Hey guys what's up this is my like third novel and I am not able to think about the name so I already sorry for name anything and this has comedy humor too enjoy😊
The world ended the way all tragedies do—not with a roar, but with a whimper.
Kazuki Sato died at 8:47 AM on a Tuesday.
He remembered the exact time because the cracked screen of his wristwatch had frozen there, its digital face flickering like a dying firefly as he lay pinned beneath the rubble of what was once Tokyo's busiest subway station. Blood pooled beneath him, warm and insistent, seeping into the shredded remains of his Hunter Corps uniform. Above, the sky burned a sickly violet, choked by the perpetual haze of **Yōki Kiri**—the Demonic Mist that had birthed the monsters now devouring his city.
The last thing he saw was his brother Haruto's face, half-lit by the embers of a dying plasma grenade.
"*Nī-san…*" Haruto's voice cracked, his gloved hand reaching through the smoke. His left arm was gone, severed at the elbow by **Yami no Orochi**'s venomous tail. "I'm… sorry."
Kazuki tried to speak, but his lungs were full of ash and regret. *This is my fault.* He'd ignored the system's warnings, charged headlong into the nest of the **SSS-class Kyodai**, certain he could outsmart fate. Now Haruto would die because of his arrogance.
A shadow loomed overhead. The Orochi's remaining heads—five of eight—hissed in unison, fangs dripping with acid that dissolved concrete like sugar. Kazuki closed his eyes.
*I'll do better next time.*
**[Ding!]**
The sound was soft, almost musical.
**[User #002 mortality threshold reached.]**
**[Initiating Temporal Reversion Protocol.]**
**[Destination: 24 hours pre-Cataclysm.]**
**[Reason: Potential exceeds extinction parameters. Try harder, dumbass.]**
---
Kazuki woke to the smell of miso soup.
For a moment, he thought he'd gone mad. The dead didn't dream of *soup*. But then he felt the tatami mats beneath his palms, heard the muffled chatter of a morning news anchor drifting through the paper-thin walls of his family's apartment. His hands trembled as he touched his chest—no gaping wound, no blood. Just the faded **Final Fantasy VII** T-shirt he'd slept in for years.
"Kazuki! Breakfast is getting cold!"
His mother's voice.
*No. No, no, no.*
He stumbled into the hallway, socks slipping on polished wood. The apartment was exactly as he remembered: cramped, sunlit, cluttered with his brother's stray sneakers and his father's unread newspapers. A pot of miso simmered on the stove, steam fogging the window where his mother stood, her back to him, humming along to the weather report.
"—record-breaking heatwave expected tonight. Authorities advise citizens to stay indoors—"
*Tonight.*
The Cataclysm began tonight.
Kazuki's knees buckled.
"Kazuki?" His mother turned, wooden spoon in hand. Her hair was still black, her face unlined by the grief that would carve into it later. "Are you sick? You're pale as a ghost!"
He didn't answer. Couldn't. Three years of hell—of scavenging ruins, burying friends, watching Haruto's smile turn brittle and broken—collided with the scent of freshly grated ginger. He fell into her, clutching her apron like a child.
"*Kaasan,*" he choked.
"What's gotten into you?" She laughed, awkwardly patting his back. "Did you fail another exam? Your father will—"
**[Ding!]**
The world flickered. A translucent blue screen materialized in front of Kazuki:
**[Welcome back, User #002.]**
**[Temporal Reversion successful. Timeline integrity: 97.3%.]**
**[Primary Objective: Prevent Cataclysm. Secondary Objective: Don't die (again).]**
"Kazuki?" His mother frowned. "Why are you squinting like that?"
"N-nothing." He forced a smile. "Allergies."
She clicked her tongue. "You and your excuses. Sit. Eat."
---
The system, Kazuki quickly learned, had a personality like a hungover salaryman—vaguely helpful, deeply sarcastic.
**[Status]**
**Name:** Kazuki Sato
**Class:** Unassigned (Recommendation: **Tactician** or **Professional Disaster**)
**Temporal Charges:** 1/3 (Warning: Exhaustion = permadeath)
**Abilities:**
- [Retrograde Insight Lv.1] (Preview enemy moves for 5 seconds; 60% accuracy)
- [Pocket Dimension Lv.1] (20m³ storage; no living matter. Yes, that includes goldfish.)
**[Quests]**
1. **Survive First Wave** (21:58:32 remaining)
- Optional: Save ≥50 civilians (Bonus: **Onmyōji Class Unlock**)
2. **Locate 'Haruto Sato'** (Last coordinates: Shibuya Crossing)
Kazuki's chopsticks clattered against his bowl. *Haruto.* His little brother was alive. *Alive and clueless.*
He pulled out his phone, fingers shaking as he typed:
**Kazuki:** Meet me at the hardware store. Now.
**Haruto:** ??? It's 7 AM. Are you drunk?
**Kazuki:** Wear something fireproof.
**Haruto:** …Did you finally snap from exam stress?
---
**Shibuya Crossing – 9:14 AM**
Haruto arrived in neon-green joggers and a **Dragon Ball Z** hoodie, slurping a bubble tea large enough to drown in.
"Let me guess," he said, popping a tapioca pearl. "You joined a cult. Or a pyramid scheme. Or a cult that's a pyramid scheme."
Kazuki tossed him a gas mask. "The world ends tonight."
Haruto snorted. "Cool. Which flavor? Zombies? Kaiju? Alien idols?"
"Worse." Kazuki loaded a cart with bottled water, batteries, and every roll of duct tape in the store. "**Yōkai.** Real ones. The kind that melt your face off."
"Ah." Haruto held up a pack of glow sticks. "So… rave party?"
Kazuki gripped his shoulder, hard. "Remember that nightmare you had last month? The one with the spider the size of a train?"
Haruto's smirk faded. "How'd you know about that?"
"Because it wasn't a dream." Kazuki's voice broke. "You die, Haruto. *I* let you die. But not this time."
**[Retrograde Insight Activated]**
A vision seared his mind: Haruto shoving him out of the path of an **Oni-Kumo**'s acid web, his skin blistering, bones cracking—
*No.*
Kazuki shoved a fire extinguisher into Haruto's arms. "Stay close. Don't… don't play hero."
Haruto stared at him, then burst out laughing. "You're serious? *You?* Mr. 'I-Skip-Gym-to-Play-Video-Games'?"
"Haruto—"
"Relax, *Nī-san*." He slung the extinguisher over his shoulder like a guitar. "If the apocalypse happens, I'll protect your nerdy ass."
---
**6:55 PM – Rooftop of Tokyo Tower**
Kazuki stood at the edge, the city sprawling beneath him like a circuit board. The system screen glowed:
**[First Wave: 00:59:58]**
He'd spent the day stockpiling supplies, hacking emergency broadcasts, and convincing his mother to visit her sister in Osaka. ("But the heatwave's just a little rain!" she'd protested. He'd resorted to hiding her keys in his [Pocket Dimension].)
Now, as the sun dipped below the horizon, he felt the first tremor—a low, hungry growl rising from the earth.
"System," he muttered. "If I save them… do I get to keep *him* alive?"
**[Answer: Probability increases to 72% if you stop being emo and check the south quadrant.]**
Kazuki turned.
In the distance, a fissure split the streets of Shibuya, oozing Yōki Kiri. Shadows writhed within it, clawing upward.
"Haruto," he whispered, tightening the straps of his makeshift armor. "Stay alive."
The first **Oni-Kumo** crawled out, its eight eyes glinting like bloody moons.
Kazuki smiled.
*Round two, hellspawn.*
---
**End of Chapter 1**