Kurozane tried to make himself invisible, a skill he'd inadvertently honed in the small, close-knit community. But Kael and his cronies always seemed to have a knack for finding him, their boredom often finding its outlet in tormenting the quiet boy.
Today, their mood was particularly foul. Kael had failed a recent test, and he seemed determined to take his frustration out on someone weaker. He cornered Kurozane by the old, gnarled willow tree at the edge of the village green, his eyes glinting with malice.
"Look who it is," Kael snarled, grabbing Kurozane's wrist and twisting it sharply. Two other boys flanked Kurozane, blocking any chance of escape. "Still lurking in the shadows, freak?"
The insults rained down, each word a small, stinging blow. They mocked his quietness, his solitary habits, and the strange way he sometimes seemed to stare into nothingness. Kurozane clenched his jaw, trying to remain impassive, but the humiliation burned.
Their taunts escalated. They shoved him, kicked at his shins, and Kael even spat in his face. Kurozane's fear morphed into a desperate kind of anger, a silent scream trapped within him. He just wanted it to stop.
Then, Kael did something that snapped the last vestiges of Kurozane's control. He grabbed a small, worn wooden carving that Kurozane always carried – a gift from his grandmother, the only sort of family relation item he had ,his most treasured possession –"Oh what's this, little grandma's present I see well let me help you with it" said Kael and deliberately snapped it in two.
A raw, guttural sound tore from Kurozane's throat, a sound of pure anguish and violation. It wasn't just the breaking of the carving; it was the breaking of something inside him.
In that instant, the world around them seemed to warp. The air grew intensely cold, a biting chill that had nothing to do with the weather. The shadows under the willow tree deepened and began to writhe, no longer mere absence of light but something actively moving, coiling. A palpable sense of dread washed over the bullies, their expressions shifting from cruelty to confusion, then to dawning terror.
From Kurozane himself, a wave of pure, black energy erupted. It wasn't a tendril this time, but a violent expulsion, like a dam breaking. The energy slammed into Kael and the other boys with immense force, sending them sprawling backwards as if struck by an invisible battering ram. They cried out in pain and fear, clutching at themselves, though there were no visible wounds. It felt like their very life force was being momentarily extinguished.
The ground around Kurozane cracked, and the shadows seemed to claw at the edges of the light. He stood there, trembling, his eyes wide with terror and disbelief. He hadn't meant for that to happen. This power, this terrifying darkness, had erupted from him in response to his extreme distress, a violent, uncontrolled defense mechanism.
The bullies, shaken to their core and terrified by the unnatural display, scrambled to their feet and fled without another word, their bravado completely shattered.
Kurozane was left alone, amidst the distorted shadows and the lingering cold, clutching the broken pieces of his carving. The terrifying power that had just erupted from him was as much a threat to him as it was to his tormentors. He knew, with a chilling certainty, that his life had irrevocably changed. He had awakened something dark and dangerous within himself, and he had no idea how to control it or what it meant for his future. His only instinct now was to run, to escape the fear and the unknown that had just been unleashed.