In the Grand Hall, the nobles sat in tense silence while Luca di Verg stood inside the mana circle.
The priest raised his voice:
"Let the Awakening Ritual begin!"
The air filled with a strange energy, but… nothing happened. The circles remained dark. Luca tried again, kneeling and stretching his hand toward the crystal, yet everything stayed still.
Whispers spread among the attendees:
"Failed?"
"Again?"
"Son of the di Verg house… talentless…"
The words cut like knives, but they did not wound as deeply as the silent gaze of his grandfather. Luca raised his head, his eyes hardened, his heart boiling:
"I'm sorry… Grandfather. I only wanted to make you proud of me."
The hall around him went dark, faces vanished, as if darkness had swallowed everything… suddenly, a series of knocks on the door woke him.
Luca gasped and opened his eyes. Sweat drenched his forehead, his chest heaving. Just a dream… or rather, a nightmare he had grown used to facing every night.
From behind the door came a soft voice:
"Young master… it's time to wake up."
He sighed deeply, pressing his hand against his eyes, then rose and headed toward the bathroom.
Standing in front of the mirror, he splashed his face with cold water, droplets cascading down his cheeks silently.
His mismatched eyes – one blue, one steel-gray – reflected his deep exhaustion, while his black silky hair fell across his forehead in disarray.
A soft knock came at the door, and Nina entered with a gentle smile:
"Good morning, young master. You're late today."
He didn't look at her, continuing to wash his face, and replied calmly: "Good morning, Nina."
She placed a clean towel on the shelf and looked at him with concern:
"Your face doesn't look well… didn't you sleep properly?"
He raised his head and wiped his face with the towel:
"I'm fine."
She smiled lightly and said:
"You have work with the guild today… it's better to start your morning strong."
"Alright, Nina, I'll change my clothes and go out immediately."
He stepped out of the room, and just a few steps later, the blue screen that had been haunting him for three days appeared.
He muttered:
"No one else can see this… am I starting to hallucinate?"
But suddenly, the words changed:
[Do you wish to load the Fate System?]
[Yes / No]
He hesitated for a moment, then pressed [Yes].
[Loading… 1% 32% 76% 89% 99%]
[Installation Complete]
[Welcome to the Fate System]
The first menu appeared, but it was not what he expected:
[Scanning Host…]
[Error: Host is not awake]
[Error: Host cannot become awake]
Luca sighed quietly:
"Not awake… I already know that."
Then the messages continued:
[Scan complete…]
[Your soul is divided: part remains here, and the other part is in another world]
[Do you wish to merge now?]
[Yes / No]
He looked at the screen and said aloud, his voice shaky:
"So… my soul is divided… what does that even mean? Will I become awake after this?"
The system responded unemotionally:
"Yes."
"Will I merge with myself… in that other world? What does that mean?"
[Approximately.]
He asked:
"Will I remain myself… or will I become someone else?"
[You are the same person from the beginning. Your other half died in its world and could not cross into the afterlife… therefore, you must merge.]
He sat for a moment, contemplating, calculating the probabilities in his mind. Perhaps this was his only chance to become awake.
"If I want to become awake, I must seize this opportunity."
He pressed [Yes], and suddenly darkness filled his eyes, and he lost consciousness, as if everything was being pulled into an endless void.
---
In the next moment, everything went dark. He felt as though he was being pulled somewhere, and suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar place – inside a small body that did not resemble his own.
"This isn't my body… where am I?"
As he was lost in thought, the small body moved toward the door, drawn by the sound of screaming. The sounds grew louder as he approached. He stepped heavily, opening the door, and went down the stairs, sitting between the third and fourth steps, knees pulled to his chest, eyes wide.
At the bottom, a man and a woman – presumably his parents – stood. Their faces were tense with anger, voices raised. His father waved his phone and shouted:
"Who is this?! Is this the actor you're working with?!"
A picture on the screen showed his mother with another man in an intimate pose. The mother screamed, her voice trembling with emotion. The argument continued.
The child – named Lucas – could not understand all the words, but he felt them. The house no longer felt like home… it had become a battlefield. Each scream shook his heart, so he curled deeper into the stairwell shadows.
Then his mother began moving up the stairs, fast and heavy with anger. Lucas saw her and ran to his room, closing the door with a small gap, peeking through it. She passed without noticing him, her face pale and eyes red. She entered her room, and he felt a temporary relief… because she had said that if he didn't behave well, she would leave.
Moments later, she came out again carrying a large red bag, her face still pale and eyes swollen. Lucas didn't need to ask where she was going – he knew if she left now, she would never return.
He ran to her, arms trembling:
"Mom… please! Don't go! Don't leave me alone!"
Tears streamed down his cheeks. She tried not to look at him, but his tears broke through her defenses. She whispered what he would later consider empty words:
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, my love… but I have to leave."
She added: "I can't stay in this house anymore."
He clung to her clothes:
"Take us with you then! Me and Mia! Please! Did I disappoint you, Mom? I'll try harder!"
She gently moved his hands away, with a sad smile:
"I hope you stay safe, Lucas. Take care of Mia."
She went down the stairs, and after a few seconds… slammed the door shut. The house still shook from her departure.
That was the last time Lucas saw his mother.
Then came the sound of heavy steps from below. His father appeared – tall, emotionless. He looked at Lucas, who was still crying on the stairs.
Lucas whispered:
"Dad…"
The man didn't respond, simply sat on the couch, pulled out his phone, acting as if nothing had happened.
Lucas froze, unsure whether to approach… or hide. One thing was clear: he was completely alone now.
He returned to his room, but then he heard something.
Looking back, he saw his little sister – Mia.