times, which made it harder for fugitives like them to survive at all.

-32 years-

Eventually it was simply to much for them to just live off scraps and whatever they could get their hands on, so they joined their first criminal group.

Obviously they could not let their identities be known so they disguised themselves and were clothes that hid as much as possible, which in a criminal organization was not uncommon so they were able to blend in.

This forced both to become criminals as would be expected from this choice.

"So recruits! As you know, we are the Separation Zelests! Fighting for a us to go back to a world where each country was their own entity! A world unlike this horrible unified world that ended cultures, languages, and blended everything into puppet nations with sheep people without the ability to think for themselves! We'll overthrow that Goddess and the World union with her! Viva la Individuality! Viva la Liberty!" A member of the organization gave a speech to all the recruits.

Cheers and clapping came from the crowd, as even Nirko and Sino were doing the same just going along with it.

"Now! As part of our efforts for a better world, sacrifices must be made and you need to be willing to make those sacrifices to be accepted among us. Remember this ancient saying that we have taken as our creed! The Machiavellian mindset "The ends justify the means!" Repeat after me!" He declared with a commanding tone and clear determination as well as faith in his own words.

This inspired the crowd of recruits to follow and repeat after him. "The ends justify the means!" They all yelled. While Sino and Nirko could only look at each other feeling a bit out of place but staying in character.

"Now, you must finally prove yourselves worthy of our trust and camaraderie! This these are children who we captured and restrained! Now all you must do is execute them! From then on we will know where your faith lies!" The man announced with fervor as a child for each and every recruit was brought to be killed.

Such an outrageous demand cause a lot of the people among the recruits to immediately give up and protest against something so cruel, but in an instant those recruits and the kids assigned to them were shot down. Right then and there.

"… S… What do we do now?!" Nirko began to panic as he too would have complained but it was now not an option.

"… What has to be done." Sino got serious and grabbed one of the guns being given to the recruits.

"You're not actually going to-" Nirko's eyes widened as he could not believe what he was seeing but even before he could finish speaking.

Bang!

Sino shot down the child, blowing off a little girl's head without a second thought.

Nothing could have prepared Nirko for this as he fell down to the ground and began hyperventilating in pure panick not knowing what to do next or even how to feel, as he grabbed his own chest.

Clap!

His brother in law didn't let him dwell on that and slapped him across the face.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Stop!!!" Nirko pushed him off and got up looking at his brother in law with nothing but rage before pinning him down and punching him repeatedly. "What are you doing?!?! Did you go crazy?! How could you?!"

"Do you think that if you were the child, knowing who you are, would anyone hesitate to execute you for that?" Sino spit blood and asked with a serious expression.

This question stopped Nirko who frowned. "But I'm not them… I'm…" He wanted to reject the idea completely, yet he couldn't put himself to do it, he was in fact not different, he was not any better.

Thus Nirko got up in a fit of mixed emotions, he too got a newbie gun, and with multiple eyes on him due to the scene that just unfolded, he pulled the trigger after a single moment of hesitation, blowing the head of a little boy.

Soon though the high emotions died out and Nirko realized what he just did, so he fell to his knees and began violently vomitting until he passed out.

From then on, he and Sino got into the organization. Despite having nightmares about the recruit test every night Nirko pushed through, with the help of Sino, they did what had to be done.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Things went smoothly for a rather long time, but eventually things went wrong.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be with this woman, she's like the third in command here, I don't think this is in good faith." Nirko said to him worried as Sino was getting close to a woman there.

"Relax man, I have not had a woman in ages, I need this. Plus it's not like I'm going unprepared, I've been recording all our conversations and encounters just in case. I guess I learned a thing or two from your paranoia." Sino responded as he got ready for his big day, it was the day he would score, he knew it.

"That's not the point! It's too risky! What if they suspect our real indentities?! This could be a trap!" Nirko insisted having a bad feeling about this.

"Don't exaggerate! Is it that surprising a woman found me charming??" Sino rolled his eyes as he was ready getting done with his disguise on.

"Nope! I can't let you do this! It's too risky!" Nirko got in his way with a serious expression.

"If I didn't know better I would say you're jealous man! Your sister is gone! Nada! So let me move on and live my life for once! It's enough that you ruined my chances at everything else! Unlike you, I can't just stay young and waste my time! Now get out of my way!" Sino pushed Nirko out of the way and went on his date.

This caused Nirko to punch the ground in anger before he took a deep breath and got up.

"I should be mad… But he wasn't fully wrong… I better help that bastard before he gets us killed." Nirko sighed and shrugged it off then followed him.

Later his suspensions were proven to be incorrect, but that didn't stop things from going wrong, as while Sino's date was not onto them, the commander from the recruit test day was, he took that opportunity to get Sino.

Luckily having kept his portal particularity a secret, with Nirko's help, Sino was able to escape, and they both left their first criminal organization out of many.

-75 Years-

Things had long been a pattern for them, not too much was all that suprising anymore.

Once again they found a secluded location to call home for a while and Nirko was coming back from a robbery through a portal.

"Canned beans again? Or did you get fancy with the noddles?" A much older Sino asked sitting on a chair looking tired.

"Don't say I never do anything for you. Happy birthday, Sino. It wasn't easy." Nirko who still looked the same brought him a red velvet cake of his favorite type with candles with the number 113.

"Hahahagagaga! You adsolute mad lad, you actually did it! You actually did it! Hahahaha! Thank you, brother, thank you so much! Hahahaha!" Sino gave him the widest of smiles in complete desbelif.

To get something like a cake without buying it, and they were far too expensive for their pockets as was most food.

Nirko would have had to learn how to decrypt a highly advanced encrypted code of the specific store selling that specific red velvet cake, something like that would take a lot of time and effort to accomplish.

They enjoyed a great day together, but this act would later come back to bite Nirko's ass, since he left traces of his decryption and they were able to trace it back to him. Typically with the lesser encryptions he usually dealt with there was nothing left, but it seemed he went a little above his pay grade.

This led to Nirko being captured as he was doing another robbery, and he was taken to a prison set to be executed the very next day.

Unable to open a portal to somewhere he's never been and know the prison had anti-particularity technology.

Sino broke into prison and using a speech similar to the one the Separation Zelests commander gave the day he and Nirko joined as recruits to incite a rebellion and a prison break.

On Nirko's birthday and the day he was about to be executed, he was saved by Sino, and they left through a portal as soon as they were reunited.

"Happy birthday, how does it feel to be free again?" Sino asked him as they reached their hideout for now.

"Nah, the one day in prison was the most peaceful I've had in a while, thanks though, I'm not quite ready to die yet… Somehow…" Nirko sighed a bit confused himself, but he was fine.

They both continued together, as far as they could.

-231 years-

It had been over 200 years since Sino died, and in this time, Nirko had learned to live for himself and by himself, but that was not an easy or simple thing.

Due to no longer having access to portals he had to drastically improve his own skills, martial arts, weapons, hacking, and everything he used was pushed to the limits and beyond that. He learned that he was a much better and faster learner than he ever knew.

Eventually he even developed his own fighting style he called 'Inept Arts' brutal and focused on survival, he could only rely on them for his life.

Unfortunately the loneliness was getting to him, and to defend himself, Nirko developed a level of lust and depravity beyond the norm, to cope with his reality and enjoy fantasies instead as he started consuming the same types of media he used to very long ago before he ever became an Inept.

That was not the end of it, as he started consuming excess forms of 'adult content' and allowing himself to indulge as much as he could, adding a form of hedonism to his nomadic on the run life.

-384 years-

In that simply indulging in the fantasies was not enough and they started becoming a part of him.

He would just live like that for a very long time before he forgot how to not live that way, and even became quite careless with how he conducted himself.

Morals weakened and he did whatever he felt was necessary each time no matter how horrible or bad it was, there didn't seem to be a bottom line for this new lifestyle until he did something that woke him up.

As he was getting cornered by Adapts that wanted to take him to the police, using his Inept Arts, Nirko killed them all, but that was far from the problem, that came when he noticed that his attacks had killed two bystanders who were trying to get their child to safety and out of the danger area.

Just like it had happened to him, the child's parents were shot down before they even realized it, right in front of the kid.

"No… F*ck!" Nirko slapped himself and took the child to an orphanage before going off to continue his running, believing no child should be subjected to his lifestyle no matter how guilty he felt.

Later in his newest hideout, he made a decision.

"It's been enough! I've done enough, no more Inept Arts… No need for that. It's too far, too brutal, too unnecessary." Nirko promised himself from that moment on.

He could no longer the frustration of his life and loneliness on others, he had to face, himself.

-420 years-

Standing at the edge of a skyscraper building's rooftop, looking at the city below, as it shone under the moon on what could be considered a rather starry night, it's bustling traffic and loud nightlife seemed pretty, almost beautiful.

Due to this lifestyle where he had to be on the run, and lay low with nobody on his side, Nirko ran to depravity for comfort and indulged in all the sinful acts of pleasure he could get his hands on to at least feel alive, though 99.99% of the time he was doing that alone to himself or seeing some fictional piece of media about it, still such things got him by and he eventually came to love his own deprived nature.

There he was, Nirko a shadow of a person dressed in rags, body, as thin as can be with black messy dirty hairs flowing down.

"How sad… if only I had a particularity, I would not have lost everything! Why?! Why was I inept?! Before my family got terminated everyone old enough in my bloodline had a particularity! So why?! Why?!" Nirko let out his frustrations into the world with no one to listen or care.

His voice and words lost to the night as the frustration was palpable.

"If I hadn't lost my family, maybe just maybe I could have tried wincest! Fate you bastard, you took that away from me!" Nirko who was legitimately hurt deep inside found solace in mixing his depravity into other things to soften the blow they have on him.

Not having anything left, Zot who had tried his best to survive so far no longer could take it or at least that's what he would have said if he hadn't found another someone he could call a friend, at least for now, he was not fully alone anymore.

He met him a week ago, he was a young man with the particularity to make things warm, a complete I grade particularity only bearly better than an Inept, After a law that made I grade Adapts second class citizens was passed, he understood what it was like to be near the bottom of the gutter and could relate to Nirko.

"Sight seeing again? Don't you ever get tired of looking at this city… By all accounts, you should hate this place more than anyone else." A young man approached him with a smile and pat his back as he spoke, there was a certain sueve and warmth to his voice.

"I do and I don't… It's complicated, but all the bad memories I have here just can't erase the beautiful ones I have with my family…" Nirko's eyes got watery as he looked at the city the breeze of the night lightly washing away his pain, but never enough to stop it, just ease it.

"You're being serious instead of spouting nonsense? Maybe my good influence is rubbing on you." The young man lightly bumped his elbow on Nirko's arm as he raised his eyebrows multiple times, a smile clear across his face.

"Don't be silly, Nori, I was just thinking of how thick my sister used to be, her legs could destroy my head for days on a chokehold, and my mom she-" Nirko immediately began gushing about his weird fantasies of depravity.

"Enough! Do not sully my pure mind with your heresy! You disgusting gooner, you don't stop, do you? Where's your sense of shame?!" Nori rolled his eyes that just like his face were then frozen in disgust as he heard Nirko speak of things his mind would rather forget were ever said, as he backed away unable to stand close after that.

"Come on, it was not that bad, if you heard some of the wilder stuff I would like to try, you would be vomiting. Hahaha!" Nirko laughed it off not bothered by a reaction he was well to accustomed to, well before he became an absolute degenerate, not that he was, but it was easier for him to think that way.

"That's not something to be bragging about!… I might have to reprogram you with some educational content… Where did I leave the eye opening device? I'll need that and a TV." Nori made a crucifix with his fingers and pointed it at Nirko.

"You think you're the first one to try to clockwo*k or*nge me?! I am immune to redemption! It's too late for me, let me burn in hell and sin in peace. Hahaha!" Nirko shrugged his shoulders.

"…." This caused Nori to go silent and look at him with eyes of worry, and concern, though there was a bit of a smile hiding underneath.

"What?… Too much? I didn't even talk about the really gross stuff." Despite his words Nirko seemed to be thinking fondly of said "Gross stuff" in his mind.

"You have existed as a person like this, it's not healthy, it's not fun, and it's not ok." Nori turned to the other side giving Nirko his back as he looked at the city from that side. "You don't have too much time left to live, so you have to make yourself actually useful to society… You know live up to the memory you say you have of your family."

There was another bout of silence as the words left Nori, but soon Nirko seemed more so rather pissed than anything else.

"Nori… I know you're trying to help, but shut the hell up! I'm not contributing to anything! You want me to serve the world that destroyed my life?! For what?!" Nirko despised the idea of doing such a thing, veins visable on his forehead.

"For yourself, dummy, I'm not telling you to forgive anyone or forget, but all that rage, anger, frustration, hate, stress… and well, huh, hornyness? Is that even an emotion?…

"Whatever , the point is, you'll just die unhappy living that way, and I'm sure your family wanted you to be more than a bitter old man." Nori spoke still not looking at Nirko, a smile present on his lips as each word left his mouth.

"I'm an inept! The bottom of the bottom! Most of my life I had to live off scraps and trash! I had to commit so many crimes because I didn't want to die! Don't talk to me about a better life that way!

"I know my happiness… I know what it takes and I trust no one else! Cause I can't, I can't change, not now, not ever! It's far too late for that, I know who I am and I accept it!" Nirko let out feelings overwhelmed by what he had inside him boiling, but it was far from all out.

"… You did trust me, though, so I think things can change. You just need to know where you stand in this world." Nori said his smile widening.

"Oh no, you misunderstood me. I don't trust you, Nori, I let you take me in. Though I got to say, I was surprised it took you this long to give me up.

"Most of the people who took me in did it on the same day within minutes of getting me to come with them. So, let me guess you did it for the good of everyone, and because you're such a model citizen? Hahaha, that's a classic one." Nirko laughed completely unbothered by his own words.

"You!… You little!… You knew?! Why do all this if you knew?!" Nori turned to him in disbelief.

"Being alone for too long sucks, true loners are built different and I'm not made for a life of complete loneliness, so sometimes I let people take me in just to have someone to talk to, bonus points if it's a pretty girl hahaha." Nirko got distracted at the thought of a pretty woman.

"You! Hahahaha! I can't believe you're real, god that's frikin stupid! Hahaha! I got to say even though I'm using you to rise in life, it was actually quite pleasant to know you, Nirko." Nori smiled genuinely as he laughed at this man's antics.

"Is it really that funny? I never saw you laugh like that, then again it was only a week." Nirko shrug his shoulders.

"You didn't bathe and get all cozy cause you knew? That's still disgusting. Oh well, at least now you'll finally be of use, Inept trash, though you would probably not be so bad if you weren't born an abomination to life." Nori equally shrug his shoulders as he looked at him.

"Hmmm, fair enough, how long until the police gets here?" Nirko looked at the city again seemingly taking in moments of the past deep within.

"They already are. Though I have to ask, what's with that look?" Nori seemed interested.

"This place is near my old house before all of this mess, and I remember going to that park with my parents, and my sisters. My father was a lax man minding his own and chilling most of the time, my mom on the other hand tended to be more strict and would reign us in.

"My sister were annoying but they could always surprise me with the amazing things they could do when they tried. We were right there, strolling as a family… All of it lost…" Nirko looked sober as he watched the people go back and forth in the park.

"You're hard to understand, I really don't know what your plan is here, but if you surrender things will be easy." Nori narrowed his eyes a pang of guilt could be found, but it was quickly swallowed. "I'm an orphan, so I know what you mean with loneliness, you know that's not a life worth living just give in."

"A last hand shake. From a loner to another one." Nirko extended his hand to Nori with a wide smile.

"You're so weird. Whatever, at least you know when to give up." Nori walked to him and they shook hands.

"Sike! I lied, b*tch! I have a hostage now! Back off!" Nirko put Nori in a neck lock with his arms.

"Bastar- utttghh…" Nori tried to complain but was locked too tight to speak.

"Stop right there inept scum! Get down on the ground and comply with your arrest!" Just then a police squad came up with their technologically advanced guns, and an anti-supernatural nullifier field deployed just in case.

"We have surrendered the area and there is nowhere to escape! You have 10 seconds to surrender before we open fire." Another officer said with his gun locked on Nirko's head.

"Jeez, this usually works, they really treat you almost as bad as me, oh well, it was about time to end it anyway." Nirko started moving toward the edge of the sky skyscraper's rooftop.

"Hhhgjjgg!…" Nori tried to protest and even use his particularity to warm things up to get Nirko off him, but the nullifier brought by the police stopped him from being able to do that at all

"Stop this instant or we'll open fire!" Another officer yelled ready to shoot.

However it didn't work as Nirko jumped off with Nori.

"Boss! He jumped off, what now? Should we deploy the anti-gravity device to save the civilian from the abomination?!" One of the officers asked the one at the front.

"No, don't deploy anything, the inept trash and the useless rank I citizen are not worth the cost." The officer in command responded.

Thus both Nirko and Nori continued to fall to their death. While they were in the air Nirko let go of Nori.

"*Cough* *Cough*, You bastard! I'll die because of you… Hahahaha, well played." Nori started laughing and smiled at Nirko.

"What?! You're not mad?" Even Nirko was in shock.

"No it was just the way of things, I guess I did get attached to you in a mere week. How sad of me, I truly was a little too lonely…" Nori scoffs at the realization.

"It was not a terrible one week, see you on the other-" Just as Nirko was speaking their fall was cut short as they had reached their the ground.

Both of them met their end, splatters of blood on the ground to be cleaned.

____________________________________________

Later on elsewhere. Sitting on a throne surrounded by women clinging on to him, there was a man with a smug as he leaned back onto his throne seemingly enjoying the bliss of life.

Entering that room was a woman with an unnatural level of shine and beauty to her, such that it could gather worship around her.

"Oh, if it isn't my dear sister, how may I help such an important figure?… Maybe you're here because you finally came to your senses and decided to accept my marriage proposal, ready to join my harem." The man smiled as he spoke.

"Urgh, no. Of course I haven't fallen so low. You're too desperate, and quite honestly disgusting for thinking of that. I'm here to tell you that while you distracted with your… toys… The 69th Inept, the one we allowed to live finally died." She announced ignoring her disgust at her bother and smiling due to the news she just gave.

"Finally! I was starting to think it would take forever. So how old was he at death?" The man asked his interest in the matter pushed him to get the women off himself and walk to stand in front of his sister.

"More than we needed, I'm sure those celestial fools will have a heart attack once they realize what he is. That's what they get for trapping us here, those cowards!" The woman complained as she talked to her brother.

"Are you sure this will work, what if the world they send him to is a prison world like this one?" The man asked.

"This is why I hate you too, I told you before that he's going to break everything before they can. Whatever world he ends up in, Things will be interesting once he's back, though it will be a long wait, so buckle up." The woman hit her brother.

"So violent, one day I might just press domestic violence charges on you." He smiles as he says.

"Oh please, don't start." The woman rolled her eyes and their conversation went on.