Michael was a homeless man who scavenged through garbage piles for food. His clothes were dirty and worn, but his body was lean and flexible. His main source of income came from selling the scrap metal he collected, which he sold on the black market. The money helped him survive. He didn't have much, but he had enough to eat and buy some Nuke to smoke every now and then. Most days he woke up at dawn and headed right over to the city dump. When he found a promising-looking pile of trash, he picked through it for any useful items and put them all into a big plastic bag. If someone tried to stop him, he fought back, and he never lost a fight when he got serious.

He possessed the incredible power to obliterate anything in his way with a flash of red light. There was no sound or smoke. The destroyed object simply disappeared, leaving behind no trace that anything had ever been there at all. He could only use it once a day and he couldn't control it very well, but the effect was always devastating and totally reliable. Michael knew exactly how powerful his gift was, and he only used it when he absolutely had to.

Michael lived in the Pit since he was a young boy, and although he hated the ever-present stench of rotting waste, he learned to live with it. He slept in the basement of an abandoned warehouse near the edge of town. The place was filled with rats and cockroaches, and Michael slept under the stairs. It was there that the rest of his 'family' lived, too.

Michael's real family was dead. They were killed by people who discovered his psychic powers. His father, mother, and two brothers were slaughtered in their sleep by members of a criminal gang. Only Michael survived. Perhaps in penance, he devoted his life to helping others and ended up taking care of four young kids with nowhere else to go.

The children looked after each other, and they kept themselves fed through a combination of begging and stealing. There was nothing special about the kids. They were just normal people in a hopeless situation, and none of them were that bright. They didn't know how to read or write, and they didn't understand society's basic rules. In fact, they barely even knew the difference between right and wrong. If it wasn't for Michael's selfless generosity, they would have died long ago.

Michael didn't have to scavenge if he didn't want to. There was an easy way to make money in the city of Grandebelle, and Michael was very good at it. If he wanted to, he could kill people and sell their corpses.

The Ghouls paid exorbitant prices for the corpses of psychics. They had an insatiable appetite for psychic flesh, and they preferred it as fresh as possible. Sometimes they even hired assassins to hunt for innocent victims. When times were desperate, Michael did what he had to do to make sure his family was taken care of.

Michael wasn't a bad person. Although he was a violent criminal by definition, his heart was pure and filled with compassion for those in need. But when push came to shove, he had no problem killing anyone who stood between him and helping the people he cared about the most.

Michael's salvation came from an unexpected source. He happened to find a small fortune buried under a heap of trash. A group of street thugs hid the money to avoid being robbed by their rivals, but they were killed before they could return to retrieve it. The young man decided to celebrate his luck with some top-quality Nuke.

The Chosen Ones produced the best Nuke in the Pit, and they were offering a special deal to their customers. If you bought enough Nuke, they'd let you meet with one of their experts on the use of psychic power. This was a rare opportunity for a homeless man, so Michael jumped at the chance.

When Michael met the Sage of Destruction, he was terrified. His first thought was to run away as fast as he could. The old man's face was covered by a mask that resembled a monstrous skull. He was dressed in white robes and wore an elaborate crown made out of gold. Michael had never met a psychic as powerful as the great Sage before, and the sense of fear he felt in the presence of the old man's sinister aura was overwhelming.

But the Sage was kind to Michael. He spoke to him patiently, and eventually he convinced the young man that he really wanted to help him. The Sage explained that he had been sent to Grandebelle to talk to people who were lost and confused, to give them guidance on how to live a better life. He asked Michael to tell him about himself.

Michael told the Sage everything: about growing up poor and homeless; about living in fear of his own power; about the horrible crimes he committed to feed his family of starving children. The Sage of Destruction listened carefully and without judgment, nodding along with every word. When Michael was done talking, the Sage of Destruction said something that changed his life forever.

"I am sorry for the terrible fate of your parents, Michael. I know it must have hurt you deeply. You continue to suffer, and yet you still love and care for others. Your soul has a beautiful light inside of it. If only more people could see this light, the world would not be driven into such darkness."

The Sage of Destruction sighed deeply, then looked directly into Michael's eyes and continued.

"I am the greatest of the Sages, and my knowledge cannot be contained in any book. I have seen countless scenes of death and destruction, and I know what will happen to you if you don't change your way of life. You will die as you lived. Desperate, alone, and filled with hate. When that happens, there won't be another Michael to care for the innocent children of this place."

Michael nodded, and tears began streaming down his dirty cheeks.

"You can be a good person, Michael, but only if you choose to be. Every act that harms another human being is wrong. If you decide to commit evil acts, they will haunt you for the rest of your life. But if you choose to do always the right thing, no matter what, the rewards are tremendous and endless. There are many paths available to you, Michael. Only one path leads to happiness."

The Sage of Destruction reached out and placed his hand on Michael's shoulder. Michael looked up at the old man with a mixture of hope and dread. Although Michael was ashamed of himself, he decided to trust the great Sage's words. He made a promise to the Sage that he would never harm another living person as long as he lived.

Michael's life changed dramatically after that day. He told his kids that they were no longer allowed to steal, and that he would make sure they always had something to eat even if it meant he went hungry himself. He quit smoking Nuke, saving all of his money for food and nothing else. When he was attacked on the street, he refused to defend himself. Doing so would mean hurting someone, and Michael refused to break his promise with the Sage even if it meant suffering a terrible beating. Although he was no longer obligated to, the Sage of Destruction kept meeting with Michael periodically to check in and make sure he was following his new rules. The old man gave him advice, and offered encouragement when needed.

Michael became a better man because of what the Sage taught him. He confronted the truth about himself in a way that most people never do. The young man realized that he would rather die than cause pain to those who didn't deserve it. His compassion for others grew stronger, and his hatred for the world around him faded away bit by bit. Michael was given the title 'Follower of Destruction,' and he was taught the ways of a true Sage.