Alex Carter woke with a start, his chest heaving as if he'd just sprinted through hell. Sweat soaked his threadbare shirt, clinging to a body that felt too small, too weak. Blinking hard, he squinted against the dim, piss-yellow glow leaking through a cracked window. The room hit him like a sucker punch—peeling wallpaper, a mildew-stinking mattress, and a floor littered with cigarette butts and broken dreams. His old bedroom. The one from when he was eighteen, back before the world turned into a meat grinder and spat him out.
"What the actual fuck?" His voice rasped, raw and broken. Stumbling to his feet, legs wobbling like a newborn colt, he shuffled toward the mirror propped against the wall. The chipped, grimy glass revealed a face that hadn't yet borne the scars of a lifetime of bad choices—messy black hair and wide, determined gray eyes. He pressed a trembling hand to his cheek. "No way. This isn't… I'm not…"
Before he could finish, a translucent screen materialized in midair, like some sci-fi bullshit. Cold blue text glowed against the gloom:
[SYSTEM INITIALIZED: TIMELINE RESET. VENGEANCE MODE ONLINE.]
Alex flinched, swiping at the air as if shooing away a swarm of flies. "Great. I'm either drunk, dead, or losing my damn mind."
[Wrong on all counts. You're alive, sober, and just got a do-over. Don't fuck it up whining.]
A snarky chuckle echoed from that unseen voice. Alex squinted, half-expecting it to crack a joke. "A do-over? What is this, some video game shit?"
[Close enough. You've been reincarnated. Back to eighteen, back before you screwed everything up. Objective: Get revenge. Start with the bastard who torched your family. Quest incoming.]
[Quest: Visit your family's grave and swear an oath of vengeance. Reward: Basic skills so you don't die like a chump again.]
Alex's breath caught. His family—Mom, Dad, Lily—flooded his mind with memories: the fire, the screams, and that smug grin of the son of a bitch who had ordered it all. Clenching his fists until his nails dug into his palms, he growled, "Fine. I'm in. No flowers, no tears—just blood."
He yanked on a worn jacket with a busted zipper and shoved his feet into boots so thin he could feel every crack in the floor. The apartment, silent except for a leaky faucet's drip, felt like a tomb as he stepped into the hall, locking the door behind him out of habit—though there wasn't a damn thing worth stealing.
Outside, the city roared to life. Horns blared, tires screeched, and somewhere a drunk was hollering about the end of the world. The air reeked of rotting trash and cheap liquor, while the streets sprawled like a beast of crumbling concrete and flickering neon. Graffiti sliced across every wall—gang tags, warnings, a map of who owned what. This was the underbelly, the rotting heart of a city ruled by the Five Families. Alex didn't give a damn about four of them—not yet. He cared only about the one: the bastard who had taken everything.
Keeping his head down, hands stuffed in his pockets, he moved among the lurking thugs who eyed him like vultures circling a carcass. His younger body, though frail, belied the hardened man he was becoming. Back then, he was too soft—never again.
The cemetery lay at the city's edge, a forgotten scar of twisted iron and overgrown weeds. The gate groaned as he pushed through, rust flaking onto his hands. Each step on the muddy path felt heavier than the last as he approached a freshly dug grave. The headstone, cheap but clean, bore three names: Daniel Carter, Elena Carter, Lily Carter.
Dropping to his knees, the damp soaking his jeans, Alex's voice cracked raw, "Mom… Dad… Lily… I fucked up. I wasn't there. I wasn't strong enough, smart enough—hell, I was nothing. You deserved better. But I'm back now. I don't know what this system crap is, or why I got it, but I swear on your graves—I'll make him pay. That murderous piece of shit who did this—I'll rip his world apart. And if anyone else gets in my way, they're dead too."
The system chimed, its voice slicing through the silence:
[Quest completed. Reward: Basic Combat Skill unlocked. Basic Strategy Skill unlocked. Try not to punch yourself in the face with those.]
A surge rippled through him—muscles tightening, a faint hum of strength resonating in his veins. It wasn't much, but it was a start. He flexed his hands, noticing the subtle difference.
"Better than nothing," he muttered.
[New Quest: Hit the underground fighting pits and win your first match. Reward: Rep, experience, and maybe a breadcrumb on that fucker who smoked your folks.]
Alex stood, brushing the mud off his knees. The underground pits—a notorious haven for desperate men and hardened killers—awaited him. He'd stumbled through those doors before, half-dead and broke. This time, he would enter with purpose.
Turning from the grave, the weight of his oath settling into his bones, Alex stepped into the neon-soaked maze of the city. A flicker of motion in a nearby alley caught his eye—three punks brutally beating a poor bastard. His blood boiled, fists itching to strike.
[Warning: You're still a twig, dipshit. Save the hero act 'til you can take a punch.]
A bitter smirk played on his lips. "Yeah, yeah. Not dying twice in one day."
Even as the system fell silent, Alex could almost feel its smug nod, urging him onward. The streets ahead were a jungle of shadows and steel. Somewhere in that chaotic sprawl, the boss who had butchered his family was living it up, blissfully ignorant of the storm coming his way.
Alex started walking with resolute steps, eyes burning with vengeance. He would find that bastard, tear his world apart, and eventually—one day—call a meeting with the rest of the Five Families. Then, with undeniable force, he'd show them that he was the new boss, the one who had taken the place of the old tyrant. For Mom, Dad, Lily—and for every soul lost in the darkness.
And maybe, just maybe, from the ashes of his past, a new order would rise.