The sun rose slowly over the quiet grasslands of Ooo. Warm golden light spilled across the treetops, casting soft shadows on a structure that shouldn't have existed anymore—the old Treehouse.
But here it was.
And inside it, a boy stirred.
Finn Mertens groaned and rubbed his eyes, his head swimming like he'd just been dunked in a brain freezer. The last thing he remembered was walking into the Golden Tunnel of Rebirth. Lady Life had stood there with Jake by his side, their souls entwined for one last adventure. It was supposed to be the end... or a new beginning. They were to reincarnate—start fresh.
But this? This wasn't new.
He sat up, blinking in disbelief. The musty smell of old monster hides filled his nostrils. He looked around and nearly toppled over.
"…what the glob…" Finn said while holding his head after he,finn the Human woke up in a daze.
Finn blinked as sunlight streaked through the wooden slats above. He slowly sat up, his muscles sluggish, his eyes squinting in disbelief. He was lying in his old sleeping bag — Apparently simple, rectangular shape, typically Tan with X stitches, and appears to be made of a soft, durable material, furry, stitched with monster hide. The scent of old pinewood that being build as floor inside this hollow Giant willow three (weeping willow)and Jake's musty socks hit him like a nostalgic punch to the gut. Familiar sounds — the distant chirping of birds, the wind through the shutters, the faint buzz of BMO's circuits — filled his ears.
"…No way," he whispered. "No flippin' way…"
He looked down. He was wearing his old maroon pajamas. He ran a hand across his face before his hands touched his face—smooth, round, young. No beard, no battle scars, no sign of the man he had become,finn look at his right arm... still there,not gone nor replace by metal robot arm. The bed beside him was still covered in stitched monster fur. Busted-up computers lined the walls. His Scarlet Sword—the golden sword that look have lots of scratches on the iron-gold part of the sword with the crimson gem on the end of the handle that how he had named the sword himself—hung where it always had, right next to Jake's comically unused, unproportioned blade.
"This isn't right… this place—it should've been gone. The tree was destroyed, replaced by that giant willow… Where I planted fern seed's for his memory."
And yet everything was exactly as he remembered it. No, more than that — everything was exactly as it had been before his life truly began.
He looked over and gasped.
There, snoring like a log, was Jake—his big brother, best friend, the magic yellow dog—sleeping peacefully in his own bed like none of it had ever happened.
Finn's heart swelled and nearly cracked. He almost shouted, "JAKE!" but stopped himself, choking on emotion.
Then—
[DING!]
A crystalline chime echoed inside his skull. Like light bouncing off wind chimes. His eyes widened.He jumped, knocking over a half-empty cereal bowl from the small table.
[Synchronization: 99.9% complete. Finalizing integration in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…]
Finn froze...
[Welcome, Finn Mertens. Regressor Protocol: ACTIVATED.]
"What the—who's there?!" Finn shouted, scanning the room. "Show yourself!"
[Calm yourself, Champion, Let me introduced myself. I am SYRA—Systemic Yggdrasil Rebirth Assistant. Your cognitive partner in this second life.]
Finn blinked. "Syra sy— what?? Are an AI??" finn look around his room before ask"You're in my head?"
[Affirmative. I am your guide, gifted to you by the will of Almighty Betty-Golb through command of high boss of Lady Life and Prismo the wish maker to give you gifts,second chance in life]
Finn was confused by the words of the AI in his head, and they didn't help his current situation at all."sooooo...You're saying I got reincarnated... on purpose?" Finn scratched his head, still disoriented.
[Not reincarnated. You are a Regressor. Your soul, mind, and memories were sent back to your younger body—to the time before destiny took its toll.]
Finn's eyes went wide. "Wait....back up back up..Sooo, this is the past? Like,...legit like waaaaaaaay before? ,when before I got the Enchiridion? before I became PB's knight?"
Finn ask while raised one of his eyebrow.
[Correct. You're chronologically ten years old again, but your soul retains the blueprint of your adult self. You've been given a clean slate—with one exception.]
Finn's eyes opened wide in surprise"TEN YE— TEN YEAR OLD!?"he closed his mouth when he shouted and look at Jake is he awake from his screams. And he didn't, he stare at his brother on his dog bed that was an drawer that Jake make as bed.
"…Jake." His voice fell as he still turned to his brother sleep at his bed.
There lay Jake, curled up like a loaf of bread, snoring softly, tongue poking out. Finn felt a lump form in his throat as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. His brother—alive, whole, and blissfully unaware.
"Does… Does he remember anything?" he asked, voice shaking.
[No. Only you were chosen for regression. Jake, in this timeline, remains unchanged. He is your brother—as you knew him—but he carries no memory of your shared first life.]
Finn fell silent after hearing the word ai in his head.
Finn swallowed the ache in his chest and quietly walked to Jake's bedside. He placed a trembling hand on the yellow pup's belly.
"Hehehe, Finn, that tickles," Jake muttered in his sleep.
A small laugh escaped Finn's lips, half-choked by tears. "You're really here," he whispered. "I missed you, man." he wipe his tears with his arm.
The his attention back to the system.
[You may feel loss, Champion. But this second chance is your reward—for every life saved, for every sacrifice made.]
Finn wiped his eyes and took a deep breath,finn put his sleeping bag to his bed he walk to the ladder climd down to main room he staring out the cracked window. Snow-capped mountains gleamed in the distance — Simon's domain, still frozen in time. A part of him ached to know if the Ice King still existed out there, lonely and mad.
Finn open the window to let the wind come,The wind whispered through the treehouse. Dust swirled in lazy circles across the floor. The past had returned, yet Finn's soul carried the weight of the future.
After a long silence, Finn suddenly snapped his fingers. "Wait… I know this setup. This is just like those youngster called ma..manhwa comics? And advance video games the humans brought from Central Island too ooo, With all those systems and skills and stats!" he say while with smile in his face.
There was silence for a few moments.
[Affirmative. Would you like to access your HUB status interface?]
Finn smile wide after the system comfirm it "Mathematical! Uh—quietly mathematical," he whispered, glancing at up the ladder make sure he didn't wake up the still-sleeping Jake.
[Loading Status Window…]
Bunch of small blue box start manifests in front of finn and becomes a blue screen.
A glowing blue screen only Finn could see flickered in front of his eyes:
————
[Name: Finn Mertens
Race: Human
Title: Regressor, Hero of Ooo
Level: 0
EXP: 0 / 100
STR: 5 (Average 10-year-old)
END: 10 ( above 10-year-old )
CON: 5 (Average 10-year-old)
AGI: 13 (slighly Above average teen)
LCK: 10 ( above 10-year-old )
CHARM: 7 ( slighly above 10-year-old )
INT: 18 (Junior high school standards )
WIS/WILL: 24 (Regressor Effect)
STAMINA: 8 ( above 10-year-old )
Passive Skills: None
Active Skills: None
Weapon: Scarlet Sword/golden sword (damaged)
.....
...]
————
Finn's eyes opened wide with joy. "…Dude, this is awesome," Finn muttered, scrolling through the invisible interface. "So I really am living in a system world, huh?"
[Correct,You currently possess no skills. However, you can gain them through action, training, or unlocking unique growth triggers. Quest events may occur but will not be frequent. All progression is effort-based.]
[ Growth occurs through action, not handouts. Train your body to improve stats, perform tasks to earn skills, and level up through genuine experience. No shortcuts.]
He nodded slowly. "Just like old times... only with power-ups."Finn whistled as he studied his stats. But then the system started giving him information that immediately changed his expression.
[Correct. Repeated training and effort may grant up to +0.5 stat gain passively. Level-ups grant 1–3 points distributed among all stats. You are the Hero. No shortcuts.]
[But beware. Certain information remains locked—by direct command of Golb-Betty and higher divine authorities. There are things you must rediscover on your own.]
Finn frowned. "Figures...Nothing's ever that easy." then his ekpression changed. Finn smirked. "Heh... classic no easy mode even with a system." Finn had already predicted that system would not make things to much easier for him.
[Naturally.]
A few more minutes passed with questions. The system answered what it could—some information, it said, was restricted. Even by orders from GolBetty's higher authority. Entities even beyond Prismo had limited what could be shared.
After lots mention of this entity called golbetty,that hit Finn memories like being punch from mountain cyclops,Finn remembered now Betty... how she merged with GOLB to protect Simon. But there something bit odd why betty give finn second chance? And whos this greater entity above Prismo and lady life?
All those question fade away then came the sound of movement. Jake yawned loudly from above, climbed down the ladder, and stretched. "Finn? You're up early, dude. Everything cool?"
Finn turned, eyes shining. He ran to his brother and threw his arms around him.
"Whoa—Finn?! What's gotten into you, little bro?"
Finn sniffed, laughing and wiping a tear. "Haha... I'm okay. Just... had a really crazy dream, man."
"Aww man. You okay? What kinda dream?"
"We all... died. You, me, the others."
Jake froze mid-step. "...Was the Cosmic Owl there?"
Finn chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, no owl. Just a bad dream."
"Phew! Heh, okay. Then that's just a regular ol' nightmare. C'mon, let's get some breakfast. Jackie's hungry for some MASH OMELETTES!"
Jake skipped toward the kitchen, singing as he prepped eggs and ketchup.
BMO rolled in soon after, arms raised. "Omelettes?! YAY! Breakfast, breakfast, breakfast!"
Finn smiled wide, watching his little family come alive again. He sat down, wiping his face one more time.
I'm not wasting this chance. Not again.
[Noted, Champion. And... well said.]
Finn shake his head after hear the AI system word.
"Hey, BMO! Pass me the ketchup!"
And just like that, the second life of Finn the Human began—with breakfast, a system, and his brother by his side.