Chapter Two The Cursed Child
Kaito didn't return to the village.
He watched it first.
From the trees, half-hidden, dirt caked into his skin, ribs aching with hunger.
Smoke still rose from the roof of his house. What was left of it.
People gathered. Whispered. Pointed.
"He survived?""That's unlucky.""I told you that boy was wrong."
Kaito's fingers dug into the dirt.
They think I did this, he realized.
No one said his name.
They didn't have to.
By the third day, hunger outweighed fear.
Kaito learned quickly that the forest didn't care if you were innocent.
Small animals moved fast. Faster than him.
The first rabbit escaped.
The second bit him and ran.
By nightfall, his hands were shaking.
Think, he told himself. Observe.
He built a crude snare with shaking fingers. It took hours. He messed it up twice. The third time worked.
When he checked it the next morning, the rabbit was still alive.
Thrashing.
Screaming.
Kaito froze.
I did this.
The rabbit's eyes were wide. Panicked.
His stomach twisted.
I don't want to—
The thought didn't finish.
Hunger didn't allow it.
He picked up a sharp stone.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, not sure why.
When it was over, his hands wouldn't stop shaking.
But he ate.
And lived.
Something inside him shifted.
Two days later, he stole for the first time.
A loaf of bread left cooling on a window ledge.
He waited until no one was looking.
He was wrong.
"HEY!"
Kaito ran.
A stone struck his shoulder. Pain flared white.
"Thief!""Cursed brat!""That's the one!"
He didn't understand that word until later.
Cursed.
They said it like filth.
He hid beneath a bridge until nightfall, clutching the bread to his chest like it might disappear.
As he ate, footsteps passed overhead.
A girl's voice.
"…Dad, don't."
Another voice, sharp. "Stay away from that place."
Kaito didn't see her face.
Only pale hair caught in moonlight.
She paused.
For half a breath, he felt her looking down.
There's someone there, she thought.
Then she was pulled away.
Kaito stayed silent.
Rumors spread faster than truth.
People said the boy brought death.That demons followed him.That his parents died screaming because of him.
Kaito learned to keep his head down.
Learned which alleys hid him best.
Learned that kindness cost more than cruelty.
The irreversible choice came on the ninth night.
Rain fell hard. Cold soaked through him.
Kaito crept into a storage shed, hoping for warmth.
He wasn't alone.
A man was already there.
Drunk. Angry. Armed.
"Well, look at that," the man slurred. "The cursed one."
Kaito backed away.
The door slammed shut.
"You think you can steal and run forever?"
The man raised his blade.
Something inside Kaito went very still.
If I run, I die, he thought.
There was no panic.
Only clarity.
He moved.
The stone in his hand struck the man's throat.
Once.
The blade fell.
The man fell with it.
Silence returned.
Kaito stood there, breathing hard, staring at what he'd done.
I can't undo this.
Condition Met.Survival Threshold Reached.System Lock: Partially Released.
Kaito didn't feel powerful.
He felt empty.
And awake.
Outside, rain washed blood into the dirt.
Somewhere far beyond mortal sight, chains tightened.
The Bound Goddess smiled.
Yes, she thought. Now you understand.
And deep within the world, unnoticed by gods and men alike, the true heir of silver blood took his first step away from innocence.