I was thrown on the streets as a child, a tiny little thing, marked by the world and created for a life of suffering, hair, and eyes as black as the night sky, an omen of destruction, a cursed child, my end was decided from the first breath I drew.
The earth changed after the fourth war, the gods, demons, and monsters we fantasized about, they were all real, and whatever was holding them back was gone.
They descended upon us like vultures, and humanity was pushed to the brink of destruction but like all the stories the heroes arrived, they tore portals to the other world and sent nearly two billion humans across.
The human race survived, as refugees in a world that did not welcome them, a world where they were ostracized and looked down on, a world where magic and fantasy were weaved in from the start.
That's how humanity lost earth and arrived in New Pandora, the world of gods and demons and advanced technology. A hierarchal world where strength and money spoke loudest.
I was a unique sort of unfortunate being, not only a being of the 'lowly' earth human race m, a dark soul, a human with black hair and eyes, extremely rare and considered lowly even more than normal earth humans,but also a cursed being. My parents died off somewhere and I was raised by a group of thieves and murderers.
I lived a fitting life, sleeping in the dark alleys, stealing, killing, and doing whatever I could just to stay alive another day.
Why try so hard? I just wasn't ready to meet my parents yet.
"Let's go find a drink,"
I left the alley to get a drink or two from the garbage pile behind the Firestar bar.
"No!STOP!!" A woman yelled at the top of her lungs as I passed by through the alley, a man had her pinned to the wall in an attempt to rob her.
Our eyes met, and she yelled even louder.
"HELP ME!" her eyes held the strangest thing, hope.
The guy holding her looked back at me, he knew I had no intention of helping, no benefit.
"Darky here won't help you, he only does things for himself, that's how vile earthlings are!" he chuckled.
I wasn't bothered, he spoke only the truth. Was I even capable of help? I avoided certain unsavory things in the past, but doing good..it didn't feel natural.
[Why don't you help her?]
The voice whispered to me again.
For as long as I could remember I could always hear it. It didn't do anything but talk every now and then. It wasn't tech or anything recognizable either.
'Why should I?'
[You're what now? 18? I guess it's time for me to let you go free.]
The world around me suddenly froze, the wind, the sounds of the bustling city, the people, even the rain, everything stopped.
"What?! how-
The panel started glowing strangely and transformed into a strange silhouette of light, I could barely see any details past the light but I knew one thing for sure, it was a man, a familiar one.
[Listen up, Gray, I should have done this 16 years ago but I wasn't done preparing yet.]
[You're free to hate me all you want, it will change nothing, I'm already dying.]
[The truth is, your parents, your siblings, and your birthright are all out there. You were never a street orphan nor a cursed being lost during the great move across worlds, but a destined child abandoned because of your lack of talent.]
[I'd tell you to forgive me and forget but I know how you are, follow the system, search the world if you want answers.]
[1st Memory seal broken. Memories Re-established] a robotic voice announced in my head.
The next instant, the world compeltely changed. My previous state felt like a strange nap. I was beyond confused.
"What? You want to watch, you sick bastard?" the lowlife laughed at my confused expression.
The woman stopped asking me for help after finding out I was from Earth.
[Flash-Quest [Save The Woman]!]
[Reward:[Awakening]!]
The moment I read the words on the panel, I sprung into action, maybe I just needed an excuse, or maybe I believed in the panel, or maybe I was finally myself again.
I grabbed the lowlife and pulled him away from the woman and pushed him away.
"Screw off!"
"You just couldn't stop yourself, darky! Now you're going to die!" he pulled out a knife as the woman ran out of the alley.
"No one atatcks me and survives." I took out my own knife and leaped forward at him.
He struck at me, I dodged, and then planted my knife in his chest. Within seconds he fell limp.
[Quest complete!]
[Initiating Awakening!]
Awakening, the great decider of New Pandora's society, the awakened wielded great powers granted by some unknown force of nature to hunt monsters, explore realms, and enter gates.
They were guaranteed power, money, and status. Even earthlings could find a place in the world if they awakened.
.
.
.
I woke up a bit later in the same alley, the dead lowlife still there.
"I feel different...like I'm connected to the world, this didn't happen the last few times..."
[Use the status command to check your state.]
"Status."
['Gray']
[GIFT]-[The Heart]
[STATS]: PHYSICAL-19 MANA-00
CHARM-22
[SKILLS]: None
"The heart….?"
....