The tree went up in flames with a hungry hiss, devouring bark and memory alike.I watched silently as orange light licked the trunk I once carved my childhood into.
It felt… good.
Too good.
That tree was the last piece of my mother left in this world — our warm summer days, her laughter, her comfort.And now it was burning, and I felt nothing but relief.
Maybe that was the first sign.Maybe the part of me that could still feel human warmth had died long before I realized.
I visited the places that once shaped me — the alleys where I hid from home, the park where I wasted years, the convenience store that fed my old addictions.Nothing moved me.Nothing pulled memories from the dust.
But there was one place left.The only place I both needed and feared to visit.
Home.
The fear was simple:What if I really was the reason they were all miserable?What if life is better without me?
Terrifying questions.But the truth?Much worse.
As I walked toward the house, I passed the same clown I had seen days ago.He was handing out posters again, laughing with the same girl.
But this time?Nothing.
No panic.No trembling.No hallucinations.
Just… emptiness.
So I waved at him, the same way he waved at me back then.His face changed instantly — like he'd seen something impossible.Something monstrous.
I held his stare for a moment… then kept walking.If he was terrified, that wasn't my problem anymore.
A strange thought crawled through my mind:
How can I confirm I was the root of their misery…when none of them even know who the hell I am anymore?
Like last time, I watched them through the window.
But this time… everything was different.
My father held Adam in a warm, proud embrace.My stepmother laughed loudly, her voice full of life.Even my cat — my only companion — was curled up happily on their laps, eating, purring, basking in their affection.
When I saw this, something split inside me.
Sadness.Anger.Resentment.
But underneath all of that… the realization I had feared most:
It was me.I was the one who poisoned this house.I was the rock weighing them down.And once I vanished…everything bloomed.
I waited for my father to come outside for his usual smoke.When he finally stepped out, I approached him with a smile that didn't feel like mine.
"Beautiful day, isn't it, sir?"
My voice sounded wrong.Too light.Too calm.
He frowned. "It is… but have we met before?"
I smirked."Yes. But this is our first actual conversation. I'm the jester down by the school street."
"Oh!" His face lit up. "My son Adam mentioned you. Wonderful to meet you finally. What can I do for you? And your name?"
I laughed — loud enough to make him flinch.
"My name is Sammael," I said, "and I came here to end your life. Painfully."
He froze.Of course he did.Who wouldn't?
He tossed his cigarette and tried to walk away, muttering something under his breath — but I grabbed him by the throat before he reached the door.
My grip tightened without hesitation, without thought.No shaking hands.No guilt.Only cold purpose.
His eyes bulged with fear."W-why?" he choked.
I leaned closer, my voice barely human."I'm not doing this because I hate you.I'm doing this because you're the last thing that ever held me down…Father."
His pulse thrashed beneath my fingers.I felt it slowing.Breaking.
And then —
My vision blurred.My eyes burned.Red light flared across the darkness, reflecting in the glossy surface of his terrified stare.
He used his last breath to whisper:
"You're… a monster…"
And he was right.
I truly am now.
The moment he went limp, my knees buckled.Tears spilled from my eyes — but they weren't just tears.
Blood.
Thick, warm drops of blood rolled down my cheeks as I laughed — a hollow, manic sound I couldn't control.
My stepmother opened the door then, Adam behind her.
And what they saw wasn't a stranger crying.Wasn't a grieving son.
They saw a creature crouched over a corpse, eyes glowing red, mouth twisted into a smile that didn't belong to this world.
They froze.
Helpless.Terrified.Broken —
Just like I had been all my life.
For the first time,they finally understoodwhat it felt liketo lose something they lovedand be powerless to stop it.