The world was living through a fragile peace. In this fragile era of fleeting tranquility, a boy named Edward Ludovic was born in the year 2000. His heritage carried the weight of two awakened bloodlines.
His father, Hardwin Ludovic, a German immigrant to America, accompanied by his father, was a B-ranked awakened who inherited the heroic spirit of Paris of Troy, known for his charm, agility, and precise archery.
His mother, Cassandra , originally from Egypt, was an A-ranked awakened who bore the spirit of Cleopatra, embodying beauty, charisma, and strategic brilliance.
Edward's early years were filled with both admiration and expectation. People believed that with such prestigious lineage, he was destined to awaken a great heroic spirit.
However, tragedy struck when he was only eight years old. His father died under suspicious circumstances during an A-rank dimensional gate raid in Chicago, where an abyssal warlord had appeared.
Official reports claimed that Hardwin died a hero's death, but whispers of betrayal and internal conflicts within the American Awakened Association lingered in the shadows.
Soon after his father's death, his mother, Cassandra, mysteriously vanished. One morning, Edward awoke to find nothing but a handwritten letter on his desk, saying she had to leave for reasons he would one day understand.
She returned to Egypt without a trace, leaving Edward behind in the custody of distant relatives who barely acknowledged him. Rumors spread that she had been taken by force or perhaps left of her own volition, lured by the power struggles within the Egyptian Council.
Whatever the truth was, Edward was left alone, burdened with questions and abandonment issues. His aunt from his father's side, Julia, took care of him as his guardian. She was a widow who also lost her husband in a raid.
They were pretty well off due to his grandfather's legacy. Bernard Ludovic, the A rank hero possessing the spirit of Vlad Tepes.
Eight years have passed since then. Today marks his awakening ceremony, the day he must step into the Hall of Awakened to see if he has inherited the legacy of a hero. But there's just one problem—he's not Edward anymore.
MC original world PoV
The world is a shitty place folks. On top of that, I was born in one of the worst periods where everyone is ripping each other apart for stupid stuff. I mean, we have done it before but now it was getting ridiculous, specially when there's a chance getting Hiroshima'd in your sleep.
Starting wars for oil and gas, killing others just because they have different ideas, not to mention religious fanatics forming cults and shit. But that wasn't the worst part, we became stupider by creating AI and letting them fo all our work.
I mean, come on! If you teach a machine to do everything you can't do, what's the need for you then ? And it did go horribly wrong.
The moment the AI's gained sentinence in 2070, they straight up decided, humanity needs go. Bunch of nukes went off, earth was roasted like Turkish coffee and about 80% of the population was gone like Thanos snapped his freaking fingers. And after that, the aliens invaded.
You guys are probably wondering why am I going on a cynical rant with no context at the beginning of a story , when most of you folks probably came to see if there's snu snu .
Well, You have a strong inability to form coherent thoughts when you are trying to break Usain Bolt's record while being chased by eldritch creatures .
Yeah, it's not a nightmare. Me, a 28 year old lifeless dude who spent his leisure time playing games and watching anime and movies after work is no way fit to be running away from nightmare creatures. It's lucky I didn't trip like those horror movies, that would be awkward.
*Trips and falls face first*
"God damn shit fuckin bastard! Why is it always me !"
I always became the example whenever I tried to get ahead by cheating. If the whole class cheats, nobody bats an eye. But when I cheated, I got caught. And as luck would have it, a district officer was coming that day for inspection. He was the one who caught me.
.... Yeah I got expelled.
When I was 14 , there were kids always stealing from a local mall. I never did though . But the stolen goods would be later sold cheap somewhere .
My dad beat me up because he felt like it , as usual, but he broke my headphones. The only thing that could let me have some form of peace in this world with it's noise cancelling.
So I went there to buy one because that's all I could afford with my job. Guess what , the cops raided that place that day and caught 1 person related to a stealing operations while the rest got away.
That was me.
So you probably have understood that after a lifetime of trauma, I might have gone a teensy weensy bit .....you know.... Special.
Did you think I was gonna say crazy ?
I AM NOT FUCKIN CRAZY!
Author: Yo dude! Calm down. You are gonna scare the readers away.
Me: fuck you, you capitalistic sell out trash.
Author: be that as it may, we are gonna censor you a bit to reach a bigger audience. Maybe one day, I can even make money from this story and buy that glass eye I have always wanted! *Sob*
Me : dude, gross. There's nobody stupid enough to read my life story for money.
Author: I'm gonna throw hot waifus at their faces until they do . I'm gonna open my own deviant art if need be. Nobody can resist boobs. Muhahaha
Me : but wait! I am breaking 4th wall here but I can't see you.
Author: Oh, that's because I'm your split personality kinda thingy ? Or can call me your imaginary little friend.
Me : Damn! I am going crazy .
Ahem! That was rude. After a consultation with myself, I snapped back to reality where Cthulhu looking dog is looming over me with hungry gaze in his hundred eyes.
Something just snapped in me as I bitch slapped the Cthulhu ripoff . The creature was shocked after being slapped by someone 1/100 times their size, but it felt like a mosquito tap probably.
I yelled at the fucker," keep my body away from your damn mouth!"
But then it ate me and I just died pathetically . But I guess I didn't really, as I woke in another world that made me wish I stayed dead.
Current World
Edward Ludovic opened his eyes to the soft golden light streaming through his window, illuminating the dust particles swirling lazily in the air. The room smelled of old books, worn leather, and the faint traces of cologne that had probably been there for years. It was oddly comforting. Too comforting.
His body felt... wrong. Not in the "I ate too much pizza last night" way, but in the "this isn't my body" way.
It was like wearing an old, well-used jacket that didn't quite fit right anymore; familiar, yet undeniably foreign. He sat up, feeling his pulse pounding a little too fast, his heart racing in a rhythm that felt, well, off.
He scanned the room, his eyes landing on things that were supposed to be his—a bookshelf stacked with thick tomes of heroic history, a set of training weights gathering dust in the corner, and a framed photo of a man in an American Awakened Association uniform, smiling confidently. His father... or at least, Edward's father.
This... this isn't my room, he thought, the words echoing in his head like a bad movie line. He knew this place, but at the same time, he didn't.
The memories came rushing in like an overloaded internet tab—his childhood in America, growing up with high expectations, his father dying in an A-rank raid, his mother disappearing one morning with nothing but a cryptic letter. All of it felt real.
But buried beneath those memories, tangled and raw, were others—ones that didn't belong. Memories of another life. A different world.
Skyscrapers. Smartphones. Office jobs. Weekend Netflix binges. A life where heroic spirits, dimensional gates, and apocalyptic invasions were things that happened in movies, not reality.
"I... I'm not Edward," he whispered, touching his face with shaking hands. "I mean, I am Edward... but also... not? Great. I'm having an existential crisis before breakfast."
The reflection in the mirror across the room stared back at him—a boy with messy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and an expression that screamed "someone help me figure this out." The eyes, though, those were off. There was something behind them now, something deeper than an 18-year-old should have.
"Well, at least I'm hot," he muttered, rubbing his chin. "Small wins."
His reflection didn't answer back, which was both reassuring and mildly disappointing. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
Okay, okay. Don't freak out. Years of reading reincarnation web novels have prepared me for this... kinda. I've got this. Probably.
He took a deep breath, pacing the room like a man trying to talk himself down from a panic attack.
"So," he started, tapping his chin. "Either this is some messed-up reincarnation prank... or I hit my head really, really hard."
But deep down, he knew it wasn't a dream, and the possibilities were terrifying.
Was I chosen by some cosmic being? Was I summoned for a greater purpose? Or did I just... die and respawn here like a poorly written isekai protagonist?
His gaze landed on the clock, and his gut twisted.
No time for a breakdown now, he thought. Today's the Hall of Awakened Trial.
Ah yes, that little detail. Today, he'd step into the famed Hall of Awakened and find out if he would inherit the spirit of a legendary hero—becoming a powerful awakened capable of protecting humanity... or flunk out and live the rest of his life as a glorified desk clerk.
Just 20-30% of the population even awakened a heroic spirit. And with his supposed "awakened bloodline," expectations were sky-high.
He groaned, flopping back onto the bed dramatically.
"No pressure, Edward. Just your entire future, reputation, and life on the line. Nothing to worry about at all."
He forced himself to sit up again, stretching and rolling his shoulders, feeling the unfamiliar strength in his limbs. Maybe he could make this work. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe—
Knock. Knock.
"Edward!" A voice called from behind the door—his aunt's, sharp and impatient as ever. "You're not planning to oversleep on the most important day of your life, are you?"
"Wouldn't dream of it," Edward shot back. Just having an existential crisis, nothing major.
He pulled himself together, staring at the clothes laid out for him—his formal attire for the Awakening Ceremony, all crisp and ready.
Alright, Edward. Time to see if you're cut out to be a hero... or if you're stuck being the comic relief.
With one last deep breath, he grabbed his jacket, glanced at the framed photo of his father one more time, and muttered under his breath:
"Hope you're watching, Dad... because I have no idea what the hell I'm doing."
Little did he know, things were about to get a lot more complicated.