Prologue
The world has always been divided into heroes and villains. Those who committed crimes and those who caught criminals. But nothing is ever black and white. Even the purest soul can be corrupted. Even the vilest villain can in fact be someone who has been betrayed by the world one too many times.
When he was a kid, he thought the way of the world was simple. Heroes protected them, and people admired heroes. And the villains? Those were simply always defeated. Because that’s the way it’s meant to be.
But if you live in a fairy tale for too long, eventually there’s always some curse that will show you that nothing is as straightforward as it first seemed. He, unfortunately, learned this very early on. He was given a choice - survive the best he could or give in and end up like them. Them. Funny how quickly he stopped using their names.
When you spend time with just your mind for a long time, you can quickly get lost. You stop believing in everyone, and ignorance becomes your best friend. Feelings will weaken you, and they will loosen your attention. And just when you become inattentive, your worst fears come for you.
He has avoided feelings for 16 years. He should have expected that it wouldn’t last forever.
You may think he’s the hero of this story. He used to think so too. But now he realized that his destiny was never to be a hero. He was doomed to be a villain all along.
To be a hero is to sacrifice. And he’s already sacrificed enough.
