...The stone cracked. His bones did too.

Kaiser’s vision dimmed as the knight dragged him across the dungeon floor—toward a purple glowing, rune-covered magic circle pulsing red with unearthly energy.

A thick, cursed grimoire dropped onto his chest.

The knight raised his axe, ready to finish it.

“Damn it… my body won’t move…” Kaiser thought, eyes wide. “Where the hell is he taking me? And what is this circle?”

Then—
A voice.
Sharp. Cold. Absolute.

“Kaiser… no one deserves to win against you. So get. Up.”

The pain dulled.
The room faded.

Kaiser’s pulse steadied. He could feel his breath again.

His eyes sharpened.

He whispered:

“Flow.”

[This story takes place in an alternate version of modern Earth – Marvin City.]

12 Years Earlier

“I had parents who loved me. A dad who worked late but still tucked me in. A mom who smiled through her sickness just to make me breakfast. We weren’t rich, but we were whole. We were happy.”

“But one day… one day was all it took to lose everything.”

They were heading out for their anniversary. A nice dinner. A hotel stay. They asked him to come, but he waved them off.

“Have fun,” he’d said. “Just one night.”

They kissed his forehead. Smiled.

The next morning, he stood over their coffins.

Car crash. Instant.

Kaiser didn’t cry. Couldn’t. His world was too shattered for tears.

But at least he had his uncle and aunt, right?

He thought he was safe.

He was wrong.

“Kaiser!”

The kitchen snapped into focus. The sponge slipped from his hand and hit the sink with a wet slap.

Reily stood in the doorway, arms crossed, eyes full of contempt.

“I told you to wipe the counter, not have a damn daydream. What are you, slow?”

“I… I’m doing it,” Kaiser mumbled.

They treat me like a dog, he thought bitterly. Even worse.

“Did you say something?”

“No.”

Reily scoffed. “Figures. You’re just like your mother. Useless.”

Kaiser looked up slowly.

SLAP.

His cheek burned, but he didn’t flinch. Didn’t speak.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that,” she hissed.

From the living room, his uncle Terry yelled:

“Reily! Shut up! I’m watching TV!”

“Maybe if your bastard nephew didn’t stare like a serial killer, I wouldn’t have to yell!”

“You’re the one who insisted we take him in.”

“Yeah—so people wouldn’t judge us.”

Their daughter Sally waltzed into the kitchen, licking chocolate from her fingers.

“Can I have Kaiser’s slice too? He’s not gonna eat it.”

“Go ahead,” Reily replied. “He doesn’t need sugar. Might give him energy to mouth off again.”

Sally smacked Kaiser on the back of the head with her plate.

“Thanks, loser.”

“That chocolate was expired,” Kaiser muttered. “Good luck with the toilet.”

Ava walked in next, scrolling her phone.

“You missed a fork,” she said without looking up. “And probably your parents too.”

Kaiser’s hands clenched the sponge.

“I don’t know,” he replied flatly.

“HEY!” Reily barked. “Toilet stinks. Scrub it after dishes. I swear it smells like a public restroom.”

“Yeah… maybe if the people in this house learned how to flush.”

He turned off the faucet and stared out the window.

And then… the whispers returned.

“You don’t belong here. You’re better than this. You were never meant for a mediocre life.”

I must be going crazy, Kaiser thought.

Kaiser’s life had become a loop:

Wake early to avoid Terry’s mood. Eat scraps. Walk Sally and Ava to school like a servant. Return home to beatings, chores, silence.

No one saw him unless they needed something.

One night in winter, they locked him outside after a beating. He sat on the porch, hugging his knees, shivering.

“They don’t deserve you,” the whispers said. “You’re stronger than this. One day… they’ll regret everything.”

It wasn’t hope.

It was rage. Controlled. Growing.

He didn’t even flinch when Terry raised his hand.

He didn’t care anymore.

Lying in bed one night, staring at the ceiling, the voice returned.

“They’ll never accept you. But I will.”

This time, it didn’t sound like madness.

It sounded like a friend.

Kaiser grinned bitterly at the cracked ceiling.

“Maybe you’re right,” he whispered. “I don’t know what I’m built for yet... but I’ll figure it out.”

Wind tapped the window.
The voice whispered again.

“So what will you do?”

Kaiser smirked.

“I don’t know... but I just want to be free.”