**Chapter 1: A World Measured by Power**
*Year: 2050.*
Long ago, Earth was a quiet planet in a vast, uncaring cosmos. But that all changed when the **Gates** opened—rips in space itself that became bridges to realms beyond comprehension.
The first were **Gates of Hell**, cracks in the sky from which poured beasts cloaked in darkness—**devils, demons**, and nightmares incarnate. Cities were swallowed in flame and blood.
But where darkness floods, light must follow.
Shortly after, **Gates of Heaven** began to shine. From them came beings of divine aura—**Guardians and Angels**, not to fight, but to offer **blessings**. These blessings awakened **Skills** in humanity—supernatural gifts.
Soon, **80% of the global population** bore Skills: one could manipulate fire, another control gravity, another heal wounds with a glance.
Those who trained and fought against the invaders were titled **Heroes**, divided by strength into ranks: **F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS.** Beyond even those, whispered in awe and mystery, were ranks like **SRR** and **SSR**—only achieved by legends.
And at the peak of them all stood a lone figure—the **Legendary Hero**. Holder of **six Great Skills**, he alone could prevent the frequent opening of Gates just by his existence. His identity remained secret, as did the nature of his powers.
Children who awaken Skills before 18 must attend **Hero Academies** to train. It is law. Even those with weak or non-combat Skills must train until they turn eighteen.
---
**Ren Arasaka.**
16 years old. A student at **Yamato Hero Academy** in Kyoto.
Unlike most, Ren had only **one Skill**: **Instructions**.
Rank: Unidentified.
A support-type ability said to analyze opponents, balance power, and even combine Skills. But it was locked—completely unusable—because it required at least one more Skill to activate.
Which Ren didn't have.
Labeled **U-Rank**—Unranked.
The outcast. The joke.
In the halls of Yamato, students avoided him like a disease.
"Still dreaming of being a Hero, Arasaka?"
"Why don't you drop out already?"
Only one stood by him—**Kaito Fujima**, his childhood friend. Kaito had awakened **two Skills**: one common and one rare. Charismatic and gifted, Kaito was everything Ren wasn't. Yet he never turned his back on him.
Even so, Ren often wondered: *Why am I still here?*
---
That weekend, Ren was staying at his grandmother's quiet house nestled in the forest hills. The sky was overcast, and the mountain wind was heavy with silence.
His phone rang.
He didn't recognize the number.
"Hello?"
A voice. Panicked. Rushed. Words like thunder: *"Ren… your parents… there was an accident…"*
His phone slipped from his hands.
It hit the floor. Time froze.
His chest tightened. His knees buckled. Cold flooded his body, but his skin burned.
"W-what…?"
He ran. He didn't wait for his grandmother. He didn't feel the rain begin to fall. All he knew was the growing scream in his heart.
In the hospital hallway, everything smelled like antiseptic and smoke.
Doctors whispered.
And then… the curtain pulled back.
His **mother's body**—barely recognizable. Her skin charred, arms burned as if she shielded someone.
His **father's chest** was crushed in, his hands bloodied like he fought something no one could see.
Only his **sister** survived.
She lay unconscious, bruised and hooked to machines. Her breath was shallow, but steady.
He stared.
*"They were just going home…"* he muttered. *"I was supposed to be with them…"*
He remembered the dream from the night before—vivid and strange. A figure cloaked in flame. Red eyes. A voice like a storm muttering words he couldn't understand. He tried to hold onto it now, but it was fading.
At the funeral, Ren stood alone beneath an umbrella. The world blurred behind the falling rain.
People spoke empty words.
He didn't cry.
He couldn't.
He felt like he was floating through a life no longer his.
> "What's the point?"
> "Why was I spared?"
> "I'm useless. My Skill doesn't even work. I couldn't protect them. I couldn't do anything."
He clenched his fists.
And then—a voice.
> *\[System Notice: This process has taken longer than expected...]*
> *\[Reading inherited traits...]*
> *\[Skill 'Instructions' has awakened.]*
> *\[Rank: A. Level 1.]*
> *\[Congratulations. You have acquired new Skills.]*
> *\[Skill Gained: Successor]*
> *\[Skill Gained: Bloodline (True Name Hidden)]*
His body trembled. Light flickered behind his eyes. He saw a memory that was not his—his father training under a towering man cloaked in golden light. His mother wielding flames not from Earth, her form radiant like a fallen queen.
He gasped, falling to his knees in the mud.
The world hadn't abandoned him.
It had been waiting.
His parents… had left him a legacy.
And now, finally, he could fight back.
---
*To be continued...*