Chapter 1: The Scissors of Savagery
Monday, January 1, 2024.
In just one short year, Tehimosin's world collapsed in a way he never could have imagined. His two closest friends—those who held the power to alter destiny and law—were gone. Every investigative effort he made led to a dead end. The question regarding the entity calling itself "God"—the one who bestowed power upon MalC?urVist and Tenlastther—remained nothing more than a fading phantom.
Where did the truth lie? Or was the power of God itself a proxy curse leading them to their graves?
Wednesday, January 10, 2024.
In a remote rural area, where backwardness and cruelty coexisted in the shadows.
The sound of boiling water hissed hauntingly. An old man with a spiteful face held a steaming kettle, nonchalantly pouring it directly onto a metal cage. Inside, a small cat writhed in agony. The poor creature’s piercing shriek tore through the silence, but the old man only grinned—a smile void of humanity.
"You... do not deserve to be human. Go to hell."
A cold voice rang out from behind. Startled, the old man spun around, kettle still in hand.
"Who are you? What I like to eat is my business!"
"Let me end this cycle for you."
The stranger did not waste another word. He leaped high into the air, his legs swinging out like a pair of lethal blades. A Scissors Kick
The old man’s skull shattered instantly under the horrific pressure. Those legs—hardened and sharp—seemed capable of slicing through any matter on earth. The old man collapsed, his breath snuffed out in an instant of shock.
The stranger landed, looking down at the corpse with indifferent eyes.
"Animals deserve to live more than a creature like you."
"You must be RikinZirRyu... the one who kills the heartless."
Tehimosin stepped out from the darkness, his eyes observing the man who had just struck. RikinZirRyu turned, his aura still reeking of death.
"That's right. And who are you?"
"I’m glad it's you," Tehimosin sighed, his eyes clouded with sadness. "I've come to bring news: MalC?urVist and Tenlastther... they are both dead."
RikinZirRyu’s gaze flickered for a split second. "How did they die?"
"I don’t know. That’s why I sought you out. We need to investigate the truth behind these deaths."
"How can I trust you?" RikinZirRyu narrowed his eyes, shifting into a defensive stance.
Tehimosin replied calmly, "MalC?urVist once told me, if I wanted to befriend you, I should 'talk about cats'."
Silence enveloped them. RikinZirRyu lowered his stance, his shoulders trembling slightly.
"My six-month-old cat... was eaten by humans," Tehimosin said softly, his voice choking on the painful memory.
RikinZirRyu looked up at the grey sky, his voice dropping like an echo from the abyss.
"My cat was only twenty days old. They ate it too."
The space fell into a terrifying stillness. Two figures stood there, amidst the blood of the wicked and the wind whistling through dry branches. A shared grief for tiny, innocent beings had connected them in the most cruel of ways.
Tehimosin looked at RikinZirRyu’s hands, then toward the iron cage, asking one final question:
"What do you think... is humanity even worth saving anymore?"
Chapter 2: The Cry of the Voiceless
Cold wind swept through the trash-strewn alleys of the lower-class district, where the impoverished lived huddled in the shadows of grey, towering skyscrapers. RikinZirRyu stood there, darkness veiling his cold eyes, his hands still stained with dry blood he hadn’t bothered to wash.
RikinZirRyu:
"How did you know I was here?"
The voice was thick and razor-sharp, cutting through the heavy silence.
Tehimosin looked at the meat stalls lined along both sides of the road, displaying dog and cat meat: "I saw dog and cat meat being sold all over these streets, so I knew you’d be here."
RikinZirRyu curled his lip, a smile of utter contempt for the world flickering on his face. He sat down on a stained, mottled doorstep and began to tell Tehimosin of the bloody journey he had walked for the past five years.
"I once had a calico cat; it was by my side for four long years," RikinZirRyu began, his voice trembling ever so slightly before returning to the hardness of cold steel. "During mating season, it accidentally wandered into the yard of a man at the end of the street. His hunting dog mauled it to death. But he didn't stop there. He nonchalantly skinned it and butchered it on a drinking table right in front of his friends. When I found him, he just smirked defiantly: 'Whatever sets foot on my land belongs to me.'"
RikinZirRyu’s eyes turned bloodshot with murderous intent:
"Humans will surely betray you, but animals will not. Because in their small and pure world, you are their only pillar. If that cat could speak human tongue, do you know what it would say? It would say: 'I will love you a thousand times more than you love me; as long as I draw breath and my heart beats, I will love you.' Yet, that man turned such loyalty into a mere appetizer."
The man’s drinking buddies burst into loud laughter, slamming their hands on the table: "Are you crazy, kid? What the hell do animals know about speaking or loving? You're insane!"
A thunderous kick landed square in the middle of the man’s face. His skull shattered instantly, and he collapsed, dying on the spot before his arrogant smirk could even fade.
"What do scum without a shred of humanity for the weak like you understand?"
RikinZirRyu lunged into the group like a black whirlwind. The sound of snapping bones, stifled screams, and the stench of blood filled the room. He finished off every last one of them, growling each word: "This is the price you pay for animal cruelty."
His gaze hardened as he moved to the second story—a sentence that the law had missed. It concerned a bastard who had tortured a small cat for six minutes straight until it drew its last breath. The evidence was crystal clear, yet the law let him roam free because of the loopholes created by those who hold the scales of justice.
"If the law can’t do anything to a type like you, then I will."
RikinZirRyu found him in a deserted dark alley. Without a single warning, he dragged the man out and rained down the most brutal punishments.
"You abuse animals because you think they have no feelings, no emotions?"
He swung an iron rod, smashing it directly into the man’s shin. The sound of bone crushing rang out dryly, and the man shrieked in agonizing pain.
RikinZirRyu looked at the man crawling on the ground and said coldly: "Now do you understand the feeling of the animal you tortured? Animals feel too; they know pain just as humans do. They even have emotions—a cat knows how to cry when in despair. Animals have as much right to live as humans."
He did not let the man die quickly. He tortured him for the exact amount of time the man had tortured that poor cat. Every second, every minute that passed was another taste of hell on earth until the man finally expired in sheer terror.
When the body of the animal abuser was found, the residents of the neighborhood felt no fear. They secretly hailed RikinZirRyu as a living saint, a masked hero who carried out the ultimate justice that society had abandoned.
RikinZirRyu looked up at Tehimosin, his hand slowly clenching into a fist: "This world is rotten because humans look down on small lives. If no one stands up to demand justice for them, then I will be that person."
Chapter 3: The Thieves of Life
In the middle of a sweltering afternoon, a frail black cat was struggling to swim in a drainage ditch. RikinZirRyu rushed forward to save it.
But at that moment, an old man passed by, his clouded eyes flashing with a grotesque glint of greed. Coldly, he spat out, "Eating black cat meat is very cooling for the body; leave it for me!" He spoke as if life were nothing but a joke.
Without waiting for consent, the old man snatched the cat, shoved it into a frayed burlap sack, and tied the opening tight. Ignoring the animal’s desperate scratching, he nonchalantly plunged the bag into the freezing water. Faint air bubbles rose to the surface and slowly vanished. When the bag stopped moving, RikinZirRyu appeared.
He said nothing; he simply dragged the old man to the edge of that same water.
"You like this 'coolness' so much, don't you?"
RikinZirRyu’s iron hands forced the old man’s head underwater. The man thrashed exactly like the cat had moments before. RikinZirRyu held him there until the water returned to a deathly stillness.
In the small attic room of a dilapidated house, the dim yellow light cast shadows over cat drawings plastered all over the walls. A child hugged a small kitten tightly, feeling its steady heartbeat.
"Sleep next to me tonight, okay?" the child whispered, an innocent smile blooming before falling asleep. It was the promise of a friend, the purest of bonds.
The next morning.
The room was chillingly empty. The water bowl by the bed was bone dry, and not a single small shadow remained curled in the blankets. The child ran downstairs, eyes frantic and voice trembling:
"Mom... Dad... where is my cat?"
The adults sat nonchalantly at the dining table, their voices sounding as cold and cruel as a death sentence:
"I sold it to the slaughterhouse. Raising it was just a waste of rice and space."
"But... that's my friend!" the child screamed, tears streaming down.
"I craved cat meat, so I ate it. What are you crying about?"
Heartbroken sobs echoed through the house. The child collapsed, small hands clawing at their chest: "How could you eat my friend?"
"The cat I brought home, I have the right to eat it," the man growled, his eyes seeing only food rather than family ties.
RikinZirRyu stood in the shadows of the hallway, witnessing the entire betrayal. To him, this wasn't just about losing a cat; it was the destruction of a soul.
He stepped out, his shadow looming over the man who had just uttered those venomous words.
"You're right. If you crave it, you must eat," RikinZirRyu spoke, his voice as cold as tempered steel. "But what you're about to 'eat' is the verdict for this crime."
Before the man could even leave his chair, RikinZirRyu struck.
A Scissors KickCLANG, like two forged steel beams colliding with immense force. The blow aimed straight for the man’s temple.
The skull shattered instantly under the horrific pressure. The man’s head jerked to the side, his body collapsing onto the floor like an inanimate object.
RikinZirRyu withdrew his leg, his eyes indifferent without a single ripple of emotion. To him, this man's life had ended the moment he betrayed the animal's loyalty; the action just now was merely the inevitable price to be paid.
He turned to the mother, who was paralyzed with terror, and delivered one final warning:
"Your husband was a monster in human skin. I will not kill you. Raise your child properly. A child who loves animals is a good person; do not let your apathy kill that."
RikinZirRyu picked up the fallen cat drawing from the floor, placed it into the child’s trembling hands, and walked out of the house.
The night was pitch black. The most painful sound was the mother’s phone call to her child working far from home, her voice breaking: "Your father... put them all in a bag... threw them in the river. The mother cat, the pregnant one, and the newborn kittens... He said the house was too crowded."
RikinZirRyu stood by the riverbank, watching the drifting sacks. He tracked down the man who had thrown them.
Holding a sack containing the frozen bodies of the cats, RikinZirRyu asked: "Why are you so cruel?"
The father puffed on a cigarette: "They made my house dirty."
RikinZirRyu’s eyes were like daggers: "The house isn't dirty because of the cats; it's because your heart is filthy."
The man glared: "Are you lecturing me?"
"No. I'm just reminding you that you're supposed to be human."
The mother ran over, hugging the shivering survivors, sobbing: "I'm sorry... I couldn't stop him..."
The man frowned, then let out a dry laugh:
"What's the big deal? They're just cats."
RikinZirRyu lowered his voice, deep as a distant drum:
"What you threw away wasn't a cat; what you threw away was the humanity within you."
The man clenched his fists as if to protest, but RikinZirRyu’s gaze cut him off.
He paused for a beat, his words as sharp as a cold blade:
"What do you want to call yourself... a human? No, you have no humanity left."
The man stood stunned, unable to say another word.
RikinZirRyu: "Once humans have lost their humanity, consider them already dead. And there is no crime in killing the dead."
RikinZirRyu broke the man's fingers one by one: "Animals feel pain too; they know how to cry. That mother cat tried to protect her kittens until her last breath under the cold water, while you are worth less than a beast."
The man’s screams echoed across the deserted river until RikinZirRyu kicked him into that very water, exactly as he had done to the feline family.
The sound of screeching brakes. A scream. A young man’s cat was crushed to death at the roadside.
the young owner knelt: "No... please don't go..."
RikinZirRyu pulled him to the sidewalk: "Stay calm."
The group of street racers who killed it not only showed no remorse but mocked him: "Just butcher it for meat while it's still warm."
RikinZirRyu spun around, his eyes blazing.
They had taken the cat away, turning the young man’s grief into a cheap drinking snack.
When they were laughing over a pot of meat, the door burst open. RikinZirRyu stepped in, his eyes bloodshot with murderous intent.
"Does it taste good?"
He didn't wait for an answer. A Scissors Kick
"You ate a member of someone else's family, so pay for it with your own lives."
That night, the feast of corpses ended with RikinZirRyu breaking the jaws of every participant, ensuring they could never eat anything again before he finished them.
RikinZirRyu leaned down, picked up a cat collar left in the wreckage, and squeezed it tightly in his palm.
"Those who eat corpses are Ghouls. And killing Ghouls... is no crime."
Chapter 4: Blood Addicts and Hereditary Apathy
In a poor neighborhood, a younger brother’s frantic voice rang out over the phone: "Sis... Dad ate your cat."
The girl collapsed onto the cold floor. Her body was thin and pale, having just gone through childbirth, and her trembling hands had no strength left. To her, this house had never been a home, and that cat was her only family. She had saved every penny to buy it beautiful clothes, take it to the spa, and care for it like a treasure. But her abusive father—a man who immersed himself in alcohol and false pride with his drinking buddies—had turned her love into a side dish on a banquet table.
On social media, those acting in the name of morality began to spew vile words: "Parents work hard to raise children, yet now that the child is grown, they value a cat over their parents," "Truly an unfilial brat."
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
RikinZirRyu stepped out of the shadows, his cold eyes fixed on the man reveling at the drinking table.
"Eating cat meat once means you can't stop. It’s like an addiction. An addiction to cruelty. You people see a cat and a craving strikes. That 'hunger'... isn't in your stomach. It’s a hunger for violence." RikinZirRyu lowered his voice, his tone as sharp as steel. "And killing addicts who have lost all humanity... is an act of mercy."
His Scissors Kick
RikinZirRyu left a comment for the hypocrites online:
Just yesterday, the small cat was jumping playfully on the roof, its swift paws dancing with the vibrant rays of the morning sun. It was once a life full of vitality, a small joy of the neighborhood.
But today, under the eaves reeking of mold, it was "butchered" by the very owner it trusted most. Its small, lonely corpse now hung dangling from the clothesline by a brutal wire, swaying in the wind like a worn-out, obsolete coat.
RikinZirRyu stood under the eaves, silently watching the dried blood on the matted fur of the poor creature. His eyes were cold, without a single ripple, but the killing intent radiating from him made the surrounding air feel thick.
He stepped into the cluttered house. At the table, the perpetrator was nonchalantly hacking away, grabbing fistfuls of spices to sprinkle on the raw red pieces of meat, whistling a morbid tune as if preparing for a grand feast.
"Does it taste good to you?"
RikinZirRyu’s voice rang out, low and sharp like a blade sliding over a whetstone.
The owner startled, but before he could turn his head, an iron grip tightened around his neck. RikinZirRyu hoisted him up, the man’s legs flailing frantically in the air. With terrifying force, RikinZirRyu slammed the back of the man's neck onto the very rusted meat hook on the wall.
"You like hanging the things you love on a line, don't you?"
RikinZirRyu growled each word, his bloodshot eyes staring into the man's pupils, which were dilated with fear.
"Then experience for yourself what it’s like to be a piece of meat hanging on a hook."
The sound of neck bones snapping mingled with a stifled scream. The killing intent in the room peaked, turning the man who was a hunter moments ago into a pathetic prey, awaiting the final judgment from RikinZirRyu’s iron legs.
A quiet afternoon by the river. A young boy stood there, eyes red, hands trembling as he gripped the railing. Beneath the murky water, small shadows flickered and disappeared—the kittens, just thrown in by his own mother.
The mother cat stood not far away, her thin body shivering, eyes wide with panic. She let out cry after cry—not normal meows, but cries of agony, pleas, sounds of despair. As if she were saying: "Please... save my children..."
The boy could do nothing. The water was too deep, too swift. The kittens were too small, too weak. He could only wail, his cries merging with the mother cat’s, creating a mournful harmony that no one heard.
His mother—the one who had done the deed—stood in the house, her gaze cold as if she had just discarded an old rag. No explanation, no remorse. She viewed the kittens as a "burden."
Raised in an environment lacking education on animal rights, she did not see cats as beings to be protected.
The boy hugged the mother cat, wanting to mend the pain. But the mother cat did not stop crying. She didn't need comfort. She needed her lost children.
RikinZirRyu stood behind the woman before she even knew it. He looked at the river, then into her remorseless eyes.
"You call that a burden?" His voice was deep and heavy with killing intent. "Then a person with a rotten heart like you is also a burden to this society."
RikinZirRyu spoke sarcastically: "By your logic, 'burdens need to be eliminated,' right?"
RikinZirRyu delivered a thunderous kick, sending the mother flying into the swift current, exactly where she had sent the kittens.
"Let’s see if this river can wash away your cold-bloodedness."
Inside the house, the boy hugged the mother cat, both shivering as if sharing the same wound. RikinZirRyu placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, his voice dropping low:
"Remember—today’s pain will make you different from them. And that is exactly what this world needs."
When the boy asked about his mother, he replied nonchalantly: "Your mother couldn't bear the verdict of her conscience, so she jumped into the river to save the kittens and died." A merciful lie for a young soul.
Afternoon in the park. A large dog lunged at a small cat hiding behind a tree. The cat shrieked in terror.
"Kill it!" the dog’s owner shouted with excitement.
But RikinZirRyu arrived first. He swiped the dog aside, using just enough force to stop it without injury.
The owner was furious: "Are you crazy? You hit my dog?"
RikinZirRyu spun around: "I hit the dog because it attacked the weak."
He stepped forward and threw a kick: "I hit you because you don't know how to train it."
The owner recoiled instinctively. RikinZirRyu continued, his voice low but heavy as stone: "If I catch this happening again, I’ll kill both the human and the dog."
A deserted crossroads. A bag of cats was left in the bushes, eyes wide with fear. They didn't understand why their "family" brought them here and vanished.
RikinZirRyu picked them up, gently stroking a shivering head. "Were you abandoned...?"
Some people raise animals only to discard them at trash heaps or under bridges when they get bored. RikinZirRyu stood before a man who had just tossed a bag of stray cats into the brush.
"Don't think animals have no feelings, raising them only to sell them to slaughterhouses or abandon them. If you treat life like trash, then your lives are worth nothing more."
He struck. A dry sound echoed, and the man collapsed next to the abandoned bag of cats, tasting the pain from the creatures he thought had no thoughts.
The cold bathroom door creaked open. A cat walked in, slowly jumping onto the toilet—a civilized habit it still remembered. That video went viral on social media, and that was how a boy named K found his lost friend.
K had spent a lot of time teaching it this habit, seeing it as the only link between him and the small creature. However, his mother had heartlessly thrown it away. When she saw K bring the cat back, she remained cold:
"I threw it away, why did you pick it back up?" she cursed her son. "You animal with no ears."
RikinZirRyu stepped out of the darkness, the killing intent so thick it felt like the air in the room was freezing. He looked at the cat curled in K’s arms, then turned to the mother.
"An animal never forgets kindness, even after being betrayed by humans."
He took a step forward, his bloodshot eyes staring directly at the woman paralyzed with fear:
"Even a cat knows how to cherish what it was taught, how to maintain the habit of being a civilized being... But you... you can't even maintain the habit of being human."
RikinZirRyu hoisted her up with one hand while she thrashed in despair.
A Scissors Kick
"From now on, no one will bother you or the cat again."
On a deserted road leading to the river, two young girls rode a bicycle, laughing innocently. The one sitting behind held a plastic bag with kittens meowing piteously inside. Without hesitation, she swung her arm and threw the bag into the deep river. They laughed as if they had just played an exciting game.
The chilling apathy on the faces of those children filled RikinZirRyu with utter disgust. He stood in the middle of the road, his bloodshot eyes seeing through their innocent veneer.
"Today you kill cats without blinking; tomorrow you will kill humans without a second thought. Cold-blooded people like your parents... all started with actions like this."
"Killing you today is saving dozens of lives in the future."
He said to himself: "I am a good person."
RikinZirRyu blocked their path. A sweeping kick carrying a thousand pounds of force struck, so powerful it snapped the bicycle in half instantly, throwing the two children onto the hard ground. RikinZirRyu dragged them to the edge of the rushing water. He did not hesitate; his iron legs executed the sentence, snuffing out the seeds of evil before they could grow.
Chapter 5: When a Loner’s World Collapses
RikinZirRyu led Tehimosin through a labyrinth of tangled alleys, reeking of sewage and poverty. He spoke as he walked, his voice steady yet chillingly cold:
"In this neighborhood, I am the only one who keeps cats. It's simple... because every other cat has already been eaten by them."
Arriving at his home, RikinZirRyu froze. The usual silence was no longer filled by the familiar sound of meowing. No small shadow rushed out to twine around his legs.
He knew exactly what had happened. His fury did not erupt into a scream; instead, it smoldered into a dense mass of killing intent. He turned on his heel and stormed straight into the neighbor's house.
The neighbor’s door was kicked open. On the drinking table, scraps of bone and dark crimson bloodstains remained. RikinZirRyu growled:
"You knew that was my cat. Why didn't you return her? Have you craved cat meat so much that you’ve lost every shred of humanity?"
The neighbor smirked, wiping his mouth with a filthy sleeve: "It's just a cat, kid. Why are you so worked up?"
"Just a cat?" RikinZirRyu stepped forward, seized the man's collar, and hoisted him off the ground. "To you, she was just a cat. To me, she was my beloved daughter. When I was at the bottom of despair, that cat was the only thing by my side 24/7. Not friends, not family."
His grip tightened, his voice trembling with indignation:
"When I was unemployed and starving, that cat ate whatever I ate. She was frail because I was poor. I promised her that when I became successful, I’d feed her well and turn her into a fat, happy cat... But before I could keep that promise, you people butchered and ate her. That cat... was my entire world."
RikinZirRyu threw the man to the ground like a bag of trash.
The neighbor stammered: "Is the life of a cat really more important than the life of a human?"
"This isn't just about a cat; it’s about character and morality," RikinZirRyu replied. "You ask if a cat’s life is worth less than a human's? Then tell me, where is your value as a human? If you can't answer that, I will strip you of your life right here."
The neighbor stuttered, his eyes darting frantically in extreme terror, but in RikinZirRyu’s gaze, the man was merely a hollow entity without a soul.
"You... you're a madman..." the man exhaled in broken breaths.
RikinZirRyu said nothing more. He didn't need a late apology, nor did he care for the man's remorse. To him, once someone dared to snatch the life of a loyal creature just to satisfy a bestial craving, that person had struck their own name from the list of "humanity."
He raised his leg, his steel limb swinging out in a definitive strike. A dry echoed, ending a meaningless existence. RikinZirRyu withdrew his leg and looked at the ruin around him, his gaze as cold as a frozen lake.
Tehimosin, who had been observing the entire time, finally spoke: "How can humans be so cruel to animals?"
RikinZirRyu looked into the void, listing the reasons in a soulless tone:
"First: Envy. They are outraged when they see money spent on animals instead of helping the poor like themselves. Second: Spite. They are bitter because these animals are more famous and loved than they are. Third: They are deranged, or suffer from schizophrenia. And finally... they feel a rush of excitement, a thrill from torturing the weak."
CHAPTER 6: THE BURDEN ON THE SHOULDERS OF THE VIRTUOUS
Tehimosin leaned his back against the crumbling wall, then turned to ask a question that pierced through the stifling atmosphere: "Why do you love animals so much?"
RikinZirRyu fell silent. The reels of his past, grey and cold, began to play back in his mind.
RikinZirRyu was a young man who lived in a society void of humanity. He was a person treated with perpetual indifference—bullied, beaten, insulted, and robbed. Even when hit by a car, no one spared a glance. Yet, in stark contrast, he was exceptionally kind-hearted, always caring and worrying for others more than himself.
To give you a concrete example: during a group presentation, he spent all his time creating content for others and forgot to prepare his own. As a result, every member of his group passed the project; he was the only one who failed.
RikinZirRyu was an introvert—quiet, solitary, and averse to social interaction. He found communicating with strangers difficult and avoided social activities, finding comfort only in his own company. He lived by the principles of "Mind your own business," and "If you do not cross me, I will not cross you."
He believed:
"Do not depend on anyone; relying on yourself is the only solid foundation. That is the blatant truth."
"Whether in joy or in agony, you are the only one truly by your side. The only person who can help you in times of disaster is yourself."
(In reality, he had tried asking for help before, but everyone was too selfish, thinking only of themselves. RikinZirRyu was always ignored. People understood that if they refused to help him, there was nothing he could do. Introverts are always looked down upon, dismissed by society as useless.)
He knew how the wicked treated the good: broken promises, betrayal, ingratitude. They viewed him as nothing more than a passing amusement.
"When all of society turns its back on you, when the whole world is against you, who will be there? Only yourself."
"When you stumble, does anyone pick you up, or do you stand up on your own? If you don't know how to pick yourself up, others will simply trample over you to move forward."
"Is there anyone out there waiting for you to walk with them? Or must you walk alone? If someone is walking with you and you fall one step behind, will they stop and wait? Or will they leave you behind?"
"In this society, everyone is selfish, living only for their own sake."
"If you encounter hardship, who will willingly run to your side? Or will they all evade you and abandon you in your time of need?"
Tehimosin spoke: "Do you know why everyone needs to live selfishly? Because everyone has their own burdens. Everyone wants to live comfortably. So... never depend on others."
RikinZirRyu spun around. His eyes were no longer merely empty; they were a black hole of resentment.
"Everyone has their own burdens?" RikinZirRyu sneered, his laugh as dry as dead leaves on a grave. "Then why... why do they pile all those burdens onto the shoulders of the kind-hearted for them to carry instead?"
He took a step toward Tehimosin, his killing intent surging:
"Do they think good people have nothing better to do? Or do they assume that because the kind do not resist, they have the right to heap more stones onto shoulders that are already bleeding? The good people in this world are not saints; they are simply victims being exploited until their very last breath."
CHAPTER 7: DEATH OPENS ANOTHER PATH
RikinZirRyu continued his past story:
It was a pathetic existence. Upon entering University, he focused entirely on integrating into a new social environment and conforming to social norms, only to lose the most important thing: his individual personality. In University, they placed heavy emphasis on Communication and Teamwork skills—along with Negotiation, Critical Thinking, Persuasion, Presentation, Public Speaking, and Relationship Building—all of which were things an introvert like him utterly loathed.
Every skill required having friends (at least one), and he understood that it was time to make friends, having spent his time from kindergarten through high school without a single one. He wanted to change himself through friendship, thinking that having "friends" would make his life better.
But what he received in return was nothing but regret. He felt an extreme sense of remorse for ever trying to make friends. In the dictionary of those people, "friend" was just another word for a tool. They constantly used the word "friend" as a leverage to exploit him. He was perpetually threatened: "If you don't help us, we won't be your friends anymore."
They took his emotions hostage to treat him like an errand boy, using him to do all sorts of work while they leisurely went out, found boyfriends and girlfriends, drank, raced cars, fought, traveled, and did whatever they pleased. He was constantly exploited for their personal gain. They never cared about his thoughts or feelings. They viewed him as a commodity that cost them nothing. When he was useful, they called him a "friend." When he was exhausted and needed help, they turned their backs and ignored him as if they had never met.
He would have lived a life of being exploited forever, if not for one specific event. On his way home from school, a stranger claimed to be in trouble and asked for help. Without any defense, he followed the stranger. He was lured into an organ-trafficking den. He saw many people whose organs had already been harvested and others waiting for surgery. They said, "They are all fools, easily tricked just like you."
Later, he was locked in a room alone. As death approached, he reflected on many things from his past. RikinZirRyu bitterly hated those who acted philosophical, saying: "Everyone has their own life; if you can't be friends with one person, find another. If you don't have this person, you'll find someone else."
RikinZirRyu spat out: "Do those bastards understand? An introvert doesn't have many friends to begin with—where is the choice in that?" If they are lucky, introverts meet good friends. If they are unlucky and end up with bad friends, they simply accept that toxic relationship because they are terrified of ultimate loneliness. Therefore, anyone who tells an introvert, "If you don't fit in, find someone else," deserves to have their tongue cut out for their shallowness and arrogance.
He thought: "It's so meaningless. I always treated everyone well unconditionally, yet they treated me like nothing. Whatever they asked, I helped; I never refused them. But when I needed help, they were indifferent and abandoned me. They acted as if I was nothing, as if they had no reason to help me."
He thought: "Looking back, I was so stupid. For years, I only lived for others, lived to please them, lived so that no one would hate me. I always helped people, but they forgot everything. I wasted my time and effort to help them, and they saw it as a given. When I reminded them, they said I was just bragging about my merits. How ridiculous."
He thought: "I just wanted to make friends, wanted to be cared for. Is that so hard?"
He thought: "Why did everyone treat me with such ingratitude? Why do they live without any sense of decency? Whenever something went wrong, they blamed me."
He remembered a specific incident: There was a girl in his class who was very loathsome. There is an old saying, "A loose woman always brings trouble," and that applied perfectly to her. The reason: she was obsessed with men. She was a lustful girl with a passion for carnal pleasures. She alone hung out with thirty or forty boys. Everyone thought she was a promiscuous girl, sleeping with one person after another. Her phone was filled with messages and numbers from men.
She was a girl with a selfish heart, both lustful and deceitful, always thinking she was the center of attention, delusional about her fame. She was reckless, arrogant, wasteful, and lived for partying, drinking, and gambling. She had boundless ambition for everything, especially for love and money (she would fall for anyone she liked, but if she was in love and saw that the person ran out of money, she would leave instantly).
Character 1: Her life is nothing but "Money" and "Lust."
Character 2: She sleeps with many men to get money.
Character 3: "Is it certain that a girl hanging out with 30-40 men won't get raped?"
Character 4: "Does she want to be a whore?"
Character 5: "One sausage probably isn't enough for her."
Character 6: "She's a wanton, unfaithful girl, likely to cuckold her husband. As they say: 'When the husband leaves the house, she brings a man into the room.'"
Consequently, everyone in the class hated her.
For most promiscuous women, this bad reputation is expected, and they don't care or aren't affected by it.
But this girl did care.
When people found out her current boyfriend was a gangster and she was looking for whoever started the rumors to beat them up, his "friends" slandered him. They said, "RikinZirRyu is the one who hates her the most," "All the bad rumors are from RikinZirRyu," "Everything related to her was said by RikinZirRyu."
Because he wanted to be friends with them, he was stupid enough to "apologize and admit fault." He even begged them to "forgive his mistakes." He didn't want them to hate him; he wanted to maintain that toxic friendship. "I was so stupid," he thought. "They say it right: 'Too kind becomes a fool, too kind becomes insane.'"
He thought: "The biggest mistake of my life was changing for others. Making friends is meaningless. Before, living lonely and alone was so comfortable and happy. Suddenly, at University, I tried to imitate others, following the trend of making friends with classmates, seniors, and juniors. It’s so painful. It's so unbearable."
He advised himself: "The pinnacle of stupidity is being too kind to too many people. I will change; I will live for myself. But maybe it's too late now."
He was killed. His organs were harvested. At the boundary between death and nothingness, the Leader Anmorkzaraft
appeared from the supreme realm. He bestowed upon him the power of Darkness, resurrecting a soulless corpse that carried ultimate judgment.
"The world is too filthy. Go and clean it," Anmorkzaraft decreed, his voice as majestic as thunder.
After killing the organ traffickers and saving the survivors, RikinZirRyu spoke with his savior.
Leader Anmorkzaraft: "You wanted to make friends but were always exploited?"
Anmorkzaraft taught him: "There are many types of people in this world. The two-faced. The fake. The liars, the selfish, the arrogant, the conceited, the complacent. The ungrateful. The sycophants who crave fame and profit. Those who love to backstab. Those without principles, without a backbone, those who cannot distinguish right from wrong and simply follow wherever the benefit lies—'Following whichever way the wind blows.' The blind followers who act recklessly. The cunning, the deceptive...
People with psychological trauma and lonely individuals are the primary targets for exploiters. They do not repay you. You help them, but they never return the favor. These people only use your loneliness and your vulnerability to their advantage. They feel unhappy when you spend time on yourself. They demand you always be by their side."
Leader Anmorkzaraft concluded: "If you want to make friends, play with animals."
From that point on—in school, at home, and in society—he only befriended animals.
CHAPTER 8: THE MAN WHO NO LONGER BELIEVES IN HUMANITY
Returning to the present, RikinZirRyu clenched his fists and curled his lip into a smirk filled with utter contempt for society:
"Advice like, 'If you feel your kindness is being exploited, it is important to realize you are being looked down upon. Try to have a sincere conversation with the person disrespecting you,' is absolutely ridiculous. For what?
They already look down on me; they already hate me. Why bother trying to talk to them? Do I want to hear them curse at me more? Am I begging to get beaten? Do they actually care to hear an explanation? Or will they just look down on me even more as I explain?
For those who treat me with contempt, the only way is to act as if they don't exist—stay as far away as possible, cut all ties, or… eliminate them from this world."
Tehimosin looked at him and replied softly, "Earlier you said, 'Living alone was so comfortable and happy.' That isn't loneliness; that is solitude."
CHAPTER 9: THE VOID NAMED RIKINZIRRYU
Monday, July 1, 2024.
RikinZirRyu vanished without a trace. Tehimosin’s fury flared, followed by a surging sense of helplessness. Using his teleportation magic, he summoned JoouSeele.
"Come forth, JoouSeele. I choose you."
From within the ethereal space, a soft light radiated outward as JoouSeele materialized with a graceful presence. She tilted her head, offering a faint smile.
"Master, why have you summoned me?"
Master:
"I need you to use your 'Soul Summoning' to call back the dead. There is someone I must question."
JoouSeele:
"Of course, Master. Do you have any personal item belonging to the one you wish to summon? I need something bearing the imprint of their soul to act as a medium."
Tehimosin leaned down, picking up a three-month-old kitten that was wailing piteously at his feet, and held it out toward her.
"I have this three-month-old cat. I gave it to RikinZirRyu three months ago, and it has been with him this entire time in this very room. Can you use this?"
JoouSeele:
"Yes, Master. Three months of living together is more than enough for their warmth and souls to intertwine."
JoouSeele stepped forward, her small hands resting upon the kitten’s head. A complex magic circle began to rotate, casting a cool green light throughout the room, seeping into every corner to search for even the smallest signal from the realm of the dead.
But then, time ticked away in a terrifying silence. The light gradually faded and died out. JoouSeele’s face suddenly turned pale, her eyes reflecting an unprecedented state of confusion.
"How strange, Master..." JoouSeele stammered, her voice trembling. "The soul you asked me to summon... I cannot find it anywhere. It is not in Heaven, not in Hell, and it isn't even a wandering spirit lingering in this world."
Tehimosin stood frozen like a statue. This exceeded his every suspicion.
"This... is getting stranger by the second," he muttered, his gaze piercing into the void.
JoouSeele approached him anxiously, tugging at the hem of his shirt. She whispered, "Listen, you're secretly investigating something very dangerous, aren't you? Please don't hide it from me."
Looking at JoouSeele’s worried face, Tehimosin hesitated.
He forced a smile and gently patted her head as a clumsy gesture of reassurance. "Not at all. It’s just an old friend who passed away. I missed him and wanted to check in, that's all. He died so young, haha..."
Master chose to lie because he did not want to drag JoouSeele into trouble. He wanted her to continue living her days happily and carefree, rather than getting entangled in these sinister matters.
"CLOSE YOUR EYES, FEEL THE LONELINESS, THE LONELINESS"(A song dedicated to the soul of RikinZirRyu)
