"I never knew death could look so beautiful."
Ryan stared up at the sky, mesmerized. A comet was tearing through the clouds like a blade of fire — its long tail glowing, dancing, as if announcing the end of the world with elegance. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. And it was coming straight toward the Earth.
He took a deep breath. His life, once again, stood still.
Orphaned. Raised without a name. Yet he had fought hard, climbed high, and made something of himself. A self-taught computer programmer — once proud, once independent.
Then came the collapse. He lost his job. Lost his savings. Then came the kidneys — both failing, no mercy. His money gone into hospitals. No one to call. Nowhere to go. He was back where he started: alone, sick, broke... and dying.
And yet, under that sky... he smiled.
Was it irony? Or peace?
He watched the comet descend.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three..."
KA-BOOM—MMM...
---
SPLASH.
Ryan woke up to the sound of waves crashing on the shore.
His eyes fluttered open.
A vast blue sky stretched endlessly above. Wind kissed his face. Cold water soaked his legs, the rest of his body resting on warm golden sand. He gasped and sat up, confused. His body felt… fine. He checked his chest, his arms — no tubes, no pain. His skin was smooth, younger even.
"What the... Where's the comet? Am I dead? Is this the afterlife?"
He pinched his arm. "Ouch!"
Then his stomach growled. "Okay... definitely not a dream."
He stood up slowly, took in the bizarre, beautiful beach, and noticed a dense forest ahead. He had nothing to wear — just tattered underclothes. He used some vines from nearby trees to make a basic outfit. Awkward, but better than nothing.
He entered the forest, hungry and cautious. Soon, he found a strange apple tree. The fruits were pale and glowing. Desperate, he picked one and took a bite.
Surprisingly sweet. Delicious.
And suddenly, something changed. His senses sharpened. The fatigue vanished. His body surged with power. He could run faster, jump higher, move like never before. Was this some kind of power-up?
WHIZZ!
An arrow shot out of nowhere, piercing his shoulder.
"AAARGH!"
Blood poured down his arm. He spun around, panicked — and saw a massive black wolf charging straight at him.
He covered his head, expecting death — but the wolf never made it.
THUD! It collapsed right in front of him.
A second arrow had pierced its skull.
Ryan blinked in disbelief.
Then, swinging down from a tree, came a girl — no older than him. Long hair, sharp eyes, bow in hand, dressed in strange leather armor. She ignored Ryan, walked straight to the wolf, and calmly sliced open its chest.
She pulled out a glowing red stone.
"What the hell is this place...?" Ryan whispered.
The girl finally noticed him — and didn't look pleased.
Just then, a voice shouted from behind:
"Mizuha!"
Ryan turned. A boy with wild silver hair walked out of the woods, carrying a giant sheep on his back. He looked friendly... and kind of insane.
"Yo! Look what I found! Jackpot sheep!" he grinned. Then he saw Ryan. "Whoa. Who's the vine-dressed caveman?"
"I'm Ryan," Ryan muttered, half-limping, half-bleeding.
"Ryan what? Which clan? What village?" The boy narrowed his eyes. "Wait... are those vines you're wearing?"
"I... don't know anything."
"Whaaat? Wait—holy crap, you're bleeding! Arrow in your shoulder! Man, I'm so bad at noticing people dying beside me!"
He ran forward and yanked out the arrow.
"ARGH!"
"Sorry! Sorry!" He poured something from a tiny bottle onto Ryan's wound. The pain faded instantly. The wound started closing. Ryan stared at it in awe.
"Thanks…"
"No worries. I'm Miron Sisori, the second-smartest kid in the entire village. That's Mizuha — my sister. She's… less talkative."
Mizuha gave a cold glance and returned to skinning the wolf.
"You're lucky we found you, Ryan. You hungry?"
"Yes."
"Come on, we'll roast this sheep. You can tell us your whole mysterious backstory while we eat."
---
They sat near a campfire, eating meat. Ryan stared at the flames, thinking hard.
"Thanks for saving me."
"No biggie. But seriously — what's your deal?" Miron asked.
"I don't know how I got here. I don't even know where here is. Last thing I remember... there was a comet. It hit the city. I should be dead."
Miron blinked. "A comet? Sounds serious."
"I think I died," Ryan said quietly. "But I'm alive again. And younger. Everything's weird."
"Yup. Welcome to life." Miron leaned back. "You got nowhere to go?"
"Nope."
"No family?"
"Nope."
"No clue?"
"Just... a goal."
"What's that?"
"To survive. No matter what."
Miron smiled. "I like that. You've got the spirit of a fighter."
---
In the days that followed, Ryan learned the truth — this was not Earth. This world ran on magic.
Everyone had something called a core — a crystal-like organ that produced magical energy. But Ryan had none. No core. No power.
"That's... not normal," Miron admitted. "Even weaklings have at least a core. You're like... coreless. Completely."
Ryan's heart sank. Again? In a world ruled by strength, he was starting from the bottom?
But he wasn't giving up. Not again.
Miron gave him a way forward: mana stones. Expensive, rare — but with them, even the coreless could activate spells. That was his only shot.
Ryan clenched his fists.
No magic. No name. No power.
But this time, he had nothing to lose.
And everything to fight for.