CANCELED as of 4/25/24 (see final "chapter" for explanation; leaving this up for posterity's sake) SUMMARY You know the story. But not from his perspective. Some kid got isekai'd into another world and given powers akin to a video game system. But this story isn't from his POV. It's from the perspective of the man who found him when he'd given up, and chose to raise him as his own son. The gods are not gods. The System is not your friend. But something is changing, and in an era of men and monsters, we just might find that the end of the world... that the end of a life... is not exactly what we thought it to be. TAGS N SUCH - Comfortably PG-13 (I don't write stuff with an M / R rating)- Dad + Son relationship / Adoption AUTHOR'S NOTE This story is, as an author, an absolutely fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants ordeal. When I stumbled across the Writathon, it was April 2nd, and I said, "Sure, let's do it." Everything you read here is being written as it comes to my mind and given very, very sparse editing ...if any. The point is to practice writing faster and to practice not doubting myself so much. So this story is by no means up to my standards. I tend to map out a story in detail, then give it the time it needs to weave together plot, characterizations, worldbuilding, and my own voice in a complex mesh where you get all at once. But this one? It's heavier on the characters, with a more socially focused plot. If you enjoy a story like Frieren: After Journey's End, you'll be more inclined to like this one. Even then, it's the bones of what it could be. But if you like this story, you'll like what I write in the future. I focus on the dad-son dynamic, especially the question of what it means to be either. I focus on dads cuz I didn't have one. But now I do. It's a dreadfully beautiful thing, being found by a dad when you're already a man, and getting to have a childhood when you're 30... This story began on a whim. What it's turned into is a love letter to the men who raised me. Thank you for everything, even when it hurt.