(A/N: Early sections feature two distinct voices: the minister addressing the congregation in “double quotes,” and Code Weber’s internal thoughts in ‘single quotes.’ From the marked point onward, all “double quotes” belong to other characters.)

  ‘Who is god?'

  Flashback to Five Years Earlier

  LANCELOT ORPHANAGE

  “To know is to grow… and to grow is to live,” the minister declared from the altar, his deep voice echoing through the silent hall. The pews of Lancelot Church were filled with dozens of children and a handful of adults, all quiet, faces fixed forward.

  ‘Who created the world?’

  “This world was forged by our great Lord Aethrauzon, Father of Fate and Sorcery. From chaos He carved order, granting humanity and all creatures a sanctuary of peace.”

  ‘I never believed in beings greater than humans… or in anything worthy of worship.’

  “We must live in purity, equality, and absolute obedience to Lord Aethrauzon.”

  'What truly fascinated me was the hypocrisy that humans lived by. The Aethric Tenet preached equality.’

  “Between life and death lies the spiral of return!”

  ‘But no one truly wants equality. Why do the rich feast while others starve? Why are some born strong and others broken? Why must one person’s joy be built on another’s pain?’

  ‘I kept asking. Every answer birthed new questions.’

  ‘Life is not equal. Even Aethrauzon, who demands equality, stands above us. Why is He god while we remain insects?’

  ‘Why does He claim eternal life while preaching mortality?’

  ‘Why was I born without parents? Why am I a failure? Why does nothing ever go right for me?’

  ‘Why must I always be the outsider, the friendless, the “loser,” the unwanted?’

  …

  (A/N: From here, “dialogue” belongs to other characters.)

  “Monster.” “Stay away from him.” “Of course he’s the one who killed his parents.” “He might even be a demon.”

  ‘I heard every word. Every hiss. Every whisper... Then one day, the final question arrived. The sum of every doubt I’d ever carried.’

  ‘Why do I serve god? Why bow to someone who writes rules He never obeys?’

  ‘So I decided. A decision that earned my exile… and burned the orphanage to nothing; they called me monster. Loser. Failure. Unworthy of life.’

  ‘So I made my final choice.’

  ‘The one who made me a monster, who left me parentless, who cursed me to fail—’

  ‘…I’ll kill Him. I will kill god!’

  …

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Back to the Present.

  “Hehe…” Code laughed. Blood flowed from his lips. His body lay crumpled against the boulder, left arm twisted backward, legs bent at unnatural angles. Every breath was ragged, yet he never stopped laughing.

  “Code!” Elara screamed, stumbling toward him. “Code! Are you okay?! I’m sorry… the barrier was supposed to protect you. I don’t understand—” Tears streamed down her face as she dropped beside him.

  Code wanted to lift his head, to flash a cool grin and say, "Nah, not your fault," but his voice box had been shattered.

  “Let me heal you!” Elara whispered. Her eyes closed as her palms glowed with white light.

  ‘Pointless,’ Code thought dimly. ‘Aethrauzon’s grace only answers believers, and since I don’t believe, there’s no mercy for me.’

  ‘Karma finally caught me. For every blasphemy and every sin.’

  The demon’s footfall shook the earth again, sending tremors through the soil.

  “Lord Aethrauzon, grant me Thy power…” Elara prayed harder. The white glow brightened. But as it touched Code’s skin, the light fizzled out instantly.

  Her eyes flew open. “What?! It’s supposed to—” Sweat poured down her face, veins bulged along her neck.

  She tried again, voice pleading and desperate. “Lord Aethrauzon, grant me Thy healing strength—” The light flared once more but died on contact with Code. The monster had reached them, towering directly behind Elara.

  “No! It’s supposed to work! I’m sorry, Code! I’m so sorry!” She sobbed, hands trembling as she pressed them together again. Suddenly she felt a touch on her hands.

  Elara gasped. “Code?”

  He had lifted his shattered body just enough to clutch her wrist. His mouth moved. His throat strained, but no sound emerged. ‘Tch… come on… Just one word. She’s running out of time.’

  He forced air through his battered lungs, gasping heavily.

  “R—r—r…”

  Elara leaned closer, straining to hear.

  “R—r—run… away…!"

  Her breath caught and her eyes widened. “No! I—I can’t leave you! I can’t! You don’t deserve this!”

  But before she could continue, Code roared with the last of his strength. “I said run!!”

  “Hah!” Elara gasped and looked at him.

  “Please…” Code’s eyes turned teary and pleading.

  Elara staggered back, shaking. She didn’t want to. She couldn’t bear to, but Code’s eyes begged her. “I—I’ll get help! As soon as I’m out, I swear!” she sobbed.

  Code’s lips curved into the faintest smile he could manage. ‘Thank you…’ he said inwardly.

  Elara spun and bolted. The fading Divine Shield cloaked her from the demon’s senses. She ran past its legs and vanished into the trees, never looking back.

  In the corner of her vision, something pale and humanoid watched silently from a high branch, but she never stopped to look.

  Code watched her silhouette disappear. Then he turned back to the demon. ‘She was… really beautiful,’ he thought with a faint smile. ‘She doesn’t deserve to die beside trash like me.’

  The demon’s eyes glowed with manic hunger. Thick saliva dripped to the ground. It slowly raised its colossal foot above Code’s head.

  ‘All I ever wanted was to live. I didn’t ask for riches, peace, or joy. I didn’t even ask for death. All I asked for was life. And even that’s too much?’

  Memories flashed: the stones they threw at him, the mockeries, the guilds that refused to take him, the beatings, the shame that came with his existence.

  ‘All the pain…’

  The demon’s foot began its descent, blocking the moon’s glow.

  ‘All the grief… And I still don’t get to live?’

  “Life is unfair,” he thought finally as his eyes closed.

  The foot connected. The forest quaked. Birds erupted skyward in every direction.

  Then silence fell.

  A cool wind swept through the leaves.

  Then came the thought: ‘What…? Is this… heaven?’ All he could see was darkness. But for some reason, he still felt pain: his head spun, his eyes tingled, and his heart thudded.

  ‘Wait…’ His eyes snapped open and realization hit, making his pupils dilated.

  The demon’s foot—the one that should have pulped him—hovered motionless inches above his face.

  He was still alive. '

  ‘What the hell is happening? I’m supposed to be dead. Is this a hallucination? A flashback? Am I watching my corpse from hell?’

  Time seemed frozen.

  Then a voice cut through.

  “Oi. Wake up already.”

  “What the—” Code’s head jerked left toward the voice, immediately sighting the figure.

  A man stood there.

  His sparkling white hair caught the moon’s rays, casting a pale red silhouette around him. He wore a black hoodie over gray sweatpants and sneakers. His lower face was concealed by a patterned silver mask, while a black sunglasses stuck in his hair.

  But the most shocking detail was why the demon’s massive foot hadn’t crushed him.

  Code’s gaze shifted.

  The demon’s foot was held aloft with ease. The stranger had one braced leg pressing against the demon's sole as if it weighed no more than a beach ball. His eyes remained focused on the book he held in his other hand.

  “Yo,” the stranger said, lifting a lazy hand in greeting as he closed the book.

  “Took you long enough to die.”