"New"

His mind was completely white. No image, no thought. Nothing. Pure and simply white.

But, at some point, the memories surfaced. Rowan remembered little. For some reason, he couldn't remember the most important and decisive moments before Calamity.

Rowan lived long and sad 46 years. His life was a disaster from an early age. He never tried to make friends at school or university. Girlfriend? Pfff. Rowan had never held a girl's hand, other than his mother and sister, until he was 30. That's when he met Grace Lawrence.

She was a year older than him. Truth be told, Rowan had no idea of ​​the life she led before the world was turned upside down. Grace never seemed interested in telling about her own life, but who was Rowan to judge? The traumas that each of the Selected ones received was the price to be paid for their powers.

Rowan remembered the strawberry scent that she possessed. The blond hair and the blue eyes, almost like any American, but still, so different in Rowan's view. She got a huge scar on her face that ran from her lips to her left eye during a battle. Not that Rowan cared about it, but it affected her dramatically throughout her life.

But... Why couldn't Rowan remember his own family's face anymore?

He knew he had a sister, a mother and a father. They died so long ago that the man just couldn't remember their faces. Their voices and characteristics... Their names. He didn't remember anything.

It was as if that environment in which he was making him purposefully forget a thousand important things. His friends Han Ji-hyun and Lee Ji-chul… Were these really their names?

For some reason he didn't forget about Dredd or Grace. He remembered each of them vividly. It was sad not to remember anything else. But what could he do?

Rowan still remembered his mission. Adria was sending him, along with the other 37,000 people who received the 'blessing', into the past. Which meant The New Ones and all the other killers and terrorists were also being sent back to life.

Tsc. She might as well have just sent him and his friends. There should be a reason for that... Right?

But what is this power that she had mentioned? Rowan thought aloud with himself, trying to understand. He had something that the three gods also had. Something that not even Adria dared to have.

It is true to say that, just as Adria had said before, Rowan is not just anybody. He made history in his future. He managed to break the limits of a healer and support after years of understanding his own abilities. And more than anything, he had respect. Ordinary people and even most of the Selected did not know his true identity, he preferred anonymity. For this reason, he became known as "Emperor of Healing".

Rowan thought that name was ridiculous. He preferred to be called "The Emperor" or "Support of Death" who managed to be more ridiculous than any other names people called him. But at least it was fun. Grace loved to make fun of his face because of all those horrible nicknames and he liked to see her happy.

"When am I going to wake up?" Rowan murmured under his breath. Even with 46 years of life experience, which was not much, he remained anxious and stubborn.

And like a nightmare, several voices filled his head. Voices that he recognized. Dredd, Grace, Carlos, Matthew, Lu Wenzhu and so many others that he couldn't even remember...

"You were always like that, haha."

"I know I know. Relax, Row. I'll show you how to really use the skills. "

"It's all or nothing, now."

"The New Ones are Winning! We can't leave! "

"Sorry, man..."

"..."

"I'm sorry Row... I love you..."

"Nooooooo!" Rowan fired a loud cry that echoed throughout the white environment until he woke up. Rowan was lying in his bed, completely drenched in sweat. He was panting, looking for different ways to be able to breathe normally until he finally calmed down. Was it all… a dream?

No. That was very real. He faced his own hands, now without the wrinkles left by so many years using swords and spears, axes and other weapons. He ran a hand through his dark hair, realizing that he had not yet gone bald. His facial structure looked younger and cleaner. Maybe...

Rowan got up, trying to maintain the balance. He held on to a small desk beside his unmade bed. The boy looked at himself in the big mirror in the room. He was wearing a blue Queen shirt and old red underwear. His body was not the same as before. He was thin and without many muscles showing, unlike the 46-year-old Rowan who had an enviable physique for someone his age. He had really gone back to the past. If it were true, he was twenty-five years ago, and he was twenty-one years old. When Padryma first appeared.

Then a thought popped into his head. His parents. Rowan put on the nearest pants, hanging over the chair. He ran quickly down the stairs, almost falling. The boy then stopped in front of the dining table, near the kitchen. Rowan looked at the clock on the wall. It was 12 hours and 30 minutes. The calendar marked the 17th of March. It was the day when he came down to Earth.

Rowan continued to walk a little more, coming face to face with three figures that even though he did not recognize well, he was sure that they were his family. He fell on his knees to the floor, crying. His parents did not understand and his sister much less. Even Rowan himself didn't quite understand why.

"Are you okay, son?" His mother's gentle voice came softly through her mouth. Shin Woo-bin showed concern for her eldest son. The woman who should have been between 40 and 50 didn't even seem to be the age she was. Her voice caused a different sensation in Rowan. Comfort.

Rowan nodded and got up with the help of his sister Han Woo-bin and his father Thomas Howlett, an American who went to Korea for work and ended up falling in love with Shin Woo-bin. They decided to put their mother's Korean surname on their children, but Thomas chose his son's first name, in honor of his own father.

He joined them at the table. His mother made rice and white beans. Rowan lifted it, sank the spoon in the plate and ate in a hurry. He practically groaned with his mouth closed. It was delicious. How long has it been? That's right. It had been more than 20 years since he ate his mother's food, so many time that he had forgotten how good she was. It is not for nothing that she works with this.

"You are a crybaby, you know?" His sister made fun of Rowan as she normally did.

"I forgot how annoying that brat is." Rowan thought out loud, to himself.

It seemed that Rowan had forgotten why he was there for a moment. And then, the reality shock came. Screams and screams in the streets. Explosions, cars being hurled and hitting poles and buildings.

Rowan rose quickly from the table, heading towards the door of the house. Upon opening, the surprise. Several Selected flying, shooting lightning bolts through their hands, jumping heights previously impossible for humans. Rowan had totally forgotten that he was not the only one to have returned. The Selected were able to use their powers even five years before receiving the 'blessing'. What would this cause in the future?

"Would other people be empowered in the next five years?" That pessimistic thought scared Rowan.

The deliberate chaos in the streets was proving to be a disaster. The army had arrived at the scene and the local police were trying to help.

That was when an intense glow covered the world for the second time in Rowan's life. He recognized that sparkling, yellow glow, similar to Adria's. Rowan and all the others present stopped, staring at the sky. Everyone else didn't understand what was going on, but they did. And Rowan knew.

Padryma had arrived.