THUD!
A fist crashed into my stomach for the third time. I crumpled to the asphalt, glass shards piercing through my torn shirt and into my back.
"You little bastard! How dare you steal from my shop!"
A vicious kick connected with my ribs. I gasped, feeling something crack inside my chest.
Three massive men circled me like wolves. One gripped a bloodied baseball bat, his knuckles white with rage.
"His pockets are empty!" Another one roughly searched me. "Damn it!"
I tried to get up, but the shop owner's boot pressed down hard on my spine, pinning me to the cold pavement.
"P-please... I was just hungry—" My voice came out as a broken whisper.
"Hungry?" They laughed, the sound cruel and mocking. "Like I give a shit! You could starve to death for all I care!"
"Boss, what do we do with this trash?"
"Dump him in the alley. He'll probably die on his own anyway."
I closed my eyes. Tears mixed with blood on my cheek. Not from the pain—I was used to that. But from the question that had haunted me my entire miserable existence:
Why is my life so fucking tragic? Why does fate seem to hate me so much?
Since birth, I'd never known a mother's embrace or a father's protection. Ten years in the orphanage had been more like prison—rotting food, damp mattresses, caretakers who preferred screaming over smiling.
When the orphanage shut down due to corruption, they threw me onto the streets like garbage.
The last seven years had one goal: survive. Scraping leftover food from dumpsters, sleeping under bridges, always watching for danger.
"Come on, let's leave this trash here."
Their footsteps faded into the distance. I slowly pushed myself up, my body trembling. Whether from cold or the rage that had been building for years, I couldn't tell.
I wiped blood from my mouth and stared up at the dim stars barely visible through the city's pollution.
"If I die tonight," I whispered, "I want to be reborn somewhere better."
An empty hope. But it was the only thing I had left to hold onto.
---
The city center pulsed with life at night. Neon lights flickered like artificial stars, cars rushed through endless streams of traffic, and people hurried toward their destinations with purpose.
I wandered aimlessly through the crowd, like a shadow that was never meant to be part of this world.
What's the point of keep walking? What's the point of trying anymore?
"Hey, move it! You're blocking the way!"
A businessman in an expensive suit shoved my shoulder roughly, not caring that I nearly stumbled into traffic.
I stopped in the middle of the bustling crowd and looked up at the night sky. Strange. Not a single cloud, yet something felt... different.
"Weird weather tonight, isn't it?" a woman nearby muttered to her friend. "Feels like a storm's coming, but the sky's completely clear."
I felt it too. The air was thick with tension, like something massive was about to happen.
CRAAAACK!
A colossal bolt of lightning split the cloudless sky! The flash was so brilliant it turned night into day for a split second. The thunder that followed made every window in the city tremble.
"ARGH!" People screamed in panic, covering their ears.
I stood transfixed. The lightning didn't fade—instead, it kept shining, forming a massive circle that began to rotate in the air above us.
A portal.
"What the hell is that?!" someone shrieked hysterically.
The portal grew larger, spinning with energy that made the very air vibrate. Purple and blue light rippled across its surface like liquid electricity. From within its depths, something began to emerge.
First came wings—pitch-black wings that stretched impossibly wide. Each one had to be thirty feet across, their dark feathers looking like they were carved from pure night itself.
Then came the figure. Tall, humanoid, with skin pale as marble and long silver hair that flowed like liquid mercury. But it was the eyes that made my breath catch—golden orbs that burned with cold fire, ancient and terrible.
An angel. But not the holy kind from children's stories. This was something dark, terrifying, radiating power that made every person below feel like insects.
The creature descended slowly, those massive black wings beating with graceful, predatory rhythm. Its golden eyes swept across the crowd with an expression of pure disgust, as if humanity was nothing more than filth beneath its notice.
My heart hammered against my ribs. Not from fear—strangely, I felt... drawn to it. As if this dark being was the answer to every question that had tormented my mind.
Its lips parted, and when it spoke, the voice penetrated straight to my bones:
"Salam, you pathetic humans."
The words echoed through the air with supernatural force. I could feel the overwhelming power radiating from this creature—power that could level the entire city without effort.
People stood frozen. Some held up phones, recording. Others simply stared in shock. But me... I couldn't look away. My eyes were locked on the black angel hovering above us. For the first time in my life, I felt something other than despair.
Hope? Fear-driven adrenaline? Or maybe... opportunity?
Those sharp golden eyes met mine for just a moment. In that single second, I knew that my life—this nightmare I'd been living—was about to change forever.
Whether for better or worse, I had no idea. But tonight would be the night everything shifted.
The night when my meaningless existence would find a purpose I couldn't yet comprehend.