Las Vegas — 11:11 PM, 2026
Willow stood on the edge of a tall building, his eyes staring the people below.
His eyes were baggy and lifeless, his body malnourished. Clearly, he hadn't been taking care of himself.
He sighed as he took a step forward, his chest tightening as he looked down.
He closed his eyes and jumped.
As he fell, a sudden aching feeling gripped him, one he didn't quite understand yet.
Time seemed to slow around him, his descent slowing. Then suddenly, everything around him froze. As a voice that came from everywhere echoed around the world.
[System Message: Hello, humans! Your planet has been selected to participate in the Universal Games! Rejoice!]
[System Message: As I [%![+!—! have been chosen as your guide! Pleased to meet you all!
[Now, without any further ado let us begin.]
The being speaking clapped its hands, and the world unfroze, his clap echoing across the world.
Willow continued falling, the aching feeling of something he couldn't quite explain yet washed over him. He misjudged everything, his desire to live and everything in between. When he hit the floor, his body flattened and death took him instantly, his eyes wide with shock.
"Ha!"
Suddenly Willow awoke, to him falling again.
"What the fuck!" he screamed, panic rising inside him, thinking he was going insane.
Splat! His body hit the ground again, killing him instantly.
He awoke once more, free falling through the air. The wind whisking past his ears, a deafening sound in his skull. His head spun around as his vision blurred and panic rising inside him. His hands flailed desperately, searching for anything to grab onto.
Splat!
He landed on the floor, the pain unbearable as it tore through his back.
Again, he awoke, his mind unable to register the things happening. There was no time to think, only the single thought of needing to stop his fall.
Splat!
His shoulder collided with the hard ground, his bones shattering upon impact.
He awoke again and Splat!
He died again, each death left him dazed, barely able to remember what was even happening anymore.
Then suddenly, Willow slapped himself.
"Focus!" he shouted.
Splat!
As he awoke, his eyes scanned desperately until he saw it.
"A ledge!"
He shouted, spotting a small balcony. His body moved toward it as his arms reached out for the railings, but his fingers slipped, failing to catch ahold of them.
Splat!
Splat!
Again and again, he awoke, each time trying to reach, but each time missing.
Until finally, his fingers caught on.
Held himself railing on the, and stopped his fall.
Willow hung there, breathing heavily, mind racing. His grip tightened as he realized, he had been dying over and over, trapped in this endless cycle. He hadn't even had time to think, he would die before he could process anything.
"The hell is going…" he muttered, trying to lift himself up. But his grip loosening as he tried.
"Help!" he shouted, hoping someone might hear.
"Huh?" a voice came from inside the room off the balcony.
The blinds slid open, and a girl appeared.
The girl eyes widened at Willow hanging hand. She rushed out opening the door and grabbed ahold of Willow's hands, trying to pull him onto the balcony.
But he was too heavy for her to lift. In a desperate attempt, Willow reached out with his other hand grabbing her, but the moment he did, his weight dragged her down, causing both of them to fall to the ground.
"Fuck!" he shouted. Their eyes met, and in an instant, Willow held her tightly, positioning himself to take the brunt of the fall.
"I'm sorry!" he shouted, holding her tightly.
Splat!
"Ha!" Willow awoke, hanging from the railings.
As the they awoke, the girl hands that was about to grab him suddenly reeled back.
"Stop! Don't try to lift me! I'm too heavy for you!"
"No!" the girl replied, shaking her head, though it didn't seem directed at Willow. She rushed forward anyway, trying to lift him.
"Stop you idiot!" As soon as she grabbed hold of him, they both fell again.
"Damn it!" he shouted as they descended, holding her tightly and positioning his body to take the brunt of the fall.
Her eyes remained relatively calm despite the scenario happening, as she and Willow stared into eachother eyes as they fell.
Splat!
"HA! STOP PLEASE DONT MOVE!"
"Hm?"
"Grab a rope and tie it to something!"
Willow shouted, and the girl looked at him weirdly smiling, as if she found something funny.
"Alright!"
She ran inside. Listening to him, as she began searching for a rope.
She eventually found one and began tying it to a nearby pole.
"Grab on." she said calmly, tossing it toward
Willow grabbing the rope, pulling himself up, as he pulled himself up, his grip suddenly began to slip, but the rope began to lift him upward, lifted by the girl.
"Ha!" Willow sighed as he was lifted onto the balcony. The girl looked at him, wondering how he had even managed to get into that situation.
"Are you ok?" the girl asked.
Willow stood in silence, trembling as his mind processed what had just happened.
"Y-Yeah… Thank you ma'am…" he muttered, staring at the floor. Slowly, following the girl into her room.
"Huh? Why are you calling me ma'am?! Don't I look the same age as you?!" she said, exasperated at being called ma'am.
Willow flinched slightly, mumbling under his breath, "Uh—I S-Sorry…" He stuttered finding it hard to find words he was looking for and went silent, avoiding her gaze.
The girl eyed Willow's awkward demeanor, a slight smirk forming as she watched him. She muttered something quietly under her breath.
"Hey you heard that message too, right?" she asked suddenly.
"Message?" Willow replied, confused.
"The one about the Universal Games?"
Willow's face shifted, his eyes widening slightly as realization hit, 'oh… right.' He'd been so focused the part of dying over and over that he'd completely forgotten the message about some kind of universal game.
"Yeah I—" Willow spoke, but the girl interrupted.
"I think it's real," the girl muttered, eyes fixed on something Willow couldn't see.
"What do you mean?"
"Look. Try saying 'system'," the girl muttered, her hands tapping the air.
"Uh… system?" Willow muttered hesitantly.
Suddenly, panels of a white holographic screen appeared before him.
――――(Alverin Cross)――――
Lvl: 0 ((Exp: 0/10))
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 15
―――― Gifts ――――
???? (Rank: ???):
Description: Upon death, time rewinds to fifteen seconds before death. The user retains full memories of everything that occurred.
―――― Abilities ――――
Skills: None
Talents: None
―――― Stats ――――
Stat Points: None
Strength: 0 ((Click to add))
Dexterity: 0 ((Click to add))
Intelligence: 0 ((Click to add))
Endurance: 0 ((Click to add))
Perception: 0 ((Click to add))
Charisma: 0 ((Click to add))
Willpower: 0 ((Click to add))
―――― Potential ――――
Level Cap: 30
Max Skills: 5
Max Talents: 1
Overall potential: Low
―――― Resistances and Immunities ――――
((Click to view))
―――― Inventory ――――
((Click to view))
Willow's hands trembled as he read his real name. How does it… he thought.
Staring at his name felt like the weight he had spent decades trying to shrug off had returned. His name given by people whose shadows he had spent years trying to escape. He had chosen the name Willow for freedom, for a self untethered to his past, yet here it was, staring back at him, reminding that no matter how far he ran, a part of him had always belonged to him.
"Why do you look so scared? It's just like a game. There's nothing to be scared about!"
Her hand gently rested on his shoulder. Willow stared at her, confusion flickering across his face, Willow stared at the girl who didn't seem to understand why he was trembling.
Nonetheless, her attempt to comfort him brought a faint warmth, a fragile flicker of reassurance, but it did little to dispel the lingering dread that still hung over him.
"Th… thank you…" Willow muttered softly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Come on, cheer up! W- It's just a game. From the way this system is programmed, it looks like an RPG-type of game…" the girl muttered, trying to explain to Willow.
Willow stood there, confused. Having no idea what the girl was talking about.
"What do you mean?"
"It's like a game where you fight monsters and grow stronger!"
Willow still stared at her blankly.
"Come on! You know… Like games! You fight monsters, and when you kill them, you get EXP? I mean cmon I know you probably play those kinds of games!" the girl said, waving her arms frantically as she tried to explain.
"No… I could never play games," Willow said awkwardly not understanding what she was talking about.
"What?! How could you miss out on such a great thing?" the girl exclaimed, hand her mouth in disbelief.
"Where are your parents? They need a talking-to!"
Willow stood, silent and still, unable to answer the question.
The girl's face immediately went pale as she noticed Willow's awkwardness. Realizing what it meant, a rush of shame coursed through her, and she felt awful for bringing up such a sore subject.
"Oh… I'm sorry," she said awkwardly.
"It's okay..."
An awkward silence followed. Neither of them knew what to say. Willow, being socially inept, simply stared at the ceiling.
"Ahem! What's your name?"
"Willow…"
"Nice to meet you, Willow! My name's Ciel." Ciel said, forming a fist bump, a smile lighting up their face.
"Nice to meet you…" Willow replied, their fists meeting in a gentle bump.
"And thank you for saving me," Willow added.
"No worries l—"
"Ding!" Echoed throughout the world, and a holographic message appeared before everyone's eyes.
――Universal Mission: Kill another being.――
Time limit: 30 Minutes
Rewards: Depends on the strength or significance of the killed being.
WARNING: Failure to kill another being will result in DEATH.
―――――――――――――――――――――
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