"Watch out!" a young man shouted, shoving Sin down a narrow alleyway. Sin glanced up briefly, his expression vacant, displaying neither the will to fight back nor any instinct to shield himself from the blow. He simply continued walking as if the confrontation were merely a passing breeze.
"Did you even hear me talking to you, Sin?" the aggressor demanded, following closely behind, frustration evident in his tightened jaw. Sin maintained his steady pace, eyes fixed straight ahead, his shoulders slightly hunched as though carrying an invisible weight.
"I said stop! Do you hear me?" the young man finally bellowed, landing a sharp punch to the back of Sin's head, his knuckles connecting with a dull thud.
Sin felt his knees buckle beneath him, the world momentarily blurring at the edges. He slowly raised his gaze toward his attacker, revealing eyes with a subtle crimson tint—not bright red, but distinctly tinged with crimson, like wine diffused in water. They had been this way since childhood, a peculiarity that had marked him as different long before he understood what different meant.
"What do you want?" Sin asked, his voice betraying genuine annoyance at the situation. All he had wanted was to purchase some bread and return home for dinner, a simple pleasure in his otherwise complicated existence. Instead, he found himself dealing with yet another instance of mockery and bullying. It wasn't the physical pain that bothered him; rather, it was the unwelcome disruption to his routine. Why couldn't people simply leave him in peace?
"You know, Sin, I feel like you've been a little bit... disobedient," the aggressor remarked with a smirk playing across his lips. "It's time I show you who the real top dog is around here."
Sin merely stared up at him, a flicker of defiance crossing his unusual eyes. "And that's supposed to what—intimidate me or something? Listen, I'm not easily intimidated, and honestly, your threats are about as frightening as a kitten. I'm positively trembling," he added, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I will kill you permanently," the man threatened, his face flushing with anger, but Sin cut him off with unexpected boldness.
"Well, I must have missed something. When you die, it's already permanent, so adding 'permanently' is redundant—"
The man abruptly silenced him with a punch to the mouth, the impact echoing through Sin's jaw. Blood trickled from Sin's lips as he looked up, tasting copper and resignation.
"I think it's time to go now," Sin muttered before darting toward his home, his heart pounding against his ribs.
"Don't you run away from me! I'm not done with you yet," the man called after him, his feet pounding against the concrete as he pursued Sin with determined strides.
While chasing Sin, the man tripped over an uneven section of pavement. He fell hard, scraping his knees against the rough concrete. Meanwhile, Sin continued running until he finally reached his apartment. Gasping for breath, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.
"Right, I remember why I went out now—bread," Sin sighed, leaning against the closed door. "If that bully hadn't interfered, I'd be having dinner by now. Guess sleep will have to substitute for food tonight."
He walked wearily to his couch, sank down into the worn cushions, and closed his eyes. The day's confrontation had drained him completely. Within minutes, he drifted into a deep slumber.
Sin slowly opened his eyes the next morning, staring at his apartment ceiling. He lifted his head and adjusted his position on the couch, stretching his arms overhead.
"That was better sleep than I've had in weeks," he remarked, finally standing up. "Better prepare breakfast, I suppose."
He walked to the kitchen area and opened the pantry, finding it disappointingly empty. With a resigned sigh, he realized he would need to venture out for food again. Sin changed into fresh clothes and headed out.
As he exited his apartment building, Sin noticed the same man who had attacked him the previous day lying motionless on the ground. Approaching cautiously, Sin observed that the man wasn't blinking. He knelt down and checked for a pulse—there was none. The man was dead.
Sin couldn't determine what might have caused such a sudden death—perhaps a heart attack or an unknown assailant. Deciding it wasn't his concern, Sin rose and continued toward the nearby grocery store.
Inside, he selected a simple sausage roll and paid for it. Afterward, he browsed other non-food items, when something extraordinary caught his attention—a red orb that emitted a soft glow and hovered slightly above the display surface. Sin looked around for wires or strings, finding none. He tried to rationalize the floating object, but no explanation seemed plausible. Strangely, no one else appeared to notice the anomaly; those who did hurried out of the store.
Curiosity overwhelming him, Sin touched the orb. Immediately, excruciating pain shot through his entire body. He collapsed, his eyes flashing with searing agony that penetrated to his bones. He felt his skeletal structure cracking and reforming, his organs shifting and transforming. Every fiber of his being changed, causing unbearable torment.
Sin screamed loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the store. Several people rushed to help, but their touch only intensified his suffering. His body convulsed violently as tears streamed from his eyes.
"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Sin screamed repeatedly until, mercifully, the pain gradually subsided.
When he could finally move again, Sin felt profoundly different. Though phantom pain lingered, his bones seemed harder yet more flexible. His blood felt warm, his breathing easier, and his mind remarkably clearer.
"What's happening to me?" Sin wondered as he stumbled out of the store, ignoring the strange new sensations coursing through his body.
Back in his apartment, Sin collapsed onto the couch, contemplating these changes. He examined his hands, noticing elongated nails. In the mirror on his living room wall, he discovered his eyes had transformed to a complete, deep crimson with no trace of their former color.
"My eyes... they're entirely red," he whispered, examining the rest of his body. Besides his nails and eyes, he found no other visible changes, which provided some small relief—perhaps others wouldn't immediately notice his transformation.
Sin prepared his sausage roll, his mind racing with questions about the pain and changes he'd experienced. After eating, exhaustion overwhelmed him—the ordeal had depleted his energy entirely. As he drifted off to sleep on the couch, a red screen materialized before him.
"System activated," announced a disembodied voice, but Sin had already fallen into a deep slumber.