Forsaken Soul in a World Rewritten

La Mercedes Apartment Complex, Busay

In a certain penthouse apartment on the 18th floor, a loud alarm shattered the stillness of the early morning.

Its piercing sound echoed, reaching the man's ears who slept in an uncomfortable position across his bed.

His face was pressed into the pillow, and a small stream of drool trailed from his mouth.

The endless ringing jolted him awake.

Ariase bolted upright, his breath coming in ragged, panicked gasps, as though he'd been dragged from the depths of a nightmare.

Beads of sweat clung to his forehead.

A wave of disorientation flooded over him as he scanned the room, his thoughts racing.

'Huh? HUH?!'

'Ho-How am I back in my room?! Was all of that a drea—'

'No! It couldn't be. It was too vivid...'

His breathing was still unsteady, and his body felt strangely light.

Looking around, his eyes landed on the tall mirror to his right.

The moment he saw his reflection, his eyes widened and his blood turned to ice.

His voice erupted in a panicked shout, "What in the world is happ—"

But the sound of his own voice stopped him cold.

It was higher-pitched, lighter, and younger.

His eyes widened in sheer disbelief as a flood of confusion overtook him.

Staggering backward, his body trembled violently.

He collapsed onto the floor of his room, gripping his head with both hands.

"I-I was dead a minute ago... I even witnessed that!"

"And now... I'm young?!" he stammered, his voice cracking under the weight of his confusion.

Desperation clawed at him as he crawled back toward the mirror.

It clearly reflected his youthful and unrefined face, back when he was in Junior High School.

He clutched at the mirror, his fingers trembling against the cold surface.

"H-How could this happen?!" he shouted, his voice thick with frustration and fear.

He frantically touched his cheek, tracing the smoothness of his youthful skin.

Then, he glanced down and pulled at his pajama to inspect his junior.

His hands shook as he checked his arms, his legs, and every inch of his now smaller, frailer frame.

"No… no, no, no," he muttered, each word laced with growing despair.

His eyes darted toward his reflection again, now fully taking in his scrawny, malnourished body.

He experienced again the nightmare of most gym-goers.

Muscle Loss.

But for him, it wasn't just minimal muscle loss; it was the absolute annihilation of every muscle fiber.

Gone were the years of discipline and relentless effort.

The defined lines of muscle he had fought so hard to build as an ectomorph, the strength he had molded through blood, sweat, and grit—gone.

His shoulders slumped as he sat motionless, staring at his reflection with hollow eyes.

"I-It took me years... countless years to build that physique..." he whispered, his voice raw with anger and sorrow.

A bitter laugh escaped his lips, sharp and hollow.

"A-And now what? Just... gone? Gone for good?!"

Without thinking, he clenched his fists and unintentionally punched the mirror with all his strength.

The sound of shattering glass filled the room, fragments scattering across the polished floor in glittering chaos.

As the shards fell, so did his confusion.

A sudden, sharp pang shot through his head like a lightning strike.

Memories—memories that were and weren't his—surged forward in a violent cascade.

Each image was vivid, fragmented, and surreal, like pieces of a puzzle that refused to fit together.

Faces, places, events, all swirling in a maelstrom.

But among the chaos, some fragments felt achingly familiar.

Memories of a somber news broadcast, of the plane crash that had taken his parents—a tragedy seared into his mind.

His father, a proud and disciplined captain, and his mother, a graceful and composed flight attendant, gone in a blink when he was just nine years old.

His father's younger brother, his uncle—the man who had stepped up as his guardian, raising him with unwavering care.

He sank to the floor, clutching his head, tears stinging his eyes as the vividness of his sad past resurfaced.

Just then, the door burst open.

His uncle, still in his pajamas, stormed into the room, his face etched with panic.

"Kiddo!" he called out, his voice trembling with concern.

"Did something break? Are you okay?"

Ariase lifted his head to meet his uncle's gaze, tears streaming down his face.

"Uncle? He's young and not bald yet either."

But before he could think any further, his uncle's eyes shifted to the shattered mirror and the blood dripping from his ears and hand.

"Sigh... What are you even doing? It's still 4 AM in the morning."

Without hesitation, his uncle weirdly extended his right arm as he whispered, [Ancestria].

Then, a strange, glowing golden-green tattoo ignited on his right hand, pulsing with an unearthly light.

As if responding to his command, countless luminous golden-green butterflies materialized, swirling through the room like fireflies in the dark.

They hovered around Ariase, encircling him and weaving into his injuries, their light merging with his wounds in a gentle, healing embrace.

Ariase froze, utterly speechless, his mouth wide.

As he pondered slowly, 'What in the wo—am I high right now?'

His eyes widened in awe as he watched the display of mysterious power emanating from his uncle.

Immediately, another wave of memories surged forward, as if answering the urgent call of his growing need for answers.

In an instant, he saw it all—his elementary teacher explaining the brief history of the world through a holographic show.

This history was unlike any he'd known, marked not by world wars, but by dimensional conflicts.

Ten thousand years ago, the universe trembled under the onslaught of beings from beyond—a coalition of outer-dimensional entities led by the enigmatic and fearsome [Outer Gods].

Their target was the [Abandoned Star Region] we now call the [Solar System].

The mythological gods and goddesses, protectors of cosmic balance, were forced to intervene, revealing their existence to mankind to defend the star region from annihilation.

The memory shifted, showing the monumental battle that raged just beyond the solar system.

The clash of divine and alien forces rippled across the fabric of space, leaving devastation in its wake.

Nearby realms and regions suffered the aftershocks, their shattered void fragments drifting toward the solar system.

Many of these fragments merged with the planets, embedding themselves into their cores and surface crust, especially on Earth.

On Earth, its essence evolution was extraordinary.

What was once an ordinary planet with sealed world essence evolved into a higher planetary entity, its essence forever altered and unsealed by the remnants of these otherworldly collisions.

In response to this unprecedented phenomenon, some of the gods and goddesses returned to Earth and crafted divine scriptic systems tailored for mankind, empowering humanity to harness the planet's newfound energy.

These scriptures were more than gifts—they were vital tools for survival, empowering humanity to become Earth's guardians against the internal threats posed by the void fragments during the [Outer Constellation Divine War].

In the Philippines, Bathala, the great deity, stood alongside the Anitos, the spirits and guardians of the archipelago.

Together, they forged the [Celestial Mystic Path]—a system of power designed to help individuals of Filipino lineage harness and transform the world's essence into [Mystic Energy], the primary force in practicing the [Celestial Mystic Path].

This system became the cornerstone of existence in this transformed world, a beacon of hope amidst the chaos of divine conflict.

The memory faded as quickly as it had come, leaving Ariase breathless.

His chest heaved as he clutched at his mouth, barely able to contain the surge of emotions threatening to overflow.

A small, almost incredulous smile tugged at his lips as he pondered, 'I-I understand it now… why that being of light said world creation!'

'It wasn't just the birth of a new ordinary world—it was this, a world rewritten using the myths and legends of his previous world!'

His voice trembled with awe as his gaze swept over the room.

"It was all to create all of this... Incredible..."

For the first time since waking in this body, a flicker of gratitude and purpose stirred within him.

The world he thought he knew was gone, but what lay before him was something far greater—a tapestry of wonder, danger, and limitless possibilities.