Chapter 8: It’s Just a Cat, That’s the “Original Sin”

Chapter 8: It’s Just a Cat, That’s the “Original Sin”

The black cat emerged from a pile of trash, carrying a dirty half-eaten fish in its mouth.

It was bringing food back for its younger siblings.

Life as a stray cat is hard, but huddled together, licking each other, they managed to live happily and contentedly.

After all, what do little kittens know about the “hardships of life”? They only wish to make the most of each day.

"Meow meow!"

"Meow meow meow, mew—"

Hearing their big brother's voice, the younger siblings clumsily ran out to greet him.

They joyfully pounced forward, dividing the small dried fish among themselves.

"Meow." The black cat licked its siblings and then continued out the door, undeterred in its search for more food.

A cat's territory is earned through fights. The black cat, with its elegant feline gait, walked down the street, glancing left and right, and spotted an unturned trash can.

Just as it was about to head there, it heard a human voice: "Meow, Mimi, come here~"

Humans sometimes give food!

Remembering this experience, the black cat approached the female human and rubbed against her a few times – a tactic that often got humans to offer food. True enough, the woman was delighted and immediately produced a sausage.

"Oh, what a good kitty! Eat up, eat up. Do you want to come home with me?" She peeled off the plastic wrapper and handed the sausage to the cat.

The black cat took a bite; it was a bit salty but filling. It graciously allowed the human to pet it and then... snatched the sausage and ran off.

The human, amused and slightly upset, called out: "That's all the petting I get? Such an ungrateful little cat!"

The black cat didn’t care, dashing through bushes and green belts to get back home.

"Meow meow meow meow!"

Come out to eat, look what big brother brought back!

Usually, the foodie kittens would have scampered over to snatch the treat, but today, no matter how much it called, not one came out to greet it.

Confused, it went over to the bridge's alcove, only to find a bloodied kitten corpse.

The sausage in the black cat’s mouth dropped with a 'plop'.

"Meow—"

It let out a pitiful cry, jumping next to the kitten's body, desperately nudging, licking, even biting it. But the body was cold and lifeless; no matter how the black cat tried, it couldn’t make it move.

After countless attempts, the black cat had to give up. It dashed under the bridge to search for its other siblings, only to find their bodies as well.

They were all dead, every single one.

The black cat knew about death; its mother had died shortly after giving birth to its younger siblings when it was eight months old.

It had protected them for three months, and now, they too had left it.

"Meow— Meow—"

The black cat's mournful cries lasted throughout the night.

The next day, as it was dragging its heavy body up, it was caught in a net.

It was a male human, his eyes gleaming with malice, who said with a sneer, "Missed one, but now I’ve got them all. Don’t be sad, little kitty…"

"I’ll reunite you with your family!!"

The black cat was taken to a basement, already filled with countless cat corpses.

He burned, scalded, and then cut off one of the cat's ears, and finally, in a fit of madness, smashed it to death.

The last thing the black cat saw before closing its eyes was the man's crazed and twisted laughter.

The black cat understood.

It suffered such cruelty, not because it had done anything wrong, nor because it was unguarded against humans.

It was simply because it was a cat.

Being a cat was its "original sin."

*

When the black cat became conscious again, it was in the form of a black mist, a gathering of the grievances of countless dead cats, giving it thought once more.

It wandered around the villa for a long time, gradually understanding that this place was a “game.”

Those humans were players, looking for a [ghost].

The one who massacred them was the [ghost].

In their eagerness to confront the scent of their enemy, they hastily killed him.

But... they killed the wrong one.

The black cat was extremely angry. For a moment, it considered killing all the players, thinking that in doing so, the [ghost] would also be killed, and their vengeance achieved!

But just then, a player appeared. His aura was akin to that of a kindred spirit. He smelled like a good person, somewhat reminiscent of the girl who had once given it a sausage—perhaps a descendant of hers.

Because of this scent, the black cat chose to trust him.

It succeeded; the [ghost] was exposed, subdued after a struggle by the players, and the black cat, along with the other cat spirits, eagerly pounced on it.

The cat ghost, biting and venting its hatred, fiercely unleashed its anger from both its life and death!

The [ghost] was quickly torn apart, but as the game ended and the place was collapsing, the black cat, in a haze, heard its siblings' cries—

"Brother, follow that human and leave this place!"

"Brother, please live on for us!"

"Brother, goodbye!"

The black cat, pushed by them, raced towards the human player and was scooped up in his arms.

It returned to reality.