The world knew his name.
Colonel Rei Saotome — the undefeated legend.
The soldier who shattered enemy lines with only a handful of men.
The ghost who crossed minefields barefoot when others froze in fear.
The reaper whose missions ended wars before they even began.
Decorations, medals, honors — they meant nothing to him.
He lived only for the mission.
To protect. To serve.
To fight the wars so others didn't have to.
And for twenty long years, he was humanity's sword in the dark.
Until the day the sword was broken.
The assassination happened in an instant.
One bullet.
One dead President.
One soldier standing too close with a gun in his hand.
Rei Saotome.
The trial was a formality.
The verdict was already decided.
Framed. Betrayed.
By someone he never even saw coming.
They called him traitor.
They called him monster.
They called him the end of peace itself.
And he said nothing.
Because he knew — when the world makes up its mind to hate you, no amount of truth matters.
Execution day.
Gray clouds hung low over the prison yard.
The guards moved with mechanical indifference, as if killing a legend was just another task to check off.
Rei walked to the chair without resisting.
Without fear.
Only one thought lingered in his heart:
Was it all worthless?
All the sacrifices.
All the battles.
All the blood.
Was this really how it ended?
They strapped him in.
Tightened the belts.
Attached the electrodes.
"Any last words?" asked the warden, not even looking him in the eyes.
Rei inhaled slowly.
Closed his eyes.
And whispered to no one:
"I just wanted... to protect them."
The switch was thrown.
The world became white fire.
And then...
Softness.
Warmth.
Screams.
He couldn't see clearly — only shapes, blurs, colors.
The smell of blood and medicine.
"It's a boy!" a woman cried somewhere close.
Tiny hands. Tiny body.
His lungs gasping helplessly for air.
Rei had been reborn.
Time passed.
In the new world, Rei grew.
At first, he thought it was some strange afterlife.
Then he realized: no — this was something else entirely.
A world of magic.
A world of monsters, swords, and spells.
He trained in secret, just like before.
He learned to fight with his fists, a wooden sword, anything he could grab.
But when the time came for children to awaken their magic...
Nothing.
No fire in his hands.
No light in his veins.
No blessing from the gods.
He was...
Empty.
In a world where magic meant everything — strength, status, survival —
Rei had none.
But he wasn't afraid.
After all, he'd survived worse.
He just had to fight smarter.
What he didn't know —
what he couldn't possibly realize yet —
was that the gods had given him something else.
Something far more terrible.
Something far more powerful.
A power that wouldn't show itself until the day he died.
And when that day came —
when his blood spilled into the dirt, and darkness closed over him —
he would wake again.
Back where he started.
With the memories of death burning in his mind.
The power to RE:DO.
But for now, he lived.
A lone boy with no magic.
No place.
No destiny.
Only a burning spirit, and a stubborn will to survive.
And somewhere deep within him...
the clock was ticking.
Waiting for the day when the loop would begin.
Rei Lyer turned eighteen in silence.
No celebration. No cake. Just another early morning training in the woods near his village, swinging a practice blade against a tree until his arms ached and the sun crested over the hills.
He wasn't like the others. The kids who trained with fire in their hands or could lift boulders with runes carved into their skin.
He had no magic. No blessing. No divine favor.
Just muscle, grit, and a mind trained to survive.
So when he came home to find his foster mother standing by the door, holding a sealed envelope with the golden crest of Valebright Knight Academia, he blinked in confusion.
"You applied me to knight school?" Rei asked, voice flat.
His father, a blacksmith, didn't even look up from sharpening a blade. "Damn right. You've been swinging that stick long enough. Might as well learn to do it properly.
He stared at the envelope for a long time.
He didn't feel ready. He didn't feel anything, really.
Just the familiar cold tug in his chest — the sense that he was heading toward something he couldn't quite see.
Three days later, he packed his things into a worn leather satchel.
Only the essentials: a change of clothes, some dried food, a small dagger, and a folded cloth wrapping something heavy — his wooden practice sword. The one he'd carved himself when he was ten.
When the knock came on the door, it was lighter than expected.
Knock knock knock.
He opened it to find a boy — maybe a year or two older — with bright orange hair, fluffy fox ears, and a ridiculous red scarf that trailed behind him like a cape. He stood casually, one hand on his hip, the other waving.
"Rei Lyer, right?" the fox-eared boy grinned. "I'm Kajala, third-year knight in training. I've been sent to pick you up!"
"…Pick me up?"
"Escort, technically. But I like 'pick you up' better. Sounds cuter."
Rei blinked. "Right…"
Kajala didn't wait for permission — he slipped past Rei and started poking around the house like he lived there.
"Oooh, this is cozy! Smells like… firewood and boiled potatoes. Rustic!" He turned to Rei and smiled, sharp canines poking through. "You all packed, Mr. No-Magic?"
"Don't call me that."
"But it's true, isn't it?"
Rei sighed and slung his satchel over his shoulder. "Let's just go."
Kajala skipped up beside him, far too close for comfort. One arm looped loosely around Rei's shoulders as they walked down the dirt path leading away from the house.
"So," Kajala said, grinning, "you nervous?"
"No."
Kajala leaned in. "Liar."
Rei shifted his shoulder slightly, but Kajala didn't move away.
"You always this clingy?" Rei muttered.
"Only with people I like," Kajala said with a wink. "You're cute when you scowl, y'know."
"I'm not cute."
"Now you're just lying twice."
Rei groaned, but didn't pull away.
Kajala was weird. Loud. Teasing. Too close.
But somehow… it didn't bother him as much as it should have.
The train station wasn't far — a steel beast of a machine waited at the edge of the forest, steam hissing from its vents.
As they boarded, Rei looked back at the quiet village he had known all his life.
No magic. No answers. Just the dull echo of a past life and a power still waiting to awaken.
Kajala bumped his shoulder. "Hey. Don't look so serious. Your story's just starting."
Rei gave him a look. "Do you ever stop talking?"
"Nope!" Kajala beamed. "Better get used to it, roommate."
"…We're roommates?"
"Did I forget to mention that?" Kajala chuckled. "Oops."
Rei exhaled slowly, settling into the train seat as it rumbled to life.
Somehow, he felt like he was stepping onto the edge of something enormous.
And somewhere far below the surface of his thoughts —
something was watching.
Something waiting for him to die.