The sun beat down, a perfect summer day, when it happened. Just like that.

...

I never thought something wrong would happen. Not on a day like this.

...

It all moved too fast. A blur of confusion, a sickening lurch in my gut, and then...

...

My mind went blank. A suffocating darkness, a void where thoughts used to be.

...

I can't... I can't even remember what happened clearly. Just fragments, like shattered pieces of a mirror.

...

I wish... I wish I could go back to the past. Before it all went wrong. Before the mistake.

...

To think that everything I've done, everything I've built, could be destroyed by a single misstep. The weight of it crushes me.

...

I lost myself to anger. The burning rage deep inside my heart that I couldn't get control of.

...

I still remember those words clearly, just a few words, but they were enough to break me inside. "What a joke," he said, his voice dripping with disgust.

...

Should I have done better...?

...

Am I... am I even fit for this work?

...

"Ain't fate too cruel for you my boy..? A white figure of an old man was floating far from the distance within the void, his voice echoed faintly but strong.

...

What...? Who...? Who are you?

...

"Challenges come and go, child. They'll be gone if you face them properly!" A voice, soft but firm, cuts through the silence.

...

What do you mean?

...

"I mean... This challenge is yours. No matter how daunting or trivial, it's not a true test if it's just like everyone else's, is it? Every obstacle is a chance for you to rise above. They are given to you, not by others, not to crush your spirit, but to strengthen you further more."

...

What are you saying?

...

"Well, it's up to you if you remember my words. I sense that sooner or later, we'll meet face to face... Goodbye... The New..."

...

Wait! What do you mean by that...!? The old man looked back at me, I couldn't see his face, but I was sure enough... that he was smiling...? Everything turned white immediately...

End