The silence of the garden was absolute, save for the ragged sound of Leo's own breathing. He sat in the dirt, staring at the spot where the translucent screen hovered like a shimmering ghost. It didn't flicker. It didn't fade. It just stayed there, mocking the laws of physics he had grown up with.
"Get away," Leo whispered, his voice cracking from dehydration. He felt a surge of irrational anger—the kind that comes from being pushed too far by a world that refused to let him rest. He reached down and grabbed a handful of the gray, packed soil, feeling the coarse grit against his scarred palms. Mixed in with the dirt were thin, wiry strands of a weed he recognized from his new memories as Red Grass.
With a frustrated grunt, he hurled the clump of dirt and grass directly at the screen. He expected it to shatter or at least flicker out of existence. Instead, the matter passed right through the light as if it were a hologram. The moment the grass touched the plane of the screen, the text transformed with a soft ding.
[Notice: Low-quality soil detected mixed with Red Grass.]
[Observation: Red Grass can be used to improve ingestion if cultivated properly. Current Grade: F- (Wild/Unprocessed).]
Leo froze, his hand still suspended in the air. He grabbed a heavy, rusted sickle that Jian had thrown at his feet earlier and jabbed it at the air. "Is this some kind of trick?" he demanded of the empty garden. "Jian? Liam? If this is a joke, it's not funny!"
In his past life, he was a man of logic. He believed in hard work, the heat of a stove and the reality of a paycheck. He had never seen anything like this. In this world, he knew people awakened with powers—some could manipulate fire, others could move like shadows—but no one had ever mentioned a floating menu that analyzed dirt.
As he prepared to throw a stone, the air began to ripple. A small spark of emerald light ignited, swirling faster and faster until it took the shape of a tiny being. It was a girl, no larger than a kitchen knife, with translucent wings that shimmered like oil on water. She wore a dress made of what looked like living ivy.
"Hello Leo!" the creature chirped. Her voice was high-pitched and melodic, vibrating in his very marrow. "This is your System, Eve! From now on, we are connected and I will help you with anything you want!"
Leo didn't greet her. He didn't ask her name. He let out a primal scream, scrambling backward on his hands and knees. "What are you?! Get away from me! Ghost! Demon!"
"Oh, hush up!" Eve huffed, hovering just inches from his nose. She crossed her tiny arms and tapped a miniature foot against the air. "I'm not a ghost and I'm certainly not a demon. I'm the interface for your soul's potential. Honestly, for someone who died and came back, you're awfully jumpy."
Leo's heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. He stared at her, his chest heaving. "System? Interface?" I was triggered because your memories of the past—specifically your mother—are the only things keeping your consciousness from shattering during the soul-merge. I am here to anchor you to this world so you don't fade away like a ghost." The mention of his mother acted like a lightning bolt, clearing the fog in his mind. If he was here, and if his father and Liam were here, then the balance of the universe demanded she be here too.
He had always thought they were silly. A distraction for a woman who was losing her grip on the physical world.
"Wait," Leo said, his voice steadier now. "Is that what this is? I have a... a cheat?"
"You can think Like that!" Eve spun in a joyful circle, leaving a trail of green glitter behind her. "You've been granted a second chance because of your 'Last unfinished Wish.' You wanted power to protect your own, didn't you? Well, I'm here to make sure you get it."
The mention of protecting his own sent a jolt of electricity through Leo's mind. He looked down at his small, skeletal hands. He thought of Jian's mocking voice and his father's cold abandonment. But then, a much more important thought surfaced—one so powerful it made the world around him turn gray.
If he was here... and if his father and Liam were here...
"Eve," Leo said, his grip tightening on the grass. "My father and brother they are here even though they don't remember the past, I remember them."
"That is correct," Eve said, her glow dimming slightly. "Their souls were pulled here by their own greed and ambition but they don't have a ."
"Then what about my mother?" Leo shouted, standing up so quickly he felt dizzy. "If the three of us are here, she has to be here! She was the best of us! If the heavens are fair, she's here!"
Eve looked away, her wings fluttering nervously. "The System or even I can't say anything about it, you will have to find the treasure which allows you to ask I question to world creator when used but you are still too weak to even find that."
"No," Leo growled. He started to run. He didn't know where he was going at first but his feet remembered the path. He ran past the twisted jade trees, past the rows of glowing Spirit-roots that he was supposed to be harvesting. He ran toward the center of the sect, toward the massive, white-stone mansion that sat on the hill like a crown.
That was where the "Elite" lived. That was where his father—the man who had stolen Liam and left Leo to rot—built his new life.
"Leo, stop! You're only Level 1!" Eve screamed, flying behind his ear. "You're still new! You can't do something rash!"
Leo didn't listen. The warehouse worker from New York was gone; in his place was a son who had spent five years failing to save his mother. He wouldn't fail again. If she was in that mansion, being treated like a servant or locked away, he would burn the whole world down to get her out.