Chapter 1: Blame

"Student Ctory has passed."

The auditorium grew cold, the air scented with a deep musk of sorrow.

"A tragic case of suicide"

Those words rang heavy, pressing down on the participants of this assembly.

The students, their faces were darkened, each shadowed by a miasma of dread. And the adults, they hid their frustration and grief behind a mask of maturity.

"We are all gathered here today to pay our respects to his life!"

Malice, regret, and sadness, every gaze in the auditorium turned, one after another, gathering toward one teen.

16 years old, dark grey hair and silver eyes, with a rough-looking face. These are the descriptions of the bully, the one who caused this tragedy, Llain Mundus.

Piercing eyes that cut through steel encircled Llain. A forest of malice, heartbreak, and curses, a reflection of the harm he had caused, now directed back at him through the judgment of others.

(WHAT DO YOU ALL KNOW?)

(WHO ARE ALL OF YOU TO JUDGE! ONE BY ONE, I WILL DO THE SAME TO ALL OF YOU!)

A string of violent statements echoed within Llain's thoughts, furious at all the looks directed toward him.

Llain showed no emotion on his face, no empathy, and especially no fear, even as the gazes grew more and more hostile.

It was a very small movement, in fact, no one could've seen it, but at that moment, Llain felt something, his knees were trembling.

*...*

A moment of silence was enacted, a moment of peace and prayers for the deceased, but at that moment, the air was clearly different. It was thick with malice, an emotional smog directed at Llain, hoping for him to actually suffocate from it.

The moment of silence ended without any more exchanges. The principal bowed with respect and silently descended the podium.

Gradually, noises began to fade, and the students trickled out of the auditorium to return to their scheduled classes.

The teachers paid one last respect toward a portrait of the Ctory as the students left, bowing and adding flowers and gifts to the portrait.

They were the last to leave... Well, that wasn't entirely true, because there was one person remaining in the auditorium.

Still showing no reaction, Llain stood at the same spot, staring at Ctory's portrait.

It was beautiful, everything the teachers had added to it gave it an almost ethereal glow, a fitting memorial for someone who was valued and loved.

...

"DING DING DING-"

Hours passed, noon had just struck, evident by the school bell.

During that time, the lights of the auditorium had been shut off, dousing the hall in darkness.

Only one thing was still lit up.

Ctory's portrait stood, illuminated by sunlight, radiant rays that brings warmth to his portrait.

...

More hours passed, the day had begun to dim, however, one factor remained unchanged.

That was Llain.

Even while in the dark, he continued to stand for hours and hours. Even as the teachers and staff are about to leave the school.

Not a single soul entered the auditorium since the morning. No one came to check on Llain.

...

Eventually, even midnight began to approach.

Now, not a single speck of light reaches the auditorium, not from the moon and not from any surrounding lights. Just pure darkness between Llain and the portrait.

A thud sounded in the auditorium.

"I didn't mean for this to happen..."

A hoarse voice came from Llain.

Flashbacks of when his bullying started flashed through his head.

...

..

.

Llain walks into his classroom early on the first day of school, thinking that he would be the first and only student in the class.

To his surprise, another student was already there.

Bright blond hair and eyes as green as nature itself, this student was Ctory.

Ctory had already chosen his seat, the seat at the very back of the class directly next to the window, also known as the protagonist seat.

He looked happy while reading a book, minding his own business, getting immersed in the story.

Ctory had a bright and attractive personality, something Llain could tell immediately by looking at his mannerisms.

Somehow, looking at Ctory, something snapped in Llain, and unprovoked, he raised his right leg and...

"BAAANGG!"

The head of Ctory's chair was kicked hard.

Ctory's torso hit the desk first, and following that, the desk and its owner fell together.

On the way down, Ctory hit his arm on one of the table legs, and soon after that, Ctory's nose struck the edge of the desk.

Blood trickled out of Ctory's nose, its skin was quickly darkening, displaying a major bruise.

"W-wha!"

Ctory was just about to retort, confused as to why he was suddenly kicked when he felt a sharp pain on his nose.

*PACK!*

Llain kicked Ctory in his bruised nose.

Now fully disoriented, Ctory could barely utter a word.

Involuntary tears from the paun clouded his vision, but he could still see the silhouette of someone bending down and picking something up.

"M-My book!"

Ctory screamed.

It was just an assumption, Ctory didn't know if that was truly what the silhouette was bending down to pick up.

Soon, that conjecture would be proven to be true, because, before Ctory could get up and stop Llain, his book had already been thrown out the window.

After that, almost like nothing happened, Llain took the seat in front of Ctory's fallen desk and sat down.

Ctory couldn't help but remain astonished looking at Llain, he couldn't believe what just happened.

Upon realizing Ctory was looking at him, Llain side-eyed him and gave a hideous scowl.

Following that day, the harassment didn't let up. It got worse and worse, it wasn't just bruises anymore, verbal abuse was added, and gradually, Llain even began cutting Ctory in areas where it'll be hidden as long as Ctory wears a shirt or pants.

Soon, Llain's posse began harassing Ctory as well. They steal and humiliate Ctory, but compared to Llain, their harassment was lighter because of one variable.

Ctory has friends, many of them, in fact, those were his only light in this wretched school...

But eventually, even they were hunted down and subjected to bullying, all because they were connected to Ctory.

...

..

.

It felt great to him every time he saw this bright, charismatic student suffer under his wrath. Reduced to less than a human when in front of him.

"..."

Llain was silent, he didn't have any retort.

He knew exactly why Ctory took his own life. And in a strange way, Llain could relate to Ctory and understand every inch of what Ctory felt.

Maybe he might be breaking under pressure, becoming delusional about the facts. But that was the only thought process that lightened the pressure.

The silence was beyond deafening.

Almost like the heavens were staring down at him with pure disdain and devils were welcoming a fellow brother.

The pain, the satisfaction, and the emotions in his memories of those moments haunted Llain.

Disgusted with his own vile deeds, Llain wanted to claw at his own skin, just to feel something different.

"I will remember this..."

Llain cried, trying to sound strong, but the whimper in those words exposed his inner turmoil.

...

It was well past midnight, almost 1am in the morning.

The auditorium doors began to slowly open outward, and out came Llain, limping with dozens of bleeding scratch marks on his arms.

"I have to get home..."

Llain softly whispered.

Llain was extremely tired, he had been standing in the auditorium from morning to past midnight, a total of 16 hours.

The street lights hurt Llain's eyes. 5 hours in the dark forced his eyes to adapt to the darkness, and now he'd have to readjust.

Llain rubbed his eyes under the street light at his school's gate. His hand felt rough against his skin because the skin below his eyes felt sticky, which, as a consequence, ended up reddening the skin around his eyes.

The night was ambient and silent but, in its own way, vibrant with subtle noise, as winds deliver quiet sounds to the souls wandering below the light of the moon.

The walk was peaceful, but yet, Llain's heart thumped without stop, it wasn't fear, he was sure of that, but it wasn't exhilaration either. He didn't know what it was.

Llain gave a quick glance at the train station. It was closed, but Llain wouldn't have gone there either way, whether it was closed or not.

Llain walked for 40 minutes, and the town scenery finally began changing, transforming into that of family homes.

Soon, Llain stopped in front of one of these houses.

The house didn't look special, the only difference was that it looked less under-maintained compared to the other houses around it.

This house is Llain's home.

As Llain entered through the gates, he briefly glanced over at his left and saw a car parked there. It was after Llain saw the car that his body unconsciously stiffens.

Slowly Llain opens the front door, being as gentle as he possibly can, careful not to make a single sound.

*Keeeek keeeek keeeek.*

But it was to no avail, every inch of movement made the door creak loudly.

Llain quickly took his shoes off and, with surgical precision, made his first step into the house, barefoot.

The interior was dark, not a single spec of light.

(He's asleep.)

Llain silently thought to himself as he closed the front door.

Llain began to make his way towards his room, the first door to the left along the hallway.

With each step Llain took, he would swivel his feet very gently along the ground before taking a full step. The process is slow, but Llain knew it was necessary.

*BOOOOM!*

Out of nowhere, Llain was suddenly punched hard in the gut, enough to send him against the wall.

The lights turned on...

In front of Llain was the very man he was avoiding.

An imposing figure towered above Llain. Tall, dark silver hair, and dark blue eyes as scary as the ocean's depth. This man is Llain's father, Rhyye Mundus.

The place was a mess, garbage strewn everywhere, a piled-up garbage dump with a history stretching back over a decade.

"WHY ARE YOU LATE?"

Rhyye's deep threatening voice shook the house.

"I-"

Before Llain could say anything, his left foot was stomped on.

"Uuugh..."

Llain lets out a pained exhale, but no scream.

At that moment, red liquid ran down Llain's palm, and the moment he felt it, he grit his teeth. The floor had been covered with shattered glass, which was why Llain was being so careful when walking in the house.

"ANSWER ME!"

Rhyye yelled with an evil smirk on his face.

Without being able to brace for it, Llain received a sweeping kick to his left arm, adding even more damage.

*Aaachk*

Llain lets out a pained cough.

"I received a call from the school today..."

"They were telling me about your bullying, and that"

"Someone"

"Died"

"Because of you."

Rhyye aggressively points an accusatory finger at his son.

*Aaack aachk*

Llain continued to cough.

Seeing that there wasn't a response, Rhyye grabbed something near him, a pack of empty beer bottles.

Rhyye opened the door to his son's room, and with sinister intent he took one of the glass bottles into his right hand.

"YOU SCUM!"

With no remorse, Llain's father threw the glass bottle at the wall closest to his son's bed.

*PAANG!*

The bottle shatters, scattering glass shards on Llain's bed.

*PANG PANG PAANG PANG-*

Rhyye kept throwing one bottle after another, shattering them all around his son's room until almost every inch of the room was covered with glass shards.

"Go to sleep."

Rhyye spoke with mockery.

Satisfied with his work, he began to make his way upstairs. But before that...

Rhyye stepped on his son's foot once again, on the same foot from earlier, causing Llain even greater pain.

Groaning in a pile of garbage, Llain watched his father walk upstairs, getting the tiniest glimpse of the second floor, the level his father lives on.

Just from that, you could easily see that the upstairs was much cleaner, even the stairs themselves were devoid of dust.

"..."

Llain was tired, only breathing in and out as he continued to lie on the trash-ridden floor.

Llain's eyelids began to feel heavy, and whether from exhaustion or from his injuries, Llain passed out.