The sky was wrong.
That was the first thought Aron had when consciousness returned.
It wasn't blue. It wasn't gray. It wasn't anything his mind could name. The heavens above him looked like
shattered glass held together by light—fractured layers of color overlapping in ways that made his eyes
ache if he stared too long. Each breath carried a metallic taste, sharp and unnatural, as if the air itself
rejected being inhaled.
Screams grounded him.
Adults ran through the clearing in blind panic—men and women in clothes that didn't belong to this place.
Some cried out names. Others fell to their knees, praying to gods that did not answer. A few simply stared
upward, frozen, as if the sky might explain itself if they looked long enough.
Aron didn't scream.
He was ten years old, standing alone among strangers, yet his heartbeat remained steady. Fear tried to
surface—but slipped away before it could take shape, like water poured onto stone.
A translucent window flickered into existence before his eyes.
World Initialization: Complete
Primary Law Enforced: Survival of the Fittest
System Authority: Active
The words carried weight.
Not comfort. Not guidance.
A verdict.
Wind tore through the clearing without warning. Trees bent violently as the sky twisted inward, mana
colliding in spirals that cracked the air itself. Lightning carved unfamiliar symbols across the heavens—sigils
that burned into memory even as the mind rejected their meaning.
Then something descended.
Light gathered violently at the storm's heart, condensing into a humanoid figure suspended above the
ground. Wings of blinding brilliance spread wide, illuminating terrified faces below. Its eyes were beautiful.
And empty.
"This world rewards strength," the being spoke.
Its voice did not travel through the air. It echoed directly inside their minds—calm, absolute, merciless.
"Those without it will be erased."
The system windows multiplied.
Unique Ability Selection Initiated
The screams grew louder.
Someone grabbed Aron's shoulder, fingers digging in hard. A man—sweating, shaking—looked down at him
with desperation.
"How is a child supposed to survive in a world like this?!"
Before Aron could respond—before he even understood what response he should have—someone stepped
between them.
She was tall, her posture steady despite the chaos. Her face was pale, drawn tight with exhaustion and fear
she refused to show. Her eyes, however, were gentle. Determined.
She knelt in front of Aron and pulled him into her arms.
"I'll protect you," she said softly.
Not loudly. Not heroically.
Just… firmly.
"With my life, if I have to."
The system reacted immediately.
Unique Ability Acquired — Ayesha
Name: One With the Sword (Minor)
Description: Slightly increases learning speed and comprehension while wielding a sword
Evaluation: Low
Weak.
The system did not soften its judgment.
Ayesha didn't flinch.
She selected her attribute without hesitation.
Attribute Selected: Light
Then her class.
Class Selected: Sword Traine.
Night fell faster than it should have.
The forest beyond the clearing came alive with sound—low growls, scraping footsteps, the wet hunger of
things that had already learned this world's law. Fires were lit in shaking circles. Makeshift weapons were
clutched with white-knuckled grips.
Ayesha picked up a rusted sword from the ground.
Her hands trembled.
But when she turned to Aron, she smiled.
"Practice like you never won," she said quietly, as if sharing a secret meant only for him.
"Fight like you never lose."
A goblin lunged from the darkness.
Steel met flesh.
Blood splattered across the earth.
Aron watched her stand between him and the night.
And for the first time, he understood something with terrifying clarity.
This world would not save them.
So she would become strong enough to defy it.