Darkness. Silence.
But not for long.
A blinding eruption of white-blue light surged from the relic.
The enemies froze mid-step.
Arthur's broken body lay still—lifeless.
Then… it reversed.
His blood flowed backward. Wounds sealed. His shattered breath returned.
[ Relic Successfully Bound to Host ]
[ Time Reversal Initiated ]
Time cracked like shattered glass—
And then rebuilt itself.
Arthur awoke with a strangled gasp.
Air flooded into his lungs—sweet, clean, real.
His body, no longer a battlefield of scars and cybernetic implants, felt whole. Unmarked.
He sat up abruptly, heart pounding.
This was his room.
Back at House Ragnar's moon estate.
His old quarters. The ones he hadn't seen in nearly fifteen years.
He looked down.
His legs tangled in sheets too short for the man he had become. He stumbled toward the mirror—and froze.
A boy stared back.
Sixteen years old. No scars. No blood.
Arthur Ragnar.
Before the war.
Before the betrayal.
Before everything burned.
"No..." he whispered, stepping back from his reflection. "This isn't possible."
But the pendant around his neck pulsed softly—the same relic from the cockpit.
Only now, the crystalline core at its center glowed a deep blue.
The memory returned like a wave—his final ragged breath, the cold eyes of the enemies closing in, and the blinding surge of light from the relic.
"Relic successfully bound to host"
"Time reversal initiated"
Before he could process more, a soft chime echoed in his mind.
Light shimmered before him, assembling into a hovering holographic window.
[Starfall System Activating…]
[Host: Arthur Ragnar]
[System Status: Activated]
[Greetings, Master]
Arthur staggered back, eyes wide in disbelief.
Then came a female voice—cool, ancient, and unwavering.
"I am the Starfall System—an adaptive interface forged during the Forgotten War of ancient human civilization, designed to guide and empower their final heir. You have been chosen from among thousands to inherit this legacy."
His heart thundered.
He wasn't dreaming.
He had died.
But somehow, impossibly, he had returned.
And he hadn't come back alone.
He had returned with a system.
The interface expanded, panels of Starfall System unfolding before him like constellations in motion.
[ Core System Functions Unlocked ]
✧ Starfall Panel – Displays all vital data: cultivation level, soul core status, talents, and more.
✧ Subspace – A personal storage dimension accessible anytime.
✧ Fate Divergence Map – Tracks changes in the timeline and their ripple effects.
✧ Mission Protocols – Generates adaptive quests tied to revenge, survival, and legacy.
✧ Combat Arena – Simulate battles against past and future enemies.
✧ Starfall Shop – Trade Origin Points for techniques, soul weapons, and forbidden knowledge.
[ Other System Functions: Locked Until Further Synchronization ]
Arthur's breath caught.
It was real. All of it.
A second chance?
No.
This was more than that.
This was a power. A weapon. A path.
A path to save his mother.
To avenge every betrayal.
To rewrite a future that had once buried him in blood and silence.
Then, another prompt blinked into view.
[ Mission: Accelerated Awakening ]
Objective: Begin cultivating the Starfall cultivation technique. Improve your Soulfire Cultivation level and transform your innate Soulfire Core grade from White to Black before the official Awakening Ceremony.
Difficulty: High
Estimated Success Rate: 25%
Reward: Unknown
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
Twenty-five percent.
In the Empire, the Soulfire Core was everything. Once awakened at sixteen, your grade—White to Black—determined your destiny.
And it was permanent.
White was barely above average.
Black? A rarity. A legacy. A weapon of dynasties.
Once awakened, no known technique could change it.
Until now.
He touched the floating glyph. Energy surged through his fingertips. Runes unfolded—star-borne patterns etched with divine precision.
Celestial breathing cycles. Meridian compression maps. Core-forging sequences aligned with constellations long forgotten.
This wasn't just a cultivation technique.
It was a cosmic evolution.
Arthur's fists tightened. His jaw set.
"If I succeed... I won't just be stronger. I'll be reborn."
He sat cross-legged and inhaled deeply.
No more chains. No more fear.
If he had even a chance to seize his future—
He would take it.
[ Initializing Soulfire Spark… ]
[ Soulfire Core Status: Forming ]
[ Progress: 7% ]
A burning warmth ignited in his chest.
Energy threaded into his meridians like starlight—sharp, bright, and alive. Pain surged—brief but deep.
Then—
[ Soulfire Core Status: Awakened ]
Arthur exhaled. His heart slowed.
Night fell gently over the Ragnar estate.
The stars above shimmered with clarity—no longer distant gods, but fragments of a fate he could finally grasp.
A soft knock echoed at his door.
He turned as it creaked open.
A woman stood there, framed by silver moonlight. Hair like starlight. Eyes full of quiet concern.
"Arthur?" she asked. "You're awake?"
He didn't move.
He couldn't breathe.
"Mother…"
She stepped closer, worried. "Is something wrong?"
Arthur rushed forward and pulled her into a fierce embrace. Her arms wrapped around him—warm, gentle, real.
After all these years... she was alive.
But peace never lingers long.
That night, after she left.
[ System Alert: Fate Divergence Now at 2.6% ]
[ Note: At 100%, Unknown Variables Will Begin to Occur ]
Arthur's chest tightened. "Unknown variables?"
As if in response, a whisper curled through the moonlight.
"You grew stronger, Arthur… but so did they. They've returned too."
The voice wasn't from the system.
It came from outside.
He spun toward the balcony.
Across the moonlit gardens, on a distant rooftop cloaked in shadow, stood a figure—hooded, still. Their robes shimmered with drifting stars. One violet eye glowed beneath the hood—locked on him.
Watching. Measuring.
[ System Warning: Observer-Class Entity Detected ]
[ Identity: Undefined ]
[ Risk Level: ??? ]
[ Note: This Entity Did Not Exist in the Original Timeline ]
A breath later, the figure vanished without a sound.
Arthur stood frozen.
Who are you?
Who else has returned?
What was the Starfall System, truly?
And who—no, what—was that observer cloaked in starlight?
Many questions surged through Arthur's mind—wild, urgent, unrelenting.
But the night offered no answers.
And a system pulsing with unfathomable power.
There was no one he could ask.
Why?
He didn't know.
How?
Even less.
But one truth burned clearer—Strength.
Only by becoming stronger could he hope to uncover the truth behind his return.
Only through power could he stand against the unknown fate unfolding before him.
The relic had brought him back.
The system had chosen him.
But the path?
That would be carved by his own hands.
Arthur turned from the balcony. His reflection in the window still bore the face of a boy.
But behind the eyes…A storm was rising.
This wasn't just a second chance anymore.
It was the beginning of a war between broken timelines and unseen enemies.
Arthur's gaze hardened.
He placed a hand over the relic at his chest.
"If they've returned… then let them come."
"This time, I won't run."
"This time—I will win."