Chapter 1 — A Fan of Fiction
In his previous life, Ethan Vale lived the sort of quiet existence that rarely left any mark on history.
He was not rich, not famous, and certainly not powerful. He worked as a software engineer for a small technology company that specialized in automation tools—systems designed to make factories run more efficiently with fewer human workers.
His apartment reflected exactly the type of person he was.
Two large monitors covered his desk.
Half-assembled mechanical kits sat beside stacks of programming textbooks.
Shelves along the wall were filled with manga volumes, science fiction novels, and collector figures from various anime series.
To most people, Ethan was just another tech nerd.
But his mind worked a little differently from most fans.
While others enjoyed stories about heroes and villains purely for entertainment, Ethan constantly analyzed the structure of those fictional worlds.
He paid attention to things most writers ignored.
Infrastructure.
Energy production.
Economic systems.
Military technology.
These things fascinated him far more than flashy battles.
One night, after finishing a long work shift, Ethan sat in front of his computer watching a new anime episode where a superpowered hero saved a city from destruction.
Buildings collapsed.
Civilians screamed.
The villain was defeated in a dramatic final attack.
The hero stood triumphantly while the crowd cheered.
Ethan leaned back in his chair and sighed.
"Again?"
He paused the episode and rubbed his forehead.
The scene bothered him.
Not because it was poorly written.
But because he had seen the same pattern thousands of times.
Cities destroyed.
Villains defeated.
Heroes celebrated.
And yet, in the next episode, the world would be exactly the same.
The same fragile civilization.
The same unprepared society.
The same dependence on heroes.
Ethan opened a forum page and began typing.
He titled the post:
"Why the Hero System Is a Civilizational Failure."
The post quickly became longer than he expected.
He wrote about how societies in those fictional worlds seemed incapable of solving their own problems.
Every crisis required a superhuman individual.
Every disaster was resolved through brute force.
Meanwhile, the ordinary population remained powerless.
He wrote:
"A civilization that depends entirely on heroes isn't strong."
"It's dangerously unstable."
"If one person disappearing can collapse your entire defense system, then you don't have a defense system."
"You have a lucky coincidence."
Ethan continued typing for nearly an hour.
He argued that a real civilization should build systems capable of protecting everyone.
Automated defense networks.
Advanced technology.
Infrastructure designed to minimize damage.
Preparedness instead of reliance on luck.
When he finally posted the essay, the reactions were mixed.
Some readers praised his analysis.
Others mocked him for taking entertainment too seriously.
One reply simply said:
"Dude it's just a show."
Ethan chuckled when he read that.
Maybe they were right.
Maybe he was overthinking things.
But the idea still felt important to him.
Because, in his mind, civilizations that relied on heroes would eventually collapse.
Not today.
Not tomorrow.
But eventually.
And then, late that night, Ethan left his apartment to buy food from a convenience store down the street.
The city was quiet.
Streetlights illuminated the empty sidewalks.
A few cars passed occasionally.
Ethan walked across the intersection while scrolling through messages on his phone.
He never saw the truck coming.
The driver ran a red light.
The sound of screeching brakes echoed across the street.
Ethan looked up just in time to see the headlights.
Then everything went dark