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Rei Daji grew up in a small countryside town, isolated in a broken home where neither parent truly cared for him. Diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, he constantly struggles with his emotions, clinging to the few fleeting connections he has. At school, he wears a mask, pretending to be someone he's not just to blend in.

But Rei has a strange and terrifying gift—by touching someone, he can devour their suffering. The pain, trauma, and despair of others become his own, filling the void inside him. The more suffering he takes, the more distorted his mind becomes.

One day, he meets someone whose pain is so overwhelming that devouring it nearly breaks him. As he spirals deeper into a world of unseen agony, Rei must decide—will he keep taking in the suffering of others, or will he finally face his own?

Devourer of Sorrows

The days bled together. Rei couldn't remember when the isolation started to feel less like a choice and more like a habit. The walls between him and the rest of the school were high, and he had no intention of breaking them down. His world had grown quiet, suffocatingly so.

The whispers were quieter here, no longer tied to scandal, but to the new boy who kept to himself. Rei was just another nameless face to them—a shadow drifting through the halls. It was easy to disappear when no one cared to look twice.

At lunch, Rei always sat at the same corner table, hidden from view by his books, the soft hum of other students' chatter the only background noise. Most of the time, no one noticed him. That was how he preferred it.

As he picked at his lunch, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "You know, you don't have to sit alone all the time."

Rei looked up, his gaze sharp. A boy—someone he hadn't seen before—stood there, hesitant but determined. His uniform was neat, his hair combed to perfection. Someone who thought they were better than him, Rei could already tell.

The boy's smile was almost too perfect, like a mask. "I'm Yuuto," he said, "and I've seen you around. You don't talk much, huh?"

Rei didn't answer right away. He observed Yuuto, his mind already calculating the possible reasons behind this approach. Was he trying to make friends? Was he trying to take pity on him? No.

Rei didn't need people like him. Yuuto didn't want to be friends—he wanted something from him. They all did.

"I like being alone," Rei muttered, his voice colder than he intended.

Yuuto blinked, clearly thrown off by the response. But then he recovered, his smile never wavering. "I get that. But if you ever want someone to talk to—" He shrugged, leaving the sentence hanging.

Rei's gaze shifted back down to his lunch, dismissing him silently. He wasn't about to entertain this. He wasn't about to let someone like Yuuto get close. They always had their reasons. Always.

Yuuto lingered for a moment longer before nodding, as if Rei's rejection hadn't phased him. "Alright then," he said, his tone casual, "I'll see you around."

Rei watched him walk away, but his mind was still running, processing everything. What was Yuuto's angle? Why approach him now? Why pretend to be nice?

No one did anything without a reason.

As the day passed, Rei found himself more aware of the eyes that occasionally flicked in his direction. He couldn't shake the feeling that people were always watching, always calculating. They didn't care about him—they cared about how he could fit into their world.

By the time school let out, Rei had already made up his mind. He would remain invisible. He would remain detached. If he kept his distance, if he remained cold, maybe—just maybe—he could avoid whatever game they were all playing.

Yuuto, Tsubaki, and all the others—he didn't need them.

But something nagged at him, something he couldn't shake. There was a sickening emptiness that came with that kind of thinking. It wasn't that he didn't want connections; it was that he didn't trust them.

What would they take from him next?

Chapter 15: The weight of indifference