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."
Igaris was doing his best to cope in this new world. He had no memories of this world and this body, so he had to handle everything carefully.
That's right. When a person dives into a World Dungeon, they take over someone's body from that world. Just like Transmigration.
And the same applied to other World Dungeon Divers as well.
Back to present:
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 Igaris inside the small hut, guiding him as though he were as fragile as glass.
Inside, Igaris sat on a woven mat on the ground, his mind clouded with thoughts.
'What kid of World is this? I don't see any touch of Supernatural civilization?
Just where exactly am I?'
Igaris—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."
Igaris 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 ]
Igaris' 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.
World Diving System:
[ Current World: Hollow Earth ]
[ Name: Igaris Vance (Igor Calamity) ]
[ Age: 18 (19) ]
[ Power Rank: Warrior - 1 ]
[ Innate Abilities:
- Infinite Acquisition (God-Tier)]
---
"It's here!"
Igaris stared at the window, his mind racing.
"The innate ability... " he muttered, as if everything was finally falling into place.
He realised he was lucky enough to awaken innate ability through the World Dungeon.
Infinite Acquisition: An God-Tier Aeonic ability that grants you the power to tame absolutely anything with full loyalty. Whether it's a beast, a wandering ghost or a ferocious creature.
"Wait... It can let me tame anything with full loyalty? Isn't this ability a little too overpowered, if it can do what it claims?" Igaris said to himself in bafflement.
Nonetheless, Igaris was greatly pleased with the innate ability.
If Its true, it could give him the boost needed for getting stronger in this World.
Just then, the cheerful voice broke through his daze.
"Abilities? 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."
Igaris muttered with a shrug, while his mind 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 this World.
So 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—