The rain had finally faded, leaving behind the scent of wet earth and faint burnt electricity hanging in the air. The Great Ancestor walked slowly along the edge of the city, carrying Hana already half asleep on his shoulder. Neon lights flickered softly, as if matching the rhythm of his steps.
This human body trembled subtly.
A sharp pain pulsed between his ribs.
Heat and chills came in waves, crashing over each other.
This body… rejected his existence.
And he had known that since the first moment he opened his eyes in this world.
He looked at his palm weak.
Flesh that couldn't contain even a tiny fragment of the power leaking from him.
If he breathed a little too heavily, this world would crack.
If he used slightly too much strength, this body would shatter.
And if he ever used his true power…
…this world wouldn't last a single day.
Hana stirred weakly.
"B-Big bro… does it hurt?" she mumbled, half asleep.
The Great Ancestor looked at her face.
Her eyes were swollen from crying. Her cheeks and uniform were wet.
But there was a warmth there something gentle, grounding…
something he had never encountered in the Immortal Realm.
"No," he lied softly.
"Your safety matters more."
Hana tightened her small arms around his neck.
In the distance, sirens still echoed hunters scrambling to lay out barricades and examine the monster he had toppled with a single word.
And what happened afterward…
The entire area was locked down.
Satellites shifted position.
Major guilds deployed drones.
Higher-ranked hunters descended.
All because of what?
Because he had stood there… for two minutes.
The Great Ancestor sighed.
"This world is far too fragile. Like glass waiting to split."
A system panel blinked into view.
━━━━━━━━━━
[System is scanning your body…]
━━━━━━━━━━
A blue light flickered beside his face, then shifted into a shy pale pink like a lamp embarrassed to deliver bad news.
━━━━━━━━━━
[Analysis Result:]
– Your body (low-tier human) = Not compatible
– Your soul = Unmeasurable-Class Entity
– Physical reactions: tissue rejection, unstable energy flow, risk of "losing physical form" within 7–30 days
━━━━━━━━━━
The panel quivered like a freshman being scolded by the dean.
━━━━━━━━━━
[System Recommendation:
Uh… could you… maybe… try not breathing too much?]
━━━━━━━━━━
The Great Ancestor stopped walking.
Silence.
"Not breathe?" he repeated.
"What exactly do you think I am?"
The panel slowly faded away, pretending to play dead.
Hana cracked her eyes open.
"Bro… who are you talking to…?"
He gave her a small smile. "No one."
She blinked slowly, nodded, and rested her head again.
★ The House Appears
A small wooden house finally came into view at the end of a narrow alley. Half the streetlights were dead, casting long shadows. The house was small, simple, maintained only as much as life allowed.
Its signboard hung crooked.
SAKURA FAMILY ANTIQUE SHOP
Open: If fate permits.
He could feel traces of the original owner of this body childhood memories, grandmother's laughter, two siblings fighting to survive.
The door opened automatically as he approached.
A rusty ceiling fan groaned in greeting, earning a faint grimace from him.
"A dwelling that… suppresses energy well."
He brushed the air with his fingers.
"There's a small spiritual formation beneath the floor. Ancient pattern. Interesting."
Humans in this world… once touched ancient power?
Hana lifted her head groggily.
"Bro… can I sleep now…?"
He nodded and laid her gently on the thin mattress in the small bedroom.
She pulled the blanket up and drifted off instantly, clutching a tiny stuffed toy whose seams had burst in three places.
The Great Ancestor stood beside her bed.
Watching.
Guarding.
Listening to her small breaths.
And for the first time… he felt something resembling peace.
But only for a moment.
Because the system panel appeared again this time outside the window, flashing like a citywide alarm.
━━━━━━━━━━
[MAJOR WARNING]
S-Class anomaly detected approaching your location.
Estimated time of arrival: 00:01
━━━━━━━━━━
The next second, every light in the house died.
The wind stilled.
The sounds of the city vanished.
And the Great Ancestor knew…
someone or something was coming.
Not hunters.
Not guild elites.
Not a portal monster.
This…
was on the level of entities from another world.
Only one person sensed it:
An Ancestor standing in the middle of an overly delicate modern world.
He turned slowly, like an ancient lion newly awakened.
"So… this world really won't let me rest."
He stepped out of the bedroom, closing the door gently to keep Hana safe.
In the living room, a black shadow began seeping through a tear in the air like ink dripping from another sky.
A voice emerged from within it.
Whispering.
Deep.
Ancient.
"At last… you've been found."
The Great Ancestor stared straight into the darkness no fear in his expression.
Only mild irritation.
"I just moved in."