The air smelled like rust and regret.
In the outskirts of Sector 13, under the fractured light of a flickering neon lamp, Renji Kurobane sat on the broken steps of a shut-down orphanage. His eyes, once filled with childish hope, now reflected only silence—a kind of silence that screamed louder than any pain.
He was seventeen today.
And that meant only one thing.
System Bonding Ceremony.
In a world where everyone awakened with power, Renji was cursed.
They said he was born under a dead star. That the moment he cried as a baby, the sky bled crimson and birds fell silent. He didn't get hugs—he got prayers. Not friends—just distance. Even the nuns at the orphanage had stopped calling his name after his tenth birthday. They just referred to him as "that cursed one."
"Renji..." a small voice interrupted his thoughts.
It was Yua, the only person who had ever dared speak to him since childhood. A fragile girl with cloudy eyes and a heart too big for this cruel world.
"You... you're still going to the ceremony?"
Renji didn't reply immediately. His hand tightened around a black thread tied around his wrist—the only thing left from his mother. He never knew her name.
"I have to, Yua." His voice was quiet, yet firm. "If I don't, the system will mark me as 'Rejected'. That means…"
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to. Everyone knew what happened to Rejected Ones. They were sent to the underground labs. Experiments. Monsters in human form.
Yua trembled, but nodded. "Then I'll pray… that your curse ends today."
The Bonding Hall was a temple of light and metal.
Kids lined up, excitement crackling in the air. Names were called. Glowing circles formed. Symbols floated. Cheers erupted.
"System: Elemental Blade."
"System: Beast-Tamer."
"System: Shadow Fire!"
One by one, everyone awakened their destinies.
Until...
"Renji Kurobane."
The hall fell silent. Laughter died. No one clapped.
He stepped forward. The circle glowed. But it didn't turn white like others. It turned black. Then red. Then cracked.
Screams echoed.
Lightning burst from the ceiling. Symbols twisted into cursed runes. The metal under Renji's feet turned to ash.
And then, a voice—mechanical yet demonic—boomed in his head:
> "Welcome, Host. Cursebound System Activated."
Initiating Level 0 Bond: Curse - 'Pain Sharing' unlocked.
Any pain inflicted upon you shall be returned tenfold to the attacker. However, your own pain shall be doubled.
Good luck... cursed one.
The silence after that was louder than thunder.
The System Master stumbled back in horror. "This... this boy is a walking disaster!"
Someone shouted, "He's a demon! Exile him!"
---
By nightfall, Renji was back at the orphanage gates.
Or rather, outside them.
A red mark glowed on the back of his hand—a curse seal. His belongings were already dumped on the road.
He didn't cry.
But his body shook with the cold. Not from the weather, but from the weight of knowing—he was now truly alone. Not just by society's choice.
By fate's.
That night, four thugs from the town came to "teach the cursed boy a lesson." For fun.
The first punch shattered Renji's rib.
The second... never landed.
The moment it did, the man screamed—his arm twisted at a grotesque angle. Blood burst from his eyes. He fell, convulsing.
The others froze.
"He didn't move…"
"What the hell is this?!"
Renji stood, blood dripping from his lips. His eyes weren't vengeful.
They were just… tired.
"I told you," he whispered. "If you hurt me... the pain will come back."
One ran.
One attacked again.
His fist connected to Renji's jaw.
The next second, he howled in agony as his entire jaw snapped off. He writhed, shrieking, cursing the gods.
Renji's own pain had doubled—he nearly collapsed. But he stayed on his feet. Not because he wanted to fight.
But because he had to survive.
---
At sunrise, Renji sat under a rusted streetlamp, blood drying on his skin, his hand clutching the curse mark.
His eyes stared into the horizon.
Not with hope.
Not with fear.
But with something new.
Resolve.
"If this curse is my fate... then I'll turn it into my weapon. One day, they'll all remember the name Renji Kurobane."
> Not as the cursed one.
But as the one who broke the world that broke him.