Daniel sat quietly in the passenger seat of a sleek black car, gazing out the window as the vehicle sped across a massive suspension bridge. The sunlight reflected off the steel cables above, casting long shadows across the hood of the car. As he watched the scenery blur past, a strange familiarity settled within him.
He knew this road.
This bridge connected the mainland to a vast, private island—the home of SERA Hero Academy. An elite institution for the training of future heroes, the entire island belonged to the academy. It wasn't just a school; it was a fortress, a city, a world unto itself. And Daniel was heading straight into its heart.
More accurately, Henry was.
He took a deep breath and leaned back in the seat, trying to piece everything together.
He was no longer on Earth—not the Earth he knew, at least. This was Centory, a planet where the rules of survival had changed dramatically.
According to the novel's lore, the chaos began in 2022. Without warning, rifts—strange, glowing portals—opened across the skies. From these tears in reality emerged an intelligent and terrifying new species. Armed with advanced weapons and powers beyond human comprehension, they attacked without mercy. The world fell into panic.
These invaders were soon given a name—Asuras.
Stronger, faster, and far more dangerous than any human, Asuras were nearly ten times more powerful than ordinary people. In the beginning, humanity stood no chance. Cities burned, armies crumbled, and the world trembled on the edge of extinction.
But then something extraordinary happened.
Certain individuals began to awaken powers of their own—unexplainable abilities, drawn from deep within. They came to be known as Heroes. These awakened warriors pushed back against the Asuras, matching their strength with raw determination and evolving gifts.
After years of brutal war, an agreement was finally reached—a fragile peace between the two species.
Though the battles ceased, the awakening had already changed humanity forever.
The heroes who saved the world became legends. And from their vision, the SERA Hero Academy was born—to train the next generation of protectors, to ensure the world never again stood unprepared.
And now, Daniel Johnson—or rather, the body Henry now occupied—was one of those chosen few.
The Johnson family carried a proud legacy. His predecessor, James Johnson, was one of the founding heroes, renowned for his ability to create and manipulate fire at will. That power had passed on through the bloodline, and now most Johnson children awakened with fire-based abilities.
But legacy didn't guarantee greatness.
Daniel Johnson was proof of that.
Though he had awakened to the fire element, he had never advanced beyond the lowest level. His stats were weak. His combat ability, pathetic. In the original novel, Daniel was barely even a side character—his only purpose had been to antagonize the protagonist early on and then fade into irrelevance.
But now things were different.
Henry had noticed something strange the moment he'd seen his status window: his element was blank. It had reset entirely. The fire element was gone.
And there was no guarantee he would awaken it again.
That meant one thing—he would have to grow stronger without relying on the fire element at all.
No flashy flames. No inherited advantage.
Just grit… strategy… and whatever new path he could carve out for himself in a world built for legends.
Daniel was still lost in thought, consumed by the whirlwind of revelations, when the car suddenly jolted. Without warning, the driver twisted the steering wheel sharply, swerving the vehicle toward the edge of the bridge.
"What the—?!"
Daniel was thrown sideways, slamming against the door as the tires screeched in protest. The next second, the car burst through the guardrail with a metallic crunch and plunged into the air.
CRASH!
With a deafening splash, the car hit the water below. The world outside became a blur of bubbles and refracted light as the vehicle sank into the dark, icy depths of the river.
Water began flooding in through the cracks almost immediately, cold and merciless. Daniel gasped and turned toward the driver's seat, heart pounding, only to find the man staring back at him with a twisted, mocking smile.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Daniel shouted, fury and confusion mixing in his voice.
The driver chuckled—a low, eerie sound—and calmly reached for the door handle on his side. "Sorry, Daniel sir," he said with an unsettling calmness, "but it's time for you to sleep peacefully now."
With that, he opened the door. Water surged in, and the current tried to pull him out, but the driver moved effortlessly, as if he'd done this a hundred times before. He stepped out of the car with a final smirk, letting the door swing open for a brief second—
—then click.
Daniel lunged for his own door, trying to force it open. But it wouldn't budge. He tried the windows. Nothing. The locks had engaged automatically.
He looked back toward the surface—light was growing faint, the water around him murky and thick.
The driver had used a remote lock. He had trapped Daniel inside.
Panic surged through him as the water rose to his chest. He pounded on the glass, adrenaline flooding his system.
"Come on, come on… think!"
He had no fire element now. No super strength. No powers. Just a sinking car, and lungs running out of time.
Was this how the story ended?
No.
Not his story.
Not yet.
Daniel's eyes locked onto the driver—no, the assassin—who now floated effortlessly outside the car, just beyond the shattered guardrail's twisted shadow. The water shimmered around him like glass, distorting his face, but Daniel could still see that mocking smirk.
The man raised one hand slowly and waved.
A casual goodbye.
A gesture soaked in arrogance.
Daniel's jaw clenched. Fury surged through him, pushing aside the fear that threatened to drown him faster than the water rising inside the car.
He raised his right hand and returned the gesture—not with a wave, but with his middle finger raised high, and his other hand slicing across his neck.
If I survive this… you'll be the first I send to hell.
Then—with every ounce of strength he had—Daniel drove his fist into the window.
CRACK!
The glass quivered but didn't shatter.
Outside, the driver watched with amusement. He simply shrugged, as if to say, Try all you want. Then, like a predator satisfied with his kill, he turned and began swimming away—slow, deliberate, knowing there was nothing Daniel could do.
But Daniel wasn't done.
He wasn't giving in to some third-rate villain's script.
This isn't where I die, he told himself, staring at the spider-web of cracks now forming on the glass.
Not today. Not in a damn side character's death scene.
And with that thought, he pulled back his arm again—blood already trickling from his knuckles—and prepared for one more strike.