It's bright.
...Am I dead?
Am I being judged?
Is this what happens when it's all over? When you're weighed for your faults and failures?
I try to move, but I can't.
All around me—nothing but white clouds, an endless blue sky... and chains. Golden chains. Wrapped around every part of me, from my ankles to my neck, pulling me upward. Tighter with every inch.
No sound. Just the steady pull. Just the silence.
---
I've lived a life people called a waste of potential.
And to be honest... I don't even blame them.
I'm Luke Davin. Born into a family that was meant to shine.
My mom—famous. A national news anchor everyone respects.
My dad—powerful. The man behind a massive HR empire that basically controls careers.
My uncles, aunts, cousins—each one carved out their place in the world. Big names. Big titles. Big shoes to fill.
And then there's me.
The one who didn't live up to the name.
The dud.
At family events, I felt more like a ghost than a guest. Like a curse that when uttered will be brought upon them. A 'what happened?' in human form. I was never the Davin worth bragging about I was the one they avoided mentioning and the one who everyone sees as canon fodder.
---
I was the eldest child. The one everyone pinned their hopes on. My parents tried everything—shaping me like clay into someone special. Sports, music, crafts, science, acting, martial arts, TV contests—you name it. And I liked it, I really did.
But I never stood out.
Not like them.
Eventually, the piano lessons stopped. The tournaments dried up. No more early morning wakeups or weekend practice. By the time I turned 18, they just said, "We've done all we can. The rest is up to you."
And that was it. The spotlight turned off. And I was alone in the dark.
They didn't say it cruelly. They weren't cruel people. But the message was clear.
I hadn't become what they hoped I would be.
---
Family reunions were the worst.
I became the punchline. The cautionary tale.
The "Don't end up like Luke" behind every fake smile.
My siblings, on the other hand?
My sister? A literal celebrity. Her face is on everything from shampoo bottles to skyscraper ads.
My younger brother? A football god. International clubs already drooling to sign him.
And the youngest? A genius. Made an AI that shook up the tech world—before he even hit puberty.
Compared to them, I was nothing but background noise. And honestly, sometimes I wondered if I was even part of the same story.
It's not like I didn't try. I did. But trying doesn't mean much when your best is never enough.
---
And the messed up part?
I don't hate them.
I can't.
They never mocked me. Never rubbed my failures in my face. If anything, they were kind. Quietly supportive.
But behind every "It's okay" and every smile...
I could feel it.
That disappointment.
Soft. Unspoken. But always there. Like a crack in the floor that never quite goes away.
---
Eventually, I just... gave up.
Stopped chasing expectations.
Tried to run.
Started over somewhere new, far from everything. Far from the name.
But I could never escape it.
Davin.
A name that opened doors for everyone else...
and slammed them shut for me.
So, I stopped fighting it.
Stopped pretending I could be more.
I just gave up, only doing what I want would only bring shame to my family.
I wore the label they gave me.
"The Disappointment of the Davin Family."
---
And then came that Sunday.
A family lunch. The usual forced smiles, filtered sunlight, and fragile small talk.
Until everything went still.
Until the gunshot.
A single bullet.
Straight through my chest.
---
The shooter?
My uncle.
Drunk. Unhinged. From the Daevin side of the family—a branch of our bloodline that split generations ago, separated by a letter, not by bitterness.
He always hated me. He Never hid it.
As I lay bleeding on the floor, fading in and out of reality, I still remember his voice. Slurred. Angry and raspy.
"You don't deserve that name. You disappointment."
He said so as he was crying buckets.
"You know what it's like? To do everything right and still be laughed at? Just because I don't have their spelling. Their fucking surname?"
"It's all worthless... all of it... because of a name."
Then—
Silence.
Or something like it. Just a high, sharp ringing in my ears as the rest of the world bled into nothingness . His words echoed into the void.
And I?
I drifted into it.
---
Now I'm here.
Pulled upward by these golden chains. Silently floating up and about.
Waiting for something.
Judgment, maybe?
I think back to everything. All the things I could've done. The person I could've been.
Maybe I really was just destined to disappoint. Maybe I was never meant to be anything more and nothing else.
---
Suddenly, the chains jerk.
Faster. Harder. Pulling me into something I can't see.
This is it, right?
The moment where I get weighed. Punished. Erased.
The end.
---
Darkness.
All at once.
No light. No sound. Just—
"HEY! FOCUS!"
A voice. Sharp and high pitched but distant at the same time.
Like a wine glass being dropped from afar.
I blink.
What...?
Is someone talking to me?
"It's bright… Have I finally found peace?"
I mutter it like I'm answering a dream.
But then—
Another shout.
Closer this time.
Real.
---
Maybe I'm not dead after all.
Maybe Judgment isn't some god on a throne.
Maybe it's something else entirely.
Maybe...
Maybe this is the beginning.