1 Adopted

In the distance, Karma could hear someone calling for him.

"Karma!!! Get over here!!! Your foster parents are waiting for you."

Today was the day. After 7 years in the orphanage, Karma was chosen for adoption. On a day like this, any orphan would be delighted to finally find a family. To find someone willing to care of him or her. However, Karma felt indifferent. He simply couldn't care less.

Why?

In this world, only those with powers could survive. But Karma… he was a cripple, a person with no powers. And so he was at the very bottom of the food chain. An absolute low tier. Today, he would be adopted by a high tier and a noble on top of that. At face value, it was a joyous day where a cripple, a person who was deemed worthless by society, was getting adopted by a high tier. However, the 7 years that he lived through brought light to his position in the world. Without power, one does not receive anything. Not respect, nor status. The people above him would rule over him. To them, he was prey and to him, they were predators.

"Alright… I'm ready to leave..."

"Perfect! Why don't you try calling them mom and dad for the first time!"

"...I… I'd rather not…"

"Hmm…"

The housekeeper turned her head toward the man and woman waiting for Karma.

"Things like these are expected. The boy is simply not ready it seems… Well, that's fine. Only time can heal that. Hopefully, your care will bring the boy to become more trusting of you two."

She turned herself back toward Karma and whispered coldly, "Kid… don't mess this up. You've now got something to adopt someone as worthless as you. Get this through your head. You are a complete and utter nuisance. Just living in this house with you makes me disgusted. Remember this kid. You are the filth of this world. Someone like you should be begging on your knees for someone to even give a second out of their day to take care of you. But fortunately, you lucked out. So please… comply."

Karma looked toward the housekeeper unfazed.

Luck…? I've actually never won anything based on luck. If I was even the least bit lucky I'd never have been born, he thought.

Karma then received a pat on the back, signaling him to move forward. As Karma walked forward, he gave a slight nod of acceptance. The foster parents smiled back and soon after, the three entered a car and together they were approaching Karma's new "home."

"All of you… every single one of you are all such horrible… disgusting… liers," Karma mumbled.