Earth was dying.

It was a shell of its former self.

Famine. War. Disease.

Three ingredients for civilization's collapse.

A young girl colors in her notebook. Her crayon is worn down, so she's careful not to waste it. She didn't know the next time she would find another box.

"What are you drawing?" Her father looks over her shoulder.

"The sky. You said it used to be blue. I want to see it." 

Amira grew up in the underground bunker. It was unsafe for her to go outside.

"You'll see it one day." Her father comforted her, but she knows he's lying. She would never see it in her lifetime.

--

"Happy birthday, Amira!" Her father patted her on the head. Her oldest brother, Elijah soon picked her up and held her in the sky.

"You're getting fat now, huh?" Elijah teased. Amira pouted and bonked him on the head.

"You should be nice. It's her birthday." Her second brother, Khalid, thankfully defended her.

"I'm always nice." Elijah puts Amira down on her favorite chair. 

There was no fancy birthday cakes. Instead, an old bar of chocolate laid in front of her. She knew her brothers likely had to barter a lot away just to get their hands on it.

"Thank you..." Amira wanted to open it right there, but she was hesitant.

"You're 10 now, so what do you want for your birthday?" Her father strokes her head.

"I want to go outside."

Her family doesn't say anything.

Khalid is the first to reject her. "Absolutely not. You're a child."

"I want to be useful, like you guys." For a long time, Amira felt like dead weight. Her father was a genius. Elijah and Khalid were both in their prime and could fight. But she was still a kid.

"You are useful. You make our days better." Elijah pinched her cheeks. "So don't say stuff like that."

"I want to be strong and cool like my brothers..."

"Wait, what about me? I'm strong and cool too." Her father attempts to break the ice.

"You're smart, but you're a nerd daddy."

He felt like his daughter just shot an arrow through his heart...

"Well... I don't think it would hurt for her to learn self defense. I can help teach her." Khalid shrugged. It would be nice to have a sparring partner, once she grew up.

"What about a gun too?" Amira turned to Elijah.

"Hell no." Elijah would never teach his baby sister how to use a gun.

"You learned when you were younger than me... I guess I'm not good enough after all..." Amira obviously didn't believe in that, but she really wanted to learn how to use a gun. The only talent she had at the moment was acting cute.

"No.. no we love you! Oh, well okay fine... But we start off small, okay?" Even Elijah couldn't help but fall prey to his little sister.

As if she was never sad, Amira looked up with excitement in her eyes. "Great! So you'll teach me tomorrow right?"

"I feel like I just got played..." 

Authors note: My first isekai... I hope this story won't be too confusing. I plan on alternating between chapters of her past life and her next life.