He entered the house and leaned against the door for a moment before carefully turning the key to lock it. His siblings and mother were sleeping peacefully in their rooms, and he paused briefly to make sure everything was quiet. He took a deep breath and walked toward the bathroom. He switched on the light, washed his face, and then stood in front of the mirror, studying his reflection carefully.
He was 1.85 meters tall. His short, messy blond hair revealed his forehead and emphasized the intensity of his gray eyes. His physique was solid, with broad shoulders and a strong back; not overly muscular, but firm and well-proportioned. He had an attractive face with defined features, and his serious expression commanded respect.
As he stared, reality hit him again: he had died once. And now he was here, in a nineteen-year-old body, in a world that was not his own. He had been in this strange place for only a month, and each day reminded him of how different everything was.
In his previous life, he was called Robert Tucker, and he was also nineteen. His mother had died giving birth to him, and his father, an alcoholic, constantly blamed him for it, taking out his frustrations on him. The blows were frequent and harsh: punches to the torso, shoves that made him fall, kicks if he disobeyed or made a mistake, and bruises that sometimes lasted weeks. His arms and back always bore scars and marks, permanent reminders of his father's violence and anger.
When he turned fourteen, his father died, and Robert moved in with his grandmother. There, he began training in MMA. He discovered that he loved fighting. Every training session was an adrenaline rush; every punch, dodge, and movement thrilled him. His determination, endurance, and calmness during fights made him stand out quickly. His reputation grew among peers and in local tournaments, earning respect for his skill and discipline.
He had a promising career ahead, but he died unexpectedly just before his professional debut. At first, he hadn't thought much of a poorly landed blow during training, but as he made his way home, a sudden dizziness struck him. Before he could react, his body collapsed in front of his house's door.
Now he found himself in the body of Marcus Greyson, the eldest of three siblings. His mother and him worked long hours to support the family, and his father, a compulsive gambler, had committed suicide the previous year, leaving behind debts and problems with dangerous lenders that still haunted the family. was a young man with responsibilities, used to taking care of his younger siblings, and life had not been easy for him either.
This new world was called Aeloria. The city where Marcus lived was Virelia, one of the largest in the Republic of Elyndra, one of the most developed countries in the world. Earth and Aeloria were quite similar in technology, civil infrastructure, and society's functioning. The differences were subtle, but there were details that made this world feel strange, dangerous, and fascinating at the same time.
What truly set Aeloria apart was what had happened six centuries ago, a colossal explosion of energy shook the planet, changing the course of human history forever. It was no ordinary or predictable disaster: it lit up the skies with a brilliance no one had ever seen, toppled entire kingdoms, and obliterated cities that had survived for centuries. No one knew its origin; some spoke of a divine punishment, a fire from the heavens sent to chastise human pride, while others believed it was an unknown force, alien to this world, capable of imposing itself on reality with no one able to resist. Whatever the truth, the event left indelible marks on the land, the seas, and in the memory of those who survived, marking the beginning of a new era
The impact of that explosion was devastating and far-reaching. Endless storms swept across the land without pause, mountains split apart, and seas overflowed, covering entire towns under turbulent waters and pushing humanity to the brink of extinction. But the most terrifying effect was the distortion of life itself: animals, plants, and even people were transformed into the first monsters, hostile, deformed, and violent creatures that have haunted humanity ever since, a constant reminder that that fateful event was not merely a natural disaster, but an irreversible change, a turning point that divided history into a before and an after
Among the survivors, a small minority was irreversibly marked by the explosion: those who developed an extraordinary mutation known as the Transforming Gene. Dormant for most of their lives, this gene awakens only in moments of imminent death or extreme trauma, releasing superhuman powers capable of altering the course of events. It was the only positive legacy of the Day of Calamity, though it came at a high cost: transformer could protect humanity, but they were also unpredictable, feared, and sometimes misunderstood, as their powers did not always manifest in a controllable way.
Over the years, some of the most powerful transformer began to stand out among the survivors. Few in number, their strength and control over the Transforming Gene surpassed all others. These individuals became the first natural leaders and soon realized that their power could be multiplied by forming alliances and combining their lineages. Marriages between the strongest tranformer families became common, not for love, but as a strategy to strengthen the gene and ensure that their descendants would be even more powerful. Over time, these alliances gave rise to the first great hereditary clans, consolidating influence and power in the world and marking the start of generations dominated by strong, strategically united lineages.
Yet most transformers appeared without belonging to any clan. These spontaneous individuals emerged unpredictably in ordinary families, without preparation or lineage, difficult to control, and often feared even when essential in the fight against monsters.
The Day of Calamity is not just a historical memory, nor a simple date mentioned in books: it is the original wound of the world, the source of all power that protects humanity and, at the same time, the darkness that constantly threatens it. Since then, history has been marked by the struggle of transformants against monsters, while clans and spontaneous individuals face the ongoing challenge of surviving, preserving their legacy, and keeping alive the memory of that day, which forever divided life into a before and an after.