Ode To Pain
A shadow loomed over a broken locker, its once decent yet rusty metal is now warped by dents. The lock of the door has been pushed in with some sort of tool, completely destroying any mechanism it once had.
The shadow lowered its backpack to the ground and directly broke the door off its hinges with some fierce kicks. The sound rang through the hallway as some people nearby were startled.
The locker door fell, making a metallic sound as it impacted against the ground. He quickly rummaged inside the now defenseless container and started to pack his belongings one by one on his old leather backpack.
Without even caring for the repercussions nor how the school district would react, he left the detached door there, as if mockingly. His eyes wandered through the door and the locker.
' Who broke my locker? ' He thought silently, as he got ready to get out of the scene, getting his backpack on his back. ' Either way, that doesn't matter. I will find out eventually. '
He went through that and many more thoughts, his eyes lost in the empty abyss of his own mind. His long hair followed his every move, as his refined demeanor synchronized with skilled mannerisms.
As he traversed the hallways, some people started to mutter between each other, staring directly at him. He didn't really focus enough to gauge which emotions each individual had, yet one could easily sense that they were strong.
He got to the main entrance and, before getting out, he systematically placed a cyan medical mask on his face. After he got ready, he opened the doors outside, leaving behind a deteriorating school.
The eyes of the people walking on the street were dead, with a shattered human spirit, yet the deceased was still pulling the strings– as a masterful puppeteer, making humanity march forward to a grim destiny. Their brains had long gone into the vast sea of dopamine that the internet provides.
Providing a stark contrast, the buildings surrounding the street were all full of color, with mesmerizing neon ads each designed to grab your attention, reeling you into a world of entertainment. The ads were overly sexualized, objectifying the human body into surreal standards.
The streets are also extremely clean, and the cars make little to no noise. A big problem, however, is the air. It is extremely polluted, and you are forced into wearing a mask for your own health.
The teenager started walking, doing some turns and arriving at the bus stop. The stop had some ads, yet he didn't read them. He pulled out a cell phone with a broken screen, and started to play around with it. Then, he gently placed it in his pocket before he stood still. He again entered this detached state, as ten minutes passed in a hurry.
After those minutes, the bus arrived and he got in it. After getting inside he took out a card and placed its chip against the car reader, which emitted a green light. Getting that confirmation, he walked into the bus, going right ahead to the back. There were many seats, but he just decided to stand, grabbing one of the yellow poles.
Looking through the window, he saw a man drinking alcohol, and another one harrasing a girl. He grabbed her ass fully, as he backed her into a hallway, but nobody came. Everybody was still using their cellphones.
When the weight of the soul, with the virtues ornamenting it, stops being a relevant factor in an advanced conventional society, the price of love and compassion is overshadowed by the sheer weight of machines and pleasure.
—
Reaching his home, he opened the door with his keys. His only welcome in his warm household was a child protection services letter, an organization from the state. He picked it up from the ground, as he looked at it.
The outside of the envelope was ornamented by a singular symbol, that one being the symbol of the party. Opening the envelope, he found a document detailing how much money he got, alongside others.
He grabbed the money unceremoniously before heading out to the kitchen. There, he quickly made himself some tea before going outside and sitting on a chair facing towards his backyard.
The general atmosphere that hung on the air was extremely eerie, with a trace of unspoken sin. It was as if something was utterly wrong, yet you couldn't quite pinpoint what. If anybody sane entered that backyard, they would immediately leave and never come back.
' Hello. ' he muttered, as a faint trace of a smirk adorned his face, yet his eyes remained nonchalant. When he finished the tea, he grabbed a watering pot and filled it with water.
He started watering the same lush spot, an uncharacteristic spot that was just slightly bumped upwards.
' Does he stare at me from down below as I live, yet as lifelessly as he lies? '
' The book. It should come here tomorrow. ' He thought as he stopped watering the same spot. He gently placed the watering pot on an old wooden table that faced towards the yard.
After that, he stretched lazily, as he watched over the abyss. 'I should get on exercising, a good body is crucial for the energy system.'
Leaving behind the garden, he walked inside his house. He started doing some push-ups, sit-ups and other exercises. He also made sure to shadowbox with some weights on his hands. He included kicks and other sorts of moves, each one performed with incredible precision. After that, a long session of stretching followed.
* Knock, Knock, Knock. *
' …? '
As he felt a sound on the door, he immediately stopped stretching. Fear. He felt fear. Nobody ever visits anybody, and strangers never ask for something.
He quickly walked to the kitchen, with steps that couldn't be heard. He got a knife out of the drawer, heavy and cold to the touch, just before getting interrupted. His phone emitted a light vibration just before playing a sound
"The user has gained authority to train himself in energy arts. Please retrieve the package."
'Oh, it's just that. The party got the date wrong.' He threw the knife on the kitchen counter, quickly straightening out his clothes and running to the door. Before opening it, he decided to look through the doorbell camera.
Outside, two men could be found. Both were dressed with full black clothes, yet not to be mistook by formal attire. They both had the signature bow ties of the party. Their hands wore white latex gloves, and their hair was combed in a very specific way.
He slowly stared into the men's eyes, as he found humanity morphed into monstrosity. Only God knows, if there is one, how many sins they've participated in.
He opened the door, and immediately one of them extended his hand ominously, just to hand him the package. Like that, they both left, making no sound nor uttering any words.
With his doorstep now empty, he closed the door cautiously, locking it and leaving the key in the lock, so nobody could peek inside nor insert anything. He opened the box after placing it on a table next to the entrance, getting a book out.
Sitting on the couch, he finally started to read.
'There are certain stages in the energy arts, it seems. The book doesn't expand much on that, it looks like the government won't let me learn much more. I should probably make up my own way, but I don't believe I am a genius.'
'First step, meditate and get your mind into a blank state. Then, you are to find the hidden power inside you… Why does this sound like bullshit?'
'Then, make it go around your whole body.'
He got in his bed, closed his eyes and did what he was told. After 5 minutes, he felt the energy. He took 10 more minutes to make it circle around his body, making sure to commit no mistakes.
'This feels amazing.' He noted, as the power just kept on circulating. It was vast and torrential.'
'The book mentions how you can channel the energy into some limbs to strengthen them, but it doesn't say much more, the rest is practically gibberish and political speech. It does briefly mention superior forms of energy. I should get into that- '
Closing the book, he placed it below his pillow. He left the room, went to the kitchen and made himself something to eat. Meat, eggs and other meals were not obtainable by people. You could only eat wheatrina, a type of grain created by scientists. It grew fast, it was sort of nutritious and it was cheap. '
'Tomorrow I have to deal with my school again. I hate them all so much. On a bright note, people who train themselves in energy get a salary. I will finally eat well.' He paused lightly, taking the wheatrina into a plate and grabbing his cellphone. Turning it on, he watched the apps on the screen.
Three different kinds of social media, which cannot be deleted, come by default in every cell phone of the nation. One for streaming and uploading videos, one for meeting people and a final one for posting photos and stuff.
Watching the screen, he got into "Bella". He had thousands of notifications, from all sorts of people. It was a video recording app, equipped with tools for streaming. The videos in the main page all had upwards of 20 billion views, even though they were fairly recent.
As he scrolled through short videos on the app, he found all sorts of content, but mainly unoriginal content such as dances and harmful pranks. One video kind of stuck with him, of a man cooking. He had so many condiments, meat and such.
He looked down at his plate for a moment, before viewing the screen again with his cold and analytic eyes. He laid the phone on the table, before tapping it once more to close the app.
'...'
< END OF LOG. OTP. 1, 1 - 3RD VERSION [5/24/2025] >
For my grandma, rather myself;
The gentle coolness of the wind embraces the shadow of death as the city of the damned transmutes into a modern tomb.
Betwixt this turbulence some crystalline eyes gain a new shrine of shadowy clarity.
What is it that our soul desires, what is it that makes us lay in bed, ready to succumb?
The reaper backs my semblance, an immaculate demeanor and a shadow of prior purity, shattered vanity.
What sucks us of our strength in the bad times, and sinks the worst of the damned to the lowest.
The death of all beings is the same, the only constant factor, the only eternal human prowess