The sky wasn't entirely dark.
But neither did it know the meaning of light.
Gray clouds loomed over the city, unmoving, as if too tired to float. The sky no longer wept, but its traces lingered on the streets—small puddles reflecting a world that barely stirred.
I sat on an old bench in the middle of the park.
A park that never knew how to bloom.
The swing beside me creaked back and forth, without wind. Its chains groaned with every movement, like the cry of iron abandoned too long. This park was surrounded by gaping buildings, their walls covered in mold, their windows cracked, and the voices of the world... could no longer reach here.
This is where I am now—a body still capable of movement, but feeling far from alive.
I was once happy in this park.
At least... that's what my memory says.
"You used to play there a lot, Knnight,"
my mother's voice once whispered in my mind.
"You laughed the first time you climbed the swing."
I don't know if that's true. But the memory exists. And that memory is the only source of feeling I have left.
I don't truly feel.
But I can choose to summon the sensation—like opening a dusty drawer and pulling out faded photographs of forgotten faces.
I... am not a monster.
But I am no longer human either. Not after all this.
---
"How many times have you sat here?" a foreign voice broke the stillness.
I turned my head slowly.
No one was there.
Or maybe there was, and I simply couldn't tell memory from reality anymore.
I'm used to the voices.
Some speak like old friends. Others... like judges inside my skull.
But today, they were silent.
No conversations. No whispers.
Only this park, and this bench, and the gray sky watching overhead.
---
I once believed in the law.
I lived by it faithfully, upholding justice. I even refused bribes while working as an administrative officer in the eastern sector of the city.
And what did I get?
A curse.
Déjà vu.
Fragments of time looping endlessly, like shards of glass constantly piercing my eyes.
I remember a child once running toward me, crying, having lost their mother. I wanted to help.
But I hesitated.
They would accuse me of kidnapping.
They would see me as a criminal.
And the worst part wasn't the accusation itself.
It was that I had seen it happen already.
Again and again.
The same hateful eyes. The same words repeated. The same screaming echoing through the air. Even the scent of the moment... never changed.
I was trapped in the recording of my own life.
And whenever I tried to escape, the world simply... replayed.
---
Law of Remnant.
That's the name of my power.
I didn't name it—no one did. It just surfaced when the power awoke.
But I knew it wasn't magic. Nor was it a blessing.
It was a second form of a curse.
I couldn't create.
Only destroy.
This power wasn't born from my body, but from the emotional bank within my memory.
Every wound, every shame, every disappointment, every fear, even unrequited love... all became fuel.
I could choose an emotion and ignite it within my mind.
And instantly... the world would crack.
But why would I do that?
"Because feelings are the only thing left that make you feel alive," a voice inside me answered.
---
I looked down at my hands.
Cold.
Not because of the temperature, but because my soul wasn't inside this body anymore. I could feel the pulse beating... but it was like watching someone else breathe for me.
I summoned a memory.
My little sister's smile, when I bought her a cheap doll at a night market.
Warm.
But too brief.
Then I tried swapping it.
The sound of people laughing when I was falsely accused of embezzlement.
Even though... all I ever did was refuse to be corrupt.
Heat flooded my chest. My eyes trembled. My hands shook.
Remnanctum: Type Despair.
The earth beneath the bench began to crack. Grass withered.
The air thickened.
I hurriedly canceled it.
Not now.
Not yet.
I could still hold it back.
---
I stood.
My steps carried me out of the park.
But the park didn't leave me.
It lived in my head, endlessly replaying—like every place I had ever been.
This place would never bloom.
Because wherever I went... destruction followed.
And somewhere along the way...
I stopped caring whether the world deserved saving.
---
I saw an old building standing at the end of the street.
No signboard. No paint left on its walls. Only dust and the smell of rust soaking into every crack.
It was a hollow place.
Too large for one person... but perfect for someone who wanted to disappear.
I pushed the door open. The hinges creaked.
No sunlight ever entered here.
I didn't turn on the lights.
I didn't need them.
I wasn't even sure light meant anything to me anymore.
My footsteps echoed.
This place was once a law office. I used to work here—filing paperwork, organizing documents, handling reports.
All with care.
All with good intentions.
Now... only piles of empty folders remained.
Some were slashed with red ink, stamped "CANCELED," "VOID," or "TRAITOR."
I didn't regret upholding the law.
I was just... disappointed.
---
The desk at the end of the room was still intact.
I sat down, opened a drawer, and pulled out an old battered notebook.
Not a diary, not legal notes, not a strategy manual.
Just a collection of memories.
I called it that because each page was filled with scribbles—a sort of emotional log.
On the first page, it said:
"If I can't feel anymore, then let me at least remember."
Every page after that held a single emotion.
"Fear – when they looked at me like a wild beast."
"Joy – when she gave me a piece of cake and said I deserved something sweet."
"Anger – when they accused me of hiding evidence, though I was the only one trying to be honest."
"Love – when she said I was strange, but stayed with me that night."
I don't know who "she" was.
Maybe just a memory shaped out of desperation.
---
Law of Remnant works like a reflection.
The stronger the emotion I pull from memory,
the greater its manifestation.
But there's a price.
Every time I pull from those emotions,
I lose a little more of my sanity.
I feel... foreign.
Not just from the world.
But from myself.
Once, I cried in the middle of the night.
And I didn't even know why.
When I looked at my reflection in the mirror,
I didn't recognize the person staring back.
I realized...
the person I am now isn't the person I used to be.
And the worst part...
I'm starting to get used to it.
---
"Why don't you try talking to someone?"
That question comes up often.
From inside my head.
From the occasional passerby.
The answer is simple.
I'm afraid.
Not because they might reject me.
But because I know they would unknowingly destroy me.
Someone once smiled at me.
I held on to that memory.
I treasured it.
But when they returned...
they avoided me.
Laughed with others.
Said careless words that cut deeper than they realized.
And as always...
I stored that memory too.
My memory bank doesn't discriminate between wounds and love.
It collects everything.
And when it's full...
The world becomes a mirror of my broken mind.
---
Today, I heard footsteps outside the building.
Slow. Hesitant. But approaching.
I waited.
One... two... three knocks on the door.
I didn't answer.
Then, the door creaked open.
Someone stood there.
A girl.
Young.
Hair tied back messily.
Sharp eyes, but a confused look. Maybe lost.
Or...
Maybe sent.
"Sorry, I..." she hesitated.
"I'm looking for shelter... may I come in?"
I stared at her, saying nothing.
One second. Two. Memories flooded in.
Her eyes reminded me of someone.
The way she stood... like someone I once protected.
"You..."
My voice cracked out.
"Aren't you afraid... this place is cursed?"
She hesitated. Then smiled faintly.
"Sometimes... the scariest places are more honest than people."
That smile... triggered a memory.
I pulled on it.
Warmth spread through my chest.
But at the same time, the sky outside began to shudder.
Remnanctum responded.
I quickly turned away, fighting the emotional surge trying to explode.
"You should go," I said.
"Before something shows up."
---
The sky rumbled.
The building shook.
The emotions inside me surged—blending happiness, fear, and an unnamed sense of loss.
I needed control.
"You're not a monster, Knnight," I whispered to myself.
"Don't destroy something again."
But the world never listened to warnings.
And the Law of Remnant knows no mercy.
My power could only influence nature.
Thus, when I desired destruction...
Nature was the one that struck back.
It would slice, tear, punish anyone who reflected the chaos of my emotions.
---