The Earth After Rebirth

Walking into his room, Kiro was thinking about how bad of a son he was. He was truly ungrateful in his past life, he never even took care of his parents. He got a job at 19, right after graduation. Never bothered to send money back to ease their stress and the very next year they died.

His job wasn\'t well paying so he couldn\'t take care of his younger siblings. Everything just fell apart after that. They died one after another. His little brother joined a street gang and was killed trying to protect their sister, Alora, from being assaulted.

In his past life, there was this virtual reality game called Asgard Online: Fallen Heroes, it changed the real world completely. It was speculated that some billionaires invested in it, causing the in-game currency to be usable in real life. He couldn\'t play it in his past life, he couldn\'t afford the Head Gear, or the Pod they will release months from now.

Kiro was obsessed with the game nonetheless, he\'d watch streams, read about various classes and quests, also bugs.

It had around 100 million players and he wasn\'t one of them.

He took out the black suit he\'ll be wearing the next day on his graduation. It wasn\'t new, but it was clean. Their parents always hammered the importance of education to them, as a matter of fact, his school uniform was always in good condition.

It helped a lot that in this earth, kids started school at 13. Then at 17 it was the academy, a higher level of learning. Kiro\'s parents may have calculated, because the gap between the 3 siblings was too much of a coincidence.

"Ki, are you alright? Why did you cry just then?"

Kiro was jerked out of his thoughts by his younger brother. Loki had always been the type to act like he didn\'t care, but would absolutely show it when he thought something was wrong.

"Ha, you\'re worried about me, champ?" he said with a smirk, while ruffling his hair.

"Let go you jerk, and I\'m not worried. Why would I be worried about you."

"I\'m glad you\'re my brother, Loki."

"Wh-what? Stop saying weird things." He was obviously embarrassed.

The door creaked open, "What about me big bro Ki?" Alora walked in, pouting. She didn\'t want to be left behind.

Kiro picked her up and swung her around. "Especially you, Freckles." She giggled.

--------

The next day, the family woke up early and prepared to leave for Kiro\'s school. Today was an important day. The school was a walking distance, but Freya and Sekani hired a car just for that day. They didn\'t have much, but they weren\'t frugal when it came to their kids\' special events.

Kiro and his dad were wearing suits. Loki didn\'t own one yet, so he was in jeans and sneakers. Alora was wearing a beautiful purple dress. His mother was elegant in a black plain dress, Kiro honestly had never seen a woman prettier than her.

Alora loved her big brother, which is why she could be seen in his arms walking out the rusting gate. The car wasn\'t much, but Kiro was happy about it nonetheless. Of course he\'d been through this before, but unlike then, he appreciated every little thing more now.

The driver tipped his hat and they got in. The car drove through the neighbourhood. You could tell that, if the buildings were well maintained, this place would\'ve been a great futuristic-like city. But instead, the buildings were worn and torn.

Of course this was because Kiro lived in the lower district. There were 3 districts in this world, Upper, Middle and Lower. The lower district was the least taken care of, people there fended for themselves or died trying.

10 minutes passed and they arrived at the school. The school wasn\'t anything special, a building that housed classes and faculty offices. Right next to it was a big hall, clearly erected for events such as this one.

There weren\'t any sport fields, kids just played on gravel if they chose to play and kids from the lower district loved sports.

They separated, his family went into the hall, Kiro walked into the building, and to his class. He walked in with an air of confidence they\'ve never seen before. He was class president, but they chose him as a joke, since he was a pushover and lacked confidence.

They thought it\'d be funny to put someone who was wimpy in that authoritative seat.

"Who\'s that?"

"Looks like Kiro."

"Pres the wimp? No way. Why\'s he so different."

"Haaa, what do you mean different? Still looks like the same scrawny nerd he always was to me."

The whispers couldn\'t be contained. Kiro simply smiled, smugly. No one in this class was a friend to him, he was the ultimate outcast of this class, matter of fact, of the entire school. Not like he was bullied physically or not anything, but they did pick on him.

But the way he was today, he really fit the title they forced upon him. Even the teacher was surprised, in a good way. She was the kind that never wanted to give up on anyone, and likewise she never gave up on Kiro. Though his marks were really good, his character was very lacking.

That\'s why she didn\'t push the idea of him being president away. She thought, maybe it\'ll help him gain confidence in himself.

"Mr. Waynworth, thank you for joining us."

Kiro smiled, "Thanks Teach."

\'Goodness. Even his words aren\'t wavering. Good. Good. You\'re just in time for the academy.\'

They were all seated in the same seats they\'ve been using for the past 4 years. The class was old, but it didn\'t have any holes or leaks, it was clean.

"I\'m not going to be long, the ceremony will start soon. I\'m just here to congratulate all of you, for studying so hard and reaching this point. But don\'t get tired, go further, you\'re our leaders of tomorrow. So do your best. I\'m proud of all of you, I think this is the best class I\'ve ever taught. Continue being great. Let\'s go."

She got the applause of the century from her class.

They all wore their graduation gowns which is what they really came here for, and followed their teacher who had hers on too.

The hall was decorated beautifully. Families were sat in round tables. The faculty staff were seated at the front, in a long table. Each student would sit with their family. Each table had snacks of all kinds, they really went all out.

It hadn\'t been that long since the families got there, but Loki was already full. Though that didn\'t stop him from eating, but it was obvious he was forcing himself.

"If you don\'t stop, you\'ll blow into smithereens, you know." Kiro said to him, taking a seat besides his mother.

He understood why he would do this, they don\'t have much at home but this was embarrassing. As though his ears had wax, Loki completely ignored his brother.

"Mum, Dad, why\'s your son such a pig?" He said with such a serious tone that they both blurted out laughter.

Loki\'s retort was delayed by the food in his mouth, when he finished chewing the principal had already taken the podium and was welcoming the guests.

His welcome speech turned into a congratulatory one. Which made it so long that by the time he finished, everyone, more or less were yawning.

"Now, it\'s time to announce the best performance. The student who defied all odds and stayed at the top of his year, for 4 years. Kiro Waynworth, come on here."

His family, including him were shocked. He was shocked because he had forgotten all about this moment. 7 years of living hell in his past life could make anyone forget about trivial things such as these. Even though he worked hard at school, came out on top, that never helped his situation.

His mother got up with him, gave him a squeezing hug. Previously this embarrassed him, but now, he appreciated any kind of affection. He hugged her right back, and got the smooch of his life on the cheek.

\'Right. I\'m supposed to give a speech. What am I supposed to say? F*ck you all, and I hope you burn in hell for the treatment the past 4 years?\' He contemplated as he reached the stage.

He shook hands with the principal and his vice and so he took the podium.

"Firstly, I\'d like to thank the families who came far and wide to celebrate with us. The staff who worked tirelessly for the past 4 years to ensure us a good education. Especially our teacher, Miss Eldridge, you never gave up on any of us, thank you very much teach. I promise your efforts toward me won\'t be wasted.

"I wish I was that good at this motivational stuff, as the Pres of class 3 I should be, but alas. To my peers, as teach said, don\'t be fatigued, the marathon is still on-going this is simply a rest stop. In a week, we will be obligated to run again, go on and refill your energy so you\'re ready for the next chapter. Thank You."

He got a thunderous applause and whistles.

"What a sharp tongue you got kid, I feel bad for your parents." The program director jokingly said, and the joke was well-received.

Arriving at the table, his parents hugged and kissed him. One look at their faces you could see how proud they were. Alora of course wanted to be picked up by her older brother, which Kiro did.

The ceremony came to a close. Pictures were taken. The after party was just a way for the school to welcome them to adulthood. Which meant someone of age received whiskey as a takeaway, of course, anybody who wasn\'t 17 yet couldn\'t be given one even with parents around.

\'Curse being born in December.\' Kiro screamed internally. He couldn\'t hide how bitter he felt. Underage drinking was rare in this society, the rules surrounding it were too strict.

You could just be walking down the street, and the street sensors would pick up that you have alcohol in your system. That would warrant a severe punishment.

"Don\'t worry, on the 13th of December, even if I have to fly to Eden, we\'ll drink together." Sekani saw his son\'s solemn face, so he tried to cheer him up.