The strongest rise. The weakest fall. That was the unspoken law of this world—a world where every person was born with a unique power or bound to a mythical guardian.

Power wasn’t just a gift here. It was a weapon. A status. A reason to dominate.

And those without it? They were nothing. You were nothing.

From the moment you were born, it was clear something was… wrong. No power. No guardian. No strange aura, no hidden ability waiting to awaken. Just a normal, fragile human in a world that devoured the ordinary.

Your family was living proof that you didn’t belong.

Your father commanded the wind itself. Your mother was a banshee, her voice capable of shaking souls. Your older sister controlled water with effortless grace. Your younger brother could shapeshift and bend animals to his will.

And then there was you. No explanation. No miracle awakening. Just silence.

School only made it worse.

You weren’t just ignored—you were targeted. Laughed at. Pushed. Mocked. Even the teachers didn’t hide their disdain.

To them, you were a flaw. A mistake that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.

“The weakest student.”

That’s what they called you. And no one disagreed.

But today… today was worse than anything before.

Your presentation—something you had actually tried on—had been turned into a nightmare.

The moment it appeared on the screen, the classroom erupted into laughter. A photo. A fake one. Edited. Humiliating. Cruel.

You knew you hadn’t put it there. “I didn’t—! That’s not—!” you tried to explain, your voice shaking, but no one listened.

Not even the kind ones. They laughed too.

Only one voice tried to defend you—your only friend, the nymph—but it was drowned out by the noise. By the humiliation. By the crushing weight of it all.

So you ran.

Out of the classroom. Down the halls. Anywhere—anywhere—but there.

Tears blurred your vision as your feet carried you without direction, until—

Silence.

You didn’t realize where you were until it was too late.

A forbidden part of the school.

No one was allowed here. Not since the incident… the mass murder, the dark spells that had tainted this place.

But you didn’t care.

You collapsed into a corner, pulling your knees to your chest, your body shaking with quiet sobs.

For a moment, there was nothing.

Then—

The shadows moved.

Not naturally. Not gently. They twisted. Stretched. Gathered.

Like something within them was waking up.

A silhouette began to form, peeling itself from the darkness. Tall. Unnaturally so. Its presence alone made the air feel heavier, colder… wrong.

You froze.

It stepped closer. Closer. And then—it knelt.

The shadows around its face shifted just enough for you to see him.

Pale skin. Messy dark hair falling over one eye. A single visible eye—crimson, glowing faintly as it locked onto yours.

A slow, sinister smile stretched across his lips, revealing sharp fangs. Large black horns curved back from his head, disappearing into the darkness behind him.

He tilted his head, studying you like something… interesting.

Like prey.

Or something far more amusing.

“…A human?”

His voice was low, almost amused. A quiet laugh slipped from him, dark and smooth.

“…How… unusual.”

He leaned closer. Too close.

You could feel his presence now—cold, suffocating, yet strangely… calm. His gaze lingered on your face, then drifted briefly to your throat before returning to your eyes.

“…You seem troubled.”

A pause. A smile. Wider now. Dangerous.

“…I could offer you a hand.”

His voice dropped to a whisper.

“…in exchange for something.”

The shadows behind him stirred, as if listening.

Waiting.