Shadows Beneath the Light

Ravihiro had long learned to live in the shadows. His world was a quiet, lonely place filled with the weight of expectations he could never meet. He always watches anime ,donghua and manga to escape from Reality. His parents, obsessed with academic success, always held him to standards he couldn't achieve. His true passion, art, was dismissed as a waste of time. “Focus on your studies,” they would say, with cold indifference. “It’s better to have a son who succeeds in life.”

But it wasn’t just their words that cut deep—it was the constant comparison to his younger brother, Rudra. Three years his junior, Rudra was everything Ravihiro wasn’t. Where Ravihiro struggled, Rudra excelled. He was always ahead—better grades, more friends, and the perfect child in their parents’ eyes. Ravihiro was a ghost, barely acknowledged.

At school, it wasn’t much different. He had no friends, just people he passed in the hallways, faces he barely remembered. He spent his days trapped in silence, turning to the only escape he had: anime, donghua, and manga. Through the stories of heroes and villains, Ravihiro found solace, but his dream of becoming an artist remained locked away, hidden from the world. He couldn’t bear to face the disappointment his parents would show if they knew.

The loneliness weighed him down, pushing him deeper into despair. His parents’ harshest words rang in his ears like an ever-present reminder: “It would have been better if we had a daughter instead of you.” That night, he promised himself that he would never let his tears fall for anyone again. No matter how much it hurt, he would keep everything inside.

Then, Kuroryu came to life.

Kuroryu was everything Ravihiro wasn’t—his dark side, born from the anger, fear, and resentment that simmered within him for years. It had surfaced only once, but it was enough to terrify those around him. The dark personality had no restraint, no limits, and no fear of lashing out. Ravihiro hated it, yet it was a part of him he couldn’t deny—a side he feared more than anything else.

And then, when Ravihiro entered the 12th standard, another blow came. His parents had adopted a small girl named Purvi. Cheerful and full of life, she quickly became the new focus of their attention. Ravihiro, already pushed aside for Rudra, now felt completely invisible. His home wasn’t a home—it was a place where he barely existed.

On a gray, overcast day, Ravihiro was cycling to school, lost in thought as the wind whispered through the trees. The world around him seemed distant, his mind trapped in its familiar haze. Suddenly, a sharp crack split the air, and a flash of lightning struck.

His vision went dark.

When he awoke, Ravihiro was no longer on the road. He wasn’t in his familiar world anymore. The place around him was strange, eerie, and unfamiliar. And as he stood up, disoriented and confused, he realized that nothing would ever be the same again.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***