The pain came suddenly.
One moment, Ethan was standing on the rooftop of a half-broken building, the night wind brushing against his face. The next moment, everything went dark.
He remembered falling.
He remembered regret.
"I shouldn't have trusted them…"
That was his last thought.
Darkness surrounded him.
No sound. No light. No body.
Then—
[ERROR… ERROR…]
[Searching for compatible soul…]
A cold, mechanical voice echoed inside the void.
"What… is this?" Ethan tried to speak, but no words came out.
[Soul confirmed.]
[Initializing Forbidden System.]
Before he could react, a sharp pain exploded inside his head.
Ethan gasped and opened his eyes.
Bright sunlight stabbed into them.
"Where… am I?"
He was lying on cold stone. Strange symbols were carved into the floor beneath him. The air felt different—thicker, heavier, filled with something he had never felt before.
Power.
Slowly, memories flooded into his mind.
This was not Earth.
This body belonged to a boy named Aren Vale, a nobody from a low noble family in a world ruled by magic and bloodlines. A world where the strong lived like kings, and the weak were crushed without mercy.
And Aren Vale?
He was weak. Talentless. Mocked by everyone.
Ethan clenched his fists.
"So I died… and got reborn?"
Before he could think further, the cold voice returned.
[Forbidden System Activated.]
[Host: Ethan / Aren Vale]
[Status: Alive – Extremely Weak]
A translucent blue screen appeared in front of his eyes.
Name: Aren Vale
Rank: F
Magic Core: Broken
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 2
At the bottom of the screen, red words blinked.
[WARNING: Host survival rate – 3%]
Ethan laughed bitterly.
"Great. I get a second life, and I'm still trash."
Suddenly, another message appeared.
[Unique Privilege Detected.]
[Forbidden Ability Unlocked: Steal Fate]
Ethan's breath stopped.
"Steal… fate?"
The system continued.
[You may steal power, talent, or destiny from those you defeat.]
[No limits. No mercy.]
For the first time since waking up, Ethan smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"In that case…" he whispered, eyes burning with resolve,
"This world is not ready for me."
Far away, thunder roared across the sky, as if the world itself had sensed something forbidden had awakened.
And this time—
Ethan would not die as a weak man again.