The Brutal World of Gods, Demons and a Fallen Hero

Cruel Fate of Nathaniel

"I hate mondays..."

A young man with messy black hair complained as usual. He appeared to be very sleepy as he was walking down the road. His name was Nathaniel but he likes to go by Nate.

'Why is this school so expensive? Tsk... I can't even afford to ride a bus'

He was walking close to an hour already but that's everyday for him. What ruined his mood to the max today was the fact he had another exam this afternoon.

'Working during the weekend and studying for the exam in the middle of the night... It's far from enjoyable'

He couldn't remember when was the last time he got at least a day off to relax. Ever since he could walk, he had to fend for himself and the situation got much worse when his mother kicked him out of the house when he turned eighteen. He had to sleep under a bridge for two days before he found something cheap to rent.

'At the very least my life will get better after I graduate... I hope'

Nate tried to cheer himself up but that failed miserably when he noticed that he was already close to his school. He made a sigh and entered with hope that today won't go too bad but...

"Look, the beggar is here! How can such trash attend this school?"

"Right? Did this school turn into a shelter for the homeless? What a joke!"

This was the first thing he heard after entering but such comments were something he long grew to ignore for the sake of his sanity.

The school he was attending was very prestigious and expensive. Basically most students were rich kids that never worked a day in their lives and somehow felt superior to everyone because they had rich parents. Then how was Nathaniel able to attend school like that while being poor to the bone? Well, the answer is that he received multiple scholarships and worked anytime he could. He never slacked off and despite the fact he had to work and study almost at the same time he could easily be included amongst the top students in this school.

"Oh, you are here..."

Nate made his way to the class and even the teacher was looking at him in disdain.

'Is being poor a sin in this school?'

Was his thought as he sat down at his desk and started to daydream a bit.

'It's not long till graduation and I will be able to finally turn my life around'

Nate smiled and started to prepare for today's class.

***

"I am honored to have taught all of you and I am sure you are all excited to start a new chapter in your lives..."

A teacher was giving a passionate speech to the audience of graduates and Nate was of course one of them. He was sitting on a chair with a rare smile on his face.

'At last, this hell will be over... I already received some good job offers and they almost shat themselves when I showed them my resume. Sigh... I endured so much but the Goddess of Luck seems to be at last giving me some room to breathe'

Nate was actually happy, his hard work and endurance were finally paying off.

'Hahaha I can't wait'

He endured humiliation, abuse and loneliness.

'I won't have to worry about paying too much for food'

He wanted to give up many times but he persisted. His will seemed unbreakable at this point.

'I will buy a car and tour the country with it'

He never wasted a day on pleasure. He worked, studied and pursued his dreams even though it often seemed impossible.

'I will finally relax a bit'

Nate stopped daydreaming about his future only when the teacher finished his speech and started to list names. Nate's turn came quickly. He stood up and walked up to the podium. He felt happy.

'Everything is going to be fine from no-'

Suddenly the world went dark for Nathaniel.

***

Nate opened his eyes and all he saw was fire. He was terrified to see the corpses of his classmates and littered all over. He panicked and wanted to run but was stopped by an extreme pain in his lower half.

"Ugh!!! What is going on!"

He looked down to see his left leg missing and bleeding, his clothes scorched and body full of burns. He suddenly felt weak and started to breathe heavily.

"There was an explosion!? Was it a terrorist attack or something? Why now?"

He looked around only to see a sea of fire surrounding him. He was feeling weaker by the second and realized this was the end of his life.

"Why? Why!? WHY!?"

He started to cry. His life was going to end just like that? When he finally saw hope he had to die?

"HAHAHA! HAHAHA!"

He almost jumped up and started laughing like a mad man.

"All my life I tried my best despite everything I went through and I get this in return? Hahaha! What a joke!"

He cried and laughed whilst being surrounded by fire and choking on his own blood.

"This is a joke, right? What did I do to deserve such a cruel fate? Hahaha! *Cough* *Cough*"

He died but still laughed till the very end...