**Villains Cry Too**
I was just a boy who wanted to live like everyone else. In this world where only magic and technology existed, humanity had split into two: **gods and worms.**
Those who wielded magic proclaimed themselves gods. The rest? They called them worms—or slaves. These so-called "Luds" turned life into a game, using people as playthings in their amusement parks, placing bets on who would die first. The world had become a nightmare.
I was only five. I didn't understand anything. My mother was beautiful and young—barely seventeen. We lived in a small room overlooking the city, where I read books and dreamed. Every morning, she brought me food—a couple of chicken wings and a piece of bread. I ate, never knowing the price she paid for that bread. She played with me, smiled through the pain.
Then one day, she didn't come home.
I stepped outside for the first time… and found her corpse. Broken bones, missing limbs. I nearly lost my mind. That moment—I would never forget it.
And then **He** appeared.
A man who offered me a chance. He called himself the **Seeker of Nothing** and said:
*"If you want a future for this world… if you want your mother back… you must change everything."*
A man in his early twenties sat at a table, his red hair framing a face etched with pain. In his hands, he clutched a photograph—a fifteen-year-old girl hugging a child who looked just like him. She was smiling.
The man, known only by one name—**Hope**—burned with longing.
*Knock. Knock.*
"Enter."
The door opened. A striking woman in her mid-twenties stepped in, her white hair cascading over one shoulder. A massive scar ran across her face, her right eye hidden beneath it. She wore a crimson cloak with the word **"Hope"** emblazoned across her chest.
Without looking at him, she spoke:
*"It's ready. The 'Cleansing Packages' are activated. Thirty thousand in total. One word from you, and they launch."*
At the mention of **"Hope,"** she saluted.
Hope studied her, then asked quietly:
*"Do you know why a worm wants to become a butterfly?"*
The woman remained silent.
*"Because it wants light… even for just one day."*
He stood.
*"Prepare yourselves. Today, the world will be cleansed."*
The Cleansing Rockets—crafted by countless slaves—were designed to erase every magic-bearing gene. To wipe it all away.
Thirty thousand warheads. Enough to scour the planet clean.
Only a few remained in bunkers—those with pure blood, the ones meant to survive the destruction.
Hope entered a vast hall where dozens of people hunched over computers. A massive screen displayed a world map, targets marked in red.
When he appeared, silence fell. Their gazes held devotion… and fear.
Hope slowly lifted his eyes to the screen.
*"Who stood with me to the end? Who believed in our victory? Today… is the day magic dies. There's no point cutting branches when you can burn the root."*
His fists clenched.
*"Our children will never know who saved them. But if they can be happy… I'll gladly burn in hell. Even if the price is four billion lives."*
The room roared in unison:
*"We are one! Hope never fades!"*
Hope closed his eyes.
*"Launch the rockets."*
Fire streaked across the planet.
Cities vanished. Forests ignited. Rivers evaporated. The sky turned black with ash. A nuclear winter swallowed the world.
The final explosion tore through Hope's stronghold.
They saw only blinding light—but on their faces, there were smiles.
This was the end.
The end of suffering.
Only freedom remained.
Infinite emptiness.
A cold, boundless white light.
Hope stood in nothingness, staring at the void.
*"I'm not dead? Where… am I?"*
A figure materialized before him—clad in black armor etched with crimson runes. A mask hid its face, leaving only two scarlet eyes burning with ancient knowledge.
*"Seeker of Nothing…"* Hope fell to his knees.
It was **Him.**
The one who had given him his name.
The one who had promised to return his mother.
The one who had led him to this day.
And now…
The game was only beginning.
The Seeker of Nothing gazed down with cold red eyes.
*"Stand. I am not one to kneel before. Remember—a man kneels only three times in his life: before his parents… and once before the one his heart chooses."*
Hope rose. His eyes held more than respect—gratitude, devotion, something almost filial.
*"You are more to me than a father. Thank you… I don't know how to repay you. I don't even know who you are. But I will serve you until the end."*
The Seeker of Nothing waved a hand.
*"I promised to return your mother. Look."*
A figure shimmered into view—a woman with fiery hair and kind eyes, laughing as she embraced a bearded man.
It was **her.**
His mother.
Hope froze.
Eyes that had been dry and hollow for decades suddenly welled with tears.
*"Mom…"*
His voice broke. He wept—quietly, childishly, as if he were that five-year-old boy again, the one who had lost everything.
The Seeker of Nothing spoke again:
*"I resurrected her soul in another universe. But her memories are gone. Her new life wasn't easy… but now she has someone who truly loves her. They have a daughter. They are happy."*
Hope couldn't speak. He just watched—his mother, her smile, the life she now had.
For this moment, he had destroyed the world.
For that smile, he had become a monster.
And now…
She was happy.
*"Now, you will go to your true family,"* the Seeker said. *"The one you deserve. No thanks are needed. I understand. Go. Live the life you dreamed of."*
He waved his hand—
And Hope vanished, dissolving into infinity.
Somewhere in the distance, a baby cried.
*"Waaah… waaah…"*