2. Where it all began pt.2

The world felt surreal, like a vivid dream he couldn't wake up from. Magazine covers featuring Tony Stark, museums with exhibitions of Captain America, news of laws against mutants- he knew the world he had reincarnated in wasn't his own.

Kai was now in the world of heroes, and villains, a realm of gods and monsters. The Marvel Universe.

But alas, he failed to find his footing in this new world. He was powerless, not a single power to speak of. He wasn't a mutant nor was he blessed with a system that he could level up with. He was ordinary, like everyone around him.

The only thing he had going for him was his hope. With the limitless potential all around him, he knew he could be someone in this world if he seized an opportunity. 

As soon as Kai was old enough, he spent countless hours trying to devise a way to become part of this extraordinary world.

He first approached Tony Stark, hoping to be his 'idea guy' with the knowledge of the future he held, as a part of his internship but was promptly rejected. In fact, he couldn't even find a chance to meet him.

Reed Richards, on the other hand, was at least courteous enough to send him an email about his rejection. "Thank you for your interest, but we're looking for candidates with a proven track record in scientific research," 

Undeterred at his failed attempts, he devised a way to befriend the soon-to-be Spiderman but the fact that he had already graduated high school, made it almost impossible to find common ground between the two especially with Kai being ordinary and not a genius there wasn't a single thing common between him and Peter. 

Let alone being friends, he couldn't even be considered a mere acquaintance, he was just a weird guy who wanted to befriend high schoolers. Since he didn't know the exact timing of his biting, following Peter all the time wasn't the way to go either and that was the same problem he encountered when he set his eyes on the Venom Symbiote.

The timing.

A few months after he had graduated high school, with the money he had saved from his part-time jobs and a small loan from his brother, he even traveled to Nepal in search of Kamar-Taj seeking to learn sorcery from the Ancient One. After days of endless walking and searching, he had found his way towards their base only to be turned away at the gates. The monks were polite but firm.

"We sense no magical potential within you," one of them explained.

Realizing the futility of his efforts, Kai had given up.

Instead, since he had gotten a new chance at life, he decided to ignore the superhero bullshit he was so blinded by and live his new life to the fullest, leaving no room for regrets as he had in his previous life.

One of the key reasons for his change regarding his obsession with the heroes was his older brother, Leo. 

Reincarnating into a broken family, where his new mother couldn't give a rat's ass about him as she was too busy killing herself with her drugs. His brother in this life was his anchor.

Since the moment he had reincarnated in this world, his older brother was the one taking care of him. Leo, not only fed him, and clothed him, but the kid who was only a couple of years older than him had become a full-time parent.

He would send him to school, make sure he did his work, take care of him, and rush him to hospitals when he was sick. As a reincarnated person, he obviously knew not to cause mindless trouble and was certain he had been someone easy to take care of during his younger days, but he still admired this brother of his who with his past life combined was younger than him.

The effort Leo put toward raising him made him the only person in this new world, that Kai could call family. A real family.

-----------------------------------------

1 month later-

Kai mindlessly stared at the TV screen. His eyes were lifeless, his skin pale and his body was almost all skin and bones.

The news repeated the accident over and over again.

"This just in, the mutant known as Magneto has been apprehended...The attack that shook the nation... 208 people were killed and only 17 survivors were found at the scene..."

The voice of the news anchor standing next to the wreckage blurred into a cacophony of noise, a painful reminder of the tragedy that had torn his world apart. Every word felt like a dagger to his heart, and every image of the wreckage flashed before his eyes, dragging him back to that day.

He stared down at his amputated leg that was bandaged up, a constant reminder of the chaos and destruction that had shattered his life. The pain from the wound paled in comparison to the anguish in his heart.

Kai's mind drifted back to the moments before the accident. The laughter, the camaraderie with Leo, the plans they had made. The hope he felt about his future. Now, it all felt like a distant memory, a cruel joke played by fate.

He had been in the hospital since. His body ached from the lack of movement, but the pain inside was far worse. The grief was suffocating, a weight pressing down on his chest that made it hard to breathe.

"Why... why was I reborn..."

The question echoed in Kai's mind, a relentless mantra that taunted him with its lack of answers. Why had he been given a second chance, only to have it ripped away so cruelly?

Guilt gnawed at him, a relentless beast that whispered accusations in his ear. He should have been the one who died. He should have never gone out of his way to drag Leo away from his job. He should have done something, anything, to prevent the tragedy that had befallen them.

"If only I could've done something..." His memories flashed back to all the rejections he had faced, "If I was more persistent, no if I begged them would it have made a difference? Would I have had the power to defend myself then..."

"If I had never reincarnated..."

The tormenting thoughts swirled in Kai's mind, each one stabbing at his heart with its sharp edge. He couldn't shake the feeling of helplessness that engulfed him, suffocating him with its relentless grip.

"If only..." The words escaped his lips in a whisper, barely audible even to himself. If only he had been stronger, braver, more determined. If only he had fought harder and pushed himself further. If only he had been someone, anyone, other than the powerless, ordinary person he was. "...I wasn't useless."

He had been powerless, just like always. Just like he was now, trapped in a world where heroes and villains clashed in battles of epic proportions, while he could do nothing but watch from the sidelines and be caught in a battle that wasn't even related to him or his brother.

"If only I wasn't reborn in this world... No, If only these fake gods didn't exist!"

Tears welled up in Kai's eyes, blurring his vision as he struggled to make sense of it all. He felt like a failure, a disappointment, unworthy of the second chance he had been given. Leo had sacrificed everything for him, and what had he done in return? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Hatred, pain, the thought of revenge, the thought to destroy everything spiraled continuously down in his mind.

As he wallowed in despair, an eerie feeling enveloped him. A feeling that sent shivers down his spine.

The image and the voice coming from the TV distorted a couple of times before going static and within a flicker of a second, darkness completely engulfed him. As if swallowed by the concept of fear itself, he was suffocating under the heavy ominous pressure.

"Rejoice!"

"You're finally worthy!"

A voice that sounded sharp yet heavy, loud yet soft, and monotonous yet filled with excitement said out loud, its voice ringing in his head over and over again.

A dark entity materialized out of nothing, clutching his jaw open, it force-fed him something, holding his breath till he swallowed the damn thing. He coughed as the entity let him go disappearing into nothingness again.

Kai could hear his heartbeat loud and clear and for a moment, it felt like the world itself had come to a halt. His bandage ripped open on its own as he watched his legs regrow back into the way it was before. 

The surge of energy that came from the pits of the stomach made every cell in his body vibrate with power. His body felt stronger than it had ever been, every minor wound that ached healed in an instant, leaving not even a scar. His vision widened as he could now see clearer than he ever had.

Markings appeared all over his body like a tattoo.

And the letters floated above him reading the words,

"Kill points: 0/100"

--------------------------

The nurse hurriedly pushed open the door, as a sudden loud noise rang throughout the hospital. The source of the noise coming from this room, she worried that something had happened to the patient.

She looked around in a panic, hoping to find the young man who had been stuck here but he was nowhere to be found.

His bed was empty, as her vision shifted away from the bed she noticed the huge gash on the wall, where half of the TV was stuck to the wall while the other half was on the floor shattered.

Terrified of the scene she took a few steps back as she noticed the open window...

"Couldn't be..." She rushed out immediately calling for help, "The patient, jumped!"