The hospital room was quiet.
A woman sat on the bed, and held her newborn close.
She looked tired, the result of the exhaustion from childbirth.
Despite the sweat and exhaustion, her beauty still stood out.
Blonde hair fell loosely over her shoulders, and her blue eyes softened as she looked at the baby.
She hummed a lullaby.
Her voice was low and gentle. It was shaky, but full of warmth.
She leaned closer to the child and whispered. "Your dad is finally coming today."
Her soft and bright smile lingered, as if the world outside the room didn't exist.
…
I opened my eyes.
The sound of that lullaby was what pulled me back.
My mind felt hazy, but my body… it felt too small.
I blinked, trying to focus, but what I saw made my heart freeze.
My mother.
She was right there, holding me in her arms.
That wasn't possible.
She had been dead for years.
When I was eighteen, half of the Earth's population had been summoned to a world called Wageah.
We were treated like slaves there, and forced to fight wars for their kings.
I had seen the soldiers beating mother down in Wageah, kicking her until she stopped moving.
I had screamed until my throat burned, but no one came to help.
Even now, the memory stabbed through me like a knife.
Out of everything I had lost, her death left the deepest scar.
So why was I seeing her now?
Was this some dream before death? A cruel trick from my own regrets?
I couldn't tell. My thoughts were messy.
Then, the door opened.
A man stepped inside.
His hair was black, and his eyes were grey.
His face was warm, and his silly smile stretched from ear to ear. His hands were large, rough, and covered in calluses.
My father.
The man who had died in an accident when I was twelve, and still on Earth.
He walked over and reached out, lifting me into his arms as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
I froze. My body couldn't move.
"My baby boy," my father said, his voice full of pride.
He laughed, happily and tossed me into the air to play with me.
I felt my stomach drop. The world spun, and I couldn't even scream. My small body was helpless as vertigo washed over me.
"Adrian! What are you doing!?" my mother shouted, half angry, half scared.
But my father only laughed, catching me again with those huge hands.
I stared up at him, trembling inside.
This wasn't a dream.
The warmth of his hands, the smell of the hospital room, the sound of my mother's voice. Everything was too real.
My chest tightened.
How?
How was I back here?
Mother and Father infront of me. Alive.
Tears started to form in my eyes before I could stop them.
I tried to hold them back, but my newborn body betrayed me.
My father blinked, startled. "Wait… is he crying?"
He looked confused, and guilty. He quickly passed me back into my mother's arms.
"You scared him," She scolded him softly while rocking me again. "It's alright. Mommy is here now."
She buried my face into her chest. This warmth was real. Somehow, I was back to the past.
And at that moment, I made a silent promise.
I would protect them.
No matter the cost.
Just as I swore that to myself, a screen flashed before my eyes.
[Connection to Host reformed.]
My eyes widened.
[Awakening Shadow.]
Shadow.
I knew that name.
It was one of the Supreme God's treasures, a weapon so powerful that countless people had killed each other for it.
In my last life, I had found it by chance, but before I could learn how to use it properly, I had been killed. Someone else had stolen it from me.
And yet, here it was.
It had followed me into this life.
'How…?'
The screen flickered again.
[System Reboot: Failed.]
[Reattempting.]
[Rebooting again. Failed.]
[Rebooting again. Failed.]
[Rebooting again. Successful.]
I let out a shaky breath of relief.
A faint window appeared in front of me, text forming across it.
…
Name: @!$!@#$@
Rank 0
.
Species: Draconic-Blooded Human [Rank 1]
.
Stats:
Strength: 0
Dexterity: 0
Endurance: 0
Intelligence: 99
Spirit: 0
.
Class: Shadow
Class Skills: Shadow Summon Level 1
…
I stared at the screen, my mind blank.
'The System… is here?'
That didn't make sense.
Wageah, the world where half of earthlings had been summoned to, was a world filled with monsters, gods, and endless wars.
Only after stepping foot there did people gain access to the System.
The glowing screen in front of me changed.
[Detected that user ₩oo#!!32 possess the Supreme Treasure [Shadow].]
[User is too young to handle [Shadow].]
[Deploying a Fallen Angel Guide to help the user handle the [System] and the [Shadow].]
I blinked.
'What is this? I didn't have anything like this in my last life.'
Before I could make sense of it, a sharp pop echoed in the room. A small figure, no bigger than my finger, floated in the air.
She had silver-white hair, bright red eyes, and two wings on her back.
Her appearance was astounding.
Despite having visited several worlds, she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen.
Her gaze fell on me.
"You must be the current Lord of Shadows. Greetings, I'm Yuna, the Fallen Angel sent by the System to guide you."
She smiled warmly.
I looked at my parents. They were chatting with each other, completely unaware.
'So… they can't see her?'
Yuna answered before I asked. "Lord of Shadows, you need not worry. Only you can see me."
I turned back to her, blinking in silence.
"Hmm?" She tilted her head. "Lord of Shadows, can you understand me?"
I didn't respond. I was still a baby. It would be strange to suddenly react.
"This is strange," she murmured. "I was told you had the [Shadow] Class. That means your intelligence is far above normal.
"And I'm transmitting my intent directly into your mind, so you should be able to understand me even if you can't understand my words normally."
Her red eyes studied me carefully.
'So that's why my Intelligence stat is ninety-nine even though I'm a newborn. It's because of [Shadow].'
"Hello? Can you hear me, Lord of Shadows?"