It began as a hum.Subtle. Gentle. Like the vibration of a distant bell.
Andras blinked, sitting up from the floor where sleep had never found him. His eyes were raw, chest hollow, body still reeling from the flood of memories, pain, and the overwhelming weight of a life he had never lived.
He thought the sound was in his head at first. Another hallucination. Another echo from the minds—his and Andras's—colliding inside this fragile vessel.
But then it happened.
The world paused.
The stillness around him thickened, grew heavier. The darkness of the room blurred slightly, like reality itself was holding its breath again.
Then, it appeared.
A soft chime.
A pale blue screen flickered into existence in the air before him, floating a few inches above his knees. Its glow cast strange shadows across the room.
No fanfare. No voices from the heavens.
Just four simple words:
System Activating Rebirth Protocol…
Andras didn't move. Couldn't.
He stared, breath shallow, mouth slightly open.
Another chime.Brighter now. Clarity sharpening.
Welcome, User: Andras LeSystem Type: Adaptive Cultivation InterfacePrimary Directive: Support. Evolve. Survive.
He reached toward it, hesitant—like it might burn him or vanish if he blinked. His fingers passed through the screen. Cool, tingly. Responsive.
Then it shifted.
Initializing User Sync…Verifying Vital Core Integrity…Qi Reservoir Detected: DormantRoot Classification: Bronze-Tier / IncompleteCultivation Status: FragmentedSoul Sync: 42%… 57%… 79%…
[User Soul Sync Complete: 100%]
You are now synced.The System is here to help and grow the User.
That was it.
No grand prophecy. No detailed explanation.
Just those words.
Help. Grow.
Andras stared at the screen for what felt like an eternity.
Then, he laughed. Short, soft. Not bitter this time.
"...Are you serious?" he whispered.
Because for the first time since waking in this strange, cruel world…
He felt something he hadn't felt in years.
Wonder.
He reached forward again, fingers brushing the screen. It responded instantly, shifting into a new interface—sleek, translucent windows, each labeled with a single word.
[Status][Core Body][Cultivation Log][Skills][Inventory][Quests: None]
It looked like… an RPG.
A goddamn RPG.
Andras's heart gave a soft, traitorous flutter in his chest. Not joy, exactly—but something close. Something warm.
John had loved these.Games had been his escape, his safe place, the only time he ever felt in control. A controller in his hands, a world with rules he could understand, even bend. Even win.
And now—this.
He tapped [Status] and the window bloomed open:
Name: Andras Le
Age: 18
Core Alignment: ZERO
Cultivation Rank: Early Qi Gathering Realm
Spiritual Root: Locked
Bloodline Affinity: Locked
Soul Integrity: 54% Reconstructed
Body Compatibility: 32% (Stabilizing)
Cultivation Level: Broken Qi Veins (Reconstruction Possible)
Spirit Core: Inactive
Bloodline: Le Clan (Paternal Line Confirmed)
Below that, in faint gold:
Potential Path Unlocks: 2
System Note: Unlocks are sealed behind Traumatic Barriers.
Andras frowned.
"Traumatic barriers…?" he murmured.
The System pulsed once—almost like a heartbeat.
He blinked, then opened the [Core Body] tab. A diagram of his body appeared—transparent and outlined with channels, like a vascular system made of light. He saw thin, broken lines. Jagged scars where something had once flowed freely.
His Qi pathways.
"Cultivation level: Broken Qi Veins," he read aloud.
Another memory stirred.
He'd tried to force a breakthrough once. The pressure had cracked his internal meridians. Andras had nearly died. The family had left him to suffer alone, deeming him a failure for reaching too far too fast.
And yet… here the system was. Saying it could be reconstructed.
Something flickered in his chest. Not hope—he wasn't ready for that yet.
But maybe… possibility.
He sat back, fingers trembling.
This was too much. Too fast. Too unreal.
He was in a world that judged human worth by power. A place where bloodlines were more valuable than morality, and talent was more precious than love.
And now he had a system.
A cheat code.
Maybe.
Or maybe it was just another layer of cruelty.
He remembered the way the Patriarch had spoken to him. Cold. Demanding. This world didn't care for kindness. It cared for strength. And power. And the illusion of control.
He could almost hear the laughter of the people back on Earth, if they knew what had happened to him.
The street-rat dropout who died napping… now some young noble trapped in a cursed legacy of cultivation and blood.
The irony was bitter.
And yet, for a fleeting moment, as he explored the interface, something bloomed quietly inside him.
A sliver of familiarity.A whisper of comfort.
The system pulsed once more, and a new message appeared:
[New Quest Available]Title: Path of the Broken Flame
Objective: Meditate to locate and reconnect Qi pathways
Reward: +1 System Affinity Sync / Unlock "Minor Healing Function"
Cultivation is survival. Begin again.
He exhaled slowly.
Maybe this was madness.
But it was his madness now.
And if this System really was here to help and grow him, then he'd take the first step.
One small step.
In a world where everything wanted him to break.