The fire, which had started as a result of a careless act, roared into a towering flame before everyone's eyes. Little Zane Crowe, barely seven years old, scurried into the corner where he curled into a small ball with tears streaming down his face.
"Zane! Zane!"
His mother's voice came through all the smoke and flames, but little Zane was too scared, too terrified to answer. Both parents were just E-Tier adepts who barely had control over the system and had only begun joining dungeon quests with minor system recognition, but they were doing their best to fight the fire.
"Zane, for goodness' sake, where are you?!" his mother yelled frantically.
"I can't…!" his father yelled somewhere in the burning house. "I can't hold it any longer! We should leave now!"
But it was just too late. The fire born of an unnatural cause had long spiraled out of control in a matter of seconds, barring even the chances of escape, but still, the frightened Zane Crowe only pushed further into the confines of the box in which he hid. The box, which would soon become his fiery grave.
A sudden crash came from the roof, probably the roof caving in. Zane shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the worst to come. He wished he could drown the cries of his parents burning to death, too, but as much as he stuffed his little fingers in his ears, the sound prevailed.
"We've got a survivor!"
A static voice called loudly and was just inches away from Zane's box. His eyes snapped open just in time to see a man standing before him. A man clad in armor from head to toe. At the same time, the boy could see others similarly dressed, lapel down, from the roof and into the flames.
Even at a tender age, little Zane Crowe knew enough to realize that these were SysPaladins, the elite system enforcers, and they had come to the rescue.
"He's okay. His stats read okay, too."
The one before Zane spoke again to his colleagues, who were now hurtling spell after spell in the raging inferno.
"Well, get him out, Thorn." One of the SysPaladins replied. "I'm afraid the parents are toast."
Zane heard the SysPaladins before him mutter something he didn't quite understand at that age.
[System Override: Purge Status Effect {Fire}]
A towering wave of white light suddenly erupted before the little boy's eyes and engulfed the fires, finally succeeding in quenching them completely.
"Umm… thanks, Chief, but that would have been helpful like five minutes ago." One of the Paladins muttered.
"Yeah, instead of us nearly working ourselves off here," another SysPaladin commented.
"You're welcome, you ungrateful ingrates." The one in front of little Zane, obviously the squad leader, replied jokingly and then to Zane. "Come on, little feller… You are safe now."
***
"Zane... Zane... Zane Crowe!"
Zane's eyes snapped open after the third and loudest call. A girl was leaning over him with a slight frown on her face.
"What do you think you're doing, Zane? You of all people should know that sleeping on the job is an offense!" The girl spoke in a thin voice, possibly mimicking someone else.
Zane laughed, even with the memory of what happened all those years ago still haunting him. The girl noticed the look on his face and carefully sat right there on the floor next to Zane.
Little Zane was no longer little, and the incident with the fire had happened over ten years ago. Zane was 17 years old, and as it was culture, he was set to have his awakening that night, the night of his 17th birthday.
"Are you nervous?" the girl next to him asked, with her eyes carefully studying Zane. "You know there's no big deal about it, yeah? Just go there, and let the system work its magic."
"Easy for you to say, Lyra," Zane groaned. "You awakened as a mage!"
"Not just as a mage. A rare class, too." Lyra corrected.
"Watch this."
She laughed and then pressed her palms together. A faint geometric circle of light bloomed between her fingers with intricate lines and symbols Zane didn't recognize, with each pulsing in rhythm with her finger movements, and then it sputtered and died down.
"Show off!" Zane rolled his eyes even though he was impressed and happy for his friend.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll awaken into something equally cool, too," Lyra assured him. "I know you will."
But that was the problem. Zane didn't want to be a mage or a knight or any of those things. He had always wanted one thing, which was to awaken as a SysPaladin, an elite enforcer, and move out of the district he was presently stuck in.
Orphaned at a tender age, Zane was homeless, sleeping in very odd places and working odd jobs at factories or scrapyards just to afford food and clothing. Awakening as a SysPaladin would mean a lot to him. He wouldn't only leave this district for a higher one, but he would also be among the most powerful men and women of Chronos Eos.
"You're leaving, right?" he said suddenly. "That's what you came to tell me."
Lyra looked a bit startled that he had deduced easily, but she nodded slowly. Her own parents were also E-Ranked adepts, but because of Lyra's class, they all had the privilege of moving to a higher district.
Zane sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.
"You'll be fine, Zane," Lyra said soothingly with a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll stay until tonight to witness your awakening. I convinced my parents to leave tomorrow instead."
Zane felt grateful, but before he could appreciate her gesture.
"You of all people should know better than to have friends over during work hours!" A thin voice broke their conversation as Zane's current employer came into view, a bald man with a hunched back.
"I'll be sure to take it out of your wages!"
Zane and Lyra exchanged looks and a short laugh before Lyra ran off, and Zane got back to work. Tonight will be the night to determine whether he will leave his present district or not.