"There was once a hero."

All have heard that phrase at least once in their lives.

Whispered by old men before firelight.
Carved into stone beneath crumbled towers.
Inscribed on the last pages of dying books.

But more often than not, it was just a prelude—
a sentence used to dress up myths,
to clothe legends in something that sounded like truth.

"There was once a hero who defeated the Demon King."
"There was once a hero who slew the last of the skyborn dragons."
..........
"There was once a hero who was thrown into the abyss... and kept climbing out of it."
"There was once a hero who walked with tragedy tied around his waist like a blade."
"There was once a hero who changed lives—not with miracles, but with mercy."

Shotaro Mugyiwara.

A name drowned in dust.
A face erased by time.

He wakes as a blank slate—
somewhere in the shattered lands of Drakastradorn