Something moved inside the dark, cold cave. Slow footsteps echoed faintly, heavy breaths dragged through cracked lips. His hand was broken, his body smeared with blood. Desperation weighed on him as he struggled to send a message for help.
"This is the second day... My squad was wiped out by a giant monster, at least Rank A... There shouldn't be a beast like that inside a Rank C magic cave."
Flames flickered from his broken hand, burning the message into the air—an urgent signal meant for anyone near the cave.
But a violent, stormy wind snuffed out the fire. The wind monster was hunting him.
He stood on trembling legs, trying to escape, but the creature was faster. A muscle cramp struck him down. He fell, and through the haze of pain, he looked back at his inevitable death.
"I don't want to die here!" he screamed, closing his eyes and raising his hands to shield himself.
A scream tore through the cave—yet it wasn't a cry of dominance. It was the scream of weakness and pain.
The injured man opened his eyes to see the back of a figure standing before him. A black cloak, empty and void, swayed gently. His hair was black but shone faintly in the dim light. A sword was in his hand, though the sight was blurred by fear.
The figure turned, revealing a white mask. "If you don't want to die, run," the masked man said.
The injured man barely whispered before losing consciousness: "You... the Ghost of Luxaria."
---
My name is Ethan Lumiere.
I was sitting in my sweet shop at the market, staring blankly out the window. My skin is pale, my black hair shines a little in the sunlight, and my brown eyes lean toward honey. I look like any normal fifteen-year-old, with a sharp jaw and a normal body. Nothing special.
But today, no one was buying anything.
Two birthday cakes were sold early in the morning, and after that, the street grew silent. No customers, no familiar faces. The shop was shinier than my room, cleaner than usual, but empty all the same.
Man... this is bad. If this keeps up, I won't be able to buy the stuffed bear my little sister wants for her birthday.
I thought maybe the shop was dirty or something, but the other shops looked the same. Since that magic cave appeared beneath this neighborhood, nobody's come by. I don't blame them for being scared, but I still need money.
My phone buzzed. It was Alex, my childhood friend—the one who thinks about nothing but girls. We don't really match, but he's the only one I talk to. No wonder elementary kids called me "the arrogant bat." I'm terrible at making friends.
I answered, and we talked a lot. My mom called, but I ignored her.
Eventually, the sun started setting. I said goodbye to Alex, closed the shop, and started walking home.
On the way, I spotted a 25% discount on the ice cream my sister loves. I bought some and kept walking.
When I got home, I called out, "I'm back!"—hoping Mom would hear from the room she usually sits in.
But the house was strangely quiet.
I called for my sister, then my mom, but no answer.
Finally, my mom's voice came through the phone—shaky, weak, as if she had been crying hard.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She whispered, "Your father... passed away, Ethan."
Before I could even feel it, I was at the hospital. My body moved on its own.
Doctors led me to a bed carrying a body covered with a white sheet. My mom was crying, my sister clung to her clothes.
Tears fell without me realizing. I lifted the sheet slowly.
Dad's face was pale and lifeless.
They gently pushed me aside and took him away to the morgue refrigerators.
I stayed with Mom and my sister, trying to process what I'd seen.
My little sister looked at me with angry, tearful eyes. "Why did you come? Daddy died, and you weren't here!"
I tried to hug her, but she slapped my hand.
Silence swallowed us all.
A whole day passed after Dad's funeral.
I didn't return home once. I slept in the shop, left money at the house door after knocking, then left.
I couldn't look at my sister's face anymore.
I kept just enough money for myself for one day...
What kind of strange tradition buries the dead a week after they die?
It's around eight o'clock now. At least I can sit here quietly on this hill.
"Damn, damn, damn! Why did everything flip so suddenly? Dad was sick since the end of middle school third year, and I worked the shop without complaints. Things were going fine... and now everything's destroyed."
I lay on the grass, cursing the unfair world.
"If I could control Despaye like those knights, I'd have made enough money, healed Dad, and we'd be happy."
I don't know how long I napped before waking up.
The air felt suffocating.
I opened my eyes—but this wasn't the hill I had fallen asleep on.
Around me was pure white—empty.
A voice echoed in my head.
"Ethan Lumiere, welcome to the world of Despaye."
Despaye is a person's spiritual power. Few can use it—they're called Despainors.
Despaye lets you control many elements, if you're talented. Most can control only one. The exceptional ones might control more.
Everyone has one element stronger than the others, easier to control. This applies only to the four main elements—others exist, but only true exceptional people can use them.
This is the Despaye test. It decides if you'll be a user or not.
Only a chosen few get this test. Who chooses? No one knows.
I was one of the chosen.
Each test is different. There's no one way to finish it.
I think it's time to read between the lines.
Suddenly, my body felt light—then I was floating.
Moments later, I was flying at an incredible speed through a tube of strange colors.
My heart felt like it would burst.
The tube widened into a vast space full of distant, faint lights. It looked like space.
I looked back and screamed, "A black hole?!"
I was sucked inside—my thoughts scattered.
I felt dizzy, pain in my stomach... my brain felt like it was melting...
[Error] [Error] [Error] What...?
Finally, I realized where I was: right in front of the sun!
What does this mean? How does this help me use Despaye?!
The sun exploded, and everything changed.
I was back at the hospital.
In front of me: my mother, my sister, and... me?
This must be the memory of the day Dad died. No need to remind me.
The voice spoke again in my head.
"You were in deep sadness here, Ethan. But this is not your deepest despair."
The place changed.
"This is where you killed your brother."
Suddenly everything vanished.
I was back in the white void.
"You want to bring me to my deepest despair, don't you?" I said, my voice serious and cold.
A heavy lethargy overtook me.
My eyes closed involuntarily.
I opened them again.
The air was suffocating.
Something was burning.
I looked at my hand—and the grass beneath it was burning!
I jumped up, trying to put out the flames.
But they weren't real.
They were flames from me.
I looked up at the sky, confused.
"Am I a superhero now?"