Dual Destiny: I Am The Special One

[This chapter tells Kyoji Ren's story. It's important for understanding the main character's past, so make sure you read it!]

My name is Kyoji Ren, and this is the story of how my life took a turn for the worst. I was born on March 1st, 2330. Back then, the world was a different place. Mutants and a group of human called the "Chosen" had arrived three centuries before, changing everything.

I was born in a Citadel [D-tier Shelter]. I was my parents' only child. Both of them were Chosen, which meant they had special abilities. Within our Citadel, they were respected, especially my mother.

Even though I was young, I could tell my mother was the more powerful of the two. People treated her with a level of deference they didn't show my father. It was like they only respected him because of her influence. I don't think my dad liked that very much. They argued about it often, but nothing too serious… or so I thought.

Like any other kid in the Citadel, I had friends, played games, and lived a normal life. But everything changed when I turned five. A massive horde of beasts attacked, throwing our lives into chaos. I still remember the panic, the fear in everyone's eyes.

Because my parents were Chosen, they were called upon to defend the Citadel. I remember my mother trying to convince my father to stay behind. She said this beast horde was different, more dangerous than anything we'd faced before. But my father, his pride wounded, refused to listen. I remember his words as if he spoke them yesterday: "So you could take all the glory again, right?"

See, my mother was more than just respected; she was practically worshipped as the Citadel's hero. She'd led us to victory against countless mutant hordes and earned the adoration of everyone. My father, on the other hand, was always in her shadow. It didn't matter how fiercely he fought or how much he contributed; it was always my mother who received the praise. I think that ate away at him, made him feel small.

Don't get me wrong; my mother never disregarded my father. In fact, she was most vulnerable around him. This woman who could tear apart mutants ten times her size with her bare hands became almost… soft when she was with him. It was the power of love, I suppose. It makes you weak more than anything.

Don't fall in love, people. Trust me.

Even with all her love and reassurance, it wasn't enough for my father. He was stubborn, blinded by his pride, and frankly, an idiot. He couldn't see past his own insecurities and recognize the danger we were in.

My mother pleaded with him, begged him not to go. She was worried, afraid she wouldn't be able to protect him in this fight. And she was right to be worried. My father had survived this long because of her. She had saved him countless times. If it weren't for her, I doubt he would have lived to see this day.

But he didn't listen. Blinded by his own ego, he charged headfirst into the battle. And that's when our lives changed forever.

The battle left its mark on my father, a terrible, life-altering mark. He suffered a major injury, one that shattered his core. A core is like a small crystal inside a Chosen's body. It's their source of strength, their power source. Lose your core, and you lose everything.

My father was lucky to survive the attack at all. He lost two legs, an arm, and most of his bones were crushed. Thankfully, another Chosen with healing abilities was able to mend his broken body. He got his limbs back, his bones healed, but his core… that remained shattered. No human had the power to fix that.

The experience broke my father. It wasn't just about losing his strength and becoming ordinary; it went beyond that. A shattered core leaves you weaker than an average person. He was forced to stay inside, consumed by bitterness and resentment. And who did he blame for his misfortune? My mother, of course. He accused her of not arriving in time to save him. The coward.

From that day forward, our house became a prison of fear. My father, once a respected Chosen, became a cruel and violent man. He would lash out at my mother and me, his anger a physical force that bruised and broke us. I was constantly covered in injuries, fresh ones appearing before the old ones could heal.

My mother, who could fight off monstrous beasts with ease, seemed powerless against his rage. I saw her bleed for the first time, not from battling creatures ten times her size, but at the hands of a broken man, weaker than an ordinary human. It was shocking, confusing. Then, the realization hit me: It was love that weakened her. Love for the man he once was, a love so deep it made her vulnerable.

Witnessing their toxic dance of love and violence had a profound effect on me. I made a vow that day, a silent promise to myself: I would never fall in love. I would never allow myself to be so vulnerable, so open to pain. I would shut off my emotions, build walls around my heart.

This vow, made in a moment of despair, would shape the course of my life. I retreated inward, withdrawing from the world. I found solace in silence, in darkness, in the absence of feeling. I became a shadow, my emotions fading until only a hollow shell remained. I lost the ability to smile genuinely, to connect with others. If it weren't for the pangs of hunger and the sting of physical pain, I might have believed myself no longer human at all.

When I was eight, a glimmer of hope emerged from the darkness. My mother, finally realizing the depth of my father's descent, decided to leave him. She had endured years of abuse, but it was the sight of me beaten nearly to death that finally shattered her delusion. The man she loved was gone, replaced by a monster she no longer recognized.

We fled the only home I'd ever known, leaving behind the wreckage of our family. My mother took me to a new shelter, a place called Coliseum City, an Elysium [A tier shelter].

Upon arriving, my mother disappeared. She left me with nothing but an inheritance of one billion E₵ [Earth Credits] and a gaping hole in my life. One billion credits – an unimaginable sum, yet I was only eight years old. What did she expect me to do with it? I was alone, abandoned in a world that had already shown me more darkness than any child should ever witness.

Well, we'll save that question for another time. Let's get back to my story.

My mother's disappearance marked the beginning of a truly difficult chapter in my life. I was alone, forced to fend for myself and grow up way too fast. Survival became my only focus.

This is how I lived until I turned sixteen, the day after I finished high school. It was the day of my Blessing Ritual, a day every young person looks forward to with a mixture of excitement and fear.

This was the day you could become Chosen, the day fate decided if you were worthy of power and the status that came with it. People dreamt of being Chosen, of gaining incredible abilities, wealth, and recognition. But that day, standing before the towering statues of the nine gods, I received no such Blessing.

Their stone eyes seemed to stare right through me, cold and indifferent. The statues remained still, their silence a confirmation that none of the gods deemed me worthy. I left the temple with empty eyes and a heart full of bitter resolve. I wouldn't let them break me.

Did I blame my parents for my misfortune, for the hand I'd been dealt? No. They were victims too. The only ones I blamed were the gods and their fickle whims. It was all a game to them, a game I refused to play by their rules.

I swore an oath that day, a promise to myself: I would become powerful. Gods or no gods, fate or no fate, I would claw my way to strength. I would become so powerful that even the gods wouldn't dare to trifle with me.

This became my vow, my reason for being. I, Kyoji Ren, would become the most powerful being on this earth and beyond. My name would inspire fear, even in the hearts of the gods.

I would become chaos itself, an unstoppable force. And chaos… chaos would become me.