10 years ago…

The Rosen family went on a picnic after visiting the elder Rosens’ grave during the summer. Eight-year-old Kino was happily playing frisbee with his father in an uncrowded park. On the other hand, his mother prepared the food they brought as his two-year-old brother crawled in the red and white striped picnic blanket.

“Papa, please throw it higher!” The boy cheered for his father.

The father laughed. “Do you want to lose to your papa?”

“I won’t lose! Hurry!”

It was the family’s tradition to travel and go picnicking out of town every summer and Christmas season. The parents both have decent jobs. The husband is a real estate agent while the wife is a kindergarten teacher. The firstborn attends a good elementary school in a nice neighborhood and he dreams of becoming a pilot.

The frisbee circled in the air at a faster speed and flew into the woods.

“Dears, the food is ready. Come eat first!” Said the mother.

“Papa! I’ll get it!” The little boy volunteered.

“Kino, no! Come here and eat your sandwich. Papa will get it later!” The father called to his son. But the boy had already gone. His parents called for him but he didn’t bother to look back. His eyes were focused on the trees and his neck was stretching trying to look for his toy.

It didn’t take him long to find the red frisbee stuck on a tree branch of a short tree suited for a kid to climb. “Found it!”

The boy immediately climbed the tree to get the frisbee, but his short arms weren’t enough to reach it, so he shook the branch. Not long after, the frisbee fell, landing not far away on the dead leaves by the ground.

“Kino!” He heard his father’s voice once again echoing in the woods.

“Papa, I’m here!” He carefully watched his steps as he came down the tree, but his tiny legs didn’t quite reach the next branch, which seemed much closer before–he misstepped, resulting in an unexpected accident. ”PAPA! HELP!”

The young boy fell to the ground and rolled down a cliff he didn’t know was there. He fell about 20 ft. rolling down a steep incline and suffered various injuries. He was hit by branches, plants, insects, and rocks enduring in a small river. A powerful hit of a rock on the riverbank caused him to severely bleed. The running water then drifted his unconscious body.

“Are you sure about this doc?” The boy woke up to an adult female’s worried voice.

“The kid is dying, Veronica.”

“But doc, he’s not one of us! We’ve never tried this before, what if it causes a different side effect to humans—He’s conscious!” The female voice exclaimed.

The boy slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by two adults in lab coats. WSMO was written on their uniforms. Slowly he felt pain all over his body and he began to panic and cry.

“Mama! Papa!”

“Hush, hush… don’t worry. We’re here to treat you.” Said the male doctor. “Veronica, please pass me the antidote.”

“But doc—”

“Veronica.” The female assistant quietly passed the syringe to the doctor upon hearing finality in his voice.

“I-It hurts! Mama! Papa!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We just need you to sleep and everything’s going to be okay. You’ll be okay…” The boy felt a thick needle piercing his arm. Whatever entered his bloodstream had him screaming in pain.

“You’re awake.”

Kino wakes up catching his breath in a dark room. The only source of light is hovering over his head. He felt pain in his cheek, and there was blood in his mouth. His eyes noticed chains tied to his hands and feet secured to the metal chair he sat in. Kino tried moving his body but the binds were so tight it was painful. Leather shoes stepped out from the dark corner revealing a man in a suit who he didn’t recognize, yet… his face looked familiar.

He recalled everything that’d happened. Hunters raided an island. He met a wraith woman who learned what he is. They were successful in taking back the island from the wraiths. But an S-rank gate opened and a giant B-type wraith killed every last one of his colleagues.

He ended up awakening his wraith form but the memories as he waited for his impending death were all vague. He knew it was him, but it felt like it wasn’t him at the same time. Everything was a mess in his mind. He couldn’t even remember the dream he just woke up from.

More people appeared from the dark. Based on the uniforms it was the higher-ups and some captains. He looked for a familiar face but was unfortunate. Kino gulped.

“S-Sir Parker, w-where is he?” There was desperation in his voice. He didn’t kill his boss, right?

“In the emergency room. One of the three hunters who survived.”

Three?

“W-Who are they?”

“We’re not here for them. We are here for you.” The man’s flat stare had no space for forgiveness. Kino knew right then whatever he had to say to save himself would be ignored and the only decision of everyone in the room was his execution.

The man took out a gun from the inside of his coat and pointed it at the boy’s head. “Tell me, devil, what is your goal?”