The world had changed.
Four hundred years had passed since the day humanity had stood before the end.
The towers still stood.
But humanity no longer ruled the world around them.
Across the continents, cities belonging to elves, dwarves, beastfolk, dragons, and countless other races had risen from the ashes of the old world.
Humanity, however, had become a forgotten race.
A race spoken of in history books.
A race children laughed about.
A race known by only one name.
The Weakest.
But deep within one of the human settlements, far away from the great cities of the other races, a ten-year-old boy sat alone inside an old wooden room.
The room was small.
Dust covered the shelves.
Ancient books filled almost every wall.
The boy carefully turned another page.
His black hair fell over his eyes as he leaned closer to the yellowed paper.
His name was Elias.
And unlike every other child his age...
He had not yet chosen his race.
His parents had been worried about him for months.
His friends had already made their choices.
Some had become Beastfolk.
Some had chosen Elves.
One had even chosen a race capable of manipulating lightning.
But Elias had refused every time.
Not because he hated the other races.
Not because he believed humans were secretly powerful.
He simply wanted to know something.
Something nobody else seemed interested in asking.
Why had humanity survived?
He turned another page.
There was a picture.
A group of strange creatures surrounded a massive beast.
At first, Elias thought the creatures were some kind of primitive monsters.
Then he recognized them.
Humans.
They stood around the corpse of an enormous animal.
Some held sharpened sticks.
Others carried strange weapons made from stone and metal.
One of them was standing on top of the beast.
Elias stared at the illustration.
"...They killed it?"
He turned the page.
Another illustration.
Humans running through a forest.
Another.
Humans building enormous structures.
Another.
Humans hunting creatures many times larger than themselves.
Then another.
Humans standing together against creatures that should have been impossible for them to defeat.
Elias slowly closed the book.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered.
"Why does everyone say we were weak?"
The door behind him opened.
"Elias."
He turned.
A girl stood in the doorway.
She was about his age, perhaps slightly younger.
Her name was Mira.
She carried two wooden cups in her hands.
"You've been in here for hours again."
"I'm reading."
"You always say that."
"Because I am."
Mira sighed and entered the room.
She placed one of the cups beside him.
"Your mother said you have to make your choice today."
Elias looked at the cup.
Then at the book.
"I know."
"You'll become an Elf, right?"
"No."
"Beastfolk?"
"No."
"Dwarf?"
"No."
Mira frowned.
"Then what?"
Elias looked toward the window.
Beyond it stood the settlement.
Humans walked through the streets.
Some carried weapons.
Others worked in shops.
Children played.
But everyone knew the truth.
Humans were weak.
Their bodies were inferior to most races.
They had no wings.
No scales.
No claws.
No natural affinity for powerful magic.
And unlike many other races, humans possessed no extraordinary racial abilities.
That was why, on the day a child turned ten, the System gave them one opportunity.
A single choice.
A chance to abandon humanity.
A chance to become something stronger.
The choice could only be made once.
And once made...
There was no returning.
Mira stared at Elias.
"So?"
Elias stood.
He picked up the old book.
"I won't change."
Mira's eyes widened.
"You'll remain human?"
"Yes."
"But you'll be weak."
"I know."
"You could become powerful."
"I know."
"You could live longer."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Elias looked down at the ancient illustration.
At the humans standing beside the dead beast.
His expression changed.
"I don't know what happened to humanity."
Mira blinked.
"What?"
"Everyone keeps telling us humans were weak."
He placed his finger against the illustration.
"But these books say something different."
Mira looked at the page.
Elias continued.
"They didn't have magic."
"They didn't have claws."
"They didn't have wings."
"They didn't even have the strength most races are born with."
He closed the book.
"Yet they survived."
Mira didn't answer.
Elias looked toward the distant tower visible beyond the settlement.
The same tower that had stood for four hundred years.
The same tower that had once been humanity's sanctuary.
"I want to know why."
A faint sound suddenly echoed through the room.
DING.
Both children froze.
A transparent blue screen appeared before Elias.
Mira stepped backward.
"Elias..."
He stared at the screen.
Letters slowly formed across it.
[SYSTEM]
AGE REQUIREMENT FULFILLED.
HUMAN CHILD: ELIAS
AGE: 10
RACE SELECTION IS NOW AVAILABLE.
YOU MAY CHOOSE ONE RACE.
THIS DECISION IS IRREVERSIBLE.
Elias stared at the screen.
Then came the choices.
[ELF]
[DWARF]
[BEASTFOLK]
[DRAGONKIN]
[DEMON]
[SPIRIT]
[OTHER RACES...]
The list continued.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Perhaps thousands.
Mira looked at the endless options with excitement.
"Elias... you can become anything."
Elias didn't respond.
His eyes remained fixed on the final option.
At the bottom of the screen was a choice almost nobody selected.
A choice that seemed almost meaningless.
[REMAIN HUMAN]
The words remained there.
Waiting.
Elias slowly raised his hand.
Mira grabbed his arm.
"Wait!"
He looked at her.
"You don't have to do this."
"I know."
"You'll regret it."
"Maybe."
"You'll be weaker than everyone."
"I know."
"You could die."
Elias smiled faintly.
"Then I'll find out why humans survived anyway."
He released her hand.
And pressed the option.
[REMAIN HUMAN]
For the first time in centuries...
The System paused.
The blue screen flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the entire room went silent.
Mira's smile disappeared.
"Elias?"
A new message appeared.
But this one was different.
The letters were red.
[SYSTEM ERROR]
RACE SELECTION: HUMAN
STATUS: VALID
CALCULATION IN PROGRESS...
Elias stared.
"What's happening?"
Another line appeared.
[WARNING]
UNUSUAL SELECTION DETECTED.
The screen disappeared.
Nothing happened.
No transformation.
No explosion.
No divine light.
Nothing.
Mira slowly exhaled.
"See? It worked."
Elias looked at his hands.
They were exactly the same.
Ten fingers.
Human skin.
A normal human body.
He smiled.
"I remained human."
But neither of them noticed the tiny change that had already occurred.
Deep within Elias's body...
Something had awakened.
Not power.
Not magic.
Not strength.
Something far more ancient.
Something that had been silent for centuries.
Something the world had forgotten.
Far away...
Inside the deepest chamber of the Northern Tower...
A creature opened its eyes.
The ancient Ice Dragon lifted its head.
For four hundred years, it had remained still.
It had watched kingdoms rise.
Watched kingdoms fall.
Watched races spread across the world.
But now...
Its crystal-blue eyes turned toward the human settlement.
For the first time in centuries, the ancient beast spoke.
"...Human?"
At the same moment...
In the Eastern Tower, flames suddenly erupted.
The Fire Phoenix opened one eye.
In the Southern Tower, the Golem's enormous body shifted.
And beneath the deepest ocean...
Something moved.
The sea trembled.
A gigantic red eye slowly opened in the darkness.
The Megalodon had awakened.
None of the four beasts knew why.
None understood what had happened.
But all of them had sensed the same thing.
A presence that should not have existed anymore.
Humanity.
And somewhere in a forgotten room, a ten-year-old boy turned another page of an ancient book.
Unaware that his decision had just changed the course of the world.
The story had begun.