The sun shone against the rocky ground, as lifeless bodies scattered what once was a beautiful city, only destruction was left behind in his wake, the ground was cracked and devoid of any signs of life. We had won against that demon but at what cost? What was the point when there was no one left to celebrate with us, even the strongest had perished in battle against him.

  Only two of us remained in the wasteland that we once called home.

  I crawled across the ground, my arms weak and tired, my body aching and broken. While that man stood tall staring directly at the blazing meteor plummeting towards us, he had an expressionless face as he reached out his hand.

  A green energy flowing from his fingertips as his fingers cracked, he couldn’t stop the meteor no matter how much he tried.

  So he gave up, I distinctly remember his eyes hollow and empty like the void of space. He gazed at the fiery rock as if it were something mundane. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, that’s what he’s always been like. Why have I never noticed this before?

  He dropped his shield onto the ground with a clang and began to take off all his armor.

  I crawled beneath his feet, staring at his entirely black body begin to fade into his natural skintone.

  “I-I just want to start over”.

  Tears began to stream down my face as I bit my lip, blood oozing into my mouth as the bitter taste repelled me.

  The meteor began to get closer, burn even brighter and its heat searing the air.

  “You want to start over”? His voice was unreadable, devoid of any emotion.

  He finally faced me. His completely void like eyes changed into a more violet hue, a purple aura surrounded his pupils, pulsating like a living force.

  His feet planted themselves onto the ground as he wiped away the blood on his lip.

  “We’re all going to die anyways”. He said with a blank expression. “I’ll use whatever I have left…to send you as far back as I possibly can”. His gaze slightly softened, even just for moment.

  [Queen]

  The meteor got closer as the flames burned away my flesh and bones as the meteor consumed me whole.

  As a child, I had always buried my pain.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Sadness, fear, doubt—I locked it all away behind a facade. It was the only way to survive. Show a weakness, and the world would exploit it.

  I remember lying on the shower floor for hours, staring at the ceiling, thinking about my pathetic life.

  My father always wanted to be an adventurer, one who explores the dungeons and fight off demons and monsters. He wanted attention from the public, people cheering for him and his family praising him for such achievements.

  But he was stuck working a nine to five job as a plumber.

  My father worked tirelessly to provide for us with his pitiful job, he had to sacrifice his sweat blood and tears for us. When he won 30 million dollars on a lottery scratch-off, he thought our suffering had ended. He told everyone—his coworkers, his friends, even the neighbors.

  He finally got the attention he wanted.

  The wrong kind.

  Our address leaked online. Strangers came. The media swarmed. And one night, his best friend killed him in front of me. Stabbed him over and over again. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t scream.

  The money vanished even the law could do nothing but watch. We were left with nothing but grief and poverty.

  Depression swallowed our family.

  I thought my powers would change everything, that they would give me a purpose. In our world, abilities awakened during adolescence. If you didn’t get one, it means the end for a person, the ability to develop powers was crucial in surviving a magic filled world. Those who couldn’t develop an adaptation would turn into monsters, though few may survive. But the chance to not develop one was minuscule but it still meant that there was a chance.

  When I turned fourteen, nothing happened, I looked at myself in the mirror, I was afraid that I would turn into a monster, that I would slowly lose my humanity.

  I stood at the edge of a bridge, ready to jump. I had no reason to keep going, if I survived I would only be a detriment to my family living as a mondter.

  But then, I saw his eyes.

  Bright red. Blood dripping from a knife.

  “You know how many people would kill to be in your position?” His voice was laced with venom. “There are people who eat dirt, who sleep in the snow. You should be grateful you even have clothes, don’t you dare jump”.

  I had the record for the latest awakening in history.

  “Jaclyn! Wake up”!!

  My eyes jolted open as I felt an unfamiliar but not unpleasant sensation, the soft mattress sunk me into it, my entire body felt at ease.

  “Jaclyn Ashborn”!!

  My entire body flung itself forwards as I managed to catch myself.

  “Geez I almost forgot my name”.

  I walked towards my charging phone as I looked at the date.

  [December 31st 2029]

  “The new year is almost here, I can’t believe I’m fifteen years back”.

  I smiled as I walked downstairs.

  Standing in front of me was a woman with long dark hair with an apron around her waist, her stared at me with intensity.

  “Eat quickly and get your ass to the entrance exam already”!

  “….. Yes Mom”.

  Right, I wasn’t thirty one anymore, I was a sixteen year old student.

  It had been over a millennium since it happened—a rift in space-time, a gateway to another world. A world ruled by demonic creatures, their king leading them in a crusade against humanity.

  The magic-infused microorganisms that leaked into our reality changed everything. They devoured organic matter, reshaping it. Some humans mutated, transforming into goblins, orcs, elves. Others evolved, their bodies adapting to harness supernatural abilities.

  Every human was granted a power containing three abilities, ranked from E to S. Only fifty S-class powers had been recorded in the last thousand years within our country.

  And in my generation, only two existed.

  The first belonged to a speedster:

  ? Super Speed

  ? Ability 1: Steel-like skin

  ? Ability 2: Enhanced speed

  ? Ability 3: Friction nullification

  The second… was mine.

  “Hero.”

  The skill destined to defeat the Demon King.

  ? Ability 1: Plot Armor

  ? Ability 2: Adaptation

  ? Ability 3: Holy Sword

  And the only S class skill that had multiple users.

  I had killed the Demon King with my own hands, his blood staining me from head to toe.

  But his death had triggered the end of the world. This time, I would fix everything.

  This time, I would save them all.