Regression was an ability I was blessed with since I first became a hunter as a child. When I first died, killed by a mere beast that resembled a barking dog, I was brought back to the same exact day.
It kept happening until I finally defeated it. My next death came from a dragon, and I woke up again on the day I had died to the beast. At first, I thought this ability was a blessing. I could always just die and figure out a way to win in the end.
But how long did that feeling last? When did I start growing tired of my regressions? I've lost count of how many times I've died.
But when I came to reach the ending of this world, I fought harder than ever, until that fire eventually burned out.
At some point, I had stopped reacting to it altogether. My emotions dulled, and faded into something so distant and hollow, as if they no longer belonged to me.
I began keeping everyone at arm's length, convincing myself that I was forbidden from forming relationships in the first place.
Hah... who am I kidding?
It was honestly just an excuse. I was scared of getting hurt by their deaths every single time, unable to bear seeing the death of my comrades.
It's just so exhausting now. I wish I could just end it all.
What am I even fighting so hard for anymore?
In the end, I let myself die at the hands of a creature, hoping that this time, it would finally be over.
But even then, I regressed.
This damn regression.
I couldn't understand it. No matter how many times I thought about it, no matter how many times I repeated everything all over again, the answer never came.
Why did I have to return? Why was I the one chosen for this ability? What was the point of throwing me back into this hell over and over again?
And the worst part was... it wasn't even considered a curse.
The constellations watching me were nothing more than spectators. They observed my regressions from afar and found entertainment in them. Sometimes I spoke to them as though they were guiding me, as though they cared about what became of me, but that was all it was.
To them, my suffering was just another story unfolding before their eyes.
I resented them for it.
And yet... a part of me was still grateful.
I had long since lost count of how many times I had regressed. After a certain point, I stopped trying to keep track and simply lived each life as it came. If things went wrong, I wouldn't hesitate to throw my life away and start over again.
There was no fear left in death anymore.
Only familiarity.
That was the kind of person this damn regression had turned me into.
Even when I discovered that I could bring Minwoo back with me, I didn't think too deeply about it at first. The idea that someone else could remember the regressions alongside me... that someone else could stand in the same endless cycle...
It felt new.
After repeating the same world countless times, even the smallest change became enough to catch my interest.
So I let him follow me.
At least, that was the excuse I gave myself.
The truth was, somewhere deep down, I was tired of carrying everything alone.
Everyone called me humanity's chosen savior, the one blessed with the power to rewrite fate and become this world's protector. But none of them understood what that truly meant. None of them understood what it felt like to possess this ability, to watch the same people die over and over again while being forced to continue living.
I told myself Minwoo was just there to relieve the monotony, something mildly amusing.
But maybe... I had simply wanted someone who could finally understand me. Because, unlike me, Minwoo hadn't broken yet.
He could still laugh, still grow angry, still find meaning in each new timeline. He still had people he wanted to protect. Maybe that was the difference between us. He had something worth fighting for. But me?
What was I even fighting for anymore?
To save the world? So I could eventually die in it anyway? So humanity could survive?
Funny enough, I never even liked people that much..
Going back to reality, the cultists rushed in without hesitation, their bodies warping into grotesque forms that barely looked human anymore. They never knew when to stop. In every timeline, they remained one of the core reasons the outsiders were able to enter this world.
And more importantly, they were already moving according to the third phase of their plan.
The Stargazers.
The Stargazers were never simple cultists.
Most people believed they worshipped monsters born from dungeons, but that was only the surface of it. A convenient lie.
The monsters themselves were insignificant.
What the Stargazers truly worshipped were the beings beyond them.
The ones outside the System.
Even now, humanity still believed the System had appeared to save them. A divine blessing granted in response to the world's collapse. Hunters, skills, dungeons, constellations... people accepted all of it because they had no other choice.
Maybe it was salvation. Whether the world awakened or not, this world would've been done for. If not soon, then later.
I'm sure the constellations understood the premise behind the system more than I did. After all, they use the System themselves, watching us like zoo in their cages.
And the more I regressed, the more I realized something.
The dungeons were never the true problem.
As dangerous as they were, humanity had always been adapting to them. Hunters grew stronger, learned from past mistakes, developed better strategies, better equipment, and better ways to survive.
As long as humanity was given enough time, we adapted.
That was simply the kind of creatures we were.
So how could dungeons possibly be the reason the world ended when humanity had been steadily growing stronger against them?
No.
The real problem began after the Outsiders descended.
Those damn Outsiders.
They descended from the sky like a plague, appearing without warning and swallowing entire cities overnight. No... plague wasn't the right word.
A plague could at least be understood.
The Outsiders were more like a poisonous fog spreading across the world. And the moment they appeared, people died.
It was the Stargazers who allowed them to descend freely.
I still don't know where it all began, but one of the Outsiders I killed in my previous regression mentioned receiving help from a Stargazer. Thanks to that individual, the barrier surrounding this planet was weakened enough for them to enter.
Even something like the System wasn't absolute.
And once the barrier finally broke... it was the end for everyone.
But their descent doesnt come until years later. By now, I should have still been gathering artifacts, preparing in silence for the war that had yet to begin. Though I guess I have to change up my plan now that things were being accelerated like this.
"A-attack him all at once!"
I drew the sword Seo Elena had given me, and stepped forward then swung lightly.
Pink blossoms trailed the arc of my blade. The cultists dropped without a sound, split clean like they were made of nothing.
They didn't even have time to scream. To me, they were no different from insects. And even then... they were still more insignificant compared to what was coming.
If I couldn't deal with something like this effortlessly, then there would be no point in facing the Outsiders at all.
After making sure none of them could move, I picked up the staff resting inside the velvet box, handling it with far more care than anything else in the room.
Then, without another glance, I turned away.
But what greeted me beyond the stage wasn't chaos.
It was light.
A single ray of light cutting through the darkness, gathering around a figure standing at the center. It wasn't blinding, but it drew the eye in an unnatural way, as if it demanded to be seen.
Despite the mask covering half her face, I knew it was her instantly.
Seo Elena's glowing figure had a crown around her head. It was that crown again, like the sun. The one that had once made even me feel a strange sense of reverence, as if something deep within me had been pulled toward it.
"Elena!" I called out instinctively. She turned at my call and smiled.
Huh? That wasn't. . . Elena. Who was that?
The smile didn't belong to her. It was too confident and unsettling. Her hands were stained with freshly, dripping blood, the body of a cultist collapsing beside her as if it had been discarded without a second thought.
I didn't hesitate and activated my sight.
『 Name: Seo Elena 』
『 Rank: ?? 』
『 Title: Owner of ■■■ (U), Locked (??), Locked (??) 』
『 Constellations: The Shiniest Gem, Above the Broken World 』
『 Abilities: ??? 』
『 Current Condition: Possessed. 』
I tightened my grip on the hilt of the staff and stepped toward her. "Where's Elena?" I asked quietly, my voice low enough to barely carry. "Who are you?"
"Ah." She tilted her head slightly, studying me with an amused expression.
"So you're the lover boy."
My expression hardened.
"I can't keep this child's body for long," she continued casually, as if we were having a normal conversation. "If I stay any longer, she'll break."
Her gaze flickered to the weapon in my hand. "So be a good boy and hand that over."
The way she spoke didn't carry hostility. If anything, it sounded almost... indifferent. Still, that meant nothing.
"Are you a constellation?" I asked, not lowering my guard.
"If you're worried about my child, she's fine," she said lightly. "She's simply asleep within her own consciousness."
Her eyes curved slightly, that same unsettling smile lingering on her lips.
"Now give it to me. That staff is necessary for her."
I tightened my grip around the staff instead. "I don't trust constellations," I said flatly.
For a brief moment, the smile on her face deepened slightly, as though she found my answer amusing. Then... She disappeared.
My instincts screamed a second too late.
By the time I reacted, she was already standing directly in front of me.
My eyes widened.
Fast...!
No, it wasn't simply speed. It felt as though the space between us had been erased entirely.
Her fingers wrapped around the staff before I could pull away.
"Stay still, lover boy. I don't mean any harm."
A pulse of mana burst from her hand, forcing my body back several steps as the staff slipped from my grasp.
The woman twirled it lightly before planting it against the ground.
"Honestly, you're far too cautious."
Her gaze lowered toward the staff, and for the first time, the amusement in her expression softened into something almost fond.
"This staff belongs to Seo Elena."
"It was created to help her properly control her power. Without it, she won't be able to utilize the full extent of her ability."
My expression darkened, but before I could speak again, the air around us suddenly grew heavier.
Mana began flooding toward her from every direction.
No... toward the staff.
"Now," she murmured softly, a smile curling across her lips.
"Watch carefully," Her eyes met mine. "And see just how monstrous this child truly is."
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Author's Note:
I wrote this chapter, like, last week? Then I made some minor changes two days ago, and when I finally sat down at my PC to do the final edits, I realized... I didn't like it at all. 😭
So I erased everything, which, by the way, was about 1,600 words, and redid the whole thing T_T
I still feel like I need to edit this entire story, but I'll settle with this for now. >.<
Thanks for reading. <3