Some people say that death is decided long before we take our first breath. Others claim death is just a beginning to a never ending cycle.
Ryuen Vale never knew which side he belonged to and frankly, he didn't even care.
Or at least he didn't have to before that night.
He still remembered that night too clearly.
He was returning from his late night part time job, trying to earn money to pay his college tuition fees. So that he could keep his college dreams alive.
This month he had been a complete disaster for him- he'd missed half his classes because of the robbery at his apartment. The last bit of money he'd scraped together for tuition had vanished without a trace.
Literally, without a trace.
There were no fingerprints, no evidence of breaking of any lock or even any footage in the security cameras outside the apartment. The room was exactly he had left, untouched and nothing other than the money was missing or out of place.
Though they didn't say it outright it, Ryuen could see very well what the officers thought:
'They think I am lying.'
Probably, they thought that he wanted to claim some false insurance or something, and that's why he was lying.
By now, he had long lost any hope of getting that money back.
If it were a normal guy of his age, then he would have ran to his parents to ask for more money. But Ryuen? He couldn't.
He had no one to run to.
No family.
No backup.
He just did what any other penniless orphan would do in his situation- try and earn some more money to somehow pay his tuition fees.
When he reached his apartment door that night, he reached into his pocket for the keys. He was very tired, his body was running on coffee alone.
As soon as he stepped into his apartment, he felt something was off. But he thought it was just cause of him feeling tired and so he moved to turn on the light.
But just as he was about to turn on the switch, someone tackled him from behind. He fell down with a thud, his key slipping out of his coat, onto the floor.
As Ryuen blinked, trying to comprehend what was going on, he noticed that three men were in front of him. All of their faces were covered- with a black mask, of the same kind you see robbers wear in movies.
'Wow! Getting robbed twice in a month. How lucky. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket too.', He couldn't hep but think, as his face grimaced.
He watched what the three men were doing.
The smallest one rifled through drawers, cursing when he found nothing useful.
The biggest pinned Ryuen down with his boot.
The third man stood near the door, acting like a lookout.
Ryuen was scared shitless at this moment. Who wouldn't in such a situation?
But he still didn't panic and tried to stay calm and observe the situation.
He watched. He listened.
The smallest man opened another drawer, looking through it with growing frustration.
"Damn it! It's not here!" he snapped, slamming it shut. "It's fucking not here."
The big guy- the one with his boot still crushing Ryuen's chest, leaned towards the drawer with a angry look.
"It has to be there, you idiot. Look again and carefully this time. He said it is."
'What the hell are they even looking for?'
The thought drifted through Ryuen's mind as he lay down.
It clearly wasn't money- his place had nothing left to steal. And these people weren't trashing the apartment like amateurs either.
They were searching for something specific.
Something they expected to find.
'In my apartment? Why?'
Whatever they wanted...
he had no idea what it was.
And that scared him even more.
Just as Ryuen was trying to piece things together, a faint glint caught his eye.
It was a small flash of silver.
He shifted his gaze, careful not to alert any of his unwelcomed guests.
The big guy's coat had slid open slightly as he had leaned towards the drawers.
And inside the pocket, there was…
a small knife.
At this moment, Ryuen didn't have the luxury of weighing options or crafting plans.
And so his body simply moved- faster than he had thought possible.
His arm shot forward, and his finger closed around the knife's handle- the knife was cold and a bit wet, most likely cause of the big guy's sweat. Before the big guy could even register what was happening, Ryuen drove the blade upward with every last strength he had.
The knife went into the man's chest, with only a slight resistance.
The big guy's eyes widened in shock.
For one brief, horrifying second, Ryuen and the man just stared at each other.
And then he stumbled back, choking on his own breath, hands moving to his chest, to try and get the knife back somehow.
Alas, he was too late. Ryuen had already twisted the knife out of the man's chest.
"AAAAHHHH!", Screamed the man as he clutched the wound, trying to prevent blood from flowing out.
Ryuen's heart hammered.
His fingers shakingly firmed their hold on the knife.
He didn't feel happy.
He didn't feel anything- not fear, not guilt.
Just a cold instinct pulsing through him:
'Live.'
The big guy collapsed to his knees with a thud.
And that was when everything erupted into chaos.
The moment the big guy had fallen to the floor, the other two moved towards them.
The lookout near the door shouted first.
"WHAT THE-!? GET HIM!"
The smaller man- the one that was looking through the drawers, lunged at him first, with a swing of his fist.
Ryuen didn't even have enough time to react.
The punch had slammed into his cheek, snapping his jaw a bit to the other side.
He staggered but didn't fall- adrenaline had now started to help him.
The smaller man went in for another punch.
Ryuen didn't even think.
He just slashed.
The blade tore across the man's forearm.
Not deep enough to cripple, but enough to make him scream.
"FUCK! He cut me. Bastard help me."
Ryuen stepped back, the knife trembling in his grip.
The lookout wasn't just watching anymore.
He pulled something from his pocket, it was another knife and rushed forward.
'Two attackers.'
Ryuen's breath hitched.
They circled him, one bleeding, one furious at the situation.
"You're dead, kid." the lookout screamed.
Ryuen didn't get scared this time.
Maybe he was.
Maybe he wasn't.
But he knew one thing for damn sure:
He wasn't going down without taking these bastards with him.
Ryuen lunged toward the short one, aiming to finish the fight before he lost momentum.
The short guy was already injured- if he could take him out quickly, then he would have only one guy left.
But the lookout wasn't stupid.
He read Ryuen's intention instantly.
Ryuen had barely taken a few steps, before the look away was behind him.
And then-
STAB!
Pain and lots of pain suddenly hit Ryuen. It was more pain than he had thought was possible for someone to feel.
"Agh—!"
His knees weakened.
The world blurred as he fell to the cold floor.
The short man, clutching his bleeding arm, let out a half-crazed laugh.
"That's what you get, bastard. Thought you could kill us? Not happening."
Ryuen gasped, fingers twitching around the handle of his knife.
His back burned.
His legs shaked uncontrollably.
But somehow, perhaps through sheer will power or perhaps from spite for this damned world, he forced himself to stand.
You should've stayed down," he said.
Ryuen's vision flickered, but his mind remained clear, cold and focused.
'If I go down… I die.
If I stop… I die.
If I don't move… I die.'
He grit his teeth, forcing his trembling legs to respond.
'I can still fight.'
Ryuen lunched forward again this time intending to strike at the lookout.
The lookout raised his knife again-
Ryuen dodged the knife and crashed into him.
Both of them stumbled, but Ryuen's grip on his own blade tightened. With a scream, he stabbed the lookout in his side.
The man let out a strangled, shocked gasp.
"Y-You-!"
He tried to counterstab, swinging his knife down toward Ryuen's throat-
But Ryuen had already thrown up his left hand on instinct.
"AAHH!"
The knife had passed straight through Ryuen's hand.
Pain hit him again, extreme pain.
But he didn't drop his knife.
He didn't stop.
He couldn't.
Ryuen pulled himself closer to the guy.
And then he started stabbing.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Each thrust was for survival.
The lookout's screams had long stopped, he had died already, but Ryuen didn't stop.
He kept stabbing, until the man's body collapsed.
Blood splattered across the floor, the wall and even Ryuen's clothes.
It was his own blood mixed with the people he had killed.
The short guy, the one Ryuen had slashed earlier, pressed himself against the farthest wall, his face drained of all color.
"H–Holy shit." he whispered, voice cracking.
"W-What is he?"
Ryuen slowly turned his head toward him- looking like a wounded animal that would bite anyone.
And that was the first time that night, when the short man felt genuinely terrified.
Not of death.
But of Ryuen Vale.
As Ryuen staggered towards the short guy, he whimpered and slid down the wall, trembling, holding his injured arm.
"D-Don't come-don't come any closer!" he squeaked, voice breaking.
Ryuen didn't answer.
He simply kept walking, eyes cold, empty, fixed on the last threat standing.
His grip tightened on the knife.
One more.
Just one more.
Then he could collapse.
Then he could rest.
He raised the knife-
And that was when a voice drifted through the room.
A cold voice.
A detached voice.
A voice that didn't seem to care about anything.
"Useless," the stranger said.
"Can't even handle one half-dead boy. Involving myself may result in her noticing, but this needs to be done."
Ryuen froze.
The short guy's eyes widened in terror-
"No, wait-Don't!"
BANG!
A gunshot echoed through the cramped apartment loud.
The short man's head snapped back, his body dropping instantly, lifelessly, to the floor.
For a moment, Ryuen just stood there, confused.
He slowly turned his head, struggling to see the figure standing in his apartment doorway.
All he managed to catch was a glimpse-
A pale coat.
And eyes.
Cold, pale blue eyes.
Ryuen's heart hurt suddenly for some reason.
'Those eyes.'
His legs finally gave out.
He collapsed onto the blood-soaked floor, the world starting to blur more and more.
"See you soon."
These were the last words he had heard.
And then—
BANG!
Everything went black.