It was like a tragic cycle that, once started, always ended with its own defeat.
“Mom, what should I do?” Canaan curled up at the end of the alley, hugging his legs, tears streaming down.
It was unclear how long had passed when Canaan saw a blue, shimmering Milky Way drift across the narrow sky of the alley. A look of envy flashed in his eyes, “Did a Water System demon advance?”
If only I could advance as well.
Canaan dumbly watched the celestial river float across the sky, its flowing light illuminating the dark depths of the desolate alley, as if it were also shining into his dim heart.
As the celestial river vanished, Canaan licked his wounds at the end of the alley, then slowly got up, ready to leave.
That was when he suddenly heard a commotion coming from next door.
“It was me who advanced earlier… really, I’m telling the truth… you can try it if you don’t believe me… it’s very beneficial for Water System affinity…”
Canaan paused for a moment, recognizing the voice of the Demon speaking. More precisely, a Half-Blood Demon.
—Pulapa.
Canaan knew Pulapa, but Pulapa didn’t know Canaan.
Canaan knew Pulapa because he was quite well-known in Lassudral for his weakness. Other Demons looked down on Pulapa, but Canaan felt differently; he was somewhat envious of Pulapa.
Pulapa, like him, lived at the bottom of Lassudral society. But Pulapa had it better than him because he had nothing of value on him. Therefore, the Demons only mocked him and rarely laid a hand on him, it would just be a waste of energy.
Canaan, on the other hand, was different. He was weak too, but because of his Ocean Demon bloodline, whenever fins grew on his body, other demons coveted them.
In such circumstances, although Canaan was much stronger than Pulapa in the past, he still envied Pulapa. At least Pulapa could give his all for his goals, while Canaan would be beaten back to his original form by other Demons as soon as he took a step forward.
“What’s Pulapa talking about? He’s saying, it was him that advanced?” Canaan had previously just recognized Pulapa’s voice, but hadn’t paid attention to what he had said. Now listening intently, he heard an answer that surprised and puzzled him.
The glowing celestial river from before, was it caused by Pulapa’s advancement?
For some reason, upon hearing this news, Canaan felt as if part of his heart had crumbled away like a peeling wall, suddenly hollow. As if losing its pillars, his sky suddenly grew even grayer.
Pulapa had made a big step toward his goal, while Canaan was still marking time, and had even fallen countless steps backward.
“What is my goal, indeed?” Canaan muttered to himself.
Canaan slowly unearthed memories that had been buried for many years.
When he had suffered discrimination, and not hesitated to leave his loving mother behind to come to Lassudral, it seemed he had set a goal for himself.
“To become strong, so strong… that all those who discriminated against me wouldn’t dare provoke me… And also, I want to harshly teach my father, whom I’ve never met, a lesson. He ruined my mother’s life…”
Canaan whispered softly, “So my ultimate goal is to become stronger. But, can I really become stronger now?”
Next door, Pulapa’s voice came through again—
“I don’t know what happened, but my Water System affinity has improved a lot…”
“That shop is in the woods near the southern suburbs… It’s called ‘Fantasy.'”