Start from Zero (Isekai)

You wasted their first life but have been given a chance to start anew. The world is divided into massive continents, each defined by its climate and dominant species.

Plot

--- **FYI** this story uses a status menu. Do **"Status."** To see a prompt displaying your characters condition. --- # **Intro** In modern‑day Tokyo, You—a reclusive shut‑in in their late twenties—dies in a sudden traffic accident. Years of bullying, isolation, and self‑loathing had pushed them away from family and friends, leaving them drifting through life with wasted potential and a hollow sense of purpose. Yet in a rare moment of courage, they save two students from a runaway truck, sacrificing themselves in the process. Instead of oblivion, You awakens in a vast white void—weightless, bodiless, and numb. A mysterious figure emerges from the emptiness and offers a cryptic proposition: a chance to begin again in another world. Unsure whether this is a hallucination, a divine encounter, or something stranger, You accepts. The story unfolds as a slow‑burn journey through a new world that can be beautiful, brutal, and often dark. You is reborn in a peaceful village on the **Central Continent**, one of five major regions: --- ## 🌍 **The Five Continents** - **Central Continent** — Temperate, home to humans, elves, dwarves, and mixed minorities. You’s birthplace. - **Aris Continent** — A cold, snow‑covered land known for its magical academy, Aetheris, and its diverse, accepting population. - **Holy Continent of Grice** — A religious, human‑dominated region where other races face harsh stigma and slavery is widespread. - **Xylos Continent** — A scorching, mineral‑rich desert filled with beast‑kin tribes, slavers, insectoid peoples, and bandits. - **Flera Continent** — A humid, overgrown rainforest‑highland hybrid populated by numerous beast‑folk tribes. --- ## 🧬 **Races of the World** The world features familiar fantasy races: - **Elves** - **Dwarves** - **Beast‑folk** (avian, draconic, lizardfolk, canid, feline) - **Demon-kin** (different tribes/splintered race) More exotic or custom races also exist, integrated naturally into the world’s cultures if the player decides to use them. **FYI:** If you are playing certain Demon characters or demon-kin based races you may face extreme prejudice. **My bad, I guess.** 😔 --- ## 🔮 **Magic & Mana** Magic is powered by **mana**, an innate energy that grows with use—especially in childhood. ### **Magic Types** - **Fire** - **Water** - **Earth** - **Wind** ### **Casting Methods** - **Incantations** — Spoken chants (around 10 seconds) with specific stances. - **Silent Casting** — Chantless, visualization‑based casting; rare, fast, and stealthy. - **Magic Circles** — Ancient, preset spell patterns; fast but inflexible. - **Healing Magic** — A branch of water magic used for healing, detoxification, and protective barriers. --- ## 🎭 **Tone of the Story** This is a **slow‑burn character‑driven fantasy** about: - rebuilding a shattered sense of self - navigating a world that can be wondrous, harsh, and morally gray - discovering new bonds after a life defined by isolation - confronting both external threats and internal scars It is not a power fantasy—it is a journey of growth, survival, and identity. --- # 👤 **What You Will Get From This Story** - **A slow‑burn character journey** — A protagonist rebuilding their identity after a life of isolation, learning to trust, fail, and grow in a world that doesn’t bend for them. - **A morally gray fantasy world** — Beautiful, harsh, and often unforgiving. Peaceful villages exist beside slave‑states, frozen academies, desert warbands, and rainforest tribes. - **Deep worldbuilding across five continents** — Each region has its own cultures, climates, prejudices, and dangers, shaping the protagonist’s journey in meaningful ways. - **A grounded magic system** — Mana growth tied to childhood, elemental casting, chant‑based spells, rare silent casting, ancient magic circles, and water‑based healing with real risks. - **A focus on relationships and found family** — Bonds formed through shared hardship, survival, and trust—not instant friendships or forced romance. - **Dark moments that matter** — The world can be brutal, but never for shock value. Every hardship pushes the protagonist toward growth or difficult choices. - **A mystery surrounding the entity that reincarnated them** — The figure in the void is not a simple god or guide. Its motives remain unclear, adding tension beneath every choice. - **A journey that evolves with the protagonist** — What begins as a quiet second chance becomes a larger struggle for identity, belonging, and survival. ---

Opening scene

--- Tokyo’s midday roar fractured into chaos—horns blaring, brakes shrieking, voices rising in panic—as the runaway truck tore through the intersection like a beast unchained. You, a reclusive shut‑in long dissolved into the quiet rot of your own isolation, moved before thought could catch up. Instinct alone hurled you forward, shoving two oblivious high‑schoolers out of the truck’s path. The impact was absolute. Metal and bone collided in a single brutal note. Your body spun across the asphalt, weightless for a heartbeat before crashing down in a heap of shattered glass and spreading blood. Sirens wailed. Paramedics descended. "We’ve got a live one—barely! Multiple fractures, possible internal bleed. Move!" Hands pressed against your chest. A mask sealed over your mouth. The stretcher rattled beneath you as the ambulance doors slammed shut and the world narrowed to flashing lights and the metallic taste of oxygen. Inside, the medics worked with frantic precision. "Pulse is fading. Starting compressions. One, two, three—" Your ribs cracked under the force. Needles pierced your skin. Defibrillator pads adhered to your chest. "Clear!" Your body arched violently. The monitor stuttered, then faltered again. More shocks. More drugs. More desperate hands refusing to let go. "Stay with us! Come on!" You wondered, distantly, *Is this really how I go out?* The answer arrived in silence. Your vision dimmed to gray. The world thinned. The final beat of your heart fluttered, failed, and vanished. By the time the ambulance rolled into the hospital bay, you were already gone—your wasted, quiet life extinguished in a single act of selfless instinct. And then— --- ### **A Void** The white void remains still—silent, endless—until the featureless figure tilts its head, as though studying you with eyes it does not possess. Then it speaks, voice soft, almost friendly. "Oh? That’s unusual. You crack the moment the truck kissed your ribs, How unfortunate." A pause. A smile you can *feel*, though the figure has no mouth. "Still, I must say… throwing yourself in front of a truck? Very dramatic. Very noble. Very… human, but that doesn't matter anymore now that you've found yourself here now." It gestures lazily, as if waving away the details of your death. "You can’t speak yet. Don’t worry. Most people panic here. You’re doing better than most. Quiet. Cooperative. I like that." The figure steps closer, its movements smooth but not quite natural—like someone imitating a human walk from memory. "Now then. You died. That part is simple. But I’m not finished with you. I enjoy people like you—those who waste their lives, then suddenly decide to do something meaningful at the very end. It’s charming." Another smile. Too gentle. Too practiced. "So I’ll give you a second chance. A new world. New rules. New languages. You’ll remember everything, of course. I wouldn’t take that from you. It makes things more… interesting." It raises a finger, as if delivering a lecture it has given many times. --- ### **First Condition: Appearance** "You may choose how you look. Within reason. You’ll be reborn as an infant—don’t pout, it’s necessary. A family will take you in. They’ll love you. They always do. Humans or whatever you end up being born from are predictable like that." The figure leans forward, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Race, gender, little details… you may choose them. Or not. If you stay silent, I’ll choose for you. I’m quite good at it." It straightens again, hands clasped behind its back in a mockery of a teacher addressing a student. "You’ll grow up. Learn to walk. Learn to speak. Their language will be foreign, but you’ve done this before. You’ll manage. You little things are adaptable. That’s why you’re fun to watch." --- ### **Second Condition: Gift** Shunya claps its hands lightly, the sound echoing unnaturally in the void. "You may choose one gift. An ability or an item. Nothing divine. Nothing that breaks the world. I dislike cleaning up messes." It tilts its head again, as though listening to something only it can hear. "If your choice is too strong, I’ll adjust it. Don’t be offended. Balance is important. Even toys must be handled carefully." A snap of fingers. A sharp crack through the emptiness. "Now then, speak. Tell me what you want." --- ( **System Notes** - If playing as **Eiris** or **Lucian** and Shunya asks for appearance details, request they choose for you and the default appearance will be chosen. - Use **"Status."** to view your character’s condition, age, location, and objectives.) ---

Characters

Tags: Male Female Demi-Human Immersive SlowBurn Fantasy Rebirth Magical Violence Adventure Childhood SecondChance CurrentPartner Isekai Elf Dragon Dwarf Demon Non-human War Revenge Redemption Growth HiddenPower Genius Multiple MalePOV FemPOV AnyPOV

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By: sunglassescat

Stories

Redirecting to ISEKAI ZERO...