Modernizing a Fantasy World with a System REDUX

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the new version of MFWS! I'll start by mentioning the Patreon members who stuck with me through my hiatus:

Dante

rangerbookwyrm

Garret Newbrough

Eli Makaafi

The link to my p@treon, discord, and the submission form for the gacha are all available in the description of the story; I won't list them every chapter, this time.

The update schedule is as follows:

None

Yup, I don't have any chapter prepared, this time, so we're going in blind. I'll update whenever I finish a chapter, which could take a day or could take a month. We'll see how it goes. Rest assured, I'm never going to abandon this storyline, no matter how long it takes me to upload. Sometimes I just need to grease the creative gears by working on other projects, most of which you can find on my Wattpad account of the same name.

Thank you for being so patient, and I hope you enjoy the prologue!

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Pain blossomed from the holes in my chest and stomach as warmth flooded down my front. I lay with my back against the wall of the reception hall, trying to breath despite the blood forcing its way up my throat with every muscular spasm. My eyes felt unbearably dry, but I knew tears were streaming down my face and mixing with the blood sprayed across my cheeks. ' H-how... How could this... happen...? ' I raised a shaky hand to my chest, feeling the spots where high-caliber rounds had pierced the suit I'd spent my allowance on. Circular holes in my chest burned as they gushed blood. I shoved a finger into one of them, hoping to stop the bleeding, and immediately knew that there was nothing that could save me except a miracle.

My finger reached into my lung.

' This... was supposed t-to be a hap-py event... ' I thought, looking out over the room littered with bodies in no better shape than me. Men and women; adults, elderly, and children; all of them were losing their lifeblood to gaping holes across their bodies, left behind by a psychopath with a light-machine gun. Said man was large and wore a balaclava to hide his identity, but I knew who he was. ' How could you do this, Uncle Jeremy? ' I demanded angrily in my head, the pain forgotten for a moment. ' At your niece's wedding?! '

Indeed, this was supposed to be the end of a century-long blood feud between two New York gangs. The daughter of the head of the Princes, my elder sister, had fallen in love with the eldest son of the Canteralla family and they had married earlier in the day. It was something the entirety of both families agreed with, including my stubborn old man. Everyone except Uncle Jeremy, that was. He had protested vehemently, and refused to attend. Now, I knew why.

He'd attacked while both families had their guards down, right when the groom's father was about to toast. Nobody had brought their guns, as a sign of trust, but that had been a mistake. Jeremy busted through the doors and immediately lit up the room with his chain-fed light-machine gun. No cover stood a chance against the 7.62 rounds, as they tore apart the wooden tables and brick pillars of the reception hall. He was indiscriminate in his fire, not caring whether he hurt members of his own family or not. Why else would he have shot me four times?

My fear of death was replaced by boiling hatred as I watched the man walk around the room, finishing people off with bullets to the head. My ears were already ringing from the hail of gunshots that had only recently slowed, and my brain ached as if there was a monkey in my head bringing hammers down on the organ. I hated this man, who would take such a petty squabble this far. He would kill his own family, just because he didn't like the man his niece was marrying? He would kill her and me, the only people who ever gave a damn about his drunk ass?

Slowly, understanding what Sisyphus must've felt during his punishment, I crawled towards my uncle with Herculean effort. Every tiny twitch of my muscles sent a shockwave of pain up my spine, but it was numbed by the adrenaline wrought by my pure rage at this man, this beast who would dare harm those I love. He would suffer - I would make him suffer for hurting my loved ones. My dad was a shit parent, focused more on his gang than on his children; my mom left after I was born, and only came by when she needed my money to bail her out of jail. My uncle was a drunkard who liked to hit me when he was bored, yet I had still tried to help him get off of it because he was my family. In my entire shit existence, only my sister was there for me, and this fucker had probably killed her.

I wanted to kill him - I wanted to pull out his tendons like wires from a wall; I wanted to tear his throat out with my teeth and squish his eyeballs in with my thumbs; I wanted to claw my way into his chest and eat his heart, just so he would feel a fraction of the suffering he had caused this day. These people were my family, and this monster had taken them from me.

I grabbed his ankles and clenched my jaw down on one as hard as I could, immediately tasting the sweet, warm blood that flowed from within like the juice of a ripe fruit. Indeed, it was Jeremy's voice that cried out in pain as he dropped his gun to the floor, and in that moment a man I recognized as the groom's father burst out from under a table and tackled him to the floor. They began exchanging blows, though it was clear that Jeremy was winning. He was much larger, and had more fat to absorb the impacts. Refusing to let him take another person I had grown to cherish, I turned onto my back and took the very weapon that had claimed so many lives up onto my chest, aiming with one blurry eye.

I squeezed the trigger, releasing a burst of gunfire that struck both Jeremy and my father-in-law. Both cried out in pain, but it was the larger target that took the brunt of the attack. He collapsed on the spot, dead, his organs ruptured. Rocky, which was what my father-in-law told me to call him, clutched his arm, where one bullet had struck, while the other two had hit his legs, but that didn't stop him, from rushing to my side, lifting my head onto his lap while breathing heavily.

"Sterling!" He shouted, pressing against my wounds. "Can you hear me? Everything will be okay, just hold on a little longer!"

"A-Anne...? Jake?" I managed to squeak out amidst coughs of blood.

"They're alive! I got them down before the bastard opened fire! Stay with me, keep your eyes open; help is on the way!"

Good. Anne and Jake were alive, and that was all that mattered to me. "Th-thank you," I breathed out, reaching up and matting the side of the man's face. "Y-you were m-more of a f-father to me th-than my d-dad ever was..."

"I can hear the ambulances, just one more minute! Hold on!" Rocky teared up, clenching his teeth. "Hold on, Sterling, you can do it!"

I couldn't do it, though. I felt my life slipping away, and my vision went black. I could still feel his hands gripping my own, though, which provided some amount of comfort in the darkness. Then, nothing. The smell and taste of blood was gone; all warmth or cold I had felt had disappeared; I could no longer hear Rocky's voice. I was dead, and I knew it, yet I was somehow still aware of myself. Was this the afterlife? An endless void, where one was cursed with their own memories? I'd thought it would've been non-existence, or the biblical heaven and hell, but this was worse than hell. Trapped, alone, with every regret in your life? Only the fleeting memory of happiness?

No. I could feel something. A tugging, across my entire being. I was being pulled somewhere through this void, as if pulled through the water behind a boat. A few moments of this passed before I felt something like a squeezing across every fiber of my existence. My mind numbed for a moment, and the next thing I knew, I was staring up at an unfamiliar woman's face. She was pale-skinned, with brown eyes that seemed to glow green, blue, and white. I couldn't tell if that was just a trick of the light, or if her eyes were actually glowing, but it mattered little to me at the moment. Frankly, she was beautiful, but that also didn't matter to me.

Was I alive? Had they managed to resuscitate me? Why didn't I feel any pain; just exhaustion? Who was this woman? A doctor... with white hair and cat ears? A cosplayer? Why couldn't I move my body very much, like I was wrapped in a straight-jacket. Breathing was hard, and my ears were very cold, but I felt... comfortable.

"His eyes are so beautiful..." the woman said softly, sounding exhausted. "They're just like yours."

'My eyes? They're green, unlike either of my parents. Is she talking to my sister?'

"I'd hope so," the voice of a man spoke from beyond my field of vision. "Golden eyes are a hallmark of House Eil males."

' Golden eyes? But... ' I must've visibly blanched, because the woman holding me in her arms sat up and placed a hand against my brow. ' Don't tell me... I've been reincarnated? ' Immediately, my breath quickened, as did my pulse. I thought about my family, whom I had left behind .What would Anne do when she found out I died? Would she be sad?

"He's heating up; I think he's stressed," the woman said, lifting me - the baby that I was - onto her knees and pressing a hand against my head. " Frigus ," she said, and a cold feeling immediately flooded through my head. It wasn't an unpleasant cold, but rather comforting. It didn't just have a thermal effect, either; I felt calmer, like my troubles were being melted by the cold. Was this... magic? Was I in a magic world, like from the books?

"Using magic to regulate his emotions could have ill effects," a man with red hair and golden eyes appeared in my vision, looking down at me worriedly. A circlet of blue metal sat atop his brow. "He'll figure it out, he's a strong boy; he's our son after all."

The woman chuckled and grabbed his face, pulling him down to kiss his cheek. "You should get some sleep; You were up all night."

"You were the one having the baby, I just sat and watched," he returned. "Besides, we still have to name him."

"They were pouring magic into me the entire time, so I feel fine. You're right, though; we can name him before we rest. How about Olrali?" The woman asked. I didn't know how to feel about that name. "Ooh, or Rhaer!"

"After your great-uncle? He was..." The man trailed off, hesitance in his expression.

"Yeah, I don't want to talk about him more than I have to, so naming our second son after him wouldn't be very good. It's a nice name, though!" The woman smiled sheepishly. "What about Alistair, after your ancestor? 'Defender of the people'?"

' Defender of the people; I like it, ' I smiled, which the two of them noticed.

"He certainly likes it," the man smiled. "Yes, Alistair is a fine name. Alistair Eil, Second Prince of the Eilon kingdom."

' Wait... Second Prince? You can't be serious! '

The woman giggled. "Look at his face; it's so chubby and cute!"

' Not the time, mother! '

The door opened, and someone stepped into the room. "Your Highnesses, Prince Ravelus is here."

"Let him enter," father said, standing up straight and holding an arm on the front and back of his torso. He smiled after a moment as footsteps approached the bed. "Hello, Ravelus. It's time to meet your brother, Alistair."

"Alistair?" The voice of a young boy came. "I have a brother?"

"Yes," mother said, lifting me up and displaying me like a toy. The boy had red hair and golden eyes, like our father, and appeared to be six years old. He looked awed at the sight of me, like I was an exotic animal. "You know what that means, right?"

"I have to protect him!" Ravelus said excitedly, grinning. "Like you said before!"

"That's right, son," father rested a hand on Ravelus's head. "You must protect him like you someday will this kingdom."

I suddenly started to feel very tired, the exhaustion from what must've been my birth taking over me. My eyelids drooped, and the last thing I heard before falling asleep was my new brother's voice. "I will protect you, Alistair."

_/|-|\_

(A/N: Those of you who read the original will notice I'm skipping over a lot of the stuff that happens when Alistair is a child. The important stuff, like meeting the grandparents or 'inventing' ice cream will be revisited via flashback when they are relevant, so don't worry about missing any content, new readers. All I can say is this: Trust the process; all will be well.)

It was massive - seemingly endless, covered in gaping mouths full of twisted teeth and spiraling tongues. I floated before it, unable to even think in its presence. At the very center of the tangled mass of flesh and spires of bone, a lidless eye flickered around, staring off into the void. Turning towards where it was staring, I could see a faint light. Like a distant star, as dim as a candle. I could tell, looking at it, that the light was reality itself. This creature, whatever it was, was still far away from reality, but that wouldn't stop it. Within time, it would arrive, and consume everything with its many mouths.

" It comes, " a voice echoed in my head. " Only you can stop it. Take our gift, and become greater than us. Save them. "

I awoke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat and hyperventilating. It took several minutes to calm down from the adrenaline high I had received as a result of this dream, nightmare, vision, or whatever have you. I knew it was real, that the thing with many mouths was coming, but I didn't know what to do about it. The voice repeatedly told me that only I could stop it, but I was just a normal kid. Okay, maybe I had the knowledge of a more advanced world, but that wasn't enough to kill an eldritch abomination.

Sighing, I climbed out of bed and made my way into my bathroom. I pressed a rune on the large bathtub and fed some mana into it, prompting it to begin filling with steaming water. Pressing another rune made that water soapy and fragrant. I undressed and climbed into the water, exhaling shakily as I allowed my muscles to relax and warm up beneath the surface. I always did this after one of those visions, both to clean the sweat from my body and to calm down.

After half an hour of soaking, I pressed yet another rune and the tub emptied, the water simply vanishing, which consequently left me dry. I then dressed and sat down at my desk, pulling out several sheets of parchment and a charcoal pencil. I started to sketch what I had seen, trying to put the incomprehensible being to paper. I succeeded, somewhat, sketching a shape that didn't truly match that I had seen, and covering it with gaping maws, alongside its single lidless eye.

I started drawing another one, then another, until I had fourteen sketches that seemed to shift and blend together. I arrayed them on my desk and simply stared at them until the sun rose over the horizon, shining orange light through the large windows of my bedroom. Eventually the time came for me to wake up, and a knock came at the door.

"Your Highness, are you awake? You haven't rung your bell yet."

"Enter," I said, standing from my chair and clasping my hands behind my back. The door swung open and my personal maid, Ilyor, a nineteen-year-old woman with gray-blue hair and orange eyes. She had been my maid for around three months, now, and was still somewhat green. Of course, all of the castle maids were trained for a year prior to being deployed, both to make sure they were capable of doing their job and to root out any traitors or assassins. Still, training with lesser nobles and serving the Second Prince were two different jobs, especially with my peculiarities, so I didn't blame her for being nervous. "Good morning, Ilyor. I didn't realize it was already morning."

"Were you up all night, Prince Alistair?" Ilyor asked worriedly.

"It is of no consequence," I waved her off. "A bad dream, is all. I've already dressed myself, so we can head down to the dining hall for breakfast. Have you eaten yet?"

"N-not yet, Your Highness; I was worried when you didn't ring for me."

"You can eat with me and my parents, then. Come along, it's best we don't keep them waiting."

"B-but I can't possibly-" her eyes drifted to the collage of drawing on the desk, and she trailed off. His skin paled, and her breath hitched. People of this world didn't understand the concept of eldritch abominations, so she was understandably disturbed. "I can't possibly dine with the royal family..."

"Nonsense, they love you." She still looked hesitant, which made me sigh. "Think of it this way; I can't have my maid debilitated from hunger all day, so it's either this or you take a day off. I care about you, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable all day because you didn't get the chance to eat in the morning."

A blush overtook her face and she nodded, smiling slightly. "Very well, Your Highness. Shall we?"

"I think we shall," I smiled, walking past her and out of my chambers. I noticed she gave the pages one last glance before following, a frown on her face. "What is on my agenda today?" I asked, trying to take her mind off it.

"You don't remember, Your Highness?" She asked, eyebrows raised. "Today is your eighth birthday!"

I paused, almost making her run into me from behind. That's right, today was my birthday; I had forgotten because of the vision. A smile overtook my face as I continued down the hall with a skip in my step. Today was my birthday, which meant Ravelus would be visiting from the academy! I wouldn't have any lessons today, either, but that was just an added bonus. Indeed the servants and guards I passed in the hall all wished me a happy birthday with utmost respect. Let me tell you, it was a struggle keeping my ego in check with all of these people constantly bowing to me and calling me 'Your Highness'. I liked to think I managed well, though, taking my parents and elder brother as an example.

I made it down to the dining hall in record time, entering to see the table laden with all of my favorite pastries and breakfast items. Things I had introduced to this world, such as hashbrowns, cinnamon rolls, and french toast sat amidst piles of eggs and pitchers of orange juice. I grinned like a madman, grabbing Ilyor's hand and running over to my parents, who sat at the end of the table.

Mother got up as I approached and caught me in an embrace, squeezing me with the strength of twenty men. Yeah, she really was that strong. She released me and held my at arms' length, as if checking for any changes that may have occurred overnight. "You look tired. Did you not sleep well?"

"I'm fine," I replied.

In response, mother looked to Ilyor, who gulped while looking between her and me. Eventually, she chose my mother's side. "H-he had a dream and was up drawing the creature from it."

"Traitor!" I gasped in jest. She gave me an apologetic look, all while eyeing my mother in slight fear. I didn't hold it against her, because my mother was a scary woman. They didn't refer to her as the 'Queen of Mages' for no reason. She could turn a person inside-out with a wave of her hand. "Yeah, I've been up for a few hours. I was going to talk to you about it anyways, but you've went and gone over my head with it." I folded my arms, shut my eyes, and looked away from her with an exaggerated hmph.

Now it was my mother's turn to panic. Never having been able to tell when I was kidding with stuff like this, she assumed I was being serious and waved her hands about while stammering for a response. "I-I'm sorry! I thought you were being stubborn about it, and wanted to make sure you were okay! I won't do it again, I promise! Don't be mad at me, please~!"

Father watched with a chuckle, knowing my game very well from his own experience. I opened one eye to look her up and down before relaxing and nodding. "Very well, I shall forgive you on the condition that you give me another hug." Barely a quarter of a second passed before I was deep within her embrace once more, her fingers running through my hair. She released me after a few moments and petted my ears with a blissful expression. "Is it okay if Ilyor eats with us, this morning? She didn't get the chance to eat before waking me up."

Mother narrowed her eyes, looking Ilyor up and down before clicking her tongue. "Fine. She sits on the other end of the table, though." I couldn't help but snort at that, nodding to Ilyor to find her seat. I sat to my mother's right, her sitting to my father's right while he sat at the end of the table. It was a long table, which was capable of being extended even further in the case of guests.

"Tell us about this dream," father said, putting food onto his plate in healthy quantities. "Is it the same one as before?"

"It was clearer this time," I replied, idly stabbing some of the eggs I'd piled on my plate. "The creature wasn't just a mass of shadows; I could see it in detail. Infinitely-vast, with purple and black flesh broken up by billions of gaping mouths. In the very center of its being was an eye, focused only on the distant light I described before. I felt... so insignificant before it; so scared. The voice repeated the same thing she did last time, and I... don't know what to feel."

Mother grabbed my hand and squeezed gently. "We'll update the Summusius on the matter; try not to think about it any more. If you have another dream, come wake us up, okay?" I nodded. "You drew pictures of this being?" I nodded again. "Afrega." A shadowy blob appeared behind her, vaguely in the shape of a person. "Retrieve the drawings from my son's room."

"Yes, my liege," came a distorted voice. The shadow disappeared before reappearing two seconds later, presenting the pieces of parchment. Mother accepted them and looked them over with a frown. "Shall I take them to your office?"

"Yes," mother handed them back, expression serious. The shadowy figure disappeared once more, and mother's expression immediately lightened up. "Now, forget about that dream and focus on your birthday. You're eight-years-old, now! This is cause for excitement!"