So , I am a Cosmic Familyman?

"Stop him!"

Flashes of gunshots went swizzling over my head as I ran as hard as I could .It BURNS , My lungs were burning devoid of its oxygen.

How did i wind up in this situation . Fu#k !

All because of that bloody failure of father .

---EARTH - 1218 ---( OUTSIDE OF NEXUS /REAL WORLD )

~ 1st January , 2007 ~

(Earth-1218 is the designation given to our reality,[1] where super-heroes and other super-powered beings don't physically exist. This universe may appear somewhat dull from a cerebral perspective, but it does have its good sides, for those willing to recognize them.)

New Year Eve.

I was welcomed by the humid air( Which is quite common in my place ). In other words, the warm air was the only thing that would possibly welcome me. My lungs felt as if they were filled with steam. I entered the convenience store just outside my house and bought a pack of cigarettes. I paid using the card my mother had given me.

"Thank you for your patronage. Please come again."

I half-heartedly received the convenience store employee's words as I left. I occupied an empty alley before I pulled out a cigarette from the pack and smoked it.

My phone suddenly started to ring. My mother was calling me. It seems the fact that I had bought some cigarettes with her card was sent to her phone as soon as I made my purchase. I quickly threw out my cigarette.

"Hello? Is something wrong, Mother?"

My mother talked brightly through the phone. Of course, my mother's voice was always bright, but I could tell there was a tinge of sad affection in it as well right now.

「No. I just wanted to know what my son was doing.」( A/N "_" - 1st person , '_ ' - Thoughts , [] - Phone call or other tech . { } - Past overview or narration.) 

It was time for me to start lying from this point on.

"I was studying for a while, but I came outside to get some air. I'm not sure if it's because of the heat, but my head feels a bit fuzzy...."

This sounded funny even to me. It was only natural that my head would feel fuzzy. I spent many hours staring at my monitor and partying all night with the electromagnetic waves that came out of it. If my head were fine after all that, then that in itself would be amazing.

"Yeah, that's right. Yes."

Referentially, my voice currently had no strength whatsoever in it. This wasn't because I felt sorry for lying to my mother, it was in order to make my lie seem even more convincing. If there's one thing that I'm confident in, then it's my ability to lie. I'm not joking. If the Olympics had a mental category for lying, then I would have been exempted from military service a long time ago.

As I predicted, my mother took her son's voice as a red signal that his stamina was down. Her voice became gentler as she asked about how I was getting along. I continued my weak act. Yes, I'm doing fine. Of course. I've been studying fairly well. I truly had quite the fluent tongue.

「Eat whatever you want. If there's something you need to buy, then buy it. If you're going to drink some coffee as well, then drink those expensive and good ones. If you have to, why not go into a refreshing cafe and study there? You know that our family isn't as unfortunate as to be unable to support our son's spending habits, right?」

I smiled sincerely and answered.

"Yes, Mother. Then I'm going to head back inside to continue studying."

The call ended there.

There was a splendid liar here.

I put another cigarette in my mouth. Continue studying? Since when did I even study?

I wasn't like this at first. There was a time when I genuinely put my all into studying. It wasn't the best, but I was admitted into a reasonably respected university. My damn paranoia was what ruined me. The thought that I had unreasonably held back my desire to have fun in order to prepare for the university admission exam.

...No. It would have still been fine if I had only fallen slightly into that delusion. However, I messed around so brilliantly and profligately that people would have said 'Damn!' if they saw me. There were probably only 5 people in the entire university to get an F in every single one of their courses excluding one during the first semester. I was certain of this as I was 6th from the bottom.

People keep saying to have fun after you're in university, didn't they?

So who can blame me for messing around?

'Big brother, you should get your act together.'

My little sister gave me a pitying look when she saw me. My parents didn't stop me. They were people who were satisfied as long as I got into a decent university. My parents didn't care as long as I succeeded the family business and didn't starve myself.

"Haa...."

In the end, that's the kind of human I am.

I dropped by my place to pick up my laptop. I then went to a nearby cafe in search of a refreshing air conditioner.

The only thing I did after sitting at a corner of the cafe was surf through the internet. I went through these and those sites and laughed at texts that had no nutritional value and, as expected, wrote texts that also had no nutritional value.

{You're still just a shut-in gamer.}-That is the only thing i get to hear from my sisters..

Cars zoomed up and down the wide intersection of Redhood Street. They were probably mostly being driven by office workers. Each and every person stood at the crosswalk thinking about their homes. I heard a trending song through my earphones.

The street sparkled with white, yellow, and red lights. The lights entered my line of sight for a moment before they soon disappeared.

For how long will this lifestyle last?

Would anything change once summer break is over and my semester resumes?

When will everything suddenly come to an end?

I was better off compared to some. There were people that were worse and more pathetic than me all over the world. So, at the very least, I could be at ease for now. For now, for now, for now... after repeating this over and over again, there will be a day where I can no longer say 'now'. I can have my last regrets when that day comes. A fair verdict will come to pass so that I can't console myself by saying that I'm better or worse off than others....

The crosswalk light changed from red to green. I left all of the thoughts that were filling my head on my heel and walked forward.

I remembered everything clearly up to this point.

It was incredibly painful.

My mind blacked out for an instant.

Once I opened my eyes, which I have no memory of closing, the world was upside down.

'Ah.'

Even though there was music coming through my earphones, the sound felt like it was coming from far away. I thought vacantly. I was hit. By a truck. It wasn't that surprising. My ears were blocked by music and my head was filled with other thoughts, after all. I walked forward not knowing that a vehicle on the side was still speeding forward. It seems that even in my final moment, I was destined to be incapable of devoting my all into this world.

'I don't want to die.'

'Mother.'

'...It hurts.'

My vision started to fade in and out. I wasn't moving my eyelids voluntarily. It felt as if someone else was opening and closing my eyes for me. Nevertheless, that's how it was.

That was it....

It was pitch black.