I woke up to the sound of my alarm blaring in my ear, the shrill noise cutting through the haze of sleep. My eyes squinted against the harsh light streaming through the window. Another day. Another ordinary day.
Seventeen years old, with no special skills, no talents, and barely a clue of what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn't exactly unpopular, but I wasn't the center of attention either. I wasn't exactly a genius, but I wasn't failing any subjects either. I was average. Plain. Invisible.
My parents didn't really expect much from me. They were just glad I wasn't getting into trouble. It was always the same conversations at dinner. School. Friends. My grades. The latest news. Conversations that never seemed to go beyond the surface. Everyone around me had a clear path—friends who were top students, athletes with scholarship offers, and neighbors with their picture-perfect lives. And then there was me. The guy who drifted along, not really standing out anywhere. I had no grand ambitions, no hidden talents, just the quiet, humdrum existence of a teenager trying to figure out where he fit.
The clock blinked 7:30 AM, reminding me that I had ten minutes before I was supposed to be out the door. I groaned, stretching my stiff limbs as I climbed out of bed, dragging myself to the bathroom to wash up. A glance in the mirror revealed a face I had gotten used to over the years. Brown hair, dark eyes, a face that screamed 'generic.' The same one everyone saw when they passed by. Nothing special.
After splashing water on my face and throwing on my school uniform, I grabbed my bag and bolted out of the door. School was the same every day, and I was already tired of it. The endless cycle of classes, homework, and pretending to care about things I knew would never matter in the long run.
As I walked down the street to the bus stop, my phone buzzed with a notification. Probably something from a friend or a social media update. I lazily unlocked it, scrolling through a few posts. Everyone else seemed so... content. So full of purpose. And then there was me, just drifting through the motions, like a boat with no rudder.
I didn't know when exactly I'd come to terms with this. The feeling of being unimportant. The realization that I'd never be the hero, the one with the grand destiny. I wasn't going to change the world. I wasn't going to do anything extraordinary. I was just... me.
I shook my head, trying to push the thought away. No use complaining. Everyone felt like this, right? I just had to push through it. Like always.
The bus ride was a blur. I didn't have much to say to anyone, and no one had much to say to me. Just the soft hum of conversations between people I barely knew, the occasional giggle of someone in a group, and the low murmur of the radio in the background.
At school, I went through the usual motions. Sitting in class, listening to teachers drone on about subjects I couldn't care less about. There were moments where I'd zone out, staring out the window, lost in my own thoughts. What was the point of all this? The exams, the grades, the university applications? Was it all just a game where you either win or lose, and I had no clue how to play?
It was during lunch that things began to shift, though I didn't realize it at the time. I sat at my usual spot at the back of the cafeteria, eating my bland sandwich and scrolling through my phone. A sudden loud crash interrupted my quiet solitude, followed by a chorus of shocked gasps and the sounds of hurried footsteps.
I looked up just in time to see someone running across the cafeteria, knocking over chairs and sending trays of food flying. It was Ryan, a guy from my class who had always been a bit... off. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a wild look in his eyes. His face was flushed, and he seemed to be in a panic.
Before anyone could react, Ryan dashed out of the cafeteria, and it wasn't long before a teacher appeared, trying to calm the chaos. My eyes followed the teacher as they hurried after Ryan, and I couldn't help but wonder what had caused that outburst.
It wasn't until later that I heard the rumors. Ryan had just found out that his family's business was going under, and they were facing severe financial trouble. His world had come crashing down, and he'd been overwhelmed by the pressure. He was in danger of losing everything—his future, his family's legacy, and all his hopes and dreams. It was like watching a person unravel right before your eyes.
But that wasn't what bothered me the most. What struck me harder was the sinking feeling in my stomach. Ryan's situation, his desperation—it mirrored something I had felt deep inside me for years. The pressure to live up to something, to do something meaningful, to make an impact. And yet, there I was, just... existing. I wasn't running away from my problems because I had no problems worth running from. I wasn't facing some crushing burden. But maybe that was the problem. I had nothing to fight for. Nothing to push me forward.
The day dragged on, and I found myself lost in thought, replaying the events of lunch over and over. Was that my fate, too? To live a life where nothing truly mattered? To be stuck in this endless cycle of mediocrity?
The final bell rang, signaling the end of school, and I left the building with a heavy heart. I didn't feel like going home, didn't feel like facing my parents and their routine questions. I needed a break. I needed to be alone.
I wandered through the streets aimlessly, not caring where I was going. My mind was spinning, the weight of everything pressing down on me. I didn't want to go back to my dull existence. I didn't want to be invisible anymore.
As I passed by the park, I saw a group of kids playing soccer. Their laughter and shouts echoed in the air, but it felt so distant to me. So far removed from the life I was living. I sat on a bench and pulled my knees to my chest, trying to make sense of it all.
Honk! Honk! Honk!
That's when a large, uncontrolled truck screeched by, blaring its horn as it sped down the road. Toward a happy-go-lucky kid with a ball in his hands, his back turned, completely unaware of the impending danger.
In that split second, my mind raced. It was like the world was frozen. The kid was right in the path of the truck, and I... I couldn't stand there, doing nothing. Without thinking, my body moved on its own, my legs carrying me toward the boy at a speed I didn't know I had. I shouted at him, but the sound of the truck was louder, drowning my voice.
I reached out just in time to push the kid out of harm's way, but before I could finish the motion, the truck's front bumper collided with me. The impact was blinding, and pain shot through my body in waves. I felt my legs give out beneath me as I crumpled to the ground. For a moment, everything was a blur—a whirlwind of noise, lights, and chaos. But then, as the world spun around me, everything went silent.
I remember feeling weightless, like I was floating, the pain receding into the background. My vision started to tunnel, and I heard a voice—so faint, it was almost like a whisper—calling my name.
"Are you ready?"
The voice wasn't familiar. It wasn't anyone I knew, yet it felt oddly comforting, like I'd been hearing it all my life. But before I could respond, the sensation of weightlessness intensified, and my vision went black.
***
When I opened my eyes again, the world around me was different. I wasn't lying in the street, or in the hospital bed I expected. Instead, I found myself in a dense forest, the air thick with the scent of earth and foliage. The sounds of birds and rustling leaves surrounded me. My body felt... different. Stronger, lighter. The pain I had experienced moments earlier was gone, replaced by a strange energy coursing through me.
I sat up, taking in my surroundings. The trees around me towered, their trunks gnarled and ancient. The sunlight filtered through the thick canopy above, casting dappled shadows across the forest floor. I rubbed my head, confused, my mind racing to make sense of everything.
Where am I?
Before I could process any more, a sudden flash of memories surged into my mind. My name—I knew it instantly. It wasn't... what it was before. It was different, deeper, ancient. It felt like it belonged to someone else, someone who had lived a life far older than mine.
Eklavya.
The name echoed in my mind like a forgotten song, familiar and strange at the same time. The memories weren't my own, but they were there, flooding into my consciousness with startling clarity. I wasn't just any random person anymore. I was Eklavya, the legendary archer from the Mahabharata.
My head spun as images of a past life crashed into me—moments of intense training, the bow in my hands, the burning desire to prove myself despite the odds. And then, the image of Drona, my master, who had refused to teach me, despite my pleading. The rejection. The silent promise of revenge. The burning determination to become the best, no matter the cost.
But something was different. Something had changed.
I wasn't the same Eklavya.
I could feel it—like a glitch in the system of the universe. Something had been altered. I wasn't just reborn into the body of Eklavya; I had a system. A voice that guided me, a force that seemed to be intertwined with my very existence.
The system flickered to life in my mind, displaying a glowing interface that filled my vision. The words appeared before me, clear and precise:
[System Loading...]
[You have activated the Traits System.]
[Meet specific conditions to unlock corresponding traits. Certain special traits can be combined and evolved into higher-grade traits.]
[Traits are divided into E, D, C, B, A, S, and EX grades, categorised into Astra, Shastra, and Talents.]
"Huh?"
I blinked at the interface hovering in front of me like a hologram from a sci-fi movie. It shimmered faintly, suspended in the air, waiting for me to process what I was seeing. My heart thudded in my chest, but not from fear. From anticipation.
After exploring the system, I found it surprisingly simple, featuring only single trait panel displaying my unlocked traits:
[S-Grade Talent Trait: Archer]
[Trigger Condition: Eklavya's inborn talent.]
[Effect: You possess an innate mastery over all forms of archery. Your perception, precision, and control with bows are enhanced beyond human limitations. You can learn and adapt to any bow-type weapon instantly. Projectiles fired by you have increased velocity, range, and accuracy. Grants passive instinctive aiming and trajectory calculation.]
[Note: Cannot be synthesised for now.]
I stared at the glowing panel, the words searing themselves into my brain like they were being carved into stone.
S-Grade Talent Trait: Archer.
It felt… surreal. Like I was caught between a dream and a story that wasn't supposed to be mine. I was just an ordinary guy. Someone who never stood out, never had a defining trait or gift. But now—
[C-Grade Talent Trait: Innate Full Soul.]
[Trigger Condition: Fusion of Two Souls.]
[Effect: Enhances Curse Immunity aptitude by 100%.]
[Note: Cannot be synthesised for now.]