Fifteen years ago, two children came into the world—twins.
They were born in silence, without joyful cries, without a father, without a future.
Their mother gave them names: Vex and Lilith.
Their home was nothing more than a crumbling shack.
They never knew their father.
Their mother never spoke of him.
Maybe because she didn't know either.
Maybe because she didn't want to remember.
She was also very ill.
And yet, despite her weakness, she did everything she could—cleaned, begged, sold whatever she had... just so the two of them wouldn't go hungry.
For five years, they lived in the shadow of death.
And strangely... despite everything, Vex and Lilith smiled.
They played in the dust, created little worlds in their heads, escaped into dreams when reality grew too cold.
Until that day.
The day they learned that pain is the only constant in this world.
"You can't catch me!" Vex shouted as he ran barefoot through the yard.
"I'm right behind you!" Lilith called after him, breathless, reaching out to tag him.
Their laughter echoed in the wind as they chased each other.
Vex suddenly turned, laughing, and ran toward their mother, who sat in the old rocking chair.
"Mama! Mama!" he yelled joyfully as he ran up to her.
But when he reached her... her body was still.
"Wake uuuup!" he said loudly, gently shaking her. No response.
His hand gripped her shoulder, shaking her harder.
Nothing.
"Mama?" he whispered softly, his voice trembling.
He rested his head on her shoulder, his palm still pressed against her hand.
She was cold.
"MAMA!!!"
His eyes widened.
The world stopped.
Childhood ended in a single breath.
His smile broke, twisting into an expression of pure despair.
He looked at her once more, searching... for any sign that she was only pretending. That it wasn't real.
But all he saw... was her smile.
She smiled in the face of death.
Lilith arrived a second later. His eyes froze her in place.
He didn't have to say anything.
Her eyes filled with tears—then burst.
She dropped to her knees, screaming in a silence no one could hear.
In that moment, beneath the filthy sky and the cold wind...
two children were left utterly alone.
And something inside them died with her.
The following year passed in silence—without laughter, without play.
Vex and Lilith did everything they could to survive: cleaning, carrying, begging... selling their own strength for a few tiny coins.
They were only shadows of the children they used to be.
Worn out.
Empty.
But they still tried to smile.
As if a smile could shield them from the truth.
That evening, Vex could barely walk.
His leg was broken, wrapped in a blood-soaked rag instead of a bandage.
He leaned on Lilith for support, the two of them dragging themselves down the street like ghosts—hungry, filthy, and exhausted.
In their hands, they carried what little they could afford—one loaf of bread.
Dinner for three.
When they arrived home, they sat in front of the old, rickety rocking chair.
There, still seated… was their mother. Or what was left of her.
Her body had turned to bone—skin long gone, eyes vanished—but they still looked at her as their mother.
As if she might open her eyes again and tell them she was proud.
Lilith gently broke off a piece of bread and placed it in her lap.
"Here you go, mama," she whispered.
Silence. Only the scent of death lingered in the air.
Vex and Lilith looked at each other.
And… they smiled. Genuinely.
The dirty moon above watched the scene, twisted and ghostly.
The wind carried the stench of decay, but they didn't notice.
To them, this was home.
To them, this was family.
The next morning, the silence of their tormented home was shattered by the sound of breaking glass.
CRASHHH!
Lilith flinched, her eyes still hazy from sleep.
"What was that...?" she mumbled groggily.
Vex barely opened his eyes—but what he saw woke him instantly.
His sister.
His dead mother.
And behind them... a stranger.
A man. Dirty and furious, holding a wooden club in his hands.
No words. No warning.
SWING!
THUD!
Lilith dropped like a doll—the blow landed straight to her head.
She didn't even have time to scream.
Vex's mouth opened, but before he could even let out a cry of pain—his legs moved on their own, instinctively.
He tried to run.
But he didn't get far. He collapsed on the third step.
His broken leg couldn't carry him.
When he turned his head—
BAM!
The hit was dull, and then came the darkness.
They were awakened by pain.
Not the physical kind, but the cold, mental kind.
Around them were cages. Thick metal bars, worn smooth by the hundreds of hands that had touched them before, now served as their prison.
Heavy anti-core shackles were strapped to their ankles, suppressing their abilities.
Vex opened his eyes first.
In front of him was Lilith.
Her forehead was bloodied, her eyes glazed, but alive.
She was still breathing.
Before either of them could speak, the door creaked open.
A man walked in.
His smile was... fake joy. The kind of twisted delight that made it clear—inflicting pain was part of his daily routine. Like breakfast.
"Please…" he said theatrically, turning toward the two women who followed him inside.
"Take a look at these two. Fresh. Twins. Aren't they beautiful?"
The women stepped closer.
One wrinkled her nose and whispered,
"I don't know… they're awfully dirty."
The other looked at her, eyes glowing with some strange, hungry light.
"I like them," she said.
"We'll take them."
And Vex and Lilith remained silent.
Still too young to understand everything.
But old enough to know one thing:
No one was coming for them anymore.
They spent the next year of their lives surviving in a grand aristocratic mansion, beneath the glow of crystal chandeliers and the scent of expensive perfume.
They did everything.
Scrubbed the floors.
Baked bread they weren't allowed to eat.
Carried water, extinguished candles, even cleaned up blood.
Guards. Servants. Guests. Owners.
They all had the same right—the right to beat them.
Beatings.
Slaps.
Knives.
Rods.
Heads slammed against walls.
Bodies on the floor, while laughter echoed above them.
Butchered like meat, yet kept alive.
Because a dead child can't work.
They were given just enough bread not to die.
Just enough water not to dehydrate.
Just enough sleep not to lose their minds... too quickly.
There were other children in the mansion.
All under the same regime.
But only the twins kept smiling.
Their smile began the day they realized their mother was dead—and that even then, she wore a smile on her face.
From that day on, their smile meant only one thing:
A death mask.
When they smiled… it meant they were ready to die.
And yet… the smile never left.
They were ready to die at any moment.
Among all the broken, starving bodies… there was one that still glowed.
A girl named Mai.
She was… different.
Not because she was stronger.
Not because she was smarter.
But because she still didn't understand the world everyone else had already died in—on the inside.
Mai was innocent. Dangerously innocent.
She shared food even when she didn't have enough for herself.
She reached out when others turned away.
She laughed from the heart, not from pain.
That's why Vex and Lilith quickly grew close to her.
Her presence confused them.
They didn't know whether to protect her... or to hate her for still believing in kindness.
One day, she approached them quietly.
"Come to the room at the end of the hallway tonight," she whispered, then disappeared into the shadows.
No further context. No explanation.
That evening, Vex and Lilith made their way to that room.
Inside, there was a group of children.
At the center stood a boy—frail in build, but with fire in his eyes.
"I want to escape," he said clearly.
Silence. The children just stared.
No one dared to hope.
No one dared to believe him.
"How?" a voice asked from the crowd.
The mansion was tightly guarded.
Everyone wore anti-core anklets that prevented the use of any abilities.
Even if someone had potential… in here, it was dead.
But the boy nodded.
"Don't worry. I've figured it all out."
"We move tomorrow. Same time."
The boy carefully laid out a map of the mansion on the cold, dusty floor.
A group of starving children gathered around, their eyes filled with something they hadn't felt in a long time—hope.
"I managed to take it from the main hall," he whispered.
Then pointed at a path on the map.
"This hallway… has the least guards. We'll go through here, turn here… and climb to the roof."
"And the guards?" asked Mai. Still not understanding much of the plan… but she trusted him.
She trusted everyone.
"There'll be two, maybe three. We can… handle them."
Silence.
"And… mind reading?"
Vex's voice cut through the moment.
Everyone knew what that meant:
The Kanashi Core.
Those who possessed it… could peer into your mind.
Enough to shatter any attempt to escape.
The boy nodded.
"Just be careful not to think about the plan.
They can't dig through your brain… only read what's currently on your mind."
Lilith looked up.
"And once we're on the roof?"
"Emergency ladder," he said.
"It leads to the owner's balcony. It's there in case of a fire. Once we're on the balcony… we jump."
"Where?"
"Into the pool. It's right below. If we jump right—we'll survive."
The children were silent.
Someone quietly swallowed a lump in their throat.
Someone clenched their fist.
And Mai…
Mai smiled.
"Sounds perfect!"
That night, everyone went to bed.
Unaware that the next day would be the last time they'd all be together.
The following afternoon dragged on endlessly.
Every child in that prison of a mansion counted the minutes in their head, as if doing so could speed up time.
Just before the escape, Mai approached the twins.
"Are you excited?" she whispered, without revealing exactly what she meant.
The twins simply nodded.
Mai looked down, her heart racing wildly.
"You know… I… um… I've never had anyone. Ever. So in a weird way, I'm glad I ended up here. Because I met you."
She smiled softly after saying it.
The twins smiled back.
Quietly. Sadly.
Then, without a word, they headed toward the meeting spot.
When everyone had gathered, they began to move silently.
They turned the final hallway, but—someone saw them.
"HEY! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"
Their hearts stopped.
"RUN!" someone yelled.
And then—chaos.
The mansion—that pit of death—wasn't ready to let them go.
The children ran as if hell itself chased them.
Some tripped, others dragged the weaker ones along.
And ahead… two guards.
The moment they saw them, they charged.
"GET THEM!!!"
The guards drew their swords and swung at the children.
In the next instant—someone from the front fell.
"DON'T STOP! RUN!" Vex screamed.
Mai turned around, but Lilith yanked her forward: "WE CAN'T STOP!"
Blood splashed the walls. Someone screamed.
But it was too late for regret—the plan was in motion.
It was either success… or death.
Only Vex, Lilith, and Mai remained.
But they had made it.
The ladder was right there.
Everything else—blood and screams—was behind them.
The mansion chased them through its bones.
But now… now they were here.
The ladder.
Their last obstacle.
Their final chance.
Old and treacherous.
Wooden rungs tied with weak rope, clinging to the wall, threatening to snap any second.
Vex stepped up first—but moved aside to let his sister go before him.
Lilith stepped up quietly and began to climb.
Vex followed.
Mai was last.
They were on the third floor.
The balcony with the pool underneath—was on the fourth.
And then…
KRRRRRRRRR! … SNAP!
The sound of breaking rope.
Lilith screamed—but instinctively grabbed the next rung.
Her fingers bled immediately—the wood was old, splintered, and merciless.
The rung beneath her snapped off completely.
Vex fell.
"AAAH!!"
He grabbed Lilith's leg—his life now hanging from her body.
"Don't let go!" she screamed, but her voice trembled.
Mai's hands wrapped around Vex's ankles—now she was dangling from him.
The rope still creaked.
Threatening to snap again.
Lilith groaned, trying to lift her brother.
"Vex… I can't hold on much longer…"
"Just… a little more…" he gritted through his teeth.
But deep down, he knew—it wasn't a question of if the ladder would break… but who would fall first.
Mai looked up.
She closed her eyes.
"…Thank you... for letting me love you… even just a little…"
"MAI NO!" Vex screamed—
But it was too late.
Mai let go.
And she vanished into the darkness.
Only a thud was heard. Far below.
"Keep going..." Vex whispered, and Lilith barely held back her tears.
Their steps were heavy, but steady, as they climbed toward the final floor. When they reached the balcony, they looked at each other—eyes full of pain, but also understanding.
They hugged. Tightly. As if it was their last time.
"I love you!" Lilith whispered, her voice trembling.
"You're the only one who'll ever love me... And I love you too," Vex replied, staring into the distance. The horizon was red.
"I don't want to smile anymore," he said quietly, but firmly.
Lilith nodded. "Me neither..."
They were silent for a moment, then Vex began:
"You're my final breath—"
Lilith continued:
"—the calm before my death—"
Vex again,
"—but this broken realm—"
Lilith finished,
"—must taste our wrathful depth."
They leapt into the pool together, hand in hand.