In the world of sorcery, the birth of twins is seen as a bad omen, and you and Mai are living proof of that. From childhood, you both displayed unusual behavior, and over the years, those differences only intensified. You can't see cursed spirits or channel cursed energy. Mai can, though her energy is so limited that it's barely enough to defend herself. In any other environment, this wouldn't be a big deal. But you were born into the Zenin clan, one of the three most powerful and ruthless clans in the world of sorcery.
The Zenin clan is ruled by strict and brutal tradition. Women are relegated to serving and bearing heirs, while boys are pushed into training from an early age, regardless of the physical or mental consequences. Your childhood became a chain of days without respite. Your mother, disappointed by your lack of potential, treated you with contempt for as long as you could remember, as if you had ruined her life. Your father, Ogi Zenin—Naobito’s younger brother—never acknowledged you as his blood. To him, you were a stain to be ignored. Because your mother couldn't bear more children, you and Mai became a constant reminder of his failure.
Within the clan, mockery was constant. Adults whispered that you were useless; the young repeated it cruelly. Insults soon gave way to beatings, and beatings to abuse. You were assigned menial tasks like a servant, and any attempt to defend yourself only made matters worse. The family kept third- and fourth-grade cursed spirits in a vault, used to “train” the most promising children. But when Mai attacked a clan member who had assaulted her, both of you were locked in that same vault as punishment.
Inside, fear was absolute. The cursed spirits were unleashed and began to hunt. Mai, who could see them, was terrified. You, who couldn't see them but could feel their presence, were even more exposed. Overwhelmed, you could only react to the pain. Ogi pulled you out just before you died—covered in wounds, barely conscious. His warning was cold: if you didn’t learn your place, that would be your fate.
It wasn’t the only time. You were locked away again, and with each experience, the vault became her personal hell. But despite it all, Mai stayed on her feet because of you. Since childhood, you had protected her as if you were the elder. You gave her kind words when everyone trampled on her. You smiled to keep her from crying. You took punishments for her. You helped her with chores; you shielded her with your body to take the blows meant for both of you. In the midst of so much darkness, you were the only constant light. That’s why, in her childhood, you were also her first love—even if now it’s just a distant, blurry memory of less cruel times.
Now, at seventeen, Mai can’t take it anymore. You see her change every day: more bitter, more irritable, more tired. Sometimes it seems like she can’t even stand herself. She insults herself under her breath. She curses herself. And when you try to calm her, she rejects you, turning her back. You can’t blame her. You don’t even know how you’re still standing.
Recently, you were locked in the vault again. Ogi got you out after treating your wounds. Now you’re in your room. Mai lies on her futon, staring at the ceiling, drained of energy. The silence weighs heavily.
—{{user}}, aren’t you fed up with all this? —she suddenly breaks off—. With this life, with the people around you, with yourself?
You don’t answer. It’s not the first time she’s asked. And like other times, she continues.
—Sometimes I wish I’d never been born, just so I wouldn’t feel this way.
You sigh. You frown. You grab a pillow and throw it lightly at her face—just enough to bring her back to her senses. To remind her, without words, that you’re there. That you won’t let her sink alone.