When it rained, Sirius used steel cans to catch the leaks so the water wouldn't soak him as he slept. That is, until he finally learned to mend the roof himself.
"Sirius, why don't you go clean my room? It's filthy," said Orlin, the younger of his two cousins, lounging on the sofa, stuffing his face with food while playing a game of 'Sethfar' figurines that fought on voice command.
"Why should I?" Sirius snapped. "Seems to me you like living in a pigsty—you're halfway to becoming one."
"You could be a little more grateful, boy," came the gruff voice of Alms, Sirius's uncle, stomping into the room. "We feed you from our table. We clothe you for free. And yet you still dare to speak like that in our house?"
Alms was a large man with a short, lumpy neck, stubby fingers, and oily orange hair that looked constantly wet. His small eyes were always half-lidded, and he walked with a stoop, breathing heavily after each step. He carried a small glass vial everywhere and reeked of alcohol—drinking was his only consistent talent. His reputation stretched through every man's tavern, goblin den, and dragon haunt for miles.
"Don't act like I don't know the truth," Sirius said coldly. "Every scrap of food I've eaten here was paid for with my mother's gold."
The room fell silent. Sirius had struck a nerve.
"I won't have you raising your voice at me, boy!" Alms roared. His thick hand, heavy with glittering gold rings, rose to strike Sirius across the face.
"Don't think you're better than us," he growled. "You had nowhere to go. We gave you a home, and this is how you repay us? With insults?"
But before his hand could land, Sirius caught it mid-air. With a forceful shove, he pushed his uncle back, knocking over a table and scattering its contents.
At that moment, Aliana burst into the room, brushing dirt from her gloves. She had been tending the garden when she heard the commotion.
"What on earth is going on in here?" she demanded.
Everyone froze—except Alms, who was scrambling to his feet, his face twisted in rage.
"You ungrateful little s—" He yanked out his Sig, a makeshift rod with a ruby gem atop it, and pointed it at Sirius. "Now you're going to get it. Necto!"
Chains burst from the Sig like coiled snakes, wrapping around Sirius and slamming him to the floor.
"Aliana! Alert the Walfier family—we've found their lost sheep!" Alms bellowed, breath thick with drink.
Aliana sneered. "Well, it's about time. The money in his mother's depository is nearly gone anyway."
Without another word, she rushed upstairs to freshen herself, then returned in a dark cloak. She stepped into the into a small cabinet on the side of the kitchen she them whispered the words: "Gate—to the Walfier Mansion."
Blue flames erupted, licking up her body like liquid fire. They didn't burn her. Instead, they swallowed her whole—and she vanished.
Sirius lay on the floor, still bound, chest heaving, eyes wide in disbelief.
"We tried to be kind," Alms said, crouching beside him. "Messy kindness, sure—but kindness nonetheless. And you spat on it. Now, you'll suffer the same fate as your dear old mother."
Those words hit Sirius like a dagger to the heart. A deep fury stirred in his gut, rising hot and fast.
"Shut it! Don't talk about my mother—what would you know about her?" Sirius roared, thrashing on the ground, struggling against the chains.
His uncle let out a dry, wheezing laugh. "Ho, ho, ho. Oh, I know quite a bit, boy. And before you die, I suppose I should give you a proper farewell gift."
Sirius stared up, confused and enraged. His uncle leaned in with a sneer.
"Truth is… it was always about the money. Your mother—sweet little Lily—was nothing more than her sister's way to better life. Aliana orchestrated the whole thing. She sold Lily off to the Walfiers, even knowing what they were. Monsters, the lot of them."
He paused to take a swig from his ever-present vial, the stench of alcohol clinging to every word.
"Aliana betrayed your mother's secret. That's why she's dead now."
He cackled—a high, shrill, inhuman laugh that echoed through the room.
With each twisted word, Sirius's fury mounted. A storm brewed inside him, wild and seething. He started hearing voices. Her voice. His mother's. A memory of her scream. The sound her body made when it hit the ground.
"I bet you wondered how they found you after they let you go," his uncle hissed. "Aliana told them everything. One day the Walfiers made us an offer we couldn't refuse. We took it. And if your mother had just kept sending money, she might still be alive."
Those words shattered something inside Sirius.
Outside, the sky shifted. Moments ago, it had been clear. Now, storm clouds rolled in like smoke. The sunlight dimmed, casting everything in a strange orange hue. Wind howled against the walls. Temperature dropped sharply. Frost crept along the window glass.
And Sirius—bound and broken on the floor—began to laugh.
"Ha… ha… ha… ha…"
His laughter turned to sobs, then back to laughter again.
"Oh, humans," he said through gritted teeth, "how fickle you are. People die for gold and silver—just like birds die for bugs and worms. The kind fall first. The wicked… they live longer than phoenixes."
His voice trembled, yet somehow it filled the room.
"The world is evil. There's no place in it for the good."
"Father," one cousin whimpered, "what's happening? Has he gone mad?"
Fear gripped them. They backed away.
And they were right to be afraid.
Sirius's entire demeanor changed. His gaze was cold. Empty. Something ancient stirred in him.
Even Alms looked shaken. He stepped back, knocking into the table. His Sig clattered to the floor.
"I understand now," Sirius whispered. "When you stare into the abyss... the abyss stares back. It shows you who you really are."
His eyes gleamed.
"To survive this world, you must become its mirror. You must be evil."
He snapped his gaze up.
"Then so be it. I shall become EVIL—and liberate mankind from itself."
The chains binding him shattered into dust.
He rose to his feet, arms spread wide. The storm responded. The winds screamed louder, tearing at the walls. Floorboards lifted. Furniture flew. The house itself began to disintegrate, piece by piece.
To be continued........