Rain drizzled softly as the Great Ancestor inside his tattered human body rose from the ruins of the underground parking structure. The scent of wet concrete, burnt cables, and exhaust fumes assaulted senses once accustomed to inhaling the purest aura of a realm He Himself had crafted.
This body was heavy.
Weak.
Fragile.
So fragile that He could hear His own heartbeat humming like a restless little bird trapped in a cage.
Yet He did not complain.
"This is the world you left for me to inhabit," He murmured, recalling the voice of the young man whose body He now wore. "Very well… let me see what I must handle first."
He brushed dust from the worn school uniform clinging to his new form. The fabric was torn in several places, jagged lines hinting at an accident or perhaps… something worse.
His steps wavered as he exited the collapsed parking structure.
Outside, neon lights flickered like drunken fireflies. Sirens filled the streets police cars, ambulances, hunters in black uniforms rushing with equipment in hand.
Everyone moved quickly, frantically, desperately.
As if this world carried a wound that never healed.
The Great Ancestor walked slowly, observing every detail. His human body trembled with each movement still pained, still in shock. But beneath that fragility, He sensed something that caught His attention:
a strange force in the air.
Not aura.
Not qi.
More… mechanical?
As if the world was governed by coded laws crafted by a blind, artificial entity.
He tilted His head.
"I see… so this is the power that rules this world."
His voice was calm, but the intrigue within it was impossible to hide.
The blue panel from before flickered back to life in front of him.
━━━━━━━━━━
[Awakening System – Beta Version]
Status: Severe Fear
━━━━━━━━━━
Streetlights around Him suddenly went dark, one by one
as if the world recognized exactly who was standing on the sidewalk.
Cars stalled.
People turned, sensing an "invisible pressure" that made their skin crawl.
The Great Ancestor raised an eyebrow.
"I haven't even used any power."
The panel trembled violently.
━━━━━━━━━━
[Subject exceeds world parameters.]
[Apologies: recalibrating…]
━━━━━━━━━━
"Of course you are."
His flat tone slapped the system's ego like a cold hand.
Suddenly, a small voice broke the tense silence.
"B-Big Brother…?"
The Great Ancestor turned.
At the edge of the sidewalk stood a small girl school uniform soaked by rain, face pale as wax. In her hand, a tiny grocery bag. She gripped it tightly, as if it were the only shield she had against a merciless world.
Her eyes widened when she saw him.
Not with fear.
Not with shock.
But with…
relief.
"Brother… I thought you died."
A faint smile touched the Great Ancestor's lips not from emotion, but because the host's memories stirred inside him:
This was the girl's older brother.
Her only remaining family.
Her tiny, fragile world the one the young man had begged him to protect.
He walked toward her.
This human body was heavy, but his steps were steady. He studied her face, her breathing, her trembling.
The little girl ran forward and hugged his waist.
The host's knees nearly collapsed but the Great Ancestor held firm.
"…I'm sorry."
He said it softly, mimicking the tone of the body's original owner.
She shook her head.
"I was just… scared you'd leave me."
He gently patted her head a gesture he once reserved for immortal disciples, now performed with this frail human form.
"I won't go anywhere."
His voice was quiet
but it rang like a vow that carved itself into the laws of the world.
The girl finally cried silently, shoulders trembling.
In the distance, more hunters arrived at the accident site. They spotted the Great Ancestor and the girl
and exchanged wary glances.
Suspicion.
Caution.
Preparation.
They knew something was off.
The panel flickered again beside his face.
━━━━━━━━━━
[WARNING]
A B-Rank Hunter has detected an anomaly near you.
━━━━━━━━━━
The Great Ancestor glanced at it.
"The boy you once were… always being hunted?"
The fragments of memory responded: Yes.
A curse of misfortune.
Always in the wrong place.
Always misunderstood.
The little sister tugged at his sleeve.
"Brother… let's go home, please?"
He nodded.
But before he could take a step, a voice came from behind flat, cold, procedural.
"Stand where you are. Do not move."
Three hunters approached, weapons drawn, eyes locked onto the Great Ancestor as though they were facing something far more dangerous than a monster.
The girl trembled.
One hunter raised a scanning device.
A red beam swept across the Great Ancestor's body
And the device immediately
EXPLODED.
Not because He resisted.
Not because He attacked.
Simply because His existence was too vast to process.
The hunters stumbled back in panic.
The girl screamed.
The system panel shook hysterically beside him.
━━━━━━━━━━
[YOU ARE NOW OFFICIALLY REGISTERED IN THE SYSTEM AS:]
"Extreme-Level Threat Beyond Calculation."
━━━━━━━━━━
The Great Ancestor gazed at the hunters.
He wasn't angry.
Nor afraid.
Nor threatened.
Just… tired.
"I just arrived," he murmured. "And you're already causing trouble."
He looked at his sister.
Then at the world around him.
"Very well. Let's begin."
And with that
Earth began to learn the name of the Great Ancestor…
even if the world was not ready.