Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Sang (サン)
The night blanketed the city of Umbra Nexus, its stars struggling against the glow of streetlights towering over the middle-class district. In one of the modest homes, a single room lay shrouded in darkness.
On the bed, a silhouette rested motionless, barely distinguishable from the shadows. The faint outline of a boy emerged—a frail figure wrapped in a thick blanket, his pale skin marred by bruises, his bowl-cut hair adding an almost surreal innocence to his appearance.
The creak of a door broke the silence, spilling a sliver of light into the room. The silhouette of a man cast long and distorted shadows across the walls, his staggering movements betraying an unsteady gait.
The boy's eyes fluttered open, dark and soulless. He didn't turn toward the light. He didn't need to. The sound of heavy, erratic breathing and the unmistakable stench of alcohol were enough to tell him who stood there.
"YOUUU!" the figure roared, his voice cracking under the weight of fury.
Before the boy could react—or perhaps, before he even cared to—a bottle shattered against his head, the shards raining down as blood mixed with the remnants of alcohol. He remained motionless, his expression unchanging, as though pain were merely an old acquaintance.
"It's all your fault! Look at me, dammit!" the man bellowed, his anger mounting as he staggered closer.
Rough hands seized the boy, twisting him by the shoulders. The man's face, illuminated by the faint light from the hallway, was twisted in a drunken snarl. His once-golden hair was disheveled, his mustache unkempt, and his suit rumpled like the life he had let slip away.
The boy's hollow eyes met his father's enraged gaze, offering no resistance, no emotion—just an empty, unblinking stare.
The man's grip tightened. "You ruined everything!" he slurred, his breath reeking of alcohol and regret. His trembling hands reached for the boy's throat.
Before he could close the gap, the door burst open, flooding the room with harsh light. Two housekeepers, dressed in neat uniforms, charged in.
"Let go of him!" one of them barked, their voices firm and unyielding.
The man stumbled back as they pried him away, his curses echoing through the room. The boy watched, unmoving, as his father was dragged out, kicking and screaming. The sound of his fury faded into the hallway until only silence remained.
Sang lay still, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. A single line of blood trickled down his forehead, mingling with the sting of alcohol. The room was quiet again, save for the soft hum of the city beyond the window.