**Rejected… worthless… weak… useless…**
The words echoed in his head day and night, like jailers keeping him trapped in a prison of misery.
Relentless, cruel,
like chains that wouldn't let go, even in his dreams.
Golden sunlight spilled through the window.
He cracked his eyes open, and his dark gaze, blacker than a moonless night, sparked with life.
He glanced around, taking in the room painted in warm honey-yellow, with a TV parked right across from his bed and a shelf stuffed with books.
His fake smile, like a lifeless mask, hid the real him.
Tai: "Morning, Nova."
His voice, soft but full of life, filled the room.
A girl with a bubbly vibe and a face as pretty as spring blossoms turned to him, flashing a grin.
Nova: "Morning, kid!"
Tai's eyes locked onto Nova's bright, honey-colored ones, practically glowing.
Tai: "On a scale of one to ten, I'd give your eyes a five, shorty."
Nova rolled her eyes, smirking at him.
Nova: "Oh, then yours are a straight-up zero."
Tai reached toward the window, brushing his hand through the warm sunlight.
Nova strolled over and plopped down next to his fancy, plush bed, throwing him a mischievous grin.
"If you don't get outta that bed, I'm not feeding you breakfast, dummy."
Tai shot her a look, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
For a moment, silence took over,
but in that quiet, something in Tai's heart warmed up,
like, for the first time in forever, someone actually gave a damn about him.
---
**Five years ago**
A ten-year-old girl trudged through streets blanketed with soft, snowy flakes—except to her, those flakes weren't beautiful. They were a killer, ready to torment her until she broke.
Wearing tattered, worn-out clothes that screamed a hard life, she bundled herself up.
Her name was Nova—a girl with bruised eyes and a frail body, stumbling through the fancy, glittering city of Anjerland, her steps slow and weak, heading toward death.
???: "Hey, you okay?!"
The girl tilted her head up just a bit and met a boy with a warm, kind smile.
Nova: "Get lost."
The boy looked at her with those dark eyes, full of an indescribable warmth.
???: "I'm Tai. What's your name?"
---
This translation keeps the poetic and emotional tone of the original while using casual, natural English phrasing to match the colloquial vibe you asked for. Let me know if you want any tweaks or if you'd like me to translate another part!