I died believing I still had a future.
The knife slid into my abdomen without hesitation, warm blood soaking through my dress as I stared at the man I loved. His eyes were calm. Too calm. As if killing me was no different from turning off a light.
"You were never meant to survive," he said.
That was the last thing I heard before darkness swallowed everything.
No pain.
No fear.
Only regret.
I woke up gasping for air.
My lungs burned as if I had been drowning. I clutched my chest, fingers trembling, expecting blood—expecting death.
But there was nothing.
I was alive.
The ceiling above me was familiar. Too familiar.
My room.
The old apartment.
The one I lived in three years ago.
My phone buzzed on the bedside table.
June 14th.
Three years before my death.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
"This… is impossible."
Before I could think further, a sharp pain pierced my skull. I collapsed onto the bed, clutching my head as a cold mechanical voice echoed inside my mind.
[System initializing…]
[Host detected.]
I froze.
No.
No, this couldn't be happening.
[Binding complete.]
[Survival System activated.]
"What system?" I whispered hoarsely.
The pain intensified.
[Warning.]
[Unauthorized questioning detected.]
I screamed as agony shot through every nerve in my body. It felt like my bones were being crushed from the inside.
"Stop! Stop it!"
The pain vanished instantly.
I lay there, shaking, drenched in cold sweat.
[Rule One:]
[Do not resist the system.]
My hands clenched into fists.
So this was the price of coming back to life.
[Initial Mission:]
Survive the next 24 hours.
My breath hitched.
"Survive?" I laughed bitterly. "That's it?"
The system was silent for a moment.
Then—
[Mission Details:]
You must make contact with Subject A-01 within 24 hours.
A name appeared in my vision.
The same name that haunted my nightmares.
The man who killed me.
My blood ran cold.
"No…" I whispered. "Anyone but him."
[Failure Penalty:]
Immediate death.
My vision blurred.
I had been given a second life—
only to be forced back into the arms of my murderer.
The countdown appeared before my eyes.
23:59:59
[Tick.]