A Forsaken Landscape, Under the Setting Sun
"Igor, wake up! Wake up!"
"What happened to you, my son? Please, open your eyes!"
"Mom… those bad people—they tried to hurt me. But Brother Igor stepped in. He protected me… but they… they beat him so badly. They hit him on the head—right there." A little girl of 6-7 years old, pointed with trembling fingers, tears streaming down her face. "After that, he was acting strange… and now… now he won't wake up."
Her voice cracked with grief.
"Will he never wake up, Mom? Did I… did I cause this?"
In front of their makeshift wooden cottage, a mother and daughter clung desperately to the still body of a young man.
His black hair, like the little girl's, was painted with blood, and his skin injured with deep bruises. His chest, once rising and falling with steady breath, now lay unmoving.
His body was warm, but there was no sign of life.
The mother's hands trembled as she cradled her son's lifeless form.
She was in extreme grief as realised:
her boy, the one who had worked tirelessly to keep them fed, to shield them from the cruelty of the world, was slipping away.
A choked sob escaped her lips.
Their protector, their pillar of strength, was being taken from them.
Their world, already filled in suffering, was unraveling before their eyes.
How cruel could fate be?
How could they bear this loss?
Just then—
"Rumble, Rumble!"
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and thunder rumbled across the forsaken landscape.
The mother and daughter shrieked in fear, but their terror quickly turned to astonishment when they noticed movement in the once-lifeless body before them.
Their gasps of shock turned into cries of relief.
"Mommy, Brother Igor is moving! He's waking up! He's not dead!" the little girl exclaimed, her tear-streaked face lighting up with hope.
The woman, momentarily stunned, clutched the young man's hand as if holding onto her lifeline.
Indeed, the unmoving figure had begun to stir.
Slowly, the young man rubbed his head and sat up, his expression dazed and confused. He flexed his fingers, then examined his arms and legs as if they were unfamiliar to him.
"Igor, my son… are you really okay?" his mother asked hesitantly, a strange unease creeping into her heart. For a fleeting moment, she felt something was… different. As if the person before her wasn't quite the son she had known.
But a mother's love, desperate and blind, refused to entertain such a thought.
Meanwhile, the young man murmured, "Igor? I am called… Igor?" His voice cracked with uncertainty.
"Yes, you are. Your name is Igor. You're my only son," the mother affirmed, nodding her head repeatedly, as if trying to anchor the truth in his mind, desperate for him not to see them as strangers.
The little girl's expression wavered. Fear returned to her eyes. "B-Brother… do you not remember us?" she asked, her small frame trembling.
Her mother's grip tightened. "Son, we are your mother and sister. Have you lost your memories?"
The young man, Igor paused before slowly nodding.
"Yes… I can't remember much. But… you are my mother. That, I know."
"What about me, Big Brother?" the little girl asked hesitantly, her voice quivering. "I am Isadora… your little sister."
"I.. Isadora?" He frowned, as if struggling to recall. Then his expression changed. "Dora.. I remember now."
The little girl's eyes sparkled with joy after hearing his words. "That's right brother. It's me. I'm Dora! Your little sister, Dora! You used to call me that all the time!"
Her beaming face filled with relief, but the woman couldn't shake the strange feeling in her heart.
Regardless, with great care, they helped Igor inside the small hut, guiding him as though he were as fragile as glass.
Inside, Igor sat on a woven mat on the ground, his mind clouded with thoughts.
'Is this the Lost Summoners' World? But… where is the touch of advanced civilization? Just where exactly am I?'
Liam—now inhabiting Igor's body—questioned himself, struggling to make sense of his situation.
"Brother, what are you thinking about?"
A gentle voice pulled him from his thoughts.
He looked up to see Isadora, her small hands carefully holding a wooden spoon. "Here, take a sip of the rice soup. Mother made it just for you."
Igor glanced at the spoon hovering near his lips and hesitated. Even without tasting it, he could already tell it was bland, lacking seasoning, a meal born of hardship.
But his stomach twisted with hunger, so he took a bite without complaint.
As the warmth of the soup settled in his belly, something unexpected happened.
A sudden flash.
A surge of energy.
Then—
[ System Awakening… ]
[ System Synchronizing… ]
[ Synchronization Successful ]
Igor's eyes widened in astonishment as glowing text flickered before him, hovering in thin air.
The symbols were ancient and unfamiliar—yet, somehow, he understood them perfectly.
Then, a full window materialized before his eyes.
[ Name: Igor Calamity ]
[ Age: 19 ]
[ Divine Abilities:
- Trickster's Eyes (Rare)
- Primodial Warlord (Epic)
- Infinite Acquisition (Unknown)]
Igor stared at the window, his mind racing.
"The abilities… the eggs…" he muttered, as if everything was finally falling into place.
This must be from the Faceless God, he thought instinctively.
But then, his gaze settled on the last ability—Infinite Acquisition.
A frown crept onto his face.
'Wait… this name is different from what he told me. What has changed?'
Liam, now inside Igor's body, questioned inwardly, confusion settling deep in his thoughts.
Just then, the cheerful voice broke through his daze.
"Abilities? Eggs? What are you murmuring about, Brother? Why not tell your little sister too?"
Isadora tilted her head, still smiling as she brought another spoonful of soup to his lips, completely unaware of the storm raging in his mind.
"No-Nothing."
Liam—now Igor—was already forming a plan. He needed to figure out his next steps, but there was one major problem.
He had no memory or knowledge of his surroundings.
His first priority was gathering information. Next, he had to learn how to utilize his abilities in the most efficient way possible.
Right now, the only sources of knowledge available to him were the young girl and the woman who were this body's supposed family.
Without hesitation, he began questioning Isadora, probing for answers about where they were and how they had ended up in such a miserable state.
And what he discovered left him in shock.
Because he was in—