Chapter 1

My voice came out hoarse and full of pain, echoing through the empty, crumbling laundry plant.

I glared at the well-dressed people standing in front of me.

Ever since I was thrown into this damned post-apocalyptic power fantasy novel eight years ago, some invisible story inertia had twisted everyone's minds.

To prepare for my younger brother, Samuel Grant, the useless so-called hero who failed to awaken his powers, they had turned me—the only S-Rank ability user in the entire colony—into a cripple left to die in filthy wastewater.

My mother, Claire Grant, stood ankle-deep in the chemical runoff. Even after I tore open my shirt to show the scar across my chest, she didn't look guilty at all.

She froze for only a second before throwing herself onto the ground. She slapped the foul-smelling muddy water with both hands and cried even louder than before.

"Ethan! How can you be so selfish? The colony leaders all agreed to remove your crystal core back then! Samuel is the Chosen One! He's the only one who can lead humanity into the future! You only gave up a little, but Samuel is risking his life on the front lines!"

"A little?" I laughed. The sound echoed through the dark factory like a dying scream.

I pointed at my legs, which had shriveled badly because my nerves were dead.

"My chest was cut open while I was still alive. My ability circuit was destroyed. My spine was broken! You dumped me in this laundry plant outside the colony walls, where nobody even gets a protective suit! I soak my hands in strong chemicals and wash other people's bloody clothes every day! And you call that giving up a little?"

"You were just unlucky!"

My father, Jasper Grant, who had been standing in the back with his clean, pressed clothes, finally couldn't hold back anymore.

He strode forward, yanked Claire to her feet, then pointed at me and shouted.

"A worthless cripple who can't even stand should be grateful we're still letting you live! The zombie horde is surrounding the colony. The shield generator is broken. Only the leftover energy from your old S-Rank ability can guide the repairs. Of course you're the one who has to go! Should millions of people in the colony die just because of you?"

He had always been that heartless.

Eight years ago, he was the one who pinned me down while they injected me with three times the normal dose of anesthesia.

"Jasper, stop wasting time with him. We're running out of time."

The soft, sweet voice made my stomach turn.

My ex-wife, Chloe Carter, carefully stepped around the dirty water in a pair of custom leather boots before stopping in front of my wheelchair.

She wore an expensive radiation-resistant coat today. Around her neck hung the S-Rank ability pendant Samuel had given her. That pendant had been made from scraps carved off my crystal core.

"Ethan, don't push this too far."

Chloe looked down at me with nothing but contempt. "Samuel is trapped near the central zone. If you delay fixing the shield generator and he gets hurt because of it, I'll never forgive you."

Just looking at her face made me sick.

"Chloe," I said, staring into her eyes, "did your hands shake eight years ago when you cut open my chest while I was unconscious?"

Her face stiffened for a moment. But she quickly sneered again. "You owed Samuel that! A loser like you should feel lucky that you got to help him succeed!"

"Fine." Every trace of emotion disappeared from my face. A dead silence surrounded me.

I pulled my thin, torn work uniform closed, gripped the armrests of my wheelchair, and said, "I don't care what happens today. I'm not going. You'll never make me sacrifice myself for Samuel again."