In a remote village in Valyria, the clouds stubbornly darkened for two hours with no downpour.
The village, usually buzzing with gossips, haggling, kids running and pranking adults—held still today. A heavy silence settled on the village like a wet blanket.
Rumors had been spread like wildfire roundabout the village... the obstinate dark clouds were instantly deemed bad omen, a plague from the dragon gods.
The inhabitants had long gone into their houses, the once vibrant village streets turned to a ghost town.
In the same village, a dilapidated building with thatched roofs buzzed as a midwife sent hasty errands to her apprentice.
"Get me water, now!" The old woman with grey hair instructed, her voice gentle but firm.
"I've never failed. By all means, you shall deliver," the midwife muttered, more to herself than the heavy woman on the bed.
A tall man with decent looks stood wearily by the side, his brows furrowed with palpable concern.
"Fred, your wife will be fine. Something tells me this kid is no ordinary one..." the midwife reassured the man for the fourth time that day, her voice trailing off at the end with a deep exhalation.
The young apprentice was back with water in a bowl, her grasping fingers trembling from sheer pressure.
The midwife hastily dropped a tincture in the water, her hands glowing as she controlled the water in the bowl. Her gaze was intently fixated on the water, her focus unwavering.
"This was much easier back in my prime..." she muttered, her attention undivided.
The water slowly rose from the bowl and found its way between the pregnant woman's thigh, healing the cut in the woman's private. The midwife also made sure to direct the medicinal water to the heavy woman's mouth.
Now, the water control would've been impossible without the aid of her contracted beast, Water Salamander. A beast with water affinity.
The beast was stuck in the early stage of Bronze rank. In truth, the beast had potentials of reaching Silver, but poor cultivation techniques had ruined the midwife's chances.
In fact, no one had been able to attain Silver rank in the village, apart from Fred. The village was simply cut from the kingdom's agenda, leaving the inhabitants to fight for survival.
...
"Elena, push! The healing properties in my elemental control and the tincture will make this easier. Push!" The midwife instructed, her voice now stern.
Fred seemed to be muttering some kind of prayers, his Giant Armadillo's scale briefly manifesting on his forearms—in reaction to his internal turmoil.
The pregnant woman, Elena, grunted, her face contorted as she exerted all of her strength on one last push.
There it was, a tiny creature that had kept four adults on the peak of worries finally slipped out.
But there was something strange... the moment the baby came to the world, the clouds outside darkened further, a strong wind tore through the village, and a thunderous rumble echoed in the sky.
"Lord of dragons... what is this?" The apprentice found herself muttering as she peeked through the window of the house.
She looked outside and looked at the baby, then returned her gaze on the window. She knew it must have something to do with the baby, but kept her words to herself.
"It's a boy," the midwife declared as she stared at the boy's absurd jet-black hair.
Fred, the father was blonde, and his wife had brown hair. It was strange to see the black hair, talk more of an absurdly jet-black that seemed to shimmer.
"Why... is the baby not crying?" Elena voiced another concern weakly, her hands trembling as she gripped the sheets.
Fred moved closer to look at his son, and was also surprised by the boy's irregularities.
*Pak* *Pak* *Pak*
The midwife slapped the boy's butt three times, but got no reaction. Instead, the boy's black eyes remained fixated on the old woman.
'What was that for? Who is this old woman? What am I doing here?' The baby screamed in his head.
"A strong one, eh? I've seen plenty of babies like you," the midwife exclaimed, her weary eyes scanning the boy. She turned to the mother and responded sheepishly; "Elena, this one is definitely trouble."
'Baby? What is this old woman yammering? I know I'm strong, but she dared call me baby?' More furious thoughts echoed in his head.
*Pak* *Pak *Pak*
The midwife delivered more slaps on his butt.
'Wait a minute! Why...' Then it dawned on him, memories flashed in his head. If he wasn't a baby, his face would probably contort and eyes laced with tears.
'Was I reborn? I can only remember the consumption of mana and those... terrifying beasts. They all look big, and it can only mean one thing... I was given another chance?' More agonizing thoughts hammered Gad's small head.
He wanted to scream out, ask dozens of questions, instead a wail escaped his small throat and streams flowed from his black eyes.
"There it is. See? Normal and healthy," the midwife said, a victorious smile plastered on her face.
She took little Gad to the bathroom for a wash and came out after long minutes of fuss and washing.
"Here, fresh and clean. I must say, he's a special one. You should think of a great name for him," said the midwife as she gently placed little Gad on Fred's eager arms and gawked the brewing storm outside.
'Name? What name?! I'm Gad!' Gad attempted to yell, but ended up gurgling and looking cute.
Fred's eyes moistened as he inched closer to his wife.
"Have you thought of a name, honey?" Elena asked weakly, a strained smile stretching on her face.
She wanted to hold little Gad, but her trembling hands couldn't allow. Fred seemed to have noticed, and only gave an encouraging nod to his wife.
"Because you came in the darkest hour and still put a smile on our faces, we'll name you Kyran, our little beam of light," Fred declared, his weathered hands clutching tighter around the little boy.
Just then, a fierce wind blew outside and powerful rumbles echoed in the dark clouds...
A shiny, holo, blue screen popped out before Kyran (the little Gad) in succession.
[Welcome, Kyran.]
[Initializing the Shadow Fighter System.]
[10%... 20%... 30%.... 40%.... 50%....]
[Failed.]
[Rebooting...]
[Failed.]
[Initializing... &%$%@&@/^-]
[Error.]
[Failed.]
Just as the interface appeared, it fizzled quickly, leaving little Kyran puzzled.
Little did he know something great was about to happen.
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