The playground is quiet.
Not empty.
Quiet.
Mara watches a little boy carry soccer balls for the older kids.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Nobody thanks him.
Nobody even really looks at him anymore.
“…why does he keep doing that?” Mara asks.
Chibi shrugs.
“He’s useful.”
The boy runs after another ball immediately.
Too fast.
Like he already expected it.
“That’s not fair,” Mara mutters.
“No.”
A pause.
“But it works.”
The older kids keep playing.
The little boy keeps helping.
Fetching things.
Opening bags.
Picking things up.
Never really playing himself.
Still smiling.
Mara slides off the swing.
“That’s sad.”
Chibi nods slowly.
“Watch.”
The little boy misses one ball.
It rolls into mud.
Takes longer to get back.
One older kid sighs loudly.
Another shakes his head.
The little boy apologizes immediately.
Mara’s chest tightens.
“…it wasn’t his fault.”
“No.”
“But now he thinks it was.”
The boy starts moving faster after that.
Too careful.
Too nervous.
Trying not to fail again.
“…he looks scared,” Mara whispers.
“He is.”
“Of them?”
Chibi shakes his head.
“No.”
A beat.
“Of becoming useless.”
The wind moves softly through the playground.
Children laugh nearby.
Everything still looks normal.
That makes it worse.
Mara walks over to help the boy carry the balls.
He freezes.
“…you don’t have to,” he says quietly.
Mara blinks.
“Why not?”
The boy hesitates.
Then shrugs.
“Because it’s my job.”
Mara looks back at Chibi.
Confused.
“…he’s just a kid.”
Chibi nods once.
“Yeah.”
A pause.
“That’s how it starts.”
🜍 THE USEFUL SOUL — WEEK 1
People are not born
believing they must earn love.
They learn it—
slowly, quietly,
over time.
Until being useful
feels safer
than simply being human.
🜍 One theme. One month. One descent.
🜍 Labor. Sacrifice. Function.
If you remember what this felt like —
you already know what you’re missing.
Step back into it.
Or keep missing it.
👉 https://startplaying.games/gm/dunchan
Want to go deeper?
Then don’t stop at the surface.
The full stories. The dossiers. The things behind it —
they’re waiting. Or they’re not.
👉 https://www.patreon.com/c/mythveilchronicles_bydunchanhuntergames