The room Ynim woke up in was white, almost to the point of being blinding. He yelped and scowled, his first thoughts moments after waking up being completely beset by a gnawing sense of rage. His body hurt all over, causing him to groan as he twisted and turned in what seemed to feel like a hospital bed, but not the steel, uncomfortable contraption that most hospitals nowadays used and most definitely not the kind of bed he was used to. This felt rich, smooth, silky.

It made him want to fall asleep again, but he couldn't due to the immense pain thundering across his entire body. "Arrgh..." Another blinding flash erupted across his vision, causing his head to rocket backwards from the pain and him to grasp tightly at the edges of the bed, which creaked and groaned heavily under the strain. He could almost swear to have heard whatever he was laying on bending, like groaning metal under a press.

But there was no way that he was sleeping on a metal bed, right? This was way too comfortable. In fact, if it wasn't for all the pain, he thought he could almost melt into the damn thing.

Alas, it was not to be.

"W-where.. am I?" Finally managing to mutter out a piece, Ynim pushed himself to sit upright, despite his hazy, swimming vision. He tried to look around, smiling lightly when the presence of a medical drone proved that he was inside of a hospital, though his expression quickly changed when his own hand entered the view.

Red.

His right hand, no, both of his hands were red. As if someone drenched his skin in bright red paint. Panic beset him as he blinked several times, attempting to clear his vision as best he could, even rubbing his eyes in the soft fabric of the bed's sheets.

*riiip*

An unexpected and thusly, shocking sound rippled through his ears as he realized that, in the process of trying to clear his vision, he had torn the sheets apart. "Wh-.. what? I didn't even pull that hard!" Panic now held him firmly in its grasp as his ransacked brain tumbled across innumerable worries and emotions.

Who would pay for the sheets? He had no money!

What was that weird quake back home? And if it was some kind of psychic phenomenon caused by him, would he have to pay for it?...

Doubt.

Fear.

Paranoia.

Rage.

Spite.

Hatred.

So many wonderful feelings flew around in the boys skull as his expression twisted with unnatural fury, his apparent, newfound power manifesting as crimson lightning, or perhaps some form of plasma, an alien energy dancing across his fingertips and rending apart everything in the room, even slicing apart an unfortunate roomba, which experienced its final shutdown with a rather tragic beeping sound.

Blinking at the result of his momentary fit, Ynim promptly swallowed down hard and decided to calm himself, closing his eyes in desperation, even if only to prevent having to pay for more unnecessary collateral damage. Still, the experience made him rather curious, as he continued to gaze towards his hand. There was a pain, a very deep pain, within his body.

It was everywhere.

Like a burning sensation, almost as if his bones were heated up to their melting point. And when he discharged some of that heat, that energy earlier, the pain lessened somewhat. Not to mention how the destruction was triggered by his apparent negativity.

An immense sigh escaped Ynim as he let out a couple half-choked chuckles, nodding to himself in defeat and acceptance. "Huh.. guess that means I've really become one of those freaks, eh? What did the media call them? Espers?"

"That would be correct, Mr Citae." A flash of red energy crackled across his view as a couple new frames came into view. One was a man dressed much akin to a doctor or a researcher, with some weird cybernetics implanted around and into his eyes, while the other two were fully decked out cyborgs with huge guns. Ynim recognized the weapons, which were a source of fear and horror alike pretty much every single time they were mentioned; Riot Breakers. Blue-tinted shotguns with far too much power to be wielded by a common man and requiring military grade limbs so you don't blow yourself up while using them.

He remembers watching videos on the dark net. Videos of people being torn apart in an instant. Not just people, but combat androids too. Once that thing shoots at you while in its intended range, you'll look like you were run over by a carrier truck, with nothing left but a few splattered bits of gore and a huge bloodstain as proof that you ever even existed.

Right now however, Ynim found himself surging with rage and uncontrollable energies, despite the apparent threat. "Do not call me that. I don't have a family." The cyborgs lifted their shotguns up lightly, only to have the doctor raise his hand to calm them down, a rather cruel smile etched into his expression. "Is that so? Then forgive me, Mr Ynim." His smile was horrible, toxic and his closed eyes carried with them a promise of intense sadism.

For some unfathomable reason, Ynim found himself being immensely attracted by it. "Um... yeah, I uh.. I forgive you, s-sir." He swallowed down hard and cleared his throat, looking away in an almost shy manner, causing the doctor to blink in confusion and surprise. "Mhm, good!... good,.. hmm.. ah, I seem to have made this a lot more awkward that it needs to be!"

The sudden increase in volume made Ynim flinch as he turned his attention back to the strange man and his cyborg bodyguards, but before he could make a proper retort or comment, the doctor continued. "Anyhow, I am Ivan Petrovich and your new agent." A blink, then another, as Ynim's mind attempted to process the situation, but failed miserably. "Uhm.. agent?"

"Yes, agent!" Ivan smiled a completely fake smile, one that would have made Ynim completely uncomfortable had he seen it on TV or any other form of media... but now that he sees it in person, he can't help but like it for some reason. "Surely, you've seen the news on TV by now? Or perhaps on Newtube? All the outlets are screeching about the whole 'esper' phenomenon, no? All those stories about a certain..." The doctor paused, clearly for dramatic effect. "... new organ, on the market, so to speak?" His sing-along tone certainly didn't help his image.

"Yeah, yeah, it rings a bell." Ynim let out a massive sigh and looked down in annoyance, unable to stop enjoying the negative energies radiating from Ivan, as well as the unspoken threats that the mere presence of his bodyguards presented. "So, I'm an esper now, yeah? How come I turned red?"

Seemingly stunned momentarily by the boys sudden question, the doctor looked perplexed for a good minute before finally answering. "Well, Ynim. I have no fucking clue! Granted, you're not the first person to experience bodily changes such as this, but we still aren't fully sure how the human brain is capable of suddenly performing highly-costly transformations such as this in such a short period of time. Its quite the wonder, really!"

"... highly... costly?" Ynin's head tilted to the side in utter confusion, mimicking the doctors expression from a moment ago and causing the man to snort. "Ah, sorry. I mean in terms of nutrients and other things that the human body usually requires to function. Excuse me, but you didn't seem like someone who had an overly healthy body up to this point, so I have no clue how your brain managed to do what it did!"

With a twitch of the eyebrow, Ynim managed to gutter out the million-dollar question. "And what exactly did my brain do to me?"

Now the doctors smile was openly sadistic. "Why, my boy, it made your skin superconductive, your bones as hard as chromium yet as flexible as regular limbs and your muscles capable of delivering kinetic energy roughly equivalent to cybernetics made out of high-grade plasteel!" Then his smile turned into a grin as he continued. "And that's not to even mention the fact that you're suddenly capable of generating massive amounts of what can only be described as 'emotional electricity' or as my colleagues have begun to call it; rage plasma!"

Ynim, to his credit, sported only a minute blush due to the elderly but lively doctors naming sense. "I-.. I see." He could barely contain his own laughter, stifling it with a palm.

And in that moment of joy, he could feel his pain flashing with renewed power, causing him to tense up and grit his teeth in shock, yet as soon as the shock appeared, it transformed into rage and as Ynim realized he was angry at the pain, the pain lessened. "Hmm.. well, this confirms one theory, I suppose."

The doctors voice caused Ynim's head to shoot up. "... t-theory?"

The smile from before didn't seem quite so attractive any more, though the boy still found himself liking it for a reason he could not figure out. "Yes. After scanning your newly-formed Subnerve, we've figured out that it generates power from sheer negativity and that this power is now used by your body to fuel its everyday functions. Its quite amazing, actually! You no longer need to go to the toilet! Your body will just naturally destroy everything it cant make use of and then vent it through your skin."

"S-so, what's the drawback?" Ivan's tongue clicked, causing the doctor to adopt an expression that managed to hide his sadism, even if Ynim was sure he could somehow feel the negativity surging within the man. "Well, friend... You're alergic to dopamine."

A blink.

Then another.

And a third one to boot.

Ynim's head tilted again, albeit not due to confusion, but of disbelief. "I-.. I'm sorry?"

"Yes, well, I understand if this is a shock and all but uh, you can't feel happy ever again, my boy. Your body reacts strangely to anything that can be considered a 'good' emotion, you see? It does not do any real damage, but your nervous system flares up like a firework in a lightshow whenever some good ol' dopamine is present."

---

*click* *clack* *splash*

Rain.

Ynim remembers loving the rain. He remembers eagerly waiting for the winter days to come, to fill the city with cooling rain. He hated the sun, after all. Global warming makes the whole damn ordeal nigh inhospitable to life unless you have access to a good cooling system, so much so that its practically a requirement nowadays to have at least two in every room.

"Ahh..." He stopped in his tracks, finding himself on a desolate bridge, its barely-finished construction work hanging in a delicate balance of gravity and half-rusted steelwork. He swore he could almost hear the metal scream, the echoes of the workers fury as their boss promptly informed them of their annulled contract, and by proxy, the fact that they will remain unpaid for the time being.

A memory... of rage.

He's been collecting quite a few of them since leaving the hospital. It was almost scary to him, how many random locations hold such powerful emotions, such great energies that are completely invisible to the humans who both surround and create them. So many breakups, so many funerals, tragedies and sudden bursts of raw chaos, like plumes of crimson smoke that only he can interact with.

But it wasn't just random pockets of memory that he could feel now. Rather, every single person's brain seemed to be highlighted in a reddish tint and, if he focused on that one person, he could feel everything that that's caused the surge of such negative emotions. It was... wonderful.

For Ynim, it was a reinforcement of his own jaded view of the world. Every time he bore witness to the suffering around him, he felt himself smile as if he were a man that had discovered enlightenment and grasped a smidgeon of cosmic truth. It was relieving and revolting at the same time, as the joy of this had him flinching and reeling at the pain flaring within his body. His crimson skin also caused several people to freeze in shock and disgust, their innate xenophobia exploding outward with clear abhorrence to the otherwise innocent creature in front of them.

They called him a lot of things. Mutant, monster, freak... names that would have caused him to run away from all social contact just a few days prior.

Now?... now, such shows of negativity, gave him a feeling of immense power, as if he were some raging masochist, the realization of which only served to infuriate him. This rampant change in emotion caused the young boy to switch expressions quickly, which only served to increase the horror of those who would scorn him as so.

In the end, he quickly learned to ignore it. His now infernal heart stilled by a recent intake of 'medicinal painkillers', generously provided by the good doctor... one of the many things provided by the good doctor, that is. Ynim sighed as he checked himself out, wearing a very gothic outfit of combat boots, synthetic-leather pants and a black hoodie which had an equally coloured shirt underneath.

All that black, to hide the red.

Ynim chuckled and felt himself grin. His clothing almost made him feel like he was hiding an ocean of rage under a mask of hatred. It felt great. He was 'pleased', with these clothes. However, for some reason, this didn't bring him any pain. Perhaps, his insufferable brain was intelligent enough to realize that clothing was a mandatory part of modern society?

Of civilization, in general?

"Pfft... as if." There had to be some other reason, he swiftly concluded.

Taking out his new phone, Ynim snorted as he saw the bluish logo of the ESCP; short for Esper Safety and Collateral Prevention, organization crop up. It was the logo of the group that saved his life in more ways than one, as they paid off all of his debts and even all the damage he may have caused with the tremors on his 'day of awakening', as they called it.

Its been a full week since he was home. A full week spent in a painful coma, constantly screaming as his brain ravaged its own host body, transforming it into this... "... freakish thing." Ynim raised his right hand up again. He'd been staring at this new palm of his quite a few times since he woke up, almost as if he expected something even stranger to happen.

Truth be told and despite how things may look, controlling his power was easy now, likely due to all the painkillers he had been provided with. It wasn't difficult to just channel anger or get himself high on hate. After all, Ynim is a person that's spent his entire life up til now, doing very little other than nurturing his own hatred.

And just as he focused such thoughts, sparks of red 'lightning' danced across his palm, the raw negativity manifesting as strange psionic energy that could rip through most steel-based material with ease. In fact, if a material proved resistant and didn't instantly get cut up, it would annoy Ynim and proceed to power him up.

He was a lot like that Bulk guy from the old comics... come to think of it, that guy also had problems with feeling happy. "Heh, maybe its just something that comes with great power!" Musing to himself, Ynim found himself standing in the middle of the rusting bridge and turned to his side, looking over the raging river below.

Within an instant, innumerable flashes of negativity, memories of suicides and murders, of gang shoot-outs and tragic deaths, the heights of modern fear and the fruit of mankind's debauchery... the river, it was practically singing with power. Just standing here made Ynim feel so much more powerful...

If only he had someone to test that power on. "Heh..." A chuckle escaped him, nigh instantly being replaced by a flinch of pain as Ynim ignored it and looked around. "Nobody, huh?..." He shrugged and turned back around, to drink in the energies of the river. "That kinda shit only happens in movies and anime, anyway."

Still, there was something that the doctor seems to have gotten wrong. He called his skin 'superconductive', but try as he might, Ynim could feel absolutely nothing from the myriad electronics that he stumbled upon along his way here. Normal electricity wasn't anything he could control. Hell, he even put his hand on a cut wire just to prove it to himself, causing his hand to turn black and smoulder, yet somehow he retained the ability to let go off the live-wire, not to mention he didn't feel as much pain as he perhaps should have from doing something so stupid in the first place.

In hindsight, maybe he just got lucky. "Yeah, that's probably it." In any case, it was safe to assume that the only 'electricity' he could actually control was the one created out of negative emotions. Rage, hatred, greed, envy, all of these emotions could be transformed into pure power. The process wasn't instant, unless the source was himself and drawing on the power of the memories around him took great focus, as it was like living through a nightmare while still alive.

He could feel both sides of the conflicts present in them, too. Both the pain of those who killed themselves by jumping into the river, as well as the sorrow of those who would come to mourn them hereafter. Yet, despite this, he couldn't feel sad or despair.

These emotions, while powerful, ... they weren't his own.

They were not, the emotions of an esper.

Perhaps, that was the thing that made them so weak? After all, he just needed to think of some random thing that made him angry recently to conjure up literal psychic plasma, while doing the same thing by using the emotions from the memories caused a great strain on his mind. "Like trying to push a shit out while being out of breath." He chuckled to himself, remembering a couple intense migraines.

Who knows? Maybe his constant headaches were just caused by his growing esper powers? "I should ask the doctor about that once I've gotten my bearings again." With that said, he looked up into the sky and wondered about what he just said.

Getting his bearings again... why would he even do it? Why does he even care? Because he suddenly got a ton of semi-cool powers that he never asked for?

In fact... why not just... end it here and now?...

The river was, after all, filled with memories of such suicides, so perhaps it would take longer for his parents to find out that it was him that jumped. After all, their fat-ass kid just became a skinny, malnourished and red-skinned freak. With muscles tougher than steel!

The rain fell down onto his cheeks, flowing in a way that was reminiscent of tears, yet the boy no longer felt as if he could actively cry. In fact, the droplets that managed to flow down his shirt, found themselves turned to steaming vapour as the 'water' expelled its industrial chemicals, a reminder of the continued destruction of the planet we live in.

And for what?...

Profit?... "Hell no, if money was what the rich were after they wouldn't fuck shit up to the point they have to pay to fix it back up, right?" Surely, that wasn't the case. "Do people just want to watch the world burn, is that it?" That would certainly make more sense.

Or perhaps, just maybe, are those with the power to destroy this world so lacking in intelligence that they can't even realize the consequences of their own actions? "Heh..." Another chuckle escaped him as he continued his musings, his palms melting through the surface layer of the rusted bridge fence.

"What a fucked up world I live in, eh?" Ynim turned his head back down to watch the river, as the seemingly endless darkness flowing alongside it, gathered from millennia of human presence, served to calm him down somewhat.

"Yo, nutter. We's gon need ya to fuck right off this gig, ya hear? This is Yulcer's territory!" A new voice echoed in Ynim's ears as he turned his eyes to look at the left, his darkened hood falling down just as thunder struck in the distance, the light revealing the demonic skin beneath, his now-golden eyes gazing straight at the approaching man.

He was the standard, modern tough guy. About sixty to eighty kilograms worth of muscle in baggy pants, well-used boots and a wife-beater tank-top. He had a giant cigarette in his right hand, which was cybernetic and glowed in the dark, while walking with swagger as if he was dancing in some seedy club.

But that all changed as the man's brain caught up to reality, his cybernetic arm, as well as the lighting strike from afar providing him with just enough light to notice the crimson skin and golden eyes now standing and staring right at him. He flinched and dropped his cig in a panic. "JESU- Holy mother of fuck, brother? Ya lose some kinda deep-pocket bet and dy' yaself red as a freak or wha?"

Ynim let out a hoarse chuckle in response, but said nothing else, clearly creeping the man out.

Yulcer... Yulcer was a minor gang boss that operated in the nearest ghetto to Ynim's otherwise richer neighbourhood. He didn't know the man personally, but he knew his men. After all, they were his favourite, aka the easiest to reach, source of drugs. And Ynim? Like every other kid his age these days, used a ton of those just to cope with the state of the ridiculously disgusting world that he'd been forcibly born into.

"No. No bets, I'm afraid." He finally replied, causing the man to stop flinching and ask. "T-... then why the fuck would ya do this to yaself? Ya damn near scared the nut outta me, man!" The gangsters joking tone did nothing to disguise his fear, his panic... his growing, gnawing horror.

Ynim looked away. "I didn't do it to myself."

Clicking his tongue and seemingly becoming momentarily paralysed, the gangster looked around with an expression that indicated shame. "Ya.. uh- look, we got off on the wrong foot here, I think. I ain't gonna ask what the hell happened to ya, but ya know, ma boss runs this nice gig near here, got lots of stuff that uh-... y'know, might make life a bit easier on ya and all that, ya dig?"

Ynim couldn't help but laugh again as he turned to face the man, reinforcing the gangsters growing fear. "Yeah, I got your drift. Thing is, it might be a bit too late for that now." Then he turned around to face the river.

The gangster blinked and shook his head out of a stupor. "Wait- wha? Dude, cmon, don't be like that. Please, tell me ya weren't bouta jump offa here?" With another turn of the head, the red esper answered. "And what if I was?"

It didn't take long for the gangster to reply, his former fear drowned out by rising pity. "Maan, I ain't gonna pretend I know shit about what happened to ya, yeah? But, cmon, brother! I dunno which bitch or a-hole did this or what caused it, but that's just how people are, you know?"

"... just how people are, huh?" Ynim replied with a sigh as the gangster continued. "Yeah! Might be wrong 'ere but you seem kinda young, right? Come on, lemme introduce ya to the boss, I'm sure he'll be able to get you into our gig! Make good use of that scary ass face o' yours, yeah?"

Ynim didn't answer the man, but rather muttered to himself. "... just how people are... and no matter what I or anyone else does, nothing will change that." Then he turned back to the gangster again, who was very close to hyperventilating. "And the only way out is to become part of the city, to stop rejecting the corruption, the suffering, the hedonism and all the other disgusting sins that permeate, EVERY!, SINGLE!, FUCKING!, INCH!, OF!, SOIL!, that it is built on!" With his own rage skyrocketing, Ynim began to walk angrily towards the man, angry, thundering steps causing the entire bridge to creak and groan.

"H-hey, man! No judging! We's all just tryin' ta survive here!" Anger rose within the gangster, as memories of familiar and similar judgments erupted from his mind and onto the world, unknowingly fuelling the power of his quarry. "Oh? You did it to survive? Yes, 'survival', so long as people continue to do things for survival, it does not matter how evil, how twisted or how horrifying those things are. You just HAVE TO DO! WHAT YA GOTTA DO, YEAH?!"

A loud groan erupted from the brigde as the entire thing shook much to the gangsters shock and horror, but Ynim found himself not being able to care. "Y-yeah? S-so what if we do shitty things to live! Everyone does the same shit or they eat dirt!" The gangster rebutted angrily, his eyes darting from Ynim to the creaking bridge.

It was then that Ynim stopped his march. "... everyone does it... or they eat dirt, is it?" He chuckled and finally faced the man with fully open eyes, causing the gangster to fall on his ass as the golden iris stared into his very soul. He could no longer talk, his panic caused the words to catch themselves into his throat.

Within this moment of absolute fear, the gangster thought deeply about his life, as if it was flashing in front of him. Every murder, every sin, every crime he committed up to that point... was it really justified? Did others really have to suffer just so he can feel safe? His thoughts turned towards flight, to run and flee from this place and forget it ever happened, as yellowish liquids pooled downward, washed away by the rain.

Yet, as every nerve within his body screamed out, telling him to run...

The gangster remained still. In fact, he became calm as he looked at the boy in front of him. His red skin... the gold eyes... the motif of death... It suddenly all made sense.

"You're the devil." He muttered out softly, causing Ynim to freeze. "You're the devil... and you're here to take me to hell, ain't you?" Seemingly terrified enough to rid himself of his usual speech, the gangster adopted a melancholic smile. All the horror, all the fear and hate, all the panic within him washed away as quickly as it came.

Instead, what replaced it was a deep, dark emotion. A form of hatred that is far more powerful than any other. A kind of hate that is plausibly inexhaustible, but manages to do nothing but form nihilism.

"I fucking deserve this."

That was the singular thought running through the gangsters mind as Ynim stood in front of his collapsed self, a disgusted expression on his face. "The devil?... m-me?..." Suddenly caught up in his own mind, the creaking of the bridge ceased as Ynim's power stopped affecting his surroundings, the sound of rainfall resumed falling down.

They both stayed there for a good minute, each man caught up in self-induced paralysis. Each man, entirely sickened with and by everything around them. Each man, battling the desire to just end it all, here and now.

"Well, ya certainly fucking look like him... feel like 'im too!" The gangster picked himself up, slowly, his cybernetic arm outstretched in the direction of Ynim, almost as a tool to defend himself should the worst come to pass. "Red skin, creepy powers, judging eyes... all yer missin' are the fucking horns, dude. And ya can get a good set of those basically anywhere."

"The devil... me? Hell no! The devil loves sinners! I hate sinners! I hate sin! I hate hedonism and debauchery and wicked people and manipulators and politicians and... I HATE THIS ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD!..." Ynim's thoughts were set alight by the title given to him, the shock of it all causing him to stand limp in the rain as the gangsters unease began to break through his sudden epiphany.

"Uhh, you alright, mate?" He asked the boy, but got no response.

"In fact... yeah, I'm not the devil. Actually, aren't I just like an angel of God?! I mean, I got the power to see evil in people now! I can use it to punish sinners! I can help FIX THIS FUCKING PLANET!" With a twitch and a flinch, Ynim's expression became a twisted form of gleeful, causing the gangster to let out a very manly squeal. "Yo-YO WHAT THE ACTUAL-MHmmhp?!"

Ynim's red hand covered the man's face. "Shhh~." Swallowing down hard, the gangster nodded without realizing it. "I am not the devil..." Ynim's smile now went from ear to ear. "I am an angel. An angel of God. Sent down to this vile earth to punish you scum for your sins!"

The boys glee caused the gangster to shudder with fear as every instinct once again flared at him to run. However, this time, he found himself unable to move again, as a great heat began to gather around his mouth and at the base of Ynim's palm. "And guess what?... YOU'RE THE FIRST ASSHOLE I'LL SEND SPIRALLING DOWN INTO THE DARKEST PITS OF HELL!"

With a final flash of crimson thunder and an explosion whose tremors could be felt all across the city, Ynim's power obliterated the small but seemingly endless bridge, as well as the unfortunate man, whose only sin was trying his best to survive.