Leo stood in silence, staring at all the destruction before him. His mind had gone blank, unable to process what was happening right in front of him.
His allies...
His beloved ones...
Everything reduced to nothing. He felt his breathing turn uneven as his heart raced wildly at the sight of those two silhouettes walking toward him.
He could only swallow hard through his dry throat. He looked up at the sky for a moment, only to see a massive beast flying across a firmament stained by war.
A dragon.
Leo had those too—powerful, imposing beasts that had lived for thousands of years, only to die today in a war he himself had caused.
Guilt struck him all at once. He no longer had the strength to fight, nor did he feel the desire to. He had nothing. There was no longer a reason to keep fighting.
'All for nothing...'
The only reason he was still standing was because of them... Vague memories of how he met them, the moments they shared together, the day they became one flooded his mind.
He loved each and every one of them with his entire being, and they loved him too, despite what he was. That was why he couldn't lower his gaze and let himself fall. They would never forgive him for that.
"I-I'm sorry... I really am sorry."
He had already accepted death. He looked forward once more, visualizing those two silhouettes.
Old rivals... 'Who would have thought they would—'
His mind shut down for a second when the very same screen that had accompanied him from the beginning appeared in front of him.
The first thing Leo noticed was that striking title it had: "Power System." A name far too ugly for his taste, but one that suited him. That last thought made him feel even more mediocre than he already was.
'All that potential and I only... ended up at this point,' he thought, recalling his stats. Thanks to them, he had reached an 'SSS' rank, combined with his contracts and his system—an incomprehensible level for any inhabitant of this world. The maximum rank people could reach was 'S,' not a step further. Only some beasts managed to achieve similar or higher ranks.
He should have reached the 'SSR+' rank with relative ease, but because of his stupidity and lack of dedication, he failed to exploit his true limit.
[Do not blame yourself, host... The fault is mine. For not guiding you properly along the way, but... There is an option to solve this problem.]
Reading that triggered different reactions within him: excitement, interest, but also anger.
What if he failed again?
"And what would that be? A skill you hid from me all these years?" he asked without energy, in a cold tone.
At the same time, he noticed how the two figures stopped halfway toward him, as if they were just now reconsidering whether what they were doing was right. He couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
Those two were monsters. Who would have thought there would be more people like him—transmigrators...
[It's not that I wanted to hide it from you, host. It's just that... It was something you weren't supposed to know, since this wasn't planned...]
"Ha." Leo spat unconsciously at the system's irony, though he already knew how it was. He had to put up with it... For how long? Honestly, he didn't even remember. It could have been twenty, fifty, a hundred years, or more.
"And what will happen if you use it? How does it work?"
[It's single-use. You will return to the beginning, where everything started. Without memories, without your current power. Not even I will remember this.]
After reading that, he simply closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A skill to return to the past, without memories.
'If I go back without memories... What says I haven't gone through this more than once?' that doubt crossed his mind.
[It's possible... I won't deny it, nor will I confirm it. But she knows, and believe me, if we've gone through this more than once, she must be more pissed than ever.]
Leo chuckled at that, though he began coughing up blood as he felt pain inside. 'I'm too old for this,' he joked to himself.
What did it matter anymore? What more could he lose? He had already lost everything.
"The good thing is, I'll be able to see them again. The bad thing is I'll have to endure their lecture, if she says anything about this."
[Maybe. You know how she is—always keeping secrets so you won't worry. You need to accept quickly. They've started walking toward you again.]
At the warning, he turned his gaze forward, confirming that yes, they were indeed approaching again, as if they had reached some sort of agreement.
'How ironic to have to see their faces again...'
"Come on, buddy, let's do this once and for all," he replied.
In response, the system displayed a message.
[Power System]
[Notice: Unique Skill, single-use activated]
[Skill: Return.]
[Do you wish to accept using this skill, to return to the beginning of everything at the cost of your memories and current powers?]
[Yes / No]
Before answering, Leo began to vividly recall the faces of everyone he had met up to now.
His mother. His father. His sisters, his maid... he missed her.
The friends he made along the way, even enemies who ended up becoming good companions in battle.
And lastly... his beloved wives. A smile formed on his face. He already wanted to see them all again.
'I promise that this time, I'll make it.'
He intensified his gaze on the system, instantly noticing how the two figures lunged toward him, surely because they realized he was plotting something—though it was already too late.
"Yes," he said to confirm the skill, but not even an instant passed before everything seemed to freeze in time. He didn't even have time to react when he saw space itself crack into thousands of pieces.
Out of nowhere, he felt himself being violently pulled from behind, until everything turned completely dark. But yes—the only thing he clearly saw were the two gods who caused all of this.
'I swear on everything that I'll reach you and kill you. If not in this regression, then in the next.'
And just like that, Leo found himself in a very familiar place that still lived in his mind despite so many years of not being there.
He looked at his hands, noticing his school uniform. He could only smile nostalgically and glanced to the side of the street, noticing his former friend with his arm stretched out toward him, as if trying to grab him.
Then he looked ahead, seeing a massive truck just meters away from him. 'Here we go...' he closed his eyes and—
"Eh?" he murmured, not understanding what was happening when he noticed the truck mere centimeters from hitting him. Fear quickly overwhelmed him completely, and before he could scream, everything went dark.