Dawn painted the city in soft gold as Long Xingchen stood on the balcony of his bedroom, the cool morning air brushing against his skin. The world before him felt quiet, fragile, unaware of the storms gathering behind his calm gaze.
My family is alive.
Yuerou is alive.
This time… everything will be different.
He closed his eyes, breathed once, and stepped back inside.
The day he wasted in his first life would become the day he prepared for war in this one.
---
1. Breakfast Before Fate Moves
Downstairs, the Long family villa buzzed with life. Aromas of breakfast drifted through the air as servants carried dishes to the wide dining table.
The moment Xingchen entered—
"Bro! You look weirdly calm. Did you hit your head too hard?" Long Haoxuan grinned, already halfway through his third slice of toast.
"Don't say stupid things first thing in the morning," Long Qianyu scolded, elbowing him. "Our Xingchen looks handsome today."
"Doesn't he always?" their mother said, gently fixing Xingchen's collar.
And their father gave him a single, thoughtful look—sharp eyes noticing something different, but not questioning it yet.
Xingchen sat down, lifted a pair of chopsticks, and allowed himself the luxury of tasting a breakfast he hadn't experienced in two lifetimes.
His sister chattered. His brother laughed. His parents smiled.
He engraved it all into memory.
While eating, a faint mental ripple brushed his consciousness.
> [System Notice: Timeline Shift Detected.]
[Early movements from Qin family sub-branches.]
His expression didn't change.
So they were already making moves.
Good, he thought.
Come as early as you want. This time, I won't wait for the blade to touch my throat.
---
2. Seeing Lin Yuerou Again
He arrived at school earlier than usual.
Near the gate, a girl stood waiting, hands clasped in front of her backpack straps, eyes scanning the crowd.
Lin Yuerou.
Still soft-spoken. Still gentle. Still alive.
When she spotted him, her face brightened. "Xingchen! You're really okay?"
He stopped in front of her.
This close, she looked exactly as he remembered in his first life—before despair carved shadows under her eyes.
"I'm fine," he said softly. "Sorry for worrying you."
She puffed her cheeks slightly, an adorable mix of relief and irritation.
"You better be sorry. I thought—"
She stopped herself, looking down. "Never mind. I'm just glad you're okay."
Xingchen felt something tighten in his chest.
"Yuerou," he said quietly. "If anything ever scares you… or hurts you… tell me. Immediately."
She blinked in surprise. "That's… incredibly serious of you."
He didn't know how to explain.
How could he tell her he had watched her die in another life?
So he simply said:
"I won't let anything happen to you."
She smiled lightly. "Since when did you become so dramatic?"
Since I held your corpse in the rain, he thought.
---
3. A Shadow in the Classroom
Classes began.
Students chattered.
Teachers lectured.
But Xingchen's senses were sharpened by millions of years of battle.
Near the back of the room, a boy sat with his hood up, pretending to scribble notes. To others he looked bored.
But to Xingchen… that boy reeked of violence and blood.
And more importantly—
He didn't belong here.
> [System Notice: Potential threat detected.]
[Identity: Qin family operative.]
[Purpose: Surveillance of the Long heir.]
[Current hostility level: 2%.]
Xingchen tapped his desk lightly.
In my first life, the Qin family didn't start watching us this early.
His rebirth had altered the timeline already.
Yuerou glanced at him. "Xingchen? You okay? You look tense."
He forced his expression to soften. "Just thinking about something."
But inside… storm clouds gathered.
The Qin family was sniffing around earlier than expected.
They sensed something.
---
4. After School — The System Speaks Again
Classes ended. Students poured out of the gate. Xingchen walked with Yuerou until she reached her bus stop.
"It's Friday tomorrow," she said shyly. "Maybe we could… hang out? If you're feeling better."
Xingchen nodded. "I'd like that."
Her eyes glimmered with relief, and she stepped onto her bus with a small wave.
He watched the bus disappear before turning away.
That was when it happened.
A sharp DING echoed in his mind.
> [Main Quest Unlocked:]
"Chronicle Fragment: The First Lost Dynasty."
Xingchen paused mid-step.
> [Objective:]
Travel to the erased era tied to the earliest disappearance of the Immortal World.
Retrieve one Cause-and-Effect Fragment.
[Reward:]
Access to hidden information about Immortal World Collapse.
System upgrade progress +15%.
[Penalty for Failure:]
– Timeline turbulence
– Qin family influence increases
– First-life tragedy accelerates
– System privileges temporarily sealed
Xingchen's eyes chilled.
"This isn't optional."
> [Confirmation: It is not optional.]
[Your family's destruction in the original timeline is connected to the first era that vanished.]
His heartbeat slowed.
The Qin family…
The Immortal World's disappearance…
The erased dynasties…
Were all threads of the same loom.
"And I can only untangle it by going to the past."
The system responded instantly:
> [Correct.]
---
5. The Decision to Enter the Past
He arrived home, went straight to his room, and closed the door.
His family's voices echoed downstairs—warm, oblivious, living.
He placed the Time Travel Token in his palm.
It pulsed with faint light.
"One month in the past," he murmured.
"Two chances to use my peak power."
He looked into the mirror.
His reflection showed a teenager with calm eyes hiding ancient storms.
"I will not lose this timeline. Not again."
He took a breath.
"System."
> [Ready.]
"Activate the first time-travel."
The token dissolved into light.
His room vanished.
The world bent.
Reality cracked like glass.
And Long Xingchen stepped into the forgotten history of the first erased dynasty—
where answers awaited.
Where enemies watched.
Where the sky itself had once fallen.