Purpose

"What's happening to me..." Kai breathed heavily as he walked through the empty alleyway.

The dense energy in the air that surrounded him wasn't there before, no, he couldn't see them before.

"Was it a system..." Kai thought out loud to himself, his voice echoing softly off the walls of the alleyway. He couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled in the pit of his stomach. Everything felt different, from the way his body moved to the strange energy pulsating around him.

As he continued to walk, his gaze fell upon a nearby window, reflecting his image back at him. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. The markings on his face, which had appeared like tattoos moments ago, now glowed faintly, resembling intricate patterns etched into his skin.

But what caught his attention the most was the additional set of eyes below each of his own. They were smaller, almost like a second pair of eyelids, and they blinked in unison with his own eyes.

"This look..." Kai's eyes widened as he had seen the impossible happen tonight. His amputated leg regenerated on its own, the system-like entity, the words floating in front of him, and his strength none of it made sense until now. "Isn't this Sukuna?"

His mind reeled to the series he had watched back in his old world, the anime Jujutsu Kaisen was fairly popular at the time, especially the major antagonist of the series, his signature look and tattoo-like markings were recognizable from afar.

"Did that thing feed me one of his fingers?" Kai gulped at the possibility that he was possessed by someone else but he couldn't feel anything that indicated it, in fact, the power coursing through him felt like his own.

Kai stepped back punching the wall as through sheer strength alone he had managed to leave a crack on the wall.

"Dammit!!" Kai stared at the cracked wall.

His feelings were complicated, the power he sought after for so long was finally here and yet he couldn't feel happy about it. His mind had but one thought screaming at him, 'If only it had happened sooner...'

He could've saved his brother. His only family.

"Fuck!" Kai punched the wall over and over again as Kai's fists collided with the unforgiving surface of the wall, a mixture of frustration, anger, and grief surged through him like a tidal wave. Each blow reverberated through his body, a physical manifestation of the turmoil raging within him.

The cracks spread like spiderwebs, branching out from the point of impact and snaking their way across the surface of the wall. Chunks of brick crumbled to the ground, scattering in all directions as if unable to withstand the force of Kai's emotions.

But even as he unleashed his pent-up fury upon the unyielding barrier before him, his frustration remained just the same.

With a final punch, he brought down the entirety of the wall. Noticing the sirens from afar he began walking away from the ruckus he had caused, towards his apartment.

Reaching the front of his door he realized he didn't have his keys with him, but with his newfound strength, he grabbed the door handle forcefully breaking it open as he went it.

The small New York apartment was barely enough for the two brothers but they had managed to stay here regardless. The walls were filled with pictures of the two brothers, capturing moments of joy and laughter amidst the struggles of their daily lives. Kai's eyes lingered on a particularly cherished photograph, one that depicted Leo with a wide grin, his arm draped around Kai's shoulders as they stood side by side, a bond of brotherhood evident in their smiles.

But now, as Kai stood alone in the dimly lit apartment, the absence of his brother's presence weighed heavily upon him. The silence that hung in the air was deafening, a stark reminder of the void that Leo's absence had left behind.

With a heavy heart, Kai made his way towards the cabinet taking out a bottle of cheap whiskey and opening it, he sat on the sofa.

The familiar creak of the worn-out sofa filled the silence, resonating with Kai's heavy heart. He sank into its embrace, his mind still swirling with a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. The events of the day had left him reeling, grappling with the newfound power coursing through his veins and the crushing weight of his grief.

As he sat in the dimly lit apartment, bathed in the soft glow of the streetlights filtering through the window, memories of happier times flooded his mind. He chugged the alcohol straight out of the bottle as he recalled lazy afternoons spent lounging on the sofa with Leo, sharing laughter and dreams of a brighter future. But now, those memories felt like distant echoes, fading into the shadows of the past.

With a sigh, Kai leaned back against the threadbare cushions, his gaze drifting to the ceiling above. The cracks in the plaster seemed to mirror the fractures in his own heart, a poignant reminder of the shattered pieces of his life that he could never hope to mend.

But amidst the despair that threatened to consume him, a flicker of determination sparked within Kai's soul.

"I can just imagine what you would say, despite calling me a worrywart you were the one who worried the most. Even now, if you were here, you would still be worrying about me. Asking me not to whine and take it on the chin, move on, and live your life to the fullest... in your stead."

"Blame me? I am sure you're blaming yourself for not being here for me."

The weight of Kai's internal struggle pressed down on him like a leaden blanket, the memories of his brother's wisdom and compassion serving as both a comfort and a torment. He could almost hear Leo's voice echoing in the silence, urging him to find the strength to carry on, to honor their bond by living each day with purpose and resilience.

"Maybe it's this power... but I feel my mind is much clearer than before. Even if I don't want it to be. In a way, I almost feel high..."

"Back in the hospital just moments ago, I was thinking if I should end it all. You know the police told me that if it wasn't for you holding my hand, I would've slid away like the rest and died... I felt conflicted whether I should continue this existence further or should I honor the life that you saved... but now I know."

"The more that I thought about it, the more I realized that the problem, my brother, wasn't with me. We were happy, we both had a purpose to be happy and despite my crazy ambitions of being a hero, I had even accepted my fate as a regular guy. I was okay with it."

"I had moved past it."

"The problem brother, is with this world. The world where people who are too strong for their own good reside among people like us, weak people. And what do they do with the power? They recklessly fight amongst each other not a care in the world about who or what comes in their way."

"Look at this incident, I lost you. If it wasn't this... If we had survived this together, we could've been killed regardless of where we were. Maybe during a time when Hulk is raging through the street, maybe during the New York attack, maybe when Iron Man is fighting a nemesis of his own creation. Or some Celestial could wipe us off the face of the earth. We could die at any moment due to these fucking gods I worshipped!"

Kai threw the bottle of whiskey onto the wall, the glass shattering upon impact, sending droplets of amber liquid cascading down the wall like tears of frustration. The crash echoed through the apartment, a stark punctuation to Kai's seething tirade against the injustices of the world.

His chest heaved with the intensity of his emotions, a tempest of anger and despair swirling within him like a maelstrom. He felt as though he were drowning in a sea of his own grief and resentment, suffocated by the weight of his powerlessness in the face of forces beyond his control.

But even as his fury threatened to consume him, a glimmer of clarity pierced through the darkness of his despair. 

"It wasn't my fault, hell, it wasn't the fault of either Magneto or the X-man, it's this world that's wrong, to begin with."

"But knowing that doesn't make me feel okay. Knowing that it wasn't my fault pisses me even more."

"You know, I thought my purpose of coming to this world was to join in with these so-called heroes, become one of them, fight the villains be the savior of this world."

"But I realize now, that I was meant for more." Kai closed his fist as the energy seeping through his body slowly but surely was seeping the feeling of ecstasy within him, "I am here to annihilate this world of these fake gods, heroes, and villains alike. I am here to cleanse this world of these gods by any means necessary."

"No, this isn't revenge brother... this is more. Just killing Magneto won't be enough!" Kai stood up, "I don't even know if I am capable of it with this power, but I won't rest until I've done so... no matter what it takes and no matter how long it takes."

 "And when I do, maybe we can meet again in the next life... if it's even possible... and then we can be the brothers like before and this time I'll take on my promise of taking care of you. I'll create a world where we won't have to worry about these fake gods stringing our fate along their whims."

"I want to finally be free."

"No matter who I hurt, no matter who I kill, I'll do everything I want to do," Kai said with a brief chuckle, "How does that line go again? Oh yeah..."

"If I want to eat, I eat. If I see an eyesore, I kill it. And if it entertains me, I throw it a bone." Kai repeated the lines he remembered, "And this brother is the thing I want to do the most. You said you'd support me regardless of what I want to do, right? So please continue to do the same..."

Turning his attention sideways he called out loud,

"System? I don't know what to call you... what does this... Kill Point mean?"

"Kill point!"

"The more you kill the more points you shall receive...."