I was called trash.
Worthless. A waste of space in a world that had no room for people like me.
Maybe they were right.
I wasn't a college graduate. I didn't have a job. I had no skills that fit into the mold society adored.
I was 21, and the only thing I excelled at was surviving without completely losing my mind.
But that's not a skill anyone praises.
My name is Shin Kaisen, but most people just call me Kai.
I live in a one-room apartment above a laundromat that had long since closed down. The wallpaper was peeling, the tap leaked, and the fridge? Empty more often than not.
I kept telling myself I'd leave this place. Someday.
That someday never came.
Every morning, I scrolled through job listings, not because I was interested, but because I knew I had to pretend that I was. It wasn't that I couldn't apply. I just... didn't. The thought of being trapped behind a desk, answering to some suit? No thank you.
I'd rather starve.
"Still sleeping your life away?" came the familiar voice.
Aira ( my younger sister )
She stood in the doorway, her backpack slung over one shoulder, dressed for her first university lecture of the semester. Her eyes were full of pity, and I hated it more than anything.
She was smart. Driven. Everything I wasn't.
But she still tried. I couldn't help but respect that.
"There's toast on the table. Tea, too. Try not to let it get cold this time," she said, her voice softer than usual.
I didn't respond.
She lingered in the doorway, her gaze filled with hesitation. After a long pause, she sighed and left.
That was our morning routine.
I couldn't help but wonder why she tried. She had everything I didn't—ambition, drive, a future. She didn't see the world the way I did. To her, every challenge was just another hurdle to cross, another box to tick off. But I'd spent so long feeling like I was drowning in a sea of expectations, I couldn't even remember what it felt like to have hope anymore.
It didn't help that our parents expected so much from us both. Aira? The perfect child. Me? The waste.
Later, I went out. Not because I had to, but because I needed the sunlight. And maybe, just maybe, a little quick cash.
I'd signed up for a delivery app a while ago. Just enough to scrape by, but never enough to truly live.
Pedaling my old bike through the city, I passed by neon signs blaring about success, hustle, and "the grind."
I hated it all. The flashing lights, the promises of wealth, the endless talk of the next big thing. None of it was real. But what was I supposed to do? The world moved without me, and I was just a passenger, too tired to care.
That's when I saw him.
Victor.
Perfect suit. Designer shoes. Hair that looked like it had been sculpted by gods.
He was with his friends, sitting in a café, laughing like the world was theirs for the taking.
And then he saw me.
"Oh, look who it is," Victor sneered. "Still living the dream, Kai?"
I bit my tongue. No point in engaging. I dropped the package off at the counter and turned to leave.
Josh, one of Victor's gym buddies, leaned over, smirking. "Man, if laziness was an Olympic sport, you'd have a gold medal by now."
They all laughed. Even Sena, the girl from my neighborhood who used to smile at me, didn't even glance my way.
I didn't say a word. The job wasn't worth the energy. They weren't worth it.
I took a break in an alley nearby. The cold air cut through me, and my stomach growled in protest. I leaned against the wall, watching a stray cat dig through a garbage can.
That cat... was me. Scrounging, surviving, just trying to get by.
But today? Something was off.
The air felt thick, charged. Like the calm before a storm.
I was used to the usual noise. The hum of the city. The chatter of passersby, the honking of cars, the occasional shout or scream from a frustrated pedestrian. But today? The usual rhythm had changed. People were quieter, their faces blank, their eyes fixed on their phones as if they were waiting for something. Something they couldn't yet understand.
The news had been full of chatter about a virus. Flu-like symptoms. Sudden aggression. Spreading faster than anticipated. But to be honest, it wasn't anything new. The media always had something to blow up, and fear always made for the best story.
But as I stood in the alley, something about the situation felt different.
I overheard snippets of conversations about some "government cover-up." My curiosity piqued, but I didn't bother listening for long. Whatever it was, I didn't want to be part of it. I had enough of my own problems to deal with.
And then... it happened.
A sharp jolt struck the back of my skull. My vision blurred, and I staggered, clutching my head. It wasn't a normal headache. It felt like lightning was coursing through my brain.
I gasped, trying to steady myself.
And then, for a split second, something appeared.
A faint, translucent blue screen flickered in front of my eyes, so real and unreal at the same time.
[System Initialization Detected...][User Qualification: Compatible][Loading Interface...]
I froze, blinking.
"What... the hell?" I whispered, my heart pounding in my chest.
The screen disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, leaving me staring into the empty alley, the noise of the city completely muffled around me.
I looked around. The people walking by didn't even notice. The cat was still digging through the trash.
Had I hallucinated? Was this some kind of fever dream?
But deep down, a voice in my mind whispered, No. It's real.
I couldn't understand what was happening, but I couldn't ignore it. Something had changed, something profound, and I was standing at the edge of it.
The alley was still, too still.
I stood there, my body trembling, not from fear, but from something else. Something had shifted. I could feel it. The very air around me seemed charged, alive, humming with energy.
The whispers grew louder. Not in my mind, but in the air around me.
"Are you sure you're ready?"
The voice was unfamiliar, but it wasn't my imagination. It was there, in the air, deep, echoing, like a voice from the very heart of the world.
I looked around. Nothing. No one.
But the feeling? It didn't fade. It intensified.
"You are different."
I swallowed, my legs shaking, but I couldn't move. My heart thudded so loudly I thought it might explode. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I had the sudden, undeniable sense that I was standing on the edge of something... huge.
I didn't know if I was ready for it. I didn't know if I even wanted it.
But I knew this:
The world was changing. And so was I.
They had called me trash.
But trash doesn't burn.
It waits. It festers.
And when the world ends, it rises.