In a vast, silent forest, filled with dense trees that swallowed the moonlight, a young man sat beneath a tree.
He looked about twenty-two years old, his slim frame clad in a white sweater that hung slightly loose around the collar.
His face was delicate—too soft for a man.
His long black hair tumbled messily down his back.
His name was Kuro Tokito.
At this moment, he sat on the ground, weakly leaning against the tree behind him.
One of his hands pressed against his temple.
His head throbbed.
Painful. Heavy. Spinning.
As if something foreign had been forcibly inserted into his mind.
"Ugh…"
His breathing was uneven.
The world around him felt blurry, distorted.
And amidst the pain, a cold, flat, mechanical voice continued to echo inside his head.
[Download complete.]
[System activated.]
[Host's past memories restored.]
[System instruction module directly uploaded into brain.]
Kuro's head felt like it was about to explode.
Fragments of memories that weren't his—or perhaps… belonged to another version of him—began flooding in without end.
Strange names…
Different worlds…
Lives he had never lived felt far too real to ignore.
Ding!
[You have received a Beginner's Package.]
[Do you wish to open it?]
Moments later, the pain pounding in his head gradually subsided. Yet Kuro did not immediately respond to the system notification.
His eyes stared blankly ahead… but his mind did not.
Inside his head, something was being "assembled." The pieces of memory began connecting, merging into a single consciousness.
Two lives.
Two identities.
Cain Ainsward… and Kuro Tokitou.
"…Hah."
A slow breath escaped his lips.
"…So this is me."
A man from another world.
With knowledge, experience… and something that felt far more "complete."
And at the same time, he was also processing his other life—the life he was currently living as Kuro.
Silence.
"…Wait a minute."
His brows furrowed slightly.
He turned to the side, as if hoping there was someone else to blame.
There was none.
"…Is this me?"
He pointed to himself.
"…This one?"
Memories continued to flow.
Getting drunk almost every night.
Using his inheritance for his own selfish needs.
And… even worse!
This time, Kuro remained silent longer.
"…Hurting and abandoning an eight-year-old child."
Silence.
The night wind blew softly.
"…Wow."
A single word.
Heavy with meaning.
Kuro raised his hand, staring at his own palm.
"…I guess… I'm trash."
His tone was flat.
Not angry.
Not sad.
More like someone accepting a fact without trying to deny it.
"…Not just 'pretty bad'…"
He exhaled slowly.
"…This is in the 'complete failure of a human being' category."
A few seconds passed in silence.
Then, he leaned his head against the tree trunk, staring at the sky hidden tightly by leaves.
"…No wonder my life feels like a mess."
A brief pause.
"…Because the one living it is a mess too."
He let out another slow breath.
"Forget it," he said. "It's already happened. But earlier, the system? Huh? What did it say again?"
Silence.
"…Open the Beginner's Package?"
His tone remained flat.
But this time, there was a subtle change—sharper, more focused.
Ding!
[Beginner's Package opened.]
[You have unlocked the system's first function: Daily Login.]
[You have obtained the Special Skill: Sharingan.]
[You have acquired qualification as a Master in the Fifth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, along with three Command Spells.]
[For more information on skills, please refer to the Skill Status List.]
Kuro remained silent.
His eyes were no longer empty.
His focus was immediately drawn to one thing.
"…Master?"
His brows furrowed slightly.
Not out of confusion.
More like… verification.
His mind raced, organizing the information he had just received.
"…Seriously?"
He stared at his hand again, as if hoping something would appear there.
Command Spells.
The absolute mark of a Master.
"…So it's not just a coincidence that I'm in Fuyuki…"
He exhaled slowly.
"I've been thrown straight into the heart of the problem!?"
A brief silence.
But this time, what remained was not confusion.
It was calculation.
"…A war between Mages… with the corrupted Holy Grail at stake…"
He closed his eyes briefly, recalling the knowledge that now felt so vivid in his mind.
"…And I… am now one of the participants."
The corner of his lips twitched slightly.
"…From a complete failure of a human being…"
He opened his eyes again.
His gaze was now far sharper.
"…Straight into becoming a candidate in a deadly war."
Silence.
"…Is this an upgrade or a punishment?"
He massaged his forehead, then let out another long sigh.
His mind churned, sorting through information that had once been so familiar—the knowledge from his first life as Cain.
Fuyuki City.
To ordinary people, it was just a small, peaceful town. Quiet streets, dimly lit lamps at night, life moving along as usual.
But to some—those perceptive enough—Fuyuki held something that could never truly be explained.
One of them was the so-called "gas leakage" incident.
Every few years, strange incidents would repeat.
Certain areas would suddenly be closed off.
Residents evacuated.
Local news would cite gas leaks or technical malfunctions as the cause.
Nothing seemed unusual… at least on paper.
Yet for those who noticed the pattern, the locations always shifted, the timing was almost always at night, and the strangest part—there were never any truly clear casualties.
As if the "gas leak" was just an overused excuse to cover up something far bigger.
Far from the city, away from streetlights and buildings, a silent forest stretched out—filled with dense trees that swallowed the moonlight.
"Yep… this has to be a punishment," he muttered flatly. "Or more accurately… log in, and immediately thrown into nightmare mode."
His gaze lifted, staring at the night sky obscured by leaves.
"Even so… from that bastard's memories, there's never been a report of a regular 'gas leak.'"
His brows furrowed slightly.
"So… the war hasn't started yet?"
"Then when?"
His gaze dropped, staring straight ahead.
"From my memories as Cain, there's no exact date for when the war begins."
"But clearly… it won't be long."
"A few days?"
"A few weeks?"
He closed his eyes, leaning his back further against the tree trunk.
"Well… whatever it is, I have to stay calm," he said softly.
He tilted his head slightly.
"…Earlier it said I unlocked the Daily Login function, right?"
"System, explain."
Ding!
[Providing explanation…]
[Daily Login is a system feature that allows the Host to receive rewards every day through a check-in process.]
[Rewards are given randomly based on progress, condition, and the level of environmental danger faced by the Host.]
[The higher the risk faced by the Host, the higher the potential quality of the rewards obtained.]
[Warning: Missing a daily check-in will not disable the feature, but may reduce the chance of receiving high-value rewards.]
[System detects that the Host has not performed today's check-in.]
[Does the Host wish to check in now?]
[Yes / No]
Kuro fell silent for a moment.
"…The more dangerous the situation, the better the reward, huh…"
He opened one eye slightly.
"…A fairly honest system."
A brief silence.
"…Alright."
Without hesitation.
Ding!
Another notification appeared before him.
[Congratulations, you have obtained the Special Skill: Gate of Babylon.]
[For more information, please refer to the Skill Status List.]
Kuro remained still.
This time, not because of emptiness.
But… confusion.
"…Huh?"
His brows furrowed slightly.
If the system said that the more dangerous the situation, the better the reward…
"…That means… I'm in danger right now?"
A brief silence.
But his mind didn't stop there.
"…And… Gate of Babylon?"
The name felt far too familiar.
Not just familiar—iconic.
He recalled the knowledge from his previous life as Cain.
Gilgamesh.
King of Heroes.
The owner of a Noble Phantasm that contained "all the treasures of the world."
Gate of Babylon—a gateway holding prototypes of countless Noble Phantasms.
"…Wait a minute."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"…This is… a Heroic Spirit's ability."
His breath caught for a moment.
"So what exactly does this system want to make me… a Magus or a Heroic Spirit?"
The question hung unanswered.
But instead of unease…
The corner of his lips lifted slightly.
There was something… intriguing.
"…Heh."
For the first time, his expression shifted slightly.
He slowly stood up.
His body, once leaning, was now upright, though traces of fatigue still lingered.
But his eyes…
Were no longer empty.
He raised his right hand forward.
"Gate of Babylon!"
The air around him rippled, as if the space itself were distorting.
Three gray portals slowly opened around him, hovering silently in the air.
Silent.
Nothing emerged.
Kuro blinked.
Staring at the portals in silence.
"…Empty?"
He tilted his head slightly.
His expression returned to flat.
"…Oh."
A brief silence.
"…So this is the 'new account, no content' version."
___
Author's note:
Hello everyone~
Just a quick note from the author! This story will start off a bit slow since the early chapters are mainly for buildup and setting things up properly. But trust me, things will get much more interesting as we go on 👀
Also, a small heads-up: from around chapter 5 and beyond, you can expect quite a bit of 18+ content 😏 So be prepared for that shift in tone.
Thank you so much for reading and supporting this fanfic! If you enjoy it, don't forget to leave a comment, drop some power stones, and add it to your favorites—it really helps a lot!
As for my Chuunibyou fanfic, I'll be putting it on hold for now to recharge and gather new ideas 😣 But don't worry, I'll come back to it eventually!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story. See you in the chapters~ ✨