"Huff huff huff..."
In the stillness of the aftermath,Lee Jin-Hyuk dragged in short breaths, each one feeling like his lungs were ripped apart. His vision blurred as the weight of despair settled over him.
"In the end... I couldn't save anyone..." he muttered to himself.
Before him lay a sea of bodies—friends, allies, strangers—all fallen in the chaos.
His left arm was severed at the shoulder, blood pooling in the dirt. His broken sword, Nightshade, gripped on his right arm.
The silence was deafening, broken only by the faint, distant whimper of the wind.
Suddenly, a cold, digital voice echoed in his mind—a system window flickering on his face.
[System Notification:]
[Would you like the system to interfere?]
Jin-Hyuk hesitated for a moment, blood dribbling from his cracked lips. His trembling hand reached out.
"Yes," he whispered.
The world around him blurred, dissolving into a swirl of light and darkness.
He woke up with a jolt, sprawled on the floor of his apartment. His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he sat upright, hands trembling.
He looked around—everything was the same, yet profoundly different.He opened his phone: eight years earlier.
He stared at his reflection in the mirror—youthful, unscarred,left arm still attached and full of hope.
He pinched his cheeks in disbelief.
"Was it a nightmare?...or has the system given me a second chance?"
Jin-Hyuk's clenched fists trembled as he looked at his hands.
"I won't let it end the same way again," he vowed silently.
The past was a blank slate, and with the system's power now at his command, he had one goal: change his fate, and save everyone this time.
Suddenly, a new window appeared.
[Connection to the System established.]
[Welcome back, Lee Jin-Hyuk, Humanity's Sole Survivor.]
[Would you like to review your current stats?]
"...huh!??"
[You have been chosen as the heir to the will of the Great Demon Kings.]
Jin-Hyuk stared in confusion.
"...w-what do you mean heir to the Demon Kings??"
[ERROR: Player's level too low to access this information.]
[Complete quests to raise player's level.]
"...tch!"
Still in disbelief he pulled out an old relic—a GPS tracker, a small device from his previous life—and activated it.
The faint signal was enough to give him hope. Maybe there were others out there, survivors or allies. Maybe he wasn't entirely alone.
But deep inside, he knew the truth. He was the last survivor—the only one left to bear this burden.
The weight of that loneliness pressed down on him, but he refused to surrender.
He would survive.
He would fight.
And this time, he would change the ending.
"Status Window!"
[Name: Lee Jin-Hyuk | Level: 5]
[Class: Heir To The Demon King's Will]
[HP: 100 | MP: 100]
[STR: 20 | AGI: 5]
[STA:100 | INT: 10]
[Stat Points: 0]
[Class Effect: All attacks against Demonkin will be quadrupled]
He clenched his fist and glared into the floor.
No more regrets. No more failures. Only victory. For himself, and for those he couldn't save.
And with that thought, Jin-Hyuk made a vow.
"I'll change future—I won't lose anyone this time."
***