I was born on June 9th, 3029.
To a father forged in steel and a mother made of stars.
My name is Jack. I carry my father's black hair, my mother's stormy eyes. But where theirs ended in shadow or sky, mine glow gold.
A mark of something… not normal.
My father, Liam, was a High Human—blessed with the A-rank talent Blade King. Swords, daggers, glaives—he mastered them all the moment he touched them. That was his gift. That was our crown.
He didn't just grow strong. He built an empire. Money, honour, respect—we had it all.
My mother, Samantha, didn't have a talent, but she was no less powerful. She grounded us. She softened his edge. She made us human.
Three years after me, my little sister was born. Lana. We shared everything—blood, laughter, war stories.
She had my eyes.
Golden brown, like embers in the dark.
When I was seven, the gods looked my way.
They gave me an S-rank talent: Battle Fervour.
A skill that promised strength with every fight. Each battle etched itself into my soul, carving me into something sharper.
I also awakened an affinity with lightning.
Fast. Brutal. Unpredictable.
The catch?
The talent burned hot.
Short temper. Restless energy. Rage like thunder in my veins.
But Father saw the spark. He forged it into something useful.
No schools. No academies. He trained me himself.
Steel by dawn, mana drills by dusk. Dungeons on weekends. Death flirting with us every time.
I was twelve when I picked up my first greatsword. Fourteen when I started wielding battle axes like they were toys.
And Lana?
She got not one, but two talents:
Night's Blessing – a talent made for shadows. Two hours of sleep, enhanced learning, and triple the power at night.
Beast Shapeshifting – the ability to become any beast, though only for hours at a time.
Together, we were untouchable.
And for a time, it felt like nothing could go wrong.
But fate is cruel. And power is a debt.
---
The Fall
I turned twenty.
And on my birthday, Father didn't return.
They said it was a dungeon accident.
A Black Gate. No survivors.
No body to bury. No relic to remember him by.
Just… gone.
In an instant, I became the head of the family.
I wasn't ready—but there was no one else.
I swore to protect them. My mother. My sister.
But I failed.
A year later, they disappeared.
Kidnapped by RANDO—a so-called "tech innovator." A company that pioneered mana engineering, AI dungeon mapping, and bio-magic interfaces.
But behind closed doors?
They ran illegal experiments on humans with rare talents.
They sent a message:
"Surrender yourself. We'll let them go."
I went.
Of course I went.
I walked straight into the lion's den, hoping to trade my life for theirs. I was young, desperate, arrogant.
They welcomed me with open arms.
Then stabbed me in the heart—literally.
---
The Cage
They injected me with talent neutralisers.
Mana-binding green fluid that shut off my Battle Fervour like a light switch. Gone. Dead.
You know what it's like to feel your power vanish?
It's like losing your limbs but still feeling them twitch.
I was tossed into a cell with my mother and sister.
No food. No clean water. Waste pooled in the corners.
We clung to each other, starved, humiliated, silent.
Then one day, guards came.
They said, "We're releasing the women."
I dared to hope.
I believed them.
They took them away.
Told me they'd be free.
Weeks passed. Then months.
I was left to rot.
Until they came again—strapped me to a table, stabbed a needle through my ribs.
A new experiment.
They called it "Project Wyvern."
Dragon's DNA.
Raw, unstable, ancient.
Injected straight into my heart.
I expected pain. Change. Madness.
I got… nothing.
No wings. No claws.
No power. No transformation.
Three years passed.
Nothing.
Then they let me go.
Just like that.
---
The Lie
I searched for them. My mother. Lana.
Every city, every network, every contact I had left—I chased whispers like a ghost.
And then… they sent the video.
It was short. Brutal. Final.
They didn't let them go.
They used them. Broke them.
And when there was nothing left to take—they ended them.
And they made me watch.
---
Now
So here I am.
Not the son of the Blade King.
Not the S-rank prodigy.
Not even a man with power.
Just Jack.
Just another broken face on the street.
They erased my identity.
Confiscated my home, my weapons, my rights.
Legally declared me dead.
Why?
"To further the research of human potential," they said.
Bullshit.
I work now in a factory run by a company that doesn't even remember I once saved three of its executives from a red dungeon breach.
Underpaid. Ignored. Disposable.
My apartment? A shed.
Roof leaks. Floor creaks. Mould fights the walls for dominance.
But I endure.
Because I still dream of vengeance.
---
Twilight
The city is alive around me.
Neon lights flicker. Cars honk. People rush to lives I no longer understand.
They don't recognise me anymore.
Not the children I saved.
Not the guildmasters I once fought beside.
I cross the road.
A car screeches. The driver yells, "Watch it, bastard!"
I keep walking.
The rain starts. Gentle at first, then a full downpour.
I don't run. I never run.
My shed is twenty minutes away.
It leaks. Smells like rot.
But it's mine.
As I step inside, water trails behind me.
I lie down. Close my eyes.
Sleep takes me faster than usual.
But this time…
I don't wake up in the dark.
---
The White Room
It's bright.
Painfully bright.
The world is white. Everything. Infinite. Silent. Still.
Then come the figures.
Men. Women. Children. Elders.
All dressed in white robes. Radiant. Watching me.
I know where I am.
I know who they are.
The gods.
This is the Awakening Space.
The place where talents are granted. Where destiny is carved.
It can't be.
That only happens once. At seven. Or during rare blessings.
But I am here.
And they are waiting.
---
[TO BE CONTINUED…]