Blood pooled beneath Kael's feet, warm and thick like syrup. His breathing was ragged, shallow, each inhale scraping his lungs like broken glass. The sky above the ruined capital burned with a crimson glow — not the setting sun, but the fires of betrayal.
The enemy hadn't killed him.
His own comrades had.
Kael staggered, clutching his side where the royal sword had pierced him — the very sword he once swore to protect.
"Why…?" he whispered, barely able to stay on his feet. His vision blurred, but he could still make out the golden armor of General Renvar, the man who had trained him… and stabbed him in the back.
"You were too strong, Kael," Renvar said calmly, wiping blood from his blade. "Too loyal. Too noble. The king feared you."
Kael laughed bitterly, coughing up more blood. "So that's it? All I did for this kingdom… just erased?"
The queen stepped forward next, her silver eyes cold as ice. "You should have died on the battlefield, not stood in the way of our plans."
Kael fell to one knee. The weight of his own betrayal crushed him harder than any spell or blade. All his victories, sacrifices, friends who died beside him… for what?
He looked at the stars above. They were the same as when he was a boy — when he dreamed of being a hero.
> If I could go back… just once… I'd never fight for them again. I'd change everything.
Suddenly, the world around him slowed. The wind stopped. The pain vanished.
A voice echoed in his mind.
> [Emotion Sync System initializing…]
[Host is eligible: Regret Level—Maximum. Vengeance Level—Maximum.]
[Rewinding time… syncing memory…]
[Prepare for Second Life.]
Kael's eyes widened. "W-What…?"
A light burst through his chest. Not pain — but warmth.
His vision faded, and everything turned white.
He woke up gasping, drenched in sweat. The scent of roasted bread and fresh hay filled the air. He knew this smell. This place.
He looked down — his hands were young again. No scars, no blood.
He ran to the mirror.
A teenage face stared back — 18-year-old Kael.
"No way…"
A calendar hung by the bed: Year 749 — the year before the Great Betrayal.
He had really… come back.
Kael stared at his reflection. This time, he wouldn't be a pawn.
This time… he wouldn't forgive.
---
> Next Chapter: "Rebirth" — Kael begins changing his fate, and the system awakens for the first time.