"I… am alive?"
Rhys struggled upright in bed, staring at his hands in disbelief.
Those dry, calloused hands.
The agony of the dagger piercing his heart remained etched in his soul—even now, the bone-deep pain throbbed faintly.
The pain… unbearable pain!
Veins bulged on Rhys's forehead as he instinctively clutched his chest, gasping heavily until the stabbing sensation finally faded.
"So… I've returned? To the day before the game merges with reality?"
Surveying the familiar yet alien room, he pieced together the truth.
When killed, one dies.
Especially when stabbed through the heart from behind.
He had indeed been reborn.
Yet no joy lit Rhys's face—only profound desolation.
"To think the one who betrayed me… was you."
Never could Rhys have imagined that the sister he'd raised since childhood—sunny and kind in others' eyes—would commit such an act.
Nor that after surviving enemy guild hunts and conquering impossible dungeons, he'd fall by an ally's hand.
By the hand of the sister he cherished most.
"Willa… what a perfect sister you turned out to be."
Nothing hurts more than a dead heart.
Beyond Willa's long-deceased parents, none knew Rhys shared no blood with her.
Rhys was an otherworlder.
Abandoned in a public restroom at birth in this world, only the intervention of Willa's parents saved him.
At eighteen, the couple perished together.
Rhys shouldered their burdens. He forfeited his spot at the capital's university so Willa could study, supporting her through menial labor.
A young woman's expenses naturally surpassed a man's.
As she grew, Willa's desires multiplied—new phones, clothes, dining out—all funded by Rhys.
An exorbitant cost.
He pleaded with her, but protests earned only cold shoulders. He considered abandoning her, yet guilt toward her parents made him endure.
To sustain Willa's escalating lifestyle, Rhys tightened his belt—often surviving on just two meals a day.
He consoled himself: Once she graduates, it'll ease.
But in her final academic year, catastrophe struck.
It began after The Epoch of Endings launched.
This "second world" promised to mirror reality and channel in-game power into the real one—irrevocably altering humanity's fate.
The first humans entering the game discovered to their astonishment this was no ordinary game. Strength, longevity, wealth—everything humanity craved could be obtained within it and brought into reality—at the cost of lifespan.
The strong shattered mountains and leveled lands; continents could be sunk with a snap of their fingers.
Powers existing only in divine myth reemerged into the world.
Madness consumed civilization. Martial prowess shattered laws; human ambition and desire, fueled by newfound power, plunged the world into abrupt, catastrophic change. Disaster spread.
To repay his sister's debts, Rhys missed the crucial first entry into the game and forfeited early opportunities. Yet despite this, he shielded his sister through the chaos. Later, through sheer talent and unmatched tenacity, he fought his way up in The Epoch of Endings, reaching the Top 100!
During an impossible dungeon run, Rhys obtained a Unique item: the Primordial Core.
The term "Unique item" alone spoke volumes about the Primordial Core's immeasurable value.
Moreover, though Rhys possessed it for some time, activating it—let alone using it—remained utterly beyond reach.
He researched its activation while leveling up.
Yet somehow, news of the Primordial Core in his hands leaked.
The Bloodmoon Pack refocused on the siblings, forcing them into flight.
But this treasure wasn't for himself.
Not among the game's first entrants, Rhys had pushed himself to his absolute limit.
His sister was different.
Willa possessed exceptional talent; activating the Primordial Core could elevate her to supremacy.
Alas…
After surviving countless dangers and narrow escapes, it was Willa who betrayed him.
That poisoned dagger pierced Rhys's heart. Exhausted, he couldn't resist the lethal toxin, left only to await death.
In his final moments, Willa stood before him—no remorse on her face.
She stated coldly, "Brother, don't blame me… You were too strong. So strong I lived perpetually in your shadow!"
"They promised… if I secured your Primordial Core, they'd give me a chance to surpass you… a chance… to stop being 'Rhys's sister'!"
"I'll deliver the Core to the guild. Rest easy. I'll inherit your will… and live on."
Staring at this stranger who was his sister, Rhys laughed.
"Still so foolish…. Want the Primordial Core?"
He raised his right hand, tapping the dialog box materializing before him.
"I'd rather feed it to dogs than give it to you."
As the [Destroy] button was pressed, the Primordial Core dissolved into stardust. Rhys's consciousness plunged into eternal silence.
Then… he awoke on the eve before the game merged with reality.
At this thought, a glacial light flashed in Rhys's eyes.
Living in his shadow?
For such a laughable reason, Willa chose to betray him.
"Who ran three kilometers at 3 a.m. to bring you food because you were hungry? Me."
"Who guarded your logout point for three days straight so you wouldn't fear PK griefers? Me."
"Who gave up top-tier gear and skillbooks again and again so guilds wouldn't exclude you? Me."
"I have fought the good fight. I have kept the faith. I have repaid every debt."
"And all you saw was my 'shadow'? My 'restrictions'? For pitiful vanity and envy... you turned your blade on me?"
"And the Crimson Direwolf guild..."
Earth's first post-merge guild. Their feud began because of Willa, yet that fool trusted them—and chose to strike Rhys down.
"If my protection felt like a cage...
...my strength a shadow...
...my very existence an obstacle..."
"Then have it your way."
"This life, walk your own path. Live or die, rise or fall—it has nothing to do with Rhys!"
A thrill surged through him.
What heights could he reach entering The Abyss with the first wave?
At that precise instant—
A cold, synthetic voice rang in his ears:
[Primordial Core Destroyed.]
[Rebirth Protocol Complete. Timeline Reversed.]
[Bearer, you renounced greed. Primordial Core trial passed. Primordial Essence activating....]
[Activation complete... Unique Privilege "Cosmic Finality" acquired.]
Primordial Essence?
Cosmic Finality!
Rhys's vision sharpened. A bold hypothesis crystallized.
"So the true way to wield the Primordial Core... was to destroy it? To reject greed for the Unique item?"
"No wonder I couldn't activate it last life..."
"And it... gave me this second chance?"
Misfortune breeds fortune. His final act of spite had awakened the Primordial Core—
The legendary Unique item he'd strained to unlock in his past life.
Rhys drew a steadying breath and opened the Cosmic Finality interface...