Ethan lay motionless on the cold, stained floor of his rundown apartment. The flickering light above barely illuminated the crumbling walls, the suffocating stench of mold mixing with the sharp metallic tang of blood. His blood.
His breathing was ragged, his ribs screaming with every shallow inhale. His legs—useless, broken things, remained twisted at unnatural angles. The phantom ache of lost strength gnawed at him, but it was nothing compared to the agony clawing at his soul.
Then came the footsteps.
Heavy boots pounded against the floorboards. The door to his apartment had already been shattered, the lock nothing more than twisted metal hanging from splintered wood. A group of men entered, their shadows looming in the dim light.
"Finally found you, you crippled rat," one of them sneered.
Ethan barely turned his head to look at them. He already knew who sent them.
"Zachary," he muttered, voice hoarse from disuse.
The name alone earned him a savage kick to the ribs. His body convulsed from the impact, but he refused to give them the satisfaction of a scream.
One of the thugs crouched down, grabbing him by the hair and yanking his head up. "Damn, look at you. You used to be a legend. Now you're just some cripple wasting away in filth."
Another laughed. "This is pathetic. I heard you don't even log into Ethereal anymore. Guess reality hit too hard, huh?"
Ethan chuckled weakly, blood staining his lips. "Guess so."
The thug snarled and slammed his head against the floor. Stars burst in Ethan's vision.
Then, one of them spotted something on the bed. A battered, outdated VR headset.
"Look at this trash," he said, picking it up and turning it over in his hands. "This is what you've been reduced to? Playing with scraps?"
A cruel idea must've crossed his mind, because a wicked grin spread across his face.
"Let's see if your pathetic ass can still escape into a game," he said, jamming the headset onto Ethan's head with brute force.
The device whirred to life. Ethan barely had time to process the humiliation before a system notification flickered into his vision.
—
[Quest Update!]
You have been transported to your last active location in Ethereal.
—
His surroundings dissolved into darkness.
—
When Ethan opened his eyes again, he was no longer in his decaying apartment.
He was deep underground, swallowed by endless darkness. The cold air was thick with dust, the only sound the faint echo of dripping water somewhere in the distance.
The mine.
A sharp weight rested in his hand, a pickaxe. His hands, once trembling and weak, now held callouses formed from years of labor, despite being a game character.
A bitter chuckle escaped his lips. Three years. He had spent three goddamn years, mining this forsaken place, all for a single objective.
Finding the last piece of Titanite.
He had long given up. The quest had turned into an endless, mind-numbing task, breaking him more thoroughly than even his enemies in reality. But now, the system had dragged him back.
Mocking him.
He considered throwing the pickaxe away, but deep inside, something refused to let go. A flicker of stubbornness.
"…Screw it."
Summoning the last thread of motivation, Ethan raised the pickaxe and swung.
The metallic clang echoed through the chamber. Over and over, he swung, muscles aching, sweat mixing with the grime on his skin. Each impact sent shards flying, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
Then—
Crack.
A distinct sound, different from the usual grinding of stone. Something broke.
Ethan's heart lurched. His hands trembled as he reached down, brushing away the loose debris.
And there it was. Aglowing shard of Titanite.
A system notification flashed before his eyes.
—
Ding…
[Congratulations, you've discovered a rare item: Titanite!]
—
Ethan exhaled shakily, as his eyes brightened at this flash from the system notification. His lips twitched into an exasperated smile.
"Three years… Three years of my life, and I've finally done it. One thousand shards complete."
His eyes gleamed with a mix of exhaustion and anticipation. What kind of reward would he get for this grueling quest? A legendary weapon? A unique Ability? He needed something, just anything that could change his current situation.
Whatever it was, he didn't care. As long as it gave him a way to rise again.
'Avalon Vanguard Guild,' he though as his expression darkened. I'll make you regret every betrayal.
And then there was Zachary and Ivy, the traitorous pair who had ruined his life.
"You'll pay for what you did. Both of you.'
Yet, as the euphoria threatened to settle in, reality crashed down on him.
His real body, back in his apartment, was still being beaten.
Pain rippled through him, even here. He could feel every punch, every kick landing on his ribs, his arms, his face. His tormentors were still destroying him.
'I don't have time.'
He knew what came next. The final step of the quest.
With no hesitation, Ethan pulled out a dagger from his inventory. And drove it into his chest. His health plummeted to zero.
Darkness consumed him.
—
He had expected to wake up in front of the Angel of Resurrection. But there was nothing.
Just endless, suffocating blackness.
Ethan floated in the void, weightless. The silence was deafening, pressing against his mind.
Something was wrong.
Then, a system notification flashed.
—
[The Final Judgment has begun.]
—
A slow realization crawled into his mind. The Titanite… he had completed the quest, but this wasn't resurrection.
This was something more.
The darkness around him trembled, like a cocoon beginning to break. Ethan felt something within him shift, something fundamental.
Then came the final notification.
Ding…
[Congratulations! You've completed the unique hidden quest: 'The Angel's Salvation.' Reward: The thing you desired most.]
Ethan's breath hitched. His eyes locked onto the notification, his body trembling from both exhaustion and pain.
"The thing I desire most?" he muttered.
What the hell did that even mean?
After years of grinding through this brutal quest, he'd expected a weapon, a skill, or something that could help him rise again. But this? What kind of vague reward was this supposed to be?
Before he could even begin to comprehend it, a brilliant light erupted around him.
A searing, all-consuming heat engulfed his body. It wasn't like the pain of revival he had grown accustomed to. This was deeper, more primal, like his very soul was being reforged.
He screamed, but no sound came out. His vision blurred, the agony reaching its peak until—
Nothing.
Just an empty, endless darkness as his consciousness faded.
—
Ethan woke with a violent gasp. His entire body jerked upright, lungs heaving as if he'd been drowning. Sweat clung to his skin, but beneath it, he felt something else, warmth. Like embers cooling after being doused in water.
His pulse pounded in his ears as he blinked rapidly, struggling to adjust.
Then, he froze.
The damp, mold-ridden ceiling of his rundown apartment was gone. So were the cracked walls, the flickering lightbulb, and, most unsettling of all, the men who had been mutilating him just moments ago.
Instead, he was here.
A cramped studio dorm. A faint smell of cheap air fresheners. The familiar sight of a battered desk shoved against the wall. A bed, small and worn-out but neat.
Ethan's breath hitched. He knew this place.
His fingers clenched the bedsheets as a flood of memories crashed into him.
This was his old dorm. The one he had rented in college. The very same place where he had spent his days with Ivy before everything had gone to hell.
His hands trembled. His mind reeled.
What the hell was happening?
Ethan scrambled for the phone on the bedside table. The screen came to life, the date displayed on it was October 9, 2024.
"No way…" his voice came out in whispers as he shook his head in disbelief.
Desperate for a confirmation, he threw open the door and rushed to the next apartment, immediately banging on the door.
After a moment, it opened revealing a girl about his age. Her messy hair and puffy eyes made it obvious that she had just woken up
"Uh… can I help you?" she asked with a frown.
Ethan stared at her as he struggled to suppress his shock. He recognized her. She was a fellow student, someone from his program.
"Lyla," he blurted out, the name slipping from his lips before he could even stop himself.
She blinked. "How do you know my name?"
"It doesn't matter," Ethan said quickly, waving her question away. "What day is it today? Please, just tell me!"
Lyla looked at him like he was insane, but answered anyway. "It's… October 9, 2024."
Before she could say another word Ethan bolted back to his room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Sitting on the edge of his bed, he looked at his trembling hands.
"I've really... gone back in time," he whispered, the reality finally sinking in.
His thoughts turned to the quest reward, the cryptic description burned into his mind:
'The thing you desire most.'
A bitter laugh escaped his lips. He had wanted power, a legendary item, a unique skill, something to help him climb back to the top.
Instead, he had been granted the one thing he never dared hope for, a second chance.
As memories of the past rolled in his mind, his gaze drifted to his legs.
His chest tightened. Three years ago, those bastards had crippled him, leaving him with nothing but shattered dreams and burning hatred. Zachary had orchestrated the attack, but with no evidence, the authorities had done nothing.
Ethan had barely escaped with his life, fleeing from Ember city to avoid the murderous schemes that kept flying his way.
His mind swirled with memories, sharp and raw.
October 8th, the day Ivy had ended things with him. The breakup had shattered him, blindsiding him with no warning.
By the afternoon of October 9th, desperate and unaware of the betrayal yet to fully unfold, he had gone to Zachary to borrow money. Not knowing that Zachary was the one Ivy dumped him for.
Now, things were different.
Clenching his fists, Ethan focused on the date again: October 9th, 2024.
Tomorrow was the day it all began.