He was recalling fragments of his past. Memories that he had wanted to forget, the ones that he had shoved back into the recesses of his mind long ago. Memories from when he was five years old, not in this life, but his past life’s. Twenty-five years ago.

He heard a shout.

“In the name of… will purge… world of… vermin!”

And then there were screams. Cries of death. Villagers dying. Their token resistance only delayed the inevitable. He was weak. Scared. A coward. He had snuck and hid beneath a dead body as he watched all of it happen. The smell of blood and death.

(That’s right! Humans are the ones! They all need to die! Every single one of them, until none are left!) his mind screamed at him when he remembered the scene.

He saw two closed doors. They were both otherworldy divine doors. One of the doors was calling out to him. Its thoughts were directly transmitted into his head.

(You’re weak. So, so weak. But there’s one thing that’s strong about you… Your hatred, the resentment. I will grant you the power you desire) the door called out enticingly.

He couldn’t look away from the door. He didn’t want to. He slowly approached the door, and felt like his body was sinking into a deep abyss, an abyss that he would never be able to return from. The abyss was amplifying his hate, fanning his desire for revenge.

He placed his hands on the door that called out to him and prepared to push, but...

He recalled a certain wolf. The wolf’s memories were transferred to him. His will. The wolf had chosen not to take revenge for his loved ones. The wolf had chosen to move past it.

He made a realization. He understood, and took his hands off the door. The door no longer held any control over him.

(In the end, is that all your hatred amounts to? Without it, you are nothing. You need my power to fulfill your goals, don’t you? Open me!) the door screamed.

He ignored it, and moved towards the other door. He had been wrong all along.

“I don’t need your power. You lead to the wrong path,” he said.

A chain of hatred, a vicious cycle. One that perpetuates revenge, hate, and ultimately: death. Repeatedly. Over and over and over. Deaths that only spawned more death. Unknowingly, everyone had all been a part of this chain. He now understood. The wolf had broken free from it. He would break free from it as well. No, he had now resolved himself to do more than that. He would be the one to stop this cycle.

Humans weren’t the only ones. He understood. Whether human or demon, he would be the one to put a stop to those that allowed this chain of hatred to continue. He would get rid of the sources that spawned this hate.

A spark of insight briefly flashed through his mind.

He placed his hands on the new door, the one that didn’t call out to him, and... He pushed.

The otherworldy door that held laws in place opened. Power rushed into him. It felt like the power was cleansing him, breaking away the chains of hate that restrained him.

Suddenly, a voice entered his mind. It was the headmaster’s Worldbreaking skill, Astral Invasion.

He opened his eyes.