Shadow and Light

My name is Stygian, a married man and househusband. I wake up exactly at 5 a.m., get out of bed, check on my wife lying next to me, leave the bedroom, and head to the kitchen to start making breakfast. I prepare two chicken sandwiches and two glasses of yogurt.

I set everything on the table neatly, each sandwich on a small white plate, and sit down in the chair.

I eat a sandwich and drink the yogurt. After finishing my breakfast, I wash my cup and plate.

I leave the other sandwich and yogurt on the table.

Heading to the living room, I sit on the couch and just wait. Turning on the TV, I put on a news report.

"Heroine Radiant Star saved the day once again yesterday, defeating villains who had escaped from prison."

The news leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I change the channel, landing on a children's cartoon.

"I, the Great Annihilator, will conquer the world! Now my power is invincible!"

I smile slightly, it looks like a fun cartoon.

"No, together we are stronger! My friends, give me your strength! Aaaahhhh, all together!"

"How is this possible? Where did such power come from?"

"This is something you will never have: the power of the bonds between me and my companions!"

I turn off the TV. Nowadays, they only create ridiculous, pathetic cartoons.

At that moment, I hear the bedroom door opening. A hurried woman comes running out, wearing a business suit.

In her mouth, the chicken sandwich, and in her hand, the glass of yogurt.

She stuffs the whole sandwich into her mouth, chewing at super speed, and gulps down the yogurt in one go.

She sets the glass on the floor.

"Good morning, dear! Thanks for making breakfast again. I'm late, so please put the glass in the kitchen for me."

Without saying anything else, she runs out of the house. I smile, thinking about how disorganized my wife is.

I get up from the couch to clean the dishes.

I am Stygian.

I am a villain. My goal is to dominate the world, with absolute power.

---

"Boss, I've finished my latest invention, which will surely be capable of defeating all the heroes: the concentrated plasma pistol, it will turn everything to ashes!"

I look at him with a cold stare and let out a slight sigh.

He swallows hard, sweating profusely.

"Did I do something wrong?"

I look at him with disappointment and turn my face away.

"Please, sir, don't kill me! Tell me what I did wrong!"

"Kneel and beg for your life. If you're not smart enough to recognize your mistake, stay on your knees until I'm satisfied."

Setting the pistol aside.

He kneels, banging his head on the floor, completely submissive.

After a while, I decide it's enough.

He stands up.

"Sir, could you tell me now what my mistake was?"

I frown.

"Figure it out yourself and don't speak to me today."

He runs off quickly.

How dare he make the pistol yellow? I absolutely hate that disgusting color. I should kill him and his family for this. And not recognizing it yet… is he saying he likes yellow? Yes, that must be it. I'll replace him starting tomorrow.

Developing weapons of this kind uses a lot of funds. I'll have to withdraw some money from the bank.

---

Natan was sitting against the wall, eating a hamburger. Today was a special day for him, a smile didn't leave his face as he ate with joy.

The clouds parted and the sun shone on him, giving him the feeling that he was supported by the heavens.

Natan discovered he had special powers a short time ago, and in the official test to become a hero, he passed. They even said they had high expectations for him. Natan already saw his time of glory and fame, along with the money that would come with it.

While eating, Natan's eyes passed over a man walking in front of him. A man wearing a simple black uniform that covered his entire body, a cloth mask, and a cap.

He clearly looked suspicious.

Natan decided to watch to see if it was necessary for him, an up-and-coming hero, to deal with it.

Natan cautiously followed the man.

The man didn't seem worried or careful.

Natan wondered if he was just a weird guy.

With extreme caution, Natan did several rolls, hiding while following the man.

People on the street watched him with curiosity and strangeness.

The man headed to the bank, entered normally, and talked to the attendant inside.

Natan couldn't hear the conversation, but watching everything, he concluded that it was just a weird guy going to withdraw money.

He was thinking of leaving.

No! Natan decided to watch more, his hero instinct saying something was wrong.

Closing his eyes while clenching his fists, he felt his determination strengthening.

Looking again at the man, he saw the attendant calling someone who came with a briefcase. The briefcase was briefly opened but was full of money. The man took the briefcase and said goodbye with a wave.

Natan felt extremely down.

Could it be that it was just a very famous and rich person who wanted to withdraw money? The thought of that made him feel pathetic.

But he went to the attendant.

"Good afternoon, sir. I'm an on-duty hero. Could you tell me who that man was?"

Natan took out his hero ID.

The attendant looked at Natan's photo on the ID, which showed him in a blue costume with kangaroo ears and a star in the middle of his face.

The attendant sighed and shook his head.

"Oh, it was just a villain. He came here and asked for a huge amount of money."

After saying that, the attendant realized, "I was robbed!" He was shocked he didn't notice.

The attendant began to tremble and cry.

Natan realized this attendant was an idiot and that the man really did rob the bank in an extraordinary way.

Natan hurried to chase the man.

Running through the street, Natan tore his shirt, revealing the hero costume underneath.

From his pants pocket, he took his mask and put it on. Stopping his run, he started kicking the ground, gaining extreme speeds with each impact. His gaze scanned everything around, searching for the man.

After several rounds, he found nothing.

As expected, he had acted nonchalantly to go unnoticed, but as soon as he got what he wanted, he had fled as quickly as possible.

Natan breathed a few times to catch his breath. Looking around, he realized he was back near the bank.

Natan's eyes widened when he saw the man holding the briefcase across the street at a bus stop.

---

Watching the street with boredom, I wait for the bus to arrive.

Today's withdrawal was large, I have no idea how much is in the briefcase, but it should be a lot.

I look across the street and see a man in a ridiculous costume with kangaroo ears and a star on his face.

For some reason, he looked angry, and he took a running stance before kicking the ground hard, coming at me like a bullet.

I raise my free hand and the blue kangaroo's fist crashes against my hand. **Pow!**

It was a good punch for a hero I'd never heard of.

"You bastard! How dare you toy with me like this!"

Natan backed away, irritated and shocked. His punch didn't even move me, and it didn't seem to affect me.

Natan scramed as if drawing power from his determination, and started kicking the ground repeatedly, shooting like a bullet to the side, up, down. He used the buildings and everything around.

On his last thrust, he descended towards me at full speed.

"Special attack, devastating impact!"

I watch him approaching from above at full speed, and take a step to the side.

**Boom!**

At that moment, the bus arrives.

I glance for a moment at the splattered hero, and get on the bus.

Heroes are becoming more and more pathetic. Cartoons never reflect reality.