Darkness.
No pain. No sound. Just… emptiness.
It was peaceful.
I almost didn't want to wake up.
But then came the cold.
Sharp. Sudden. Biting.
I gasped—air rushed into my lungs like fire. My eyes flew open. My body jerked upright.
I choked. Coughed. My heart slammed in my chest. My fingers dug into something rough. Wood?
No metal. No straps. No lab.
Just a room.
An old, quiet room. Cracked walls. Moonlight spilling through a dusty window.
My head turned slowly. Breath caught in my throat. This couldn't be right.
I looked down.
Thin arms. Smooth skin. No scars. No brands. No bleeding cuts.
I stumbled to my feet. My legs shook like twigs in the wind as I dragged myself toward the mirror hanging on the wall. Twice I almost collapsed. My hands caught the edge of the old wooden table beneath the glass.
And then I saw it.
My face.
Young. Pale. No burn marks. No bloodshot eyes. Just a frightened, confused kid.
Sixteen.
Just sixteen.
My chest caved in.
"No…" I whispered.
The sound of my own voice was dry and brittle.
"No, no, no…"
I dropped to the ground like my legs no longer worked.
And for a moment, I didn't even feel the impact.
I couldn't move.
I clutched my head, nails digging into my scalp. I wanted to scream, but my voice cracked apart.
Memories hit me like blades.
The lab.
The cold table.
The burning injections.
The masked doctors who smiled while they broke me.
The so-called heroes who turned their backs.
The ones who said I was worthless.
Who left me to rot.
Who killed her.
My body shook violently. I curled in on myself, pressing my forehead to the wooden floor.
"I died…" I whispered.
Again. And again.
"I died… I died… I died…"
Tears rolled down my cheeks, hot and endless.
I didn't care if it was a dream.
Because for the first time in ten years, I wasn't strapped down.
I wasn't screaming.
I wasn't bleeding.
I was breathing.
But it hurt.
Gods, it hurt.
Why now?
Why again?
"I don't want to feel this again…" I whispered. "I don't want to remember…"
I remembered their faces. The betrayal. The fire in my chest as they experimented on me like I was nothing.
"You're too weak to waste resources on."
My fingers scratched the floor. I wanted to tear it apart.
"I begged you…" I choked out. "I begged you to let me live…"
My jaw locked. Teeth grinding.
"I never wanted power… I just wanted to survive…"
But they took everything anyway.
Everything.
I sat there, paralyzed by the weight of what I'd been through… and then my eyes caught something.
My old phone.
Sitting right there on the table.
My shaking hand reached out and tapped the screen.
The date flickered into view.
April 3rd, 2033.
My breath caught.
Exactly ten years ago.
Ten years before I died.
This… this wasn't a dream.
"I've gone back in time…" I murmured. "Ten whole years…"
I clenched my fists, my heart hammering with something between horror and awe.
But if this was real—if I was back—then…
I muttered the words I remembered once praying for, long ago.
"Status window."
There was silence.
Then a soft ding.
> [Initializing Interface...]
[Status Window Loading…]
A translucent screen appeared before my eyes—just like before.
> Name: Kael Vire
Age: 16
Race: Human
Awakening: Not Detected
Class: None
Trait: ???
Curse: Suppressed
Rank Potential: D
System Stability: 42%
Synchronization: Weak
Curse Integration: 9%
I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.
Still broken.
Still cursed.
Still weak.
Still the same pathetic version of myself the world threw away.
Why give me a second chance… like this?
Why now?
Why again?
And then I heard it.
A creak. A soft knock.
"Kael?" a voice whispered.
I froze.
That voice.
I turned my head.
And there she was.
Standing in the doorway, small and sleepy-eyed, hair messy from bed, a candle in her hand.
Mira.
My little sister.
Alive.
My throat tightened.
She took a step forward. "Are you okay?"
I couldn't speak.
The tears I thought had dried welled up again.
She was real.
Not a hallucination. Not a ghost.
Breathing. Warm.
"I heard you crying…" she said quietly.
I couldn't reply. My voice had shattered.
She walked over and knelt beside me.
She didn't ask anything else.
She just wrapped her arms around me.
At first, I didn't move. Afraid she might vanish.
But when I felt her warmth…
I broke.
I buried my face into her shoulder and held her like I'd never let go.
"Please…" I whispered. "Don't leave me again…"
She didn't understand. How could she?
But she stayed.
When the shaking stopped, she gently pulled back.
"Did you have a nightmare?" she asked.
I nodded.
"You're safe now," she said softly. "It's okay."
Safe.
That word stung.
Because I didn't feel safe.
Not when I knew what was coming.
Not when I remembered how the world ended for us.
I nodded again.
She smiled and walked toward the door. "You can call me if you need me, okay?"
Then she left.
I sat in silence.
Breathing.
Not crying.
Just broken.
I stood and walked to the window.
The wind brushed against my face, cold and sharp.
Above me hung the moon.
Blood red. Silent. Watching.
The Blood Moon.
The night it all began.
I stared at it.
And after a long time, I whispered:
"I don't want to die again."
My voice was hollow. Fragile.
"I don't want to lose her again…"
I closed my eyes.
"If this is my second chance… I'll take it."
Even if I bleed.
Even if I suffer.
Even if I have to become the shadow this world fears.
I'll survive.
I will survive… no matter what.