The first thing I heard was screaming.
The second was fire.
And the third… was my name being blamed for both.
"Kael! Stop him!"
"Don't let him escape!"
The voices echoed through the streets as flames devoured the district. Wooden houses collapsed one after another, their structures groaning before giving in to the heat. Smoke filled the air, thick and suffocating, turning the night sky into a dull orange haze.
I stood in the middle of it all—confused, frozen.
"I didn't do anything…" I muttered, my voice barely audible over the chaos.
My hands trembled. I looked down at them as if expecting proof of guilt to appear. But there was nothing—no magic residue, no sign of power. Just empty, powerless hands.
And yet… everyone was looking at me like I was the source of the disaster.
"Back away slowly," a guard ordered, his voice firm as he pointed his spear at me.
Metal armor clanked as more guards surrounded the area. Their presence only made the situation worse. I could feel the pressure of their gazes, sharp and judging, as if they had already decided the truth.
"No System… no mana… and yet you think you can act without consequences?" one of them said coldly.
"I swear, I didn't—" I tried to explain, but my words were cut off.
A burst of energy hit the ground beside me, exploding into sparks and debris. I flinched, stumbling backward.
"Resist and you die," the guard warned.
Die.
The word lingered in my mind.
I wasn't resisting. I wasn't even fighting. But it didn't matter. In their eyes, I was already guilty.
My chest tightened as panic set in. I looked around desperately, searching for someone—anyone—who might believe me.
But no one did.
People were pointing. Whispering. Accusing.
"That's him."
"He's the one who caused the explosion earlier."
"He doesn't have a System… so he must've used something illegal."
"Trash like him always ends up like this."
Trash.
The word hit harder than anything else.
My breathing became uneven. I clenched my fists, trying to steady myself.
"I didn't do it…" I said again, though this time even I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince.
Then, everything changed.
A figure stepped forward from the crowd of guards.
He wore a different insignia—more refined, more authoritative. His presence alone made the others straighten their posture.
"Enough," he said calmly.
The guards stepped aside immediately.
He looked at me with an expression that wasn't anger.
It was certainty.
"You've been identified as the cause of the disturbance," he said. "Witnesses confirm your presence near the core explosion point. You have no System registration. No affiliation. No defense."
I shook my head rapidly. "That's not true! Someone set me up!"
"Silence."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried weight.
I felt it press against my chest like an invisible force.
"Kael," he continued, "your existence has already been judged."
My heart pounded.
This was it.
No trial. No proof. No chance.
Just execution.
I tried to step back, but my legs refused to move properly. Fear had locked my body in place.
"Please…" I whispered.
The man raised his hand slightly.
A faint glow formed at his fingertips.
"I will make this quick."
The energy shot forward in an instant.
Time seemed to slow.
I saw it approaching. Bright. Pure. Unavoidable.
This is how it ends.
I closed my eyes.
---
Impact.
---
Silence followed.
Strangely… I didn't feel anything.
No pain.
No cold.
No darkness.
Just… emptiness.
Then, slowly, something began to pull me away.
My consciousness drifted.
Faded.
And then—
---
I opened my eyes.
"…"
I was staring at a ceiling.
Not burning.
Not collapsing.
Just… a ceiling.
I sat up abruptly, breathing heavily as confusion flooded my mind.
"What…?"
The room was unfamiliar. Wooden walls. A small window letting in soft morning light. No smoke. No fire. No screams.
My heart was still racing.
I looked at my hands.
They were clean.
Untouched.
Alive.
"…I'm not dead?"
Then I noticed something strange.
A faint translucent screen flickered in front of me.
Lines of text began to appear—one by one.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
My eyes widened.
"…System?"
A cold notification followed.
[USER DETECTED: Kael]
[STATUS: REBORN]
My breath caught in my throat.
And beneath it, a final line appeared—one that made my entire body go still.
[WARNING: Unauthorized System Presence Detected]
I stared at the message, unable to move.
Because in that moment, I realized something terrifying—
This wasn't just a second chance.
Something was wrong with my System.
And whatever it was…
…it didn't belong to me.