When I was born into this new world, I was abandoned like a dirty rag. I was left wrapped in a threadbare blanket, on the steps of a dilapidated building, hidden in the shadows of a stinking alley. A stern-faced woman found me and took me to what looked like an orphanage... but wasn't. It was an auction house.
It was an auction house.
In the eyes of the people, the place was a shelter for orphans. But in reality, every child was a commodity. We weren't cared for out of kindness, we were fed and clothed to be marketable. We were investments. We existed only to line their pockets.
But I... I was not an ordinary child.
I watched. I learned. I watched older children disappear and never return. How the adults became more subservient and greedy every time a buyer walked through the door. I heard whispers, saw documents with fake names and stolen stamps. I caught on fast:
was in danger.
Among the garbage and garbage, I began to find broken watch parts, rusted mechanisms, wires, gears. I don't know how I knew, but my mind understood them. I felt them. With a bit of wire, a nut and a ruined coil, I made a lock pick that could open almost any lock in the place. Later, with other stolen parts, I built an air gun. Simple, but effective.
At the age of five, I escaped. It was raining that night. I stole a few coins from the hidden fund of the "orphanage", money they used for their sale procedures. They wouldn't notice until days later.
With that money, I fled to the Republic of Alzer.
I was a dirty child, with a cloth bag over my shoulder and a look that weighed more than that of any adult. For a while, I lived with a freedom I had never known. I bought bread, slept in cheap beds in forgotten warehouses, watched the streets and listened to conversations. I bought parts and tools, tried things, failed, tried again.
But the money didn't last. I was free, yes... but I didn't know how to be free. I didn't know how to manage, I didn't fully understand the value of things. I made mistakes. Many of them.
I knew I had something that set me apart: my intelligence. I could deactivate traps just by looking at them, understand the logic of any mechanism. But that was not enough. I had no strength. Nor allies. No last name.
My improvised weapons were good for scaring off petty thieves, but they were rudimentary. And building a mecha... that was my real dream. Even in my previous life I dreamed of them. War machines, titans of steel... but they were impossible for someone like me. They required resources I would never see.
My past life was no better. I was kidnapped as a child by an organization that turned me into a test subject. They trained me, modified my body, forced my mind over and over again. Sometimes they improved my abilities, but not to help me... but to use me better.
I lived in a subway laboratory for years. No sun. Only numbers. Formulas. Blueprints. I created wonders in silence, not knowing if I would ever see the sky.
When the world finally heard from me, it was too late. They locked me up. They took everything from me. And when they could no longer control me, they poisoned me.
I died alone. With my fingers stained with ink. And my soul in pieces.
That's why, when I opened my eyes in this world, I swore to myself: to live differently. To do it right. To be truly free.
But the peace did not last.
One afternoon, while I was looking for some work to earn a few coins, I was surrounded by a couple of noble ladies. They were smiling like snakes. Fine dresses. Expensive perfume. Stares that measured, weighed, judged. They said they wanted to adopt me.
They lied.
I saw it in their eyes. It wasn't adoption. It was ownership.
I resisted. I ran. I was chased by his guards through the alleys, between markets, between shouts, between pushes. I ran until I had no strength left. I leaned against a wall... and suddenly, it gave way.
I fell into something.
And then everything went white. There were no shadows. There were no sounds. Just a bright void, no echo.
In the background, I saw a celestial cube. It floated. It glowed with a soft light. I don't know why, but I approached it. I reached out my hand. As soon as I touched it, a pink sphere emerged, floating in front of me. It seemed alive.
And then, I heard it.
A soft, feminine voice echoed in my mind.
-Recognition complete. Activating assistance protocol. Welcome, Kael.
That's how I met S.E.R.A.
My first friend.