"As of today, humanity is at war with an extrasolar enemy."

"They called themselves 'the Covenant of the Bloody Dawn.' And they certainly brought a bloody dawn to the new day."

"Combat began on the farthest reaches of human expanse. The brutal orbital bombing of the planets leaving the death toll in the quadrillions. Experts have warned-"

"Gus," his father began, turning off the repeating news broadcast and putting on a pair of glasses, "come with me. I have some tests to run."

"Tests? On me?"

"On all of you kids. It's safe, something sanctioned by Europea and the United Nations of Terra."

***

"Sir, we've got something."

"Really? What is it?" the man asked, approaching the display monitor.

"Here," the youngest scientist said, gesturing to one of the readings. "The subject is showing increased brain activity, matching that of the automated controllers."

"This is it. This is the breakthrough!" the lead scientist said, removing his glasses. "The tests work on the young. We've done it!"

***

"So, some are smarter, some faster, some stronger?"

"Precisely," the scientist confirmed. In the short time between the beginning and now, his face had aged considerably. "And, interestingly, within each group they all share one thing in common. Blood type."

"So, we can predict the change?"

"Yes, sir. I believe we can."

"So, are the changes fixed to type?"

"All evidence points to it, sir."

"Thank you, Luis."

"So he will never perform... all because of that night..."

***

"Worthless. Gus, you worthless child. All others changed to fight, but not you. You worthless runt. Get out of my sight."

***

"Hey. I'm being sent out there tomorrow. Remember our promise? Don't make me wait for too long, okay?"

"Once you get strong, you come and find me, okay?"

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He awoke sharply.

He was in a small, dirty room. The only notable fixture in the room were the chains hanging from the ceiling. The chains that he just happened to be attached to by the wrists.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

His body was littered by wounds, dealt to him by the creatures of the Bloody Dawn that acted as his jailers.

"How the hell are you still alive?" an Irish voice asked him.

"I saw what they did. It'd kill me a thousand times over."

The voice belonged to a young, dark haired man with a deep scar covering the left of his face from ear to cheek.

"I... I have to... I have to see them..."

Gus barely managed to get his words out.

"Huh? They might not have got you, but they sure got your brain good, eh?"

"Where... are we?" Gus asked.

"The flagship of the fleet that got Sierra. Unluckily, the fellas in the Orcas didn't get it. Ooh, but they sure did a number to the fleet. Sent them running like scared puppies."

"Didn't they send us running too, then?"

"Good point," the man said with a pause. "By the way, I'm Connor."

"Gus. Where you from?"

"Dublin. Old Dublin, specifically. Yourself?"

"Not sure. Never really stopped moving when I was young."

"Ah. Well, if you ever find out..."

His voice trailed off as he saw motion outside the cell. He quickly retreated to the shadows on the far side from the door.

A Bru'uka slammed the door open and immediately walked towards Gus. As though annoyed by something, it began striking the man with its four arms as though he were a punching bag for the creature to release all of its tension on.

Gus could do nothing but wince as the creature battered his already beaten body.

The assault lasted an entire minute.

Somehow, Gus survived the attack.

Once it was finished, the Bru'uka unhooked Gus from the chains that bound him and let him drop to the floor, before striking him once more, stealing consciousness away from him.

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"Dad, I can still fight. And I will."

"I don't care. My own son, the runt of the litter of my creation. Why you? Why did it have to be you? Why couldn't I just get what I wanted, what we needed?"

'Why am I seeing this memory? Am I dead?' Gus thought.

"What about what I wanted? I had no chance at a normal childhood."

"A normal childhood? What about all those on the frontier? Or all the worlds that died since then? Things had to be done. I had orders to succeed at all costs. And yet my own son..."

"What more do you want from me?!"

"I wanted you to be a success. Instead, you're an embarrassment, both to me and my entire mission.

I wish you had died and she had lived. She could have at least given me a child that would succeed.

Go and join the military. I don't care. I hope you die there."

This was the day before he had joined the United Terran Marines. The day his father had officially disowned him as a failure.

Of course, he had stopped being a father a long time before, when Gus failed in his experiments.

His experiments. Barbaric means to win the war for humans, at any cost.

Even if humanity was that cost.

'Why now?' Gus asked again.

His vision suddenly changed.

It was the night before she left.

Kaya, the girl he had known since they were both extremely young, was successful in the experiments. As a result, she was highly in demand across the front, much like the other 'evolved' humans.

"You know he didn't mean that, right? He wouldn't have," she said, attempting to be reassuring.

"I don't know. He changed a lot when she died. And I was often the victim of that change."

She remained silent for a moment.

"Hey. I'm being sent out there tomorrow. Remember our promise? Don't make me wait for too long, okay?

Once you get strong, you come and find me, okay?"

"I won't be. I'm a failure. You should know this," Gus said dejectedly.

"No, you're not. You don't need to be a successful experiment to succeed. You have something natural, that they can't give you.

A heart."

"A heart?"

She nodded. "You care about everyone and everything. You are willing to sacrifice for others. You're willing to help, to do what you can."

"How does that make me strong?" Gus asked.

"Because being mentally unwavering is much more important than being physically strong.

You don't need to be one of the evolved. You just need to keep being you. And when you're ready, come and find me out there."

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Gus began to wake up, back on the floor of the cell. An unfamiliar voice rang in his ears.

*Conditions have been met.*

*System of Legendary Heroes unlocked.*