Inside the tight, dark space of the womb, Yoo Seung-yoon could sense everything happening around him — every breath, every heartbeat, every surge of fear.
The terror pulsed through his host mother like electricity. He felt her shock as she stumbled, the sudden rush as she fought to move faster, to escape whatever was hunting her.
Then came the impact — a brutal, massive blow crashing into her body.
Warning: Critical injuries detected. Survival chances dropping fast.
"No, no, no!" his mind screamed, panicked.
He could feel her life slipping away, heartbeat slowing and faltering.
The world outside was tearing apart — but here, inside this fragile new life, the fight had just begun.
Analysis: Immediate action required. Recommendation: Emergency delivery.
"No way! I don't even know how to give birth!" Yoo thought in disbelief.
I do, the voice responded, calm but firm. Accessing medical databases... Integration complete. Transferring knowledge.
Suddenly, his mind was flooded with information — anatomy, emergency procedures, the science of birth all distilled at once. It was like he'd spent years learning in seconds.
Alongside the facts, something new bloomed inside him — a burning sensation in what would become his throat, a desperate power forming.
Skill acquired: Melt — the ability to dissolve tissue safely and precisely.
"What the—?"
Abilities manifest with need and emotion, the voice explained. Just like at your reincarnation. Trauma and necessity create power.
Another violent jolt shook the world.
His host mother's heartbeat barely fluttered now.
Warning: Host death in 47 seconds. Emergency protocols engaged.
Guided by the voice, Yoo's tiny hands sprang into action — pushing against the womb's wall with strength no infant should have.
Acid burned gently from his fingertips — melting tissue like a healer's precision scalpel.
Skill acquired: Bind — generation of organic threads, strong yet delicate.
Silken threads emerged from his palms, stitching wounds and fashioning a crude umbilical cord replacement.
Through this pain and chaos, he felt his mother's fading thoughts — not fear, but love. Fierce love for her husband she might never see again, for the child she thought was lost.
'I'm sorry,' Yoo thought silently. 'I'll make this mean something.'
Final countdown: 3…2…1…
The acid-scorched opening widened, and Yoo slipped through into a world flipped upside down.
He landed in a ruined corridor of the bunker — naked, vulnerable, surrounded by chaos.
Three monstrous spider-like creatures the size of cars prowled nearby, tearing apart what remained of his host mother's body.
Min-ah had fought hard, but even her enhanced form could not survive the brutal injuries.
Yoo looked down at himself — his skin glimmered with a faint metallic sheen, like body armor made of living light. His tiny fingers bent reality just enough to make the air ripple.
He tried to cry 'help' — but only baby sounds came out.
Understood. Activating defense protocols.
A warp in space opened beside him — reality folded like paper, revealing a small pocket dimension bathed in soft, warm light.
His sanctuary.
Skill acquired: Extras World — a personal pocket dimension for safety and refuge.
"Ba… buh…" Yoo's thoughts struggled to form words. Thank you.
Correction: I am not external. I am you — an aspect of your consciousness, born from your unique reincarnation.
'Why do you sound different?'
I am the part that stayed analytical through death — the part that fears losing control, that seeks perfect understanding.
One spider-monster eyed the shimmering gap where he vanished. Its limbs passed through the air, searching where Yoo had been.
Analysis: Survival successful. Skill manifestation rate 340% above projections.
Rest is advised.
Sixty seconds of peace in this impossible refuge — Extras World — a place outside normal space and time, inaccessible to all but Yoo himself.
The gap closed silently behind him.
Outside, the spider-creatures moved on, hunting for easier prey in a world crumbling beneath monstrous shadows.
Safe but alone in his strange new world, Yoo Seung-yoon — newborn anomaly, cosmic accident — settled in to begin the most uncertain, extraordinary childhood the universe had ever seen.
The universe is watching. And it doesn't know what's coming.