Chapter 1, Cruel World
Close to 10 pm, in a rougher part of town, a pizza had just arrived at the door of an apartment.
*Ding dong*
"Knock knock, pizza's here." A voice came from behind the apartment door.
"I'll get it." A woman bounced up from the couch, leaving Atlas behind to watch TV.
"My wallet's on the counter." He voiced, watching his girlfriend Evelyn step towards the door.
Atlas was a young man, 22 years old, a fresh college drop out.
He was always a scrawny but slightly athletic nerd, and his life was definitely harder than it seemed to the average person looking from the outside.
He grew up with an abusive mother, and a quite absent father who was always away at work.
His mother, scorned him for stealing her looks away from her as she constantly complained.
She would rain down never ending rude comments and would pick on him at every given chance.
There were times in which she would go the extra mile and smack him.
It was how his life went for quite a few years.
Then out of nowhere, his father hit the lottery, made hundreds of thousands of dollars, invested and made even more.
Before they knew it, they were millionaires and his mothers act had gotten even worse.
They lived in a mansion, Atlas was tutored in home, and his father was always in his study, monitoring his business.
With this, his mother was able to influence all those around them.
Their maids, cousins, and even the tutor.
They all thought of that Atlas as a useless son, weak and not very bright.
Even with seemingly infinite amounts of money, life had not gotten much better.
It wasn't long before his mother contracted cancer and life started looking up.
She wasn't around as much to harass him, and the maids stepped in and took her place, but of course they could never be as evil as his mother.
They often called him a disappointment, or useless.
Atlas grew to ignore the words of others.
When he was 13 years old his mother passed.
It was a dark time for his father.
He grew even more distant and started to show signs of disdain.
His wife's words had struck deep within him it seemed.
He would give Atlas glares, and show him zero love.
Atlas could easily recall a moment a few weeks before his mother's death.
Eavesdropping on the couple from outside the room, he heard his mother and father crying together.
Wishing they had more time, and expressing the love they held for each other.
And, at the end of their words, before his mother went unconscious, he heard a sentence that would never be forgotten by him or his father.
"Maybe if Atlas wasn't so useless… If he hadn't brought me so much stress… Maybe I would have been able to fight this sickness…" She said.
As a result, his father never looked at him the same, and he continued to receive horrible treatment for the rest of his years with his father.
At 15 his father remarried, a new woman just as horrible as his mother.
At 17 he received a younger sister.
And at 18, it wasn't even a few days before Atlas was kicked out of the house and put onto the streets with a bank account with enough money to last him for a few years or so.
He was given a decent apartment in a horrible location, and left by himself to fend anything that came his way.
Life didn't get much better.
He applied to many colleges, and was rejected by most.
After getting into college he fell into the wrong crowd and was taken advantage of.
His "friends" stole the money given to him by his father, and never included him in their activities unless they needed someone to cover the bill.
He could never catch a break.
There was even one point in time where their group had almost gotten caught robbing a well known jewelry store.
But of course, at the last moment, everybody placed their stolen items in Atlas's hands and booked it, leaving him behind to take the blame for the attempted robbery.
Before he knew it, 2 years had passed in college, and he had dropped out.
He looked for a decent enough job and found it.
He started working, met a girl, and life was looking alright for once.
Maybe he would finally start living happy!
And he surely did, his girlfriend, Evelyn, moved in with him and they lived comfortably.
Working, and collecting money so they could move to a better area, and maybe make a family.
Life was good, but it only seemed to be the calm before the storm.
"Cash or card?" Evelyn asked Atlas, grabbing his wallet while making her way to the door.
"Either." He said, paying more attention to the tv than to her.
"Thank you!" The door creaked open and Evelyn spoke.
The altercation was quick, Evelyn having swapped the money for the pizza.
Though as she was closing the door, the pizza man abruptly asked a question.
"Sorry but, are you home alone?" The question made Atlas perk his ears, quietly getting up from his seat as he made eye contact with Evelyn's side eye.
"Why do you ask?…" She questioned closing the door more and allowed for Atlas to pass by her towards the kitchen.
"Oh uh, not much of a reason, I just think you're quite pretty and I don't think it's safe for you to be home alone at this time…." The delivery guy responded, making Atlas loosen up.
He softened his grip on the kitchen knife he had grabbed but still crept near Evelyn.
"Well, thank you for the concern! But I'll be fine." She said, trying to close the door.
"Wait! So, you are home alone?…" The man asked once again, Evelyn becoming more uncomfortable as she knew not what to say.
"No, I am not."
"So you are." Before her eyes could even fully widen, the man had pushed through the door making Evelyn stumble back.
"Sorry miss." He started, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a knife.
Though before he could get his hand any higher.
*Boom!*
"What're you doing?" Atlas asked, the delivery man on the ground, Atlas choking him out with his knife near his neck.
"Atlas!" Evelyn screamed, making his neck swiftly turn around.
*Smack!*
Before he could register it, he had taken a knee to the face.
Another three men entered his house 2 ganging up on him and releasing the delivery man, and another pushing Evelyn to the ground.
"We can use this guys organs! Might as well have fun with the girl now before we turn her in." The man who had charged Evelyn spoke, the delivery guy getting up and kicking the restrained Atlas in the side.
Atlas's eyes dilated, sweat dripping down his face as he was repeatedly kicked by the men, his eyes locked on Evelyn.
"Haha!" The man ripped her clothes off, smacked her in the face, and did despicable acts right in front of his eyes.
Atlas could not think clearly.
He could speak no words.
He could emit no sound.
He could only sit there, and turn a cheek.
3 on 1?
He was already restrained, he had no hope.
His mind was under turmoil and he raged within himself.
He was used to situations where he had no power.
And he never liked it.
Why did these things have to happen to him?
What did he do to deserve it?
He only tried to make peace with the world.
Why him?
"WHY." Atlas screamed, kicking at the ankle of one of the men, making him buckle.
"I." He threw his head at the man now that he had fallen, head butting him straight in the nose.
"DO NOT DESERVE THIS."
His arms were restrained by a man behind him, and a man to the side who had been kicking him quickly stepped over him and launched fists at his face.
"Shut your trap!" He yelled, punching Atlas in the face multiple times, leaving blood dripping from his nose.
He stopped for a moment and rose to his full his height, standing over Atlas.
Atlas raised his beaten up face to make eye contact with the man, scowling.
"Fuck you." He said, raising his leg up and kneeing the man in the crotch.
It was almost instant as the man stumbled backwards, tripping over the delivery man writhing in pain from his probably broken nose.
His head bounced off the hard kitchen floors and he was instantly rendered unconscious.
"Bastard." The main restraining Atlas cursed, swiftly releasing one of his arms and reaching into his pocket.
*Bang*
It was too abrupt for any to process…
A gun was pulled, and shot straight through Atlas's neck.
"A dead body is good enough." Atlas heard the man say as his body was dropped face first into the carpet.
"NOOO!" The sounds flooded Atlas's ears.
He could hear the curses of the men, Evelyn's screams, and even the sounds of raccoons rummaging through the trash below the apartment.
Pain filled his body and he couldn't feel anything but discomfort.
His mind raced, pain being one of his only thoughts.
He did not understand a thing.
Why did this happen to him?
Why was his life so painful?
Did he deserve any of it?
What did Evelyn do?
She surely didn't deserve any of this.
Why was he not able to protect her?
Why was the world so cruel?
'In the next life… You'll all bend to me…' He thought with the wisps of energy he had left.
'No one will hold power over me again…' His vision darkened, the sounds of the muffled screams of Evelyn reverberating in his ears.
'I'm sorry…' He thought, listening to the clapping of skin.
'Fuck you world…'
…
…
…
[Congratulations! You've awakened your bloodline!]
[As you seem to be in quite the predicament, I, your Guardian Soul Tiamut, have made use of my one time ability to save your future no matter the cost!]
[I've sucked 5 DU worth of your life force to acquire the skill, [Mental Corrosion] for 30 minutes!]
[Skill: Mental Corrosion]
[Corrode the mind of another within 10 meters of you and cause instant death to those with weak mental power.]
A voice spoke within Atlas's mind, and his eyes instantly flashed open.
It didn't take him more than a moment to instantly comprehend everything that was said to him.
"Die." He muttered, pushing himself off the ground.
The man who had shot him dropped in an instant.
His eyes turned white and his entire body went limp, as if his soul escaped his body.
"Die." He muttered again, standing up all the way.
Another man ceased all movements.
"Wait. Hold on man. I really didn't even wanna do any of this!" The delivery guy pleaded, swiftly trying to back away and stand up.
Though he failed.
"Die." Atlas' eyes flashed and the delivery guy dropped to the ground, his eyes turning pure white.
With no emotion, Atlas moved towards his room, where the final thug had moved to with Evelyn.
He pushed open the door, ignored all sounds he heard, and said one word.
"Die."