The night sky over Tokyo wept as if mourning something already lost.
Rain pelted the pavement in sheets, drowning the city in silver. Neon signs flickered through the mist, casting warped reflections across the puddled streets.
Amid it all, a single man ran, loud, heavy, and desperate.
His breaths came out in raspy gasps. His fat stomach shook with every pounding step. In his trembling hand, a bloodied knife glinted red under the streetlights. His raincoat clung to him like a second skin, the hood pulled down low over his face.
Behind him, the city howled.
Sirens screamed like furious banshees. The flashing blue and red of police cruisers bounced off every glass surface as the chase pressed on.
"There he is!"
"Suspect spotted, continuing northbound on Shinjuku 3rd!"
"Do not engage, he's armed and unstable!"
The man didn't look back. He knew they were close, far too close.
He slipped past a vending machine, shoved aside a trash bin, and turned a sharp corner. A shout echoed behind him, followed by hurried steps splashing through rain.
He found the building by instinct—a tall corporate tower with dark windows. Without thinking, he slammed through the glass door and jabbed the elevator button over and over.
Ding.
The doors slid open. He stumbled in, slammed the button for the rooftop, and collapsed against the wall, heaving for air. The elevator hummed softly as it rose.
He stared at the red smear on his knife.
Still wet.
Still warm.
"Shit..." he muttered. "Shit... fuck..."
The elevator doors opened.
Rain immediately rushed in, cold and biting. He stepped out onto the rooftop and blinked through the storm. Tokyo stretched out before him—towers like steel giants, lights like constellations.
But none of it felt real.
He dropped the knife to the ground with a clatter and staggered to the edge. His boots squeaked on the wet concrete.
Sirens echoed from below.
He turned.
Police flooded the street at the base of the building, surrounding every possible exit. More sirens were approaching. Then—clatter. The rooftop door swung open.
"Freeze! Drop your weapon and put your hands in the air!"
Five officers burst out, guns raised. Their vests gleamed under the rooftop floodlights.
"Hands where we can see them! Now!"
The man didn't move. His shoulders rose and fell slowly.
"This... is how it ends?" he muttered under his breath.
The wind howled around him like a ghost. Rain stung his face. He laughed—a low, bitter sound.
"My life was always a fuckin' mess," he said. "From trash to pure shit... I don't even remember when it started going downhill."
One of the officers took a step forward. "Sir! You are under arrest for multiple charges including first-degree murder—do not move!"
The man didn't even flinch.
"I had everything," he muttered. "My parents were rich as hell... Could've lived the easy life. Could've traveled, partied, slept on gold if I wanted."
His voice cracked.
"But nah. I pissed it all away. I fucked up... over and over."
Another officer shouted, "Don't take another step! I repeat—don't move or we'll shoot!"
He raised both hands slowly, turning around.
"Name's Vong Sok," he said with a crooked smile. "You've probably seen it on some wanted posters. Only son of Sok Group's head."
The officers stared, tense.
"Yeah. That guy," Vong continued. "The one you couldn't catch for two whole years. Damn... you really got me this time."
He stepped back, heels touching the edge of the rooftop.
"Sir, stop! We're giving you a chance!"
"Come down safely. Let's talk."
"Don't do anything stupid!"
Vong stared into the dark sky. The rain poured harder.
"I'm done," he said. "I'm tired of running from a life I never wanted."
One last smile.
"Fuck this life."
And he fell.
The wind screamed in his ears as the world flipped upside down. His body plummeted, weightless. The building vanished above him, replaced by streaks of rain and distant lights.
As he fell, the city around him blurred.
Voices echoed—some familiar, some not.
Faces flashed through his mind. His mother's gentle eyes. His father's disappointed silence. The look of a girl he once loved. Blood. Screams. Laughter. Fire.
Then—
A strange flicker.
The city below him distorted, like ripples in water. The lights twisted into strange symbols. The buildings bent sideways. Reality itself looked like it was cracking.
"What... the hell...?"
Time slowed.
A golden clock appeared in the sky—its hands ticking backward.
The sound of bells echoed faintly.
DONG.
DONG.
DONG.
And then—darkness.
Pure black.
Silence.
Vong's body floated in the void, no longer falling. His limbs felt light. His mind felt strangely clear.
"Where... am I...?"
Then a voice, faint and hollow, whispered inside his head:
"One who regrets shall return... One who failed shall be tested again..."
A blinding flash of light.
Then—
He opened his eyes.
He gasped, sitting up straight. His heart thundered in his chest.
Above him, a chandelier sparkled with soft golden light. Silk curtains danced in the breeze of an open window. The air smelled like roses and sweet incense. The bed beneath him was so soft it felt unreal.
He blinked.
"What the...?"
He sat up and looked around.
The room was enormous, like a royal suite from some luxury palace. Everything gleamed, furniture polished to perfection, walls lined with artwork, gold trim everywhere.
He got out of bed and stumbled to the mirror.
He stared.
A round-faced boy blinked back at him. Short, chubby, with dark hair flattened messily against his forehead. Faint red streaks colored the tips. His eyes red but his cheeks were too big.
He touched his cheeks.
"Is this... me?"
His voice was higher. Softer.
He turned slowly, looking around the room again.
"This... this place...i think I've been here before..."
He glanced toward the wall-mounted monitor.
His eyes widened.
The date was displayed in clear, glowing text.
July 1st, 2015
He froze.
The air left his lungs.
"Wait what...?"
He stumbled back, his breathing quickening.
"No... no way..."
He looked down at his hands. Fat. Soft. No scars. No blood.
He looked at his reflection again.
The same round cheeks. The same fat ugly body.
"I... I'm ten years in the past?!"
His scream echoed through the room.