The strange dream that started it all... Absolutely everything happened because of it. I still have no idea who they were. I don't know if it was a man or a woman. They just carried the familiarity of someone I'd known all my life.
If someone asked me who my greatest enemy was, I would say them without hesitation.
If someone asked me who my favorite person was, I would still say them.
They felt close enough to be my everything, yet they were not tangible.
What I saw had no scent, yet its fragrance passed through my nose and filled my lungs.
Emptiness... Yes, that was exactly how it smelled. Something I lost... I have no idea what it was, but I want it. "My missing piece"... That's what I called it. If I see them again, this time I will ask:
"Are we strangers? Do I know you? I hate you. I love you."
They were the emotions I never knew. My missing piece. I just don't know why.
The speaking figure was lying on a star. Their black hair devoured the surrounding lights, and as if consuming them made them shine even brighter. Their golden eyes locked onto a fairy hovering above them. Their words were full of emotion, yet their eyes were cold.
The fairy gazed into the man's eyes. The emotions flowing from them formed vast oceans within the fairy's gaze. Fish swimming in the sea splashed water onto her cheeks. How beautiful could a woman look while crying? The fairy was the very answer to that question. She was breathtakingly beautiful.
She reached out and ran her fingertips along the man's cheek. A melancholic voice escaped her crimson lips:
"I want to listen, Mr. Hero..."
The moment those words left the fairy's lips, space trembled, and the star they were sitting on began to heat up. The man turned his golden eyes toward the fairy and stared deep into hers. The deathly aura that had been silently surrounding him began to devour the nearby stars. He gently placed his hand on the fairy's cheek.
As soon as his fingers touched her, the fairy's white hair started turning black. As the stars around them perished, half of the fairy's hair was already dyed in darkness... The same darkness as his own.
Yet, the fairy did not flinch. She accepted all the darkness. One of her ocean-like eyes transformed into a sea of blood. The man opened his mouth and spoke:
"How much do you want to know, Seraphyne?"
Speaking the fairy's name was a taboo in this world. The heavens grew furious.
Around them, celestial warriors ripped through space, coming to slay the man. These warriors rode dragons—dragons vast enough to consume planets. They all charged at the man in unison. The mere clash of their swords against space was enough to tear the fabric of reality.
Yet, the fairy and the man remained seated, calm and unmoving. The man turned his gaze toward the dragons. It was instantaneous... Only a single word was heard:
"Void."
Space vanished.
The dragons vanished.
The heavens vanished.
Not even a strand of the man's or the fairy's hair was disturbed. They continued sitting in an endless white void.
The fairy showed no reaction, as if she had experienced this countless times before. She looked into the man's eyes.
"Everything," she said.
The man turned to her. He did not want to speak. Because everyone he had ever told... had been erased from existence, lost beyond time and space. His acquaintances, his family, everyone he loved... all had been mercilessly wiped away.
Only the fairy remained by his side.
Sitting with her on this star for thousands of years had been enough. But even she had finally succumbed to her curiosity and asked.
The man shifted his golden eyes to her. He placed his index finger against the fairy's forehead, and across the entire universe, runes appeared. No matter how many rune masters examined them, their level was far beyond comprehension... They were all protection runes.
A single one of these runes could have sealed away the celestial warriors who attacked earlier for millions of years, perhaps even eternity.
But the man created billions of them—to protect the fairy.
This was why they had sat here for thousands of years...
Words began to spill from the man's lips. With each syllable, millions of runes shattered. Before he could finish his words, all the runes had already been destroyed. The man closed his lips, preparing to silence himself, but the fairy cupped his cheek, leaned in, and kissed his lips. She looked into his eyes; she was telling him to continue.
A single tear fell from the man's golden eyes. A pitch-black teardrop landed on the center of the fairy's forehead, and he continued speaking. As he spoke, the fairy's once flawless, porcelain skin began to wrinkle. She was aging. Each tear he shed onto her aged her further. By the time his words ended, the fairy was near her last breath. Her frail hands reached for his cheeks. Her weary lips parted, and from her mouth came the voice of a woman who had been born at the dawn of the world and had lived until now:
"Do not regret, Kane... I will always be with you."
Her hand slowly fell, and her entire body shattered into nothingness.
Kane stared into the void. He reached for the emptiness in his hands, trying to grasp all of space. He couldn't let a single piece be lost. The fairy couldn't just vanish like this.
All because of that cursed Seal of Fate.
Kane roared, "System!"
"Give her back! Give me everything back! Give me back everyone you stole from me!"
His fingers clenched into his palms, his black blood draining all colors from existence. His aura had condensed with rage, dense enough to shatter anything it touched. Just as he was about to lose himself entirely, Kane heard the voice he had longed for:
(The final condition has been met: Obtain the love of a fairy.)
(System has leveled up!)
(Fate Seal Removal Potion has been added to the shop.)
(Reset has been added to the shop.)
Kane swiftly opened the system and checked the newly available options. This was all that remained of his "missing piece." And now, before his very eyes, he had a chance to restore everything he had lost.
Reset
Level: ?????
Description: Reset everything and return to the past. The entire system will reset, bringing the user back to a time before they ever obtained it. Fate does not favor coincidences; there is no guarantee of acquiring the system again. System features, achievements, rewards—everything will revert to its original state. The age of the universe is imprinted on the soul, and if the user regains the system, they will have only 24 hours to live. If the user refuses the system, they return to a normal life with all memories permanently erased.
Without a moment's hesitation, the man reached out and pressed "Purchase."
(Reset purchased.)
(Reset activates upon purchase.)
(User has been ejected from the system.)
(The universe has been reset.)
And everything disappeared.
The entire universe collided once more. Stars formed, planets emerged. Billions of years passed, and on a planet called Earth, a black-haired child was born. The child had a frail body and was born into an average family. He had eyes of an icy gold, a gaze far too cold for a newborn. The nurse who held him felt as if she was being drawn into an abyss.
The baby was breathing, his eyes moved, yet he did not cry. Even when the nurses tapped his back to make him wail, he remained eerily silent. His mother looked at him. He looked back at her... The nurses wrapped him in a soft towel and placed him in his mother's arms. As the child drew closer to her, his cold eyes seemed to tremble with emotion.
The air around him carried a weight of melancholy. The moment his mother pressed him against her chest, the baby began to cry. Unstoppable, unafraid... He simply cried. The more his mother held him tightly, the more he clung to her, wailing endlessly.
His mother leaned close and whispered into his ear:
"Your name is Kane... My little child."
The baby's cries ceased in an instant. The coldness in his eyes slowly faded, and for the first time, he looked like a normal baby.
Kane grew up like any other child. However, when he was still young, his father lost his sight due to a botched surgery. This event shook the entire family to its core.
During this time, Kane gained a little sister. Her name was Mirai. On the day she was born, Kane, still too young to understand, had slapped her lightly, as if punishing her for the pain she had caused their mother. But aside from that, he adored her and shared a strong bond with her.
Their mother worked tirelessly, taking on extra jobs to provide for them and ensure they received an education. It was a grueling challenge for a woman alone. Over time, the family structure began to crumble.
Their father attended a school for the visually impaired and was only able to return home once or twice a week. Meanwhile, their mother struggled to support them. Kane performed well in his studies, but the people he surrounded himself with were changing—for the worse.
By the time he finished elementary school, Kane had already started smoking. He had adopted a rebellious attitude, burdening his already exhausted mother even further.
At first, it was just skipping school. Then, it turned into sneaking cigarettes. Eventually, as his social circle became more reckless—with drugs becoming more common and abandoned buildings turning into gathering spots—Kane withdrew into the world of computers. He spent all his time watching shows, playing games, and listening to music.
He stopped going to high school altogether, becoming a full-fledged recluse.
Once, he had been able to talk to girls. Now, he could only fall silent in their presence. He was shutting himself away from the world.
One night, while sitting at his computer, he overheard his father talking to someone in the next room. Kane listened carefully.
"My love, how are you?"
The words were filled with affection—more than Kane had ever heard his father say to his mother.
He opened his bedroom door and went to the bathroom. On his way back, he walked slowly, his footsteps light as he approached his father's room and listened.
His father was cheating on his mother. Right in front of him. Over the phone...
Kane's gaze drifted toward the knife resting in the distance. But he realized—it was not the right thought.
His heart stuttered.
His golden eyes flickered slightly, and a single tear fell to the ground.
His father sensed the shift in the air.
"Who's there?"
Kane did not answer. His father stood up, stretching his hands out, trying to feel his surroundings.
But Kane was already gone.
For the first time, tears rolled down his face. The agony burning inside him was unbearable.
He walked to his room. Opened the door. Swallowed all his helplessness.
Then, he forced his voice to sound normal and called out:
"What is it, Dad? Did you call me?"
Not a single tremor wavered in his tone. The small child had swallowed every emotion just to say those two sentences.
His father hesitated for a moment, suspicious, but then relaxed.
"It's nothing."
And he returned to his seat.
Kane entered his room, closed the door, and buried himself under the covers.
He tried to process what he had heard.
But his eyes would not stop. His mind would not be silent.
His beautiful mother did not deserve this.
Since the day she started working, her hands had been colder.
Her once-beautiful hair was now full of broken strands.
And Kane... he was a terrible son, a poor repayment for her efforts.
He let all his emotions pour into himself.
And he buried them deep inside.
That night, when his mother came home, he decided—he would tell her everything.
He waited.
She arrived. They had dinner as a family.
Afterward, she was in the kitchen, washing dishes.
Kane walked up to her.
But every word lodged itself in his throat.
His eyes welled up with tears.
His mother sensed something was wrong.
She embraced him as if she were holding an entire world in her arms.
And Kane, in silence and pain, told her everything.
The strength in her embrace faded.
But this time, Kane was the one who held on.
His mother told him not to say anything to Mirai—not until she was older.
Kane did not answer.
He simply kept holding on.
One day, a great fight erupted in the house. Kane was on the verge of clashing with his father. A child could not bear such a weight. A small argument spiraled into chaos, ending with Kane screaming at the top of his lungs, telling his father how much he hated him.
The fight happened at the dinner table. His sister, his mother… they were all there. His father had done something that only had one rightful outcome—he had to leave. Kane locked eyes with his sister and began to reveal the truth:
"Because of you, Mom and this man have been forced to live together! They don't even sleep in the same room anymore! Their relationship is frozen! They were waiting for you to grow up!
But I don't care anymore! We'll grow up together!
I don't want you in this house anymore!"
As he lashed out at his father, he didn't realize that his words were also crushing his sister beneath their weight.
And that day, Kane shattered his entire family.
That moment became the beginning of his greatest regret.
His sister was never the same after that. Her joy faded. Her laughter disappeared. She was just a small child, yet she carried the entire world on her shoulders. Along with those words… But Kane had yet to realize it.
After their parents divorced, they moved with their mother into a much smaller house in the countryside.
For Kane, this was the beginning of something worse.
He stopped leaving his computer altogether.
Alongside that, he drowned himself in food, gaining weight endlessly.
He clenched his teeth from stress until they darkened and decayed.
But Kane was still just a child.
His confidence eroded, piece by piece.
He saw the mistakes he was making, yet he could not stop himself.
He could never find a way to fix what was broken inside him.
Their lives had changed overnight.
They had gone from a warm home to a small house that could only be heated by a stove.
But Kane was too lazy to light the fire.
So, he shivered in the cold until his mother came to do it for him.
Years later, he would realize—he wasn't the only one freezing when he refused to light the stove.
His sister was cold too.
And he wasn't the only one whose mind was breaking.
But unlike Kane, Mirai kept fighting. She kept struggling.