There was a time when things were normal. Life was good then. All I had to worry about was school , my younger siblings and mom. Nothing was to complicated. Sometimes I would have to go do extra jobs to help out with rent but that was the worst it got. Life was truly great. But one day it all changed. I got sucked into a life I would have never imagined. All because of a coincidence.

I’m an average kid . Seventeen years old, an athletic body and Short black hair that I kept in a fade style cut. Im the average male height, with a lighter brown skinned complexion and hazel eyes that people said carried more weight than someone my age should ever have. Oh and my name, it’s King, King Solomon. First name King, last name soloman. My parents must have thought it was a good omen to name me that . Mom always told me I would be great and wise like the great king Solomon once was. It was great when I was younger, made me feel confident about myself. But as I got older I realized I just wasn’t the person she hoped I’d be. I was a hard worker and made sure to always take care of the family but I wasn’t very good at school and I could never keep a job. My dad was never in the picture so my mom had to take care of 3 kids by her self. She was always working hard to provide for us , so to try and take some of that stress of of her I would pick up part time jobs every now and then. Although things never went good for me. Over and over I lost the my job. No matter how hard I work , how much sweat I put into my job, I was always got fired for one reason and one reason only . Because I had no skill. And here I was again . Coming home from another failed position at a car washing business.

I sat at the bus stop, staring at the cracked pavement beneath my feet, trying to swallow the anger bubbling up in my chest. It wasn’t like getting fired was new to me—hell, I was used to it by now. But it didn’t make it any easier. Just your average, every day kid hat was willing to put in hard work to earn for his family, yet, no one ever saw past one thing.

No Skill.

In a world where everyone’s born with some special ability, something that sets them apart, makes life easier, more exciting, or just plain better—I got nothing. Same with my family. My mom, my little brother Jay and my little sister Jelissa. We were the unlucky 1 in a million. Everyone had some ability, they could fly, bend fire, read minds, or whatever else came with their Skill, but us? We couldn’t even float.

Most humans are bestowed an innate skill at birth, but you can also gain or buy skills along your lifetime. But there’s a catch . To gain a skill you have to already have at least one. And when it comes to buying one well….The pricing is outrageous to say the least. Even basic skills are expensive to people like me.

I live in a section of the kingdom called the inner exterior, a name that lets anyone know that you are a weakling with little strength. The kingdom I live is called Manchester kingdom in the country of wisteria. It’s very large with 2 walls encasing the inner most sections. The inner walls protect the palace but also separate the people. We are separated into 3 groups.

The exterior, which are those who live on the outside of the walls but within Manchester territory , which expands for a few hundred kilometers in each direction. The people who live here are exiles, refugees, and prisoners of war basically those not allowed to live within the safety of the walls.

Then there is the inner exterior which is the living quarters between the outer and inner walls. This is where they stick all the low level citizens who have weak and basic skills that would only do good helping economic services and supporting the kingdoms infrastructure.

Lastly is the interior, where the higher skilled citizens , royals and nobles live. The importance of the citizens also went in that order so a person of lesser importance has no right over the person of higher importance. There was a clear heirachy to things and it had to be followed or there would be consequences.

All of that was none of my business though. I was even worse than a weakling . That hierarchy only applies to those with skills. Those without skills are nothing but trash. In this society, The weak have no right to stand against the strong . It was something I was use to which is why I was so easily accepting to being fired. Standing up to them for their biased behavior would do me no good. So once again I succumbed to my fate.

I leaned back on the bench, watching people walk by, living their powered-up lives while I sat there, unemployed again, wondering how the hell I was going to explain this one to my mom.

As I sat there waiting lost in my thought I heard some shuffling nearby. I turned to see a group of teenagers messing with some kid. I recognized a couple of them right away. They went to my school. Guys with Skills. Popular guys. They had him surrounded and were intimidating him. This was common. Bulllying was something that was inevitable in this kind of society so as usual I ignored it. At least I tried . But soon they started to beat on the kid . Kicking at him as he fell to the ground. It was hard to ignore so I turned to say something.

Then I saw him. My little brother,Jay

I was off the bench before I even realized it. My feet carried me toward them, but I was still too far away. One of the guys shoved Jay, hard. He hit the ground, barely catching himself with his hands. My heart pounded in my chest. I broke into a run as they beat on him, laughing.

Jay was curled up, trying to protect himself, but he didn’t stand a chance. He was in middle school, scrawny, with no Skill to defend himself and they were taking advantage of this , a bunch of cowards.

I hit the first guy with a sucker punch, catching him off guard. He stumbled back, clutching his face, but that was about as far as I got. The rest of them turned on me immediately, and I saw the look in their eyes. They were grinning now. I’d just made things worse.

“That’s the Skill-less kid’s brother, ain’t it?” one of them sneered.

Before I could even raise my arms to defend myself, a fist slammed into my gut, knocking the wind out of me. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground next to Jay, their feet raining down on me like a storm. I curled up, trying to shield my head, but it didn’t do much. Punches, kicks, and insults—it all blended together after a while.

I couldn’t fight back. Not like this.

They kept beating me for a while which sucked but at the very least I was glad they didn’t go back to my brother.

As I lay on the ground getting beat I saw the bus pass by. “Another inconvenience.” Is all I could think.

Eventually, they got bored. I felt the blows slow, then stop altogether. I could hear them laughing as they walked away, one of them muttering something about “wasting time on the Skill-less losers.”

I stayed down for a moment, catching my breath, my whole body throbbing.

“Jay, you alright?” I asked, pulling myself to my feet.

Jay groaned, slowly pushing himself up too. He wasn’t hurt too badly—nothing permanent, at least. “Yeah… I’m okay.”

His full name was James soloman. He was only 12 and in the 6th grade.I hated to see a bunch of teenagers jump him like that. He had some bruises but it looked like he protected his face well.

“You did good protecting your face like I taught you. What happened why did they jump you?”

He sniffled and wiped his bloody nose.

“They talked about mom so I punched him in the face.”

I sighed . Although I under stand him , he should know better then to hit first

“You know not to hit first.”

I said sternly

“I know but I couldn’t take it they always talk down on me I hate it.”

“Why are they picking on a 12 year old anyways they look like they are in my grade”

“They are . One day I was talking to one of their younger brothers and I and you were tougher then their older brother even without a skill.”

“Ah I see so they must have ran it back and the bothers didn’t like to hear that.”

“Yeah apparently he had 4 older brothers.”

I almost laughed at the statement, but my side hurt to much.

“Well thanks for sticking up for me lil bro .”

“I’m gonna be strong like you . Even if our family is cursed I’ll become someone.”

I sighed again.

“Come on,” I said, looking down the street. “Since We missed the bus. Let’s stop by Mom’s store on the way home. She’s probably wondering where we are.”

Jay nodded, still a little shaken, but he trusted me. We started walking together , trying to forget what just happened.

As we walked I thought in silence.

I hated that jay felt that way about our family. I’ve told him before we aren’t cursed. Just because everyone calls having a skill being blessed doesn’t mean we are cursed because we don’t have one. We were just unlucky.

Sadly my entire family doesn’t have skills. My little sister , nor my mother . My mom never knew her parents so she doesn’t know if it’s genetic and my father left her when we were young. Apparently he had a skill but my mother said he never used it or told her what it was. I don’t blame him for leaving. A family without skills. They were useless to everyone. But still, It’s weird , although I was 8 years old when he left I don’t remember a single thing about him not even his face. Jay was four and Jelissa had just been born so neither of them would remember either. Nor is there any photos with him in the house. I mean I’m 17 now, so not remembering him after 9 years was somewhat normal but I couldn’t recall a single detail. That just felt weird to me.

But I couldn’t let rival things like that bother me . I had to focus on making sure my family could get by

“Mom working late tonight again”

Jay said starting up a conversation

“Yea. She always does….” I replied with a sigh

“One day I’ll be able to get a job too and then she won’t have to work so hard.”

I hesitated to tell him it wouldn’t work out that way. If couldn’t hold a job , things would t be any better for him. Without a skill no one ever truly accepts you. But I didn’t want to tell him that now.

“Yeah that would help some more I’d appreciate that little bro . But for now focus on school that’s what’s important.”

I tried to stray away from the topic.

“Anyways,How was your day at school?”

That seemed to bring a smile to his face. He then proceeded to tell me about his exciting day .

“So you’re saying the class pet climbed up the teachers dress and she had to leave because she was embarsssed about it.”

“Yea basically , it was even funnier because my friend was the one who accidentally let it out.” He said bursting out into laughter

“Accidentally…. right”

I shook my head at him slightly disappointed but still they were kids what did I expect .

The air was getting cooler as the sun dipped lower in the sky. I glanced at Jay. He looked a little better now, his posture less tense. In glad I could help take his mind off everything. I’m also glad we get to see mom. She always worked late so we would be sleep by the time she got home. It would probably be a pleasant surprise for her too.Still we needed to stop and pick up Jelissa before heading home so we couldn’t stay to long.Just a quick check-in with Mom, and then we’d head out.

But then, as we turned the corner, a sharp, acrid smell hit me. Smoke. Burning wood.

“Do you smell that?” I asked, stopping dead in my tracks.

Jay’s eyes widened, and we both looked up at the same time. Ahead of us, smoke billowed into the sky, and through the haze, we could see the flicker of orange flames licking the air. My heart stopped for a second. Time seemed to slow down, and my eyes focused in on the building. I recognized that building. It was one I had been to plenty of times before.

It was Mom’s store.

Without thinking, I broke into a run, Jay hot on my heels. As we got closer, the heat hit us full force, and the sight of the burning building came into full view. Flames danced wildly over the front of the store, consuming everything in their path. A crowd had gathered, people standing there, staring in shock, but no one was doing anything.

A few of them recognize used us. I could hear we a couple of them sayingng

“Hey are those her boys?!”

“Mom!” Jay screamed, skidding to a halt in front of the entrance.

I didn’t stop. Without a second thought, I ran straight for the door, ignoring Jay’s panicked voice calling after me. Flames roared around me, heat pressing down from all sides, but I pushed through, trying to keep my focus.

When I came out in the other side I felt like I had entered hell itself fire burned everywhere, flickering and dancing around the room. Dark black Smoke filled the ceiling as everything burned away.

The air was suffocating, I could hardly breath. I regretted not taking a breath before coming in but was in a rush. I looked around and couldn’t See mom. I ran through the building jumping over broken pillars and burning wood. If I tripped over one thing it would be over for me I would suffer from intense burns. The ceiling creaked ominously above me as parts of it crumbled to the ground.

Sweat dripped down my face, my breath coming in ragged gasps from the thick smoke, but none of it mattered. All I could think about was finding her.

“Mom!” I shouted, my voice hoarse as I searched through the flames. No answer.

I stumbled to the back of the store, pushing open the door that led to the storage warehouse. The fire hadn’t taken this room yet, but it was close. Flames flickered along the walls, and the heat was unbearable. Then I saw her.

“Mom!” I started to run to her side. She was trapped under a massive metal beam, her body pinned to the floor, the heat from the flames warping the metal around her. She was alive, but barely, her face pale, her breathing shallow.

“King wait,” she whispered, her voice weak. She was trembling, her eyes filled with pain but somehow still focused. She was trying to warm me if something but of what.

Then I saw it

Behind her ,a creature was standing guard, it was like some kind of sick sentinel. It was a creature straight out of a nightmare. It looked like a giant salamander, its body wreathed in fire, as big as an alligator but made of molten flame. Its glowing eyes stared straight at me, but it wasn’t moving. It just stood there, as if waiting for me to make the first move.

I had no Skill. No power to fight something like this. But that didn’t matter. I had to save her.

I glanced around quickly, trying to come up with a plan. The flames were closing in, and the salamander didn’t seem like it was going to move anytime soon. But maybe… maybe I didn’t need to fight it directly.

“Stay with me, Mom. I’ll get you out of here.”

She didn’t respond. I could see the pain etched into her face, and I knew time was running out. I had to act fast.

I grabbed a nearby metal shelf and hurled it at the salamander’s head. It clanged loudly, drawing its attention, and in that moment, I bolted past it toward the back entrance. The creature turned its head toward the noise, curious, just long enough for me to throw open the door. It lunged after me, narrowly missing me , slipping outside, i hurriedly slammed the door behind it.

I quickly pushed a burning shelf over in front of the door. It was damaged enough to crumble into pieces leaving a heavy pile of debris blocking the entrance.I ran back to Mom. As I got close my pace slowed. I was terrified at what I saw. The beam had started melting into her skin, burning through her back, searing through her bones. I felt a lump rise in my throat. How was she still conscious? How was she not screaming in pain?

Moving off of impulse , I grabbed the beam, but it was searing hot. I recoiled, my hands burning. “Mom, I—hold on. Just hold on, okay?” I tried to lift it again, this time using my shirt as protection, but it wouldn’t budge. I had the strength of a teenage human. And I never worked out much plus in these extreme conditions, this was nearly impossible.

“I’m sorry, King,” she whispered, her voice barely audible now. A tear attempted to fall from her her eyes but it burned up instantly.

“No, don’t. Don’t talk like that, I’ll get you out of here.” My own voice cracked. I was running out of time. I tried to lift harder.

Suddenly, there was a crash behind me. The door exploded inward, and the salamander was back, flames crackling around it. Its fiery gaze locked on me, and I knew I couldn’t take my eyes off it for a second.

I stepped in front of my mom, raising my fists even though I knew it was useless. But before I could act, something flashed in the corner of my vision—a piece of burning debris, flying through the air, propelled by the collapsing ceiling.

It struck with a sickening thud.

When I turned, it was already too late. The debris had hit her neck, severing it cleanly. Her body went limp, the pain on her face replaced with something eerily peaceful.

“No…” I whispered, my entire body going numb.

The world seemed to slow down. The salamander, the flames, the crumbling building around me—it all faded into the background. I dropped to my knees beside her, my mind refusing to process what had just happened.

“Mom…” I whispered again, but there was no response.

Just the crackle of fire, and the overwhelming silence that followed.

The room spun around me as I stared down at my mother’s lifeless body, the jagged piece of debris still lodged where her head should’ve been. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. It was like the world had just… stopped. The fire roared around me, but I couldn’t hear it. The heat pressed down on me, but I couldn’t feel it. All I could see was her—motionless. Gone.

“Mom…”

The word barely left my mouth. It felt hollow, like saying it would change anything. But it didn’t. She was really gone.

Then I heard it. A deep, guttural growl. I turned, half in a daze, and saw the salamander—molten, massive, still wreathed in flames—barging its way back into the room. Its fiery eyes locked onto me, and for a second, I thought it would attack. But something strange happened. As I stared at it, the creature’s flames began to flicker, dimming and then sputtering like a candle running out of wick.

The salamander… it was fading.

It stood there, frozen in place, the molten fire that formed its body beginning to dissipate, piece by piece. I watched as its flames turned to ash, its form growing smaller with each passing second, until finally, it was nothing more than a few embers scattered on the floor.

As it disappeared, I felt something shift, like a weight I hadn’t known was there was being lifted. It was almost as if the creature’s existence was tied to my mother’s life force. And with her gone, it had no reason to stay.

My mind raced with questions—why had the salamander been here? Why had it been guarding her? Why hadn’t she screamed in pain when the beam was melting through her back? None of it made sense, and my head was spinning, trying to piece it together.

But there was no time to think. The fire was still raging, the smoke thickening around me, and now that the adrenaline had faded, I could feel the heat searing my skin. My lungs burned with every breath, and my legs felt like they were going to give out any second.

I had to get out of here. Now.

I staggered toward the door, but the moment I took a step, my knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the floor. My vision blurred, the edges of my sight going dark as exhaustion and the oppressive heat took over. I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t listen.

Then, just as everything went black, something stirred inside me. A voice—quiet, distant, but undeniably present.

“Solomon: King of Wisdom, Level 1. Synchronized .”

The voice echoed in my mind, calm and steady, like it had always been there, waiting. I didn’t understand what was happening, but in that moment, I didn’t have to. I could feel it—this strange presence was giving me information, analyzing the situation, providing what I needed to survive.

“Fire resistance required. Skill Adaptive Survivor has been Created. Activating skill. Due to surviving prolonged exposure to intense heat you have met the requirements to obtain the basic skill fire resistance. Fire Resistance Level 1: Synchronizing . Skill Synchronized, Reducing heat impact by 15%.”

While the skill was named Solomon , but its voice was that of a man and woman’s. Distorted as if both were speaking in unison. And just as the angelic voice has conveyed , The oppressive heat lightened, just enough for me to breathe again. My mind cleared, and I could move. I still felt weak, but now that I had a chance to survive , I wasn’t about to let the fire take me. Not here. Not like this.

“Sub Skill - Supernatural Awareness awakened. Skill activating. Escape route detected. Plotting strategy.”

Solomons voice echoed in my mind as Images flashed in—details of the room I hadn’t noticed before, paths through the flames, the structural weaknesses in the building. The voice—Solomon—was guiding me, showing me the way out.

I got to my feet, my body still trembling, but the new skill’s fire resistance gave me just enough strength to keep going. I moved through the burning debris, avoiding the collapsing ceiling and darting through a narrow gap in the flames that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

Step by step, I followed the path Solomon laid out for me, navigating the chaos with newfound clarity. The flames still clawed at me, but they couldn’t stop me now. I pushed through the smoke and heat until, finally, I burst out the back door, gasping for fresh air.

I stumbled into the alley, collapsing to my knees. The cool air hit my face, and I coughed violently, my lungs burning from the smoke, but I was alive.

Jay was there, waiting for me, his eyes wide with panic. “King! You’re—where’s Mom? Is she…?”

I couldn’t meet his gaze. I swallowed hard, fighting the lump in my throat, but there was no easy way to say it. The words felt heavy, impossible, but I had to say them. I owed it to him.

“She’s… she’s gone, Jay. Mom didn’t make it.”

Jay stared at me, his face pale, his mouth opening and closing like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. He looked as shattered as I felt. We stood there in silence, the weight of everything crushing down on us as the flames from the store flickered behind us, casting shadows on a future that would never be the same.

About 10 minutes later the fire team showed up but it was entirely too late. They put out the remaining fire and got statements from the citizens. Some government officials, came over and talked to me about moving me and my siblings into a foster home . I hesitated at the offer . But then they gave me a second option. To drop out of school and become an official adult under the law and take guardianship of my brother and sister. . The law states you have to be 16 to be registered as a legal adult as long as you had a guardians consent. But since my guardians are gone that decision is up to me. The man advised against it but I didn’t care for his words. In the end I did some paperwork and the man offered us a ride home.

On the way there he let me know that in a few days I will need to get registered either at a local License station or path finders guild. I would need some form of official documents to prove I am an adult. He told me with the paperwork I signed tonight I should be able to get an id at any official office even being under aged. I listened half heartedly. I cared but at the same time I didn’t. My mother just died. I was in shock . But I also had to make sure I knew what to do for the future. Once he was done the rest of the ride was quiet

Even Jay was quiet the entire time. He didn’t cry anymore he just sat in silence. I could feel his pain but I couldn’t imagine what Jelissa was going to feel like when she found out . I hated the ride home, anticipating the moment.

Upon arrival there were some officials already standing with her in Front of the house. The second I saw her tears fell from my eyes. I couldn’t hold back. I walked to her and slowly explained. Before I could even finish , Jelissa broke down crying screaming,Throwing a tantrum. Jay and I were able to get her back inside that didn’t stop her. She yelled and kicked until she had no more energy. After a few hours she was fast asleep . I brought her to my room and tucked her away. I figured with everything going on she could sleep with me at least for the night. Jay must have been exhausted as well because not to long after He crawled up next to her and fell asleep just as quickly.Not me though.

That night I sat up for a long time . I contemplated, Thinking about life and how the weak always suffer. If this happened in the interior, the fire would have been put out before anyone could even get hurt, but since it was the inner exterior , there was a delay ? Why? Cause our lives are worth less? It pisses me off? That fire had clearly been raging for at least 10 minutes before I got there. I was in there for at least 10 minutes . And when I got out we waited another 10 minutes before anyone arrived at the scene. 30 whole minutes passed before a single fire soldier showed up . Unbelievable. Things like this just don’t happen to those in the interior . Then again Those who are strong could probably solve the problem themselves. I sighed at the thought. It had completely slipped my mind, although it should have been common sense for anyone. The people of the interior are strong, they wouldn’t need to wait to be saved. Only the weak are prone to loss. Only the weak are dependent on others to save them. I hated it. It burned at my soul. I clutched my fist at my own weakness until blood began to drip down my arm. I couldn’t let this happen again. From here on out I would protect my family. Nothing else matters. My feelings not my emotions.. Whatever needs to be done I will do it . No matter the cost.

That day I made a vow. I would never be weak again.

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