Even though the sky was clear, a heavy feeling hung over Yor Satoshi's house.
He stood quietly outside, staring at the distant hills. The wind gently moved his dark hair, but he barely noticed. Inside the house, things were silent — too silent. The kind of silence that made the heart ache.
His father, Hiro, was sitting at the small wooden table. His eyes were locked on a pile of bills, his brows furrowed. The money just wasn't enough. His mother, Akari, moved around the kitchen slowly, stirring a simple meal. She was trying to act normal, but Yor could see her hands trembling. And lying quietly on the old couch, wrapped in a blanket, was Yuna, his older sister.
Yuna had always been full of life. She used to sing, laugh, and play jokes on Yor. But now… she barely opened her eyes. Since the attack by that monster — the Crimson Serpent — she had become weaker each day. Its venom was still in her body, and their family didn't have the money or connections to get her proper treatment.
---
A week ago, they had gone to the town's healer. The man had kind eyes, glowing softly with green light, and wore a white robe. After checking Yuna carefully, he sighed and shook his head.
> "Her condition needs a Rank 3 Healer," he said. "I'm only Rank 2. The venom has gone deep. If nothing changes, she won't survive another month."
Yor didn't understand ranks back then. But now he did.
In this world, both humans and monsters had power levels. These were called ranks. The higher the rank, the more powerful you were — and the more respect you received. Powers weren't equal. Some people could burn things with a glance. Some could heal wounds. Others could form bonds with monsters and fight beside them. But most people had no powers at all.
Yor had no power. He was a Rank 0 — just an ordinary boy in a dying world.
He had learned the basics of the ranking system:
Rank 0: No powers. Normal people like most of his neighbors.
Rank 1: People with small, weak powers. Many never improved.
Rank 2: Those who had trained their abilities and could use them properly.
Rank 3: Special individuals who were respected and feared. Their powers could change the outcome of a battle.
Higher Ranks: Mostly legends. Some said there were Rank 4, 5, or even beyond. But Yor had never seen them.
Even tamers, the people who tamed and fought alongside monsters, were ranked this way. Higher-rank tamers could bond with powerful, rare monsters — like phoenixes or shadow panthers.
---
That night, Yor sat beside Yuna. Her breathing was shallow. Her skin was pale. Her eyes opened for a moment.
"Yor…" she whispered, "do you still remember the phoenix?"
He blinked. That old bedtime story… when they were kids, Yuna loved tales about the Phoenix of Rebirth — a mythical bird that would die in fire and rise again, stronger than before.
"I remember," he said softly.
She smiled a little. "Be like the phoenix, Yor. Even if everything burns… rise again."
---
Outside, Yor stared up at the sky. He felt something inside him — not a power, not yet. But a deep, burning will.
He didn't have any abilities.
He wasn't strong.
But he had something no one could take: a reason to fight.
> "You were not born powerless," a whisper echoed in his mind. "You were born waiting."
Somewhere far away, deep in the ruined parts of the city, something ancient opened its eyes. It felt a faint signal — a forgotten bloodline waking up.
The world didn't know it yet, but everything was about to change.