Prologue
The Viltrumite in the Sun
(Part 2)
*WARNING - THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SUICIDE. IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS THEME, DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT.*
I didn't know how many hours had passed since I let out a roar. All I knew was that I started punching everything within my sight. The anger that was within my chest was the one controlling me and I didn't let it stop.
Because why should I, when I finally found out the circumstances of my birth?
Once again…I was Markus Murphy. I had two fathers, one mother that I had never seen, and two half-sisters. I was once called 'Kid-Invincible'. My dream was to become a superhero…I was born from rape. And because of my birth, my dream was shattered into tiny pieces.
My life was now ruined beyond recognition.
How could I ever live such a beautiful life when I was born from such a degrading way?
How could I become a superhero, a figure that represents justice, when I was born from injustice?
Slowly, my senses came back and the first thing that I felt was the warm wind caressing my reddening cheeks. My vision slowly came back and I found myself surrounded by ruins. I quickly recognized that I was still standing in the middle of Mark's living room which was destroyed by my violent outburst of anger. The walls and windows were now gone, the sky above me was now completely deep purple and orange. The horizon in front of me was dotted with the city's lights.
I then sensed a presence and I slowly turned my head towards it. There, on the pile of rubble, sitting amongst the cracked cement, was Mark, a look of despair on his face. Right above him, hovering away from me was Terra and Eve. Both of them were looking at me with heavy eyes of misery, pitying my violent reaction.
Their eyes…I didn't like it. It made me feel small, dejected and disgusting. My heart churned in ache as I gazed back at my second father.
"How can I live with you when my mother is the source of your sorrow and anguish!? Why did she do it!? Did she even regret what she had done? If not, then she is nothing but a monstrous thing!" I shouted as my anger directed towards my mother. My mother, whom I had never seen and whose name I couldn't spell right, was a criminal and the one that assaulted Mark, which led to me being conceived. I hated her. 'I so goddamn hate her and I hope she's rotting in hell!'
"M-Markus." My second father croaked as he slowly sat straight up. "You have to understand, this was before your grandfather led them. She was like every other Viltrumites, a victim of the Regent's tyrant ruling. She thought what she was doing was right. She didn't know any morals or ethics at that time."
So, she didn't know any better? How fucking convenient! I only growled in ire. It seemed she couldn't be punished because she did not know any better. Well, I would love to punish her. My heart was suddenly filled with desire to get even with her.
I wanted to kill her with my bare hands! But I couldn't do that anymore. Because she was fucking dead. Oh, how I truly prayed that she was burning in hell!
I made a deep exhale which turned into a snivel. My rage slowly ebbed away and, in its place, despair begun to make home.
"Is this the reason why you never want me to leave Earth? Is this the reason why you never want me to go with you to your missions? Because you don't want me to stand beside you, to be with you?" I choked the words as my voice broke into pathetic sobs, before I added. "Do you secretly hate me for my existence because I always remind you of how my mother degraded you?"
"No! I—I want you to stay in Earth, so you can have the life that I experience here." My second father reasoned desperately. "I do not hate you, Markus. The only guilt that I have was that I didn't try my best to be your father. That role fell onto Scott, not me. I do not want to destroy your relationship with him and Molly. I never once held any ill-will to you."
I could hear the grief in my second father's voice. His words were so sincere and kind. I wanted to believe in him. However, I no longer had any strength to understand him anymore. My mind was so clouded that I could no longer feel anything…except misery.
"How can I…recover from this?" I asked in gloom and cast my eyes that were filled with hopelessness at him. "How could I get rid of this feeling?"
My second father looked at me with anguish, feeling the searing pain inside my chest, before he answered me with hope in his voice.
"With time. Time heals everything." He slowly raised both of his hands, opening his arms to me. "I'll help you, Markus. I promise you."
Mark's arms were open wide. He was calling me to a tight embrace. I always loved to hug him, feeling his warmth made me feel happy and at peace.
But now, the truth had been revealed to me. And this truth was killing everything inside of me.
I did not need his help. I did not believe that time would ever heal my broken heart. My dream of being a superhero was gone. I could no longer become an inspiration for the innocent people because I was born from a crime. My existence served as its extension, which meant I was a criminal.
And as for my second father, I could no longer make him proud. I no longer had the right to make him happy because I would always serve as a dark reminder from a degrading past.
No…I don't your help. "Please kill me." I muttered the word out of my mouth. My second father's eyes widened in shock.
"M-Markus—"
"Please…kill me, Dad." I repeated. My voice was filled with misery.
Mark looked at me with pitying eyes and the saddened frown curved in an agonizing way.
"Markus, please, I can't do that…You have to live. Let me help you recover." He paused, tears now trailing his cheeks. "I promise you…everything will be alright."
I didn't know what happened next. My vision had gone blurry and my mind was muddled with so much anguish. All I knew was that, right after my second father tried to reassure me that everything will be alright, I stood up and began to walk away.
Right now, I was at a highway, walking at a glacial pace with a very depressing frown etched over my face. My destination was my home, and yet I didn't want to go back there. My home was filled with happy memories of Molly and my first father – it was a perfect place for me.
But now that I finally knew how I was conceived, I began to doubt the memories inside my home.
I began to doubt if that house was my home.
Did Scott Murphy know about my birth? If so, how come he never told me? Those two questions filled my mind and, no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't come up with an answer.
"Markus." I recognized the voice of my second half-sister. I slowly glanced over my shoulder and saw Terra. Her eyes stared at me with shame and she was hovering a couple of meters away from me.
"Let me get you home." She said with uneasiness in her voice as she landed and walked beside me.
'But I don't want to go home,' that's what I want to say to her, but I couldn't. I'm so tired that my mind was completely blank, except for one thing.
'I want to stay inside my room…and never come out.'
When I arrived at my home, I slowly opened the door. Molly was in the living room. She was probably waiting for me to come back. I found her sitting on the sofa with an opened book on her lap.
She looked up to me and saw my miserable disheveled look. Her mood immediately changed into a worried one.
"What happened?" She asked in a concerned manner. Her brown eyes observed me more and widened after she saw the blood on my knuckles.
"Markus, there's blood on your hands." She pointed, but I didn't hear her. My eyes drifted to the side, towards the wall which were filled with many family pictures of Molly, Scott and I. There were times where I used to stare at them. Our smiles were heartwarming and filled with hope. It always made me happy.
But now, I didn't feel anything, except for the bitterness and fury that was slowly building up inside of me.
Did Scott know about my birth? If so, was he planning on hiding everything from me until his death? Well, he was successful.
I used to love Scott, very much, but now…my dreadful feeling was slowly being crumbled by another one – bitterness.
"Markus?" I finally heard Molly and I landed my gazed on her. Her eyes were now teary. She was truly worried about my woeful expression. But before I could answer her, Terra cut in.
"Molly, I'll explain later." She said with a very reassuring smile and I took this as my cue to leave. I walked away and climbed up the stairs, leaving Molly and Terra.
I wanted to be alone. I just wanted to be surrounded by silence.
I closed the door behind me and the first thing I did was look around my room. My room was quite messy, a typical teenager's room. Every part of my wall was covered with my sketches of different mountains that I drew before. On my right was my sturdy desk, also filled with crumpled papers, where my laptop and drawing pad lay. The screen of my computer displayed the famous Mt. Everest.
My room was my fortress of solitude, the place that I usually entered every time I finished my Hero's duty. This was where I sketched my drawings and calmed my mind.
However, today, after the revelation, my mind was running wild. I couldn't calm down. I couldn't concentrate. The rage that I released earlier was now surging up again and I was afraid that not even my hobby could help quell it.
Once again, I released my anger. My fingers dove right into the wall and I began to rip my drawings apart.
Mountain by mountain, paper by paper, I tore it all apart with monstrous ravage as tears began to pour out of my eyes.
My dream was over. I had no right to become a hero. I had no right to live. And the people who loved me…had lied to me. My heart beat ferociously as another feeling, besides the savage rage, began to form inside of me.
Hate.
And it was all directed to me.
I likely passed out after I released my pent up fury because the next thing that I saw was the familiar ceiling of my room. I found myself rising from my bed, feeling nothing but numbness, before I scanned my room again.
Before, my walls were lined up with drawings of mountains. Now all what was left were several gashes and scratches. The wallpaper, which were all brown before, were now tattered and torn, revealing the cold cement underneath.
My room was now a mess and was only lit up by my desk lamp that was hanging on the side of my table. My table was half turned. My laptop and drawing pad were both shattered into many pieces. I valued those two objects. That was where I usually drew my mountains before printing them out. But now what was the use of it?
I didn't feel like I could go back to my old hobby because, if I did, I might remember Scott – my first father, who loved oh so dearly…and the one who also lied to me.
I glanced towards the window and saw the night sky lit by the bright white full moon. I sensed that it was already passed midnight. I couldn't hear any activities outside my house, which meant most people were already tucked into their beds.
I then looked towards my door, and my brown eyes caught something. A piece of paper was wedged below the door. I walked over and picked it up.
It was a letter from Molly and Terra.
'Terra told me everything.
I too am shocked and saddened, Markus.
If you've calmed down, come down and talk to us.
Terra and I promise you that we'll help you in every other way.'
-Molly-
I stood there, absorbing the words on the letter. Then, without realizing it, tears begun to trail my cheeks again.
Terra and Molly – both of them wanted to help me. They both truly loved me, and I was so touched by it. I treasured their support. I wanted to return it by opening the door and telling them that I need help.
But sadly, I did have the desire to open my door…but I would not ask them to help me.
Even if I did ask for help, what could they possibly do? Continue befriending me while casting some pitying looks at me?
I didn't want that. I wanted to love, not because I wanted them to lift me up from my sorrows, but because I was equal with them. And that would never happen.
I quickly walked over to my laptop and started it. The cracked screen lit up and my mind had already formed a plan.
I was going to kill myself.
I had no right to live anymore, so I must say my thanks and goodbye to the people that I love. First, I would start by making a video that I would be sent to 'KID-INVINCIBLE's' unofficial fanbase. I loved them because they were composed of people who loved me and my heroic works. Second, I would write a letter to Molly and Terra, telling them of my imminent departure from this reality.
That was the only thing I could do for now.
To Molly, my first half-sister, I love you from the bottom of my heart. To Terra and Mark, my second half-sister and father, I would like to thank them for supporting me. I also apologized to them that I had decided to end my story right here.
I opened the door of my room and slowly walked down the stairs to the living room. My eyes were glancing everywhere, searching for the familiar faces of my two half-sisters.
My search ended quickly after I saw the two, sitting on the sofa with both of their eyes closed. They must have gotten tired of waiting for me to come down, so they could talk to me. Sadly, they both missed their chance.
I took a good look at both of their faces. This would be the last time that I would see them. They both breathed serenely. It was clear that they were sleeping soundly. A little noise wouldn't wake them. I took this as a chance to put my letter on the coffee table.
I immediately walked away, heading towards the door, and stopped. There was a full-length mirror beside the door and my reflection greeted me.
I was wearing my hero's costume, a combination of blue, black and yellow. I smiled as memories of me, being a superhero, played in my mind. I admit that I enjoyed saving innocent people and giving hope to everyone.
But alas, I was almost near the end of my life. I opened the door of my house and then, slowly and silently, closed it.
After a couple of minutes, I found myself landing on the moon. The first time I flew out of Earth, Terra and Mark were there to guide me. They taught me how to take deep breaths and hold it in my lungs. It was surprisingly easy since Viltrumites had very sturdy bodies.
We could certainly survive the harsh environment of space. However, my experience of flying to space only stopped at the moon. They told me that I was not ready to go into deep space.
But now, I was at the moon, ready to fly towards the deep space. I looked behind me and saw planet Earth – the world where I was born. The blue colors were beautiful, and I absolutely loved every single shade of it.
I would miss this place.
I stared for another minute at my birth planet before I eventually turned back and took off towards the sun.
A Viltrumite could fly on superspeed and that was how I flew towards the sun. I didn't know how many seconds or minutes had passed, but I did reach the sun.
The sun loomed in front of me. Its light was blinding, and the heat was strong. I could already feel it passing through the fabric of my costume.
I felt a little bit of fear in my stomach. It was either telling me to turn back or that I was making a huge mistake.
Was it my survival instinct telling me how to preserve my life? If so, then it was weak because there was another feeling inside of me, and this one was screaming louder than my fear. It was my shame. It was telling me that I was in the right place.
It was screaming my desire to end my life.
And that was what I followed.
I made a big gulp, closed my eyes, and formed my very last thought.
'Goodbye…'
Right after I dived into the boiling surface of the sun, the first thing that I did was let out a scream. The sun ate my costume quickly, leaving my skin at the star's mercy. The heat scourged my skin. I felt it being shredded out of me. What came next was my muscle being torn apart, and I felt it all while I was alive.
According to Terra, a Viltrumite could virtually survive anything, but not for long. Although we had fast regeneration abilities, we could also bleed and our limbs don't grow back. However, due to our strong abilities, we could easily repel those kinds of attacks.
But what if we were to be put in a situation where our bodies were subjected to a continuous bombardment of attacks?
This was how the tyrant Regent Thragg died. My second father fought him on the sun. Both of their skin was peeled by the heat and Mark won by knocking Thragg out. The unconscious Regent was then eaten by the Sun…just like what was happening to me right now.
Who would have thought that I would also meet the same fate as the Tyrant? Well, I didn't bother thinking about it. Because we both deserved this kind of ending. We were both second father's enemy.
The tyrant who terrorized everyone and boy, me, who was a result of a crime.
Ha, fate was such a funny thing. It had served me an ending that I truly deserved.
To die.
Once again. I was Markus Murphy and I was once a superhero named 'Kid-Invincible', an alias that I inherited from my father.
And I am currently…dying.
And I deserve this fate.
"MARKUS! MARKUS!"
My mind then heard the very familiar voice of my second half-sister, Terra. But was it an illusion, created by my mind that was trying to jump start my survival instinct? Was it trying to give me a reason to turn around and fly towards her? Had Terra actually woken up from her slumber, saw the letter that I had left and immediately flew to the sun so that she could stop my suicide?
Either way, curiosity made me try to open my eyes, but I couldn't see anymore. Perhaps my eyes already melted away. But even if so, I didn't care anymore.
Because I didn't want to live anymore.
This was how my story ended.
Dislcaimer : I do not own the characters of Kara no Kyoukai and Invincible. Names, places and events are merely fictional. If one exists in real life, then it's purely coincidental.
Welcome guys to the second chapter! First, I would like to thank the people who read my fanfic, I do hope I entertained you. Second, whew, this looks like the end for Markus Murphy, however, what are endings but beginnings of something new? Markus's previous life might've ended but that doesn't mean he will stay dead though. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Special Thanks to Pure Red Crane for beta-reading.
