A Fresh Start

While only about two hours had passed in the mysterious place where Ethan and Riven resided, a little over a day had passed back on earth with a few things transpiring.

After the monitoring devices in Ethan's hospital room had failed to detect any sort of vital signs from his body, Dr Galen had been immediately notified by one of the nurses. The doctor had a look of regret on his face as he stared at the boy's pale and lifeless figure. Although their relationship hadn't been that close, Dr Galen was one of the few people who still cared for Ethan and seeing him in this state pained him greatly.

"Ethan, my boy...forgive me," Dr. Galen whispered, a lone tear tracing a sorrowful path down his cheek.

°

Meanwhile, Cassius, the city lord and Ethan's grandfather, received the news with an unreadable expression. His eyes scanned the report, his face a mask of indifference, before a flicker of flames danced in his palm, consuming the paper. "Well done," he murmured, his voice devoid of emotion. "You may leave."

The subordinate bowed and retreated, leaving Cassius to his documents, his attention focused on the affairs of his domain – a concern he deemed far more pressing than mourning the passing of his grandchild.

°

In a luxurious carriage departing Cygnus City, Amy's hands trembled as she read Dr. Galen's letter, the words blurring through her tears. Her servants exchanged worried glances, attempting to comfort their distraught mistress. They couldn't fathom the depth of Amy's attachment to Ethan, forged in the brief time they'd spent together. To them, he was a frail, sickly boy she'd befriended on a whim; to Amy, he was a kindred spirit, a confidant who listened without judgment.

"I never even got to say goodbye..." Amy's voice cracked, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Her maid offered a gentle touch and soothing words. "We'll visit his grave, miss, once the tournament concludes. Hold on to that thought."

Amy nodded, wiping her face, her eyes welling up once more. She imagined Ethan teasing her for her tears, and a faint smile crossed her lips. The carriage continued on, its occupants shrouded in silence.

°

Elsewhere...

[INITIALIZING...]

[Attempting to merge the Potential Augmentation Neural Dynamic Optimization Revolution Advancement system, PANDORA with the host <Ethan Corvus>... Successful!]

[Congratulations to host for successfully awakening and merging the PANDORA system!

Distributing beginner level starter gift package...]

Ethan's groggy eyes fluttered open, his head throbbing in protest. A feminine voice echoed in his mind, accompanied by the acrid scent of smoke and the warmth of flames. His gaze darted around, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.

"What in the world...?!" Ethan's voice was hoarse, his body numb. "Where am I?"

Currently, his body lay bare atop one of the many wide conveyor belts that occupied the room. A thin piece of cloth covering his nether regions as he was slowly being pushed towards a large, scolding hot furnace a few meters ahead of him.

"Oi! I just came back to life and you already wanna send me back?!" yelled Ethan in a mixture of panic and indignation as the flames licked at his toes.

The man operating the machine jumped up in surprise when he heard Ethan speak up and immediately rushed to stop the conveyor belt from tossing the boy inside the furnace. Once it stopped moving, the man ran over to Ethan with an incredulous expression on his face.

"What in the name of the gods do you think you're doing here, boy?" asked the worker, helping Ethan off the conveyor belt as his body still felt a little numb.

"That's what I'd like to know", Ethan snorted. "I don't even know where we are. What is this place?"

The worker's expression was a mix of shock and curiosity. "You're in the Crematorium, lad. This is where the city's hospitals send their...deceased patients."

Hearing that, Ethan's face darkened. Was his grandfather really so uncaring that he couldn't even bury him properly?

'None of that matters now, Ethan. Don't let it bother you'

Ethan's eyes widened in surprise when he heard the voice in his head. "Riven?"

'The one and only' Riven replied with a chuckle. 'Looks like we merged successfully'

"Riven? Is that your name, lad?" asked the worker when he heard Ethan.

"O-Oh no, I was just talking to myself about something", Ethan hurriedly clarified.

The worker nodded, seemingly accepting the explanation. "Well, lad, you're lucky to be alive. Let's get you some clothes and so can get out of here."

Minutes later, Ethan was properly clothed in a pair of sweats and a shirt with a print that read 'Coffee Is Life'. While waiting for Ethan to change, the worker had reported Ethan's incident to the manager of the facility but he simply dismissed the matter impatiently and said that if Ethan was alive, then he could just scram instead of impeding their work.

"Thanks once again, mister.", said Ethan with a smile of gratitude as he was about to leave.

"It was nothing, lad, just doing my job.", replied the worker. He then took out a small pouch of money, "Here's a little something for the way home. You can think of it as compensation from me for almost cremating you."

Not one to stand on ceremony, Ethan accepted the money with another word of thanks before finally leaving the Crematorium. As he walked along the streets of the city, Riven finally spoke up once again:

'You have such a beautiful looking world, Ethan.' Riven remarked, looking at their surroundings through his partner's eyes. 'I can't wait for us to make a name for ourselves!'

"Not really gonna be easy to do that when these are the only resources that we have on us", said Ethan with a depressing sigh as he shook the 250 credits in his hand. "Plus, I'm not sure how much you know about my condition but I can't circulate mana in my body anymore."

Riven chuckled at his partner's words. 'Do you really think so little of me, partner? Of course I'm aware of the poison that plagued your body. Actually, the venom is still in your body as we speak.'

"Heh?" Ethan frowned in confusion, "How I come I feel just fine though?"

'Pandora has just isolated it in a specific part of your body so as not to inconvenience your other basic functions' Riven explained.

"Pandora?...Ah!" Ethan suddenly recalled the monotone feminine voice he had heard earlier. "Are you talking about that other voice? What was that? And why do you still sound so confident even after I just said that I have no mana?"

'So many questions all at once.' Riven commented before saying. 'Of course, I shall answer all of them but first use what little money we have to find us a place to rest for the night.'

Ethan agreed with the suggestion and immediately started towards the cheapest motel he knew in the area. Luckily for him, he often read a lot about the structure of Cygnus City so it didn't take long for him to find a decent place for a cheap place. Unfortunately even if it was cheap, he still had to pay 200 credits for a room with only 50 credits left to spare.

"Right.", Ethan sat on the bed of his room, "Please go ahead and explain now."

'Fufufu! Gladly, my dear partner.' Riven's voice replied smugly 'Do you remember the cube that we used as a medium for our soul pact?'

Ethan nodded curtly and Riven continued with his explanation.

'Although I forgot to mention it, that cube is actually a divine ranked artefact. The Potential Augmentation Neural Dynamic Optimization Revolution Advancement box, or as I like to go it—'

"Pandora's Box!" Ethan finished, his hands now clenched in anticipation for Riven's next words.

'Yes. It is a system type artefact that was designed by a friend of mine and it's potential is limitless! And right now that system is merged with your body.'

"Reminds me of some of the books that my cousins used to obsess over all the time.", Ethan commented. "Am I going to be like one of those MC's?"

'In a sense. But we're gonna do our own thing.'

"Definitely.", said Ethan, nodding his head in agreement. "Now what do you think our first step should be from here? I propose finding a way to fix my inactive mana veins first."

'Well you're in luck then' said Riven, once again sounding smug 'Open your system menu.'

"Pandora, open system menu please.", Ethan requested.

Immediately, a transparent blue screen appeared in front of his eyes:

_____

{HOST INFORMATION}

- Name: Ethan Corvus

- Age: 14

- Race: Human

- Languages: Bipedal English

- Profession: None

- Sub-Profession: None

- Level: 0

{STATS}

- HP: 38

- MP: 0

- Strength: 4

- Agility: 6

- Intelligence: 8

- Vitality: 4

- Endurance: 4

- Defense: 2

{SKILLS}

- Sword Mastery: Dawnbringer's Sword Technique (Level 1)

- Combat Mastery: Griffin Claw Fighting Style (Level 1)

- Appraisal (System Skill)

- Assimilation (System Skill)

{EQUIPMENT}

- Basic clothing (weak)

{PROGRESSION}

- Experience Points: 0 / 100

- Skill Points: 0

_____

"Huh, looks just like game menu.", muttered Ethan as he scanned the information in front of him. "My states have dwindled so pitifully low after losing my cultivation. Without a weapon, I'm not confident that I could take down even a goblin."

'Don't count yourself out yet, partner.' Riven comforted him reassuringly 'Pandora has a very special starter gift just for you.'

POOF!

Right on cue, a small white box wrapped tightly in red ribbon appeared and dropped onto Ethan's lap. Taking a deep breath, Ethan picked up the gift box and unwrapped it slowly.

"What the heck...?" Ethan picked up a tiny crystalized golden droplet of what appeared to be honey, "What is this?"

As he asked that, Ethan involuntary activated one of his system's skills, appraisal, and gasped once he read the information of the item in his hand:

_____

{APPRAISAL RESULT}

- Item Name: Angel's Essence

- Rank: Divine

- Type: Consumable

Description: A crystalized droplet of angel blood, containing the essence of divine power.

- Value: Priceless

_____