In a brightly lit hallway resounded the rhythmic footsteps of a man dressed in a full black suit and dress shoes and carrying a suitcase.
The man possessed blonde hair that looked more like golden silk than hair, Emerald green eyes, and a good physique to go along with the above-mentioned qualities.
The only thing unusual about him would be that on his face was a simple metal mask that hid his facial features.
The rhythmic sound of his footsteps was the only sound present in the hallway.
Finally, the sound of the footsteps stopped as the man reached a metal door at the end of the hallway.
The door was at least 10 inches thick, And it took all of the man's strength to open it after typing the password on the keypad.
The sound of the metal door opening was wretched enough to hurt the ears of anyone else.
Yet to the man, he had already become accustomed to it.
Finally, the door had completely opened and the man stepped inside the darkness on the other side.
The man closed the metal door and pressed called out.
His voice was raspy and unpleasant to the ears.
It was as if vocal cords had been crudely designed by God himself that he produced such a terrifying sound from his mouth.
Immediately after he said these words, the room illuminated itself and showed an office.
On the left side of this office was what seemed to be a bar, adorned with all the best and tastiest alcohol one could find on Earth.
It was probably worth a fortune, and it expressed very clearly that the man was addicted to alcohol.
On the right side of the office were bookshelves filled to the brim with files and books.
They were all arranged very neatly and in such a way that one could very easily find whatever they were looking for.
In the middle was a big glass table surrounded by sofas and beyond that a simple wooden desk with a computer on top.
There was also a stack of papers on it.
The footsteps of the man responded yet once again as he walked over to the large sofa, he threw his suitcase on the ground and lay down on the sofa.
And finally, he unveiled his mask.
The metal mask that was on his face was finally lifted and what was underneath...
was something that would be every child's nightmare.
A heavily scalded face that had some patches of white.
It was disgusting, mortifying, and most importantly...
Any that looked at it would immediately look away, afraid to even see it.
Escaping the man's mouth was a large sigh, as he felt the cold sensation of the metal mask finally leave his face.
Or could it even be called a face anymore?
He placed the metal mask on the table and closed his eyes.
Even the simple act of closing his eyelids was painful...not to mention breathing or talking.
Suddenly, the man's eyes jolted awake as he felt a vibration in his chest, he immediately took out his phone from his breast pocket and turned on the latest news.
"Smith Industries stock Prices falling lower and lower."
"Gentech, is it the new Smith Industries?"
"Will Gentech finally overtake Smith Industries?"
As he read the titles, a small smile yet horrific smile appeared on his face.
However, the smile disappeared very quickly as the man winced in pain from his heavily burnt lips moving.
His face was similar to that of the Villain, Twoface, except in his case, it was his entire face rather than one-half of it.
'Soon, very soon....'
His lifelong revenge...
It would be complete.
His lifelong dream would be complete.
His suffering will end, and theirs will begin.
His pain...would end, and their pain will start.
He...would finally accomplish it, he would finally accomplish what he had set out to do so so many years ago.
The man got up and was planning to go to his desk until he was met with a piercing headache.
He moved his hand to touch his forehead, however, he stopped at the last second as if it was instinct.
He knew it would hurt if he touched this damn accursed face of his.
Ahhh, when had this face become his own?
His original face, although not as handsome as celebrities, was still thousands, nay, millions of times better than this...scalded, burned face.
It was around...6? or 7 years ago?
He didn't know, the day itself he had forgotten as if his brain had automatically removed the trauma that had happened that day.
What it did not remove was the joyful and ecstatic day that he finally got his revenge on the one person that was responsible for it.
The person in question? She was already at the bottom of the ocean.
"James Smith, the business genius hidden behind the metal mask."
"James Smith, the man who is singlehandedly bringing down the Conglomerate Smith Industries."
"Is James Smith going to be the richest man in the world soon?"
As he read the other titles on his phone screen he scoffed at himself.
The accursed name he had been given by his parents...no the people who biologically brought him to this world, only to torture him later because he was not as talented as his other siblings.
A small and pained laugh escaped his mouth.
Talent, what an unusual thing...
James, who was 'less' talented than his others siblings...was the one who had singlehandedly brought down the conglomerate that was his family.
Talent was an abstract word...yet it was also absolute in most cases.
However, James had one and only one stroke of luck in his life...that the fact that talent was absolute was not true for him.
He shouted aloud, again greeted with pain as he moved and muscle on his face.
The lights slowly dimmed and the room soon became dark.
And he painfully and slowly closed his eyes, intending to take a nap.
His head hurt, and his eyes were tired...
Yet he still persevered for a long time...long enough to see his enemies fall.
He needed to wait for only a little.
And he soon fell asleep, for what was only 10 minutes or so.
He was woken up again by the ringing of his phone.
'What could it be this ti-Oh!'
He thought in his mind, however in the end he was ecstatic to see that his favorite novel had been updated.
Who would imagine, that the guy who was soon going to be the world's richest man liked to read novels in his free time?
He hurriedly clicked on the notification bar and was soon greeted by the novel's homepage.
He admired the cover of the novel for what was probably the millionth time.
On the cover of the novel was a man heavily adorned with an angelic armor of gold and white around his body, his long orange hair sneaking out of the helmet that covered his face and he was floating high above with the help of his angelic wings while holding a sword clad in holy golden flames high up in the sky.
He swiped downward to see the other pieces of information on the novel's homepage
[Name:The Ultimate Sin.]
He tapped the last option and he was soon greeted by the newest chapter of the novel.
He began to read...until his fingers, moved to get a better grip...until.
He accidentally pressed the Light Mode function on the screen.
In an instant, his screen, which had dark mode on most of the time, suddenly illuminated in front of his eyes, which had gotten accustomed to the darkness.
And that bright flash had triggered something in his tired brain and eyes.
Something that made his body spasm...and eventually the breath that would be his last left his body.
There was complete silence in the dark room lit only by a single screen bright from the phone.
It was shocking to say the least, That the man who would soon be the most powerful in the world.
The man who was soon to be the richest in the world.
The man who had suffered from the abuse his entire life, and not be broken by it...
had died...due to Light mode.