"Born to shine, but not like the others."
Chapter 1 – The Abandoned Child
Once upon a time, two parents lived in a country where children were often born with extraordinary gifts. But theirs was born with nothing special. Disappointed, they decided to abandon him.
One cold morning, with the wind howling through the valley, they left their baby wrapped in a thin cloth near a sacred stone. On the basket, a tag read: "Ushiro", meaning the one left behind.
> — "He has no power. He'll never go far," the mother said coldly.
— "Forgive me, little one… This world is cruel to the weak," whispered the father, placing a stone on the blanket.
Days passed. Ushiro should have died. But fate had other plans.
A group of explorers, mapping the Aokigahara forest, found him. Cold, starving, but alive. A man named Takeshi took him in his arms.
> — "Hey… he's alive!" Takeshi gasped.
— "This kid… survived here alone? That's impossible."
— "Maybe he's more special than we think."
They brought him to Tokyo, where he was sent to an orphanage. In this country, called Nihon Eru, nearly 80% of children awakened a special power between ages 1 and 3. These were called Awakenings.
But Ushiro showed nothing. No glow. No gift.
The orphanage director sighed often reading his file.
> — "Ushiro… still no awakening. And with a name like that... You'll suffer."
At school, kids mocked him. They laughed at his name and his weakness.
> — "Ushiro, always behind! Haha!"
— "Even babies have more power than you!"
But Ushiro never answered. He kept his head down. Yet every night, he wrote in an old notebook:
> "Maybe I have no power. But I have will. I will become an Elected. Not for revenge. But to prove I exist."
In this world, the Elected were ranked:
Inspiring, Mediocre, Amateur, Pro, Super, Legendary, Ultimate, National, and International.
Ushiro didn't dream of being the strongest.
He simply dreamed… of being seen.
One day, during an attack on the school by an unknown monster, while everyone ran, Ushiro stood between the creature and a crying girl.
He had no power. But that day… he chose to act.
> — "Even without a gift… I can still do good."
As he closed his eyes to shield the child, a light burst from his heart.
The world had just discovered an Elected… born without power, but with an unshakable will.
Chapter 2 – The Weight of a Name
The orphanage halls were quiet, except for the muffled laughter coming from the dorms.
> — "You think he'll get chosen?"
— "Pff, never! Even animals have more aura than him!"
Ushiro clenched his fists under his blanket. Each word, each laugh, reminded him how invisible he was.
He quietly slipped downstairs. It was night. He sat in a hallway corner, with his old notebook and cracked pen.
"I don't want to shine so others admire me. I want to shine so I can finally see myself."
Suddenly, a soft voice broke the silence.
> — "Writing again?" a gentle female figure asked as she approached.
It was Rin, an orphanage worker. She had always been kind to him.
> — "The others got their Academy letters… I didn't."
— "Sometimes, destiny takes a detour. That doesn't mean it forgot you."
— "This name… Ushiro… I hate it."
— "You know what I think? You should wear it proudly. Even if you're always behind… you're still here."
Ushiro didn't answer, but he smiled faintly.
---
The next day
The official announcement came: The National Academy's Open Selection was starting. Even children without powers could participate in the open trial.
> — "This is a joke! They're letting no-talents join too?"
— "Hey Ushiro, you joining too? Gonna shine with your uselessness?!"
He calmly looked at them and answered, for the first time:
> — "Yes. I'm going. And maybe I'll stay behind you… but you'll all end up seeing me."
A stunned silence fell over the room.
Ushiro signs up. He doesn't know what to expect.
But for the first time, he feels something beyond shame.
It's not power that makes the Chosen.
It's the decision to never give up.
Chapter 3 – The Selection Trial
Context: Ushiro was allowed to take part in the Great Selection. He and dozens of kids are sent into an ancient forest to explore and survive. No one believes in him. He feels like a shadow… and yet.
---
The sky was gray. The forest was quiet. Moss covered the ground, branches cracked underfoot.
The instructors had said only one thing: "Explore. Survive. Find your path."
Ushiro walked in silence at the back of the group, clutching his notebook.
> — "Seriously, why is he even here?"
— "We should give him a GPS so he doesn't get lost again," a boy mocked.
He didn't respond. He was used to it.
But today… the air felt different. He had a strange feeling in his stomach — not fear, but a quiet tension, as if something was calling him.
---
Hours later…
The group had scattered. Ushiro, as always, was alone.
He went deeper into the woods. The trees became massive. Towering.
Giant sequoias, rising to the heavens, lost in mist.
Then he saw it.
A circle of stone, ancient and moss-covered, etched with glowing symbols.
In its center — a sword, driven into a black rock.
Old. Silent. Waiting.
He stepped forward, mesmerized.
> — "What… is this?" he whispered.
He reached out. The moment his hand touched the sword, the entire circle of symbols lit up in golden light.
Wind surged. The trees trembled.
And then, a voice. Deep, ancient, rising from the ground.
> — "Ushiro Yamato… you are the Chosen One."
His eyes widened.
> — "Me…?"
The stone cracked. The sword rose slowly from the rock, as if lifted by fate itself.
Then — FWOOSH — it burst into golden flames, spinning with divine energy.
> — "It's… hot… but it's not burning me…"
He held the sword. And this time, his hand didn't shake.
---
Behind him, voices shouted.
> — "What's that light?!"
— "Where's Ushiro?!"
Kids appeared. They saw him — standing in the ancient circle, holding a blazing sword, eyes burning with light.
> — "Wait… is that him?!"
— "That… that loser?!"
But Ushiro didn't look down this time.
He lifted the sword to the sky — and the whole forest seemed to go silent.
He didn't know where the sword came from.
He didn't know why it chose him.
But he knew one thing.
For the first time… he didn't want to run anymore.
Chapter 4: The Two Blades
The sacred circle had grown still. The light had faded, and the wind calmed. Ushiro stood tall, blazing sword in hand, his heart still pounding.
He slowly stepped out of the circle. Behind him, the forest seemed to be watching.
His path took him to a small tree where he had left his very first sword — an old training blade, dull, rusted, too heavy for him. A weapon he never learned to wield.
He picked it up in his left hand and stared at it.
> — "This one… I carried it for years… even though I couldn't use it."
Then he looked at the flaming sword in his right.
> — "And you… you chose me."
He hesitated, then instinctively brought the two blades together.
Suddenly — CLACK — a sharp sound rang out, like a magical resonance.
A shock of energy surged between the swords, then… something impossible happened.
The old blade froze, covered in silver frost, while the sacred sword flared even hotter, dancing with blazing fire — ice and flame, in each hand.
Ushiro stood still.
An ancient voice echoed again, this time clearer, closer.
> — "Two blades. Two paths. You may have no gift… but you are the Balance."
He smiled faintly. Now he understood.
> — "I have no power… but I have two swords."
He raised his arms, a blade in each hand — ice to the left, fire to the right.
In his eyes — no more doubt. No more fear.
---
Meanwhile…
The instructors were observing the candidates remotely through crystal screens. One pointed at Ushiro's image, stunned.
> — "Wait… that boy… what is he…?"
— "He's wielding two opposite elements… with no recorded awakening?!"
— "That's… impossible…"
Another whispered, almost afraid:
> — "He's not just a Chosen One…"
Ushiro didn't know what this power meant.
But he had crossed an invisible line.
He was no longer the powerless boy.
He was now something else.
Something no one could ignore.