The hallway smelled of disinfectant and cheap perfume.
Fluorescent lights flickered above, casting pale reflections across polished marble floors.
He kept walking deeper into the corridor, adjusting his cufflinks with practiced calm. Every step was measured. Every breath controlled.
He stops for a minute, at the far end of the hallway, a silhouette lingered at the edge of his peripheral vision.
"How's the mission?"
The voice was quiet. Casual. Familiar.
He then continues to walk.
"Clean," he replied. "No witnesses."
The silhouette stepped closer. A man in a dark coat, face half-hidden by shadow.
"And the target?"
"Dead."
A pause.
The man smiled faintly. "Efficient, as always. Keep up, the good work."
He passed him without another word.
No magic.
No power.
Just a man... who killed for a living...
...
Rain mixed with blood.
His coat was torn, his hat gone, and half the street behind him was on fire. Steam hissed from broken pipes, and mechanical drones lay crushed beneath rubble.
Across the street, a masked assassin reloaded a blade-gun hybrid, its gears spinning with a deadly whirr.
The Bounty Hunter laughed.
Blood dripped from his mouth as he stands up.
"HEY, DUMBASS!"
He raised a revolver with a grin.
"I'M STILL ALIVE!"
He fired.
...
Rain fell gently this time.
Not fire.
Not blood.
Just water.
He sat on a wooden bench, mask resting on his lap. His cloak was soaked, but he didn't move.
Behind him, footsteps approached.
"They say you can bring people back," a voice said quietly.
He didn't turn... Just scoff.
"I can bring hope," he replied.
"But life is… more complicated... than you think."
The voice hesitated. "Then why do you keep helping?"
He looked up at the dark sky.
"Because... someone... once helped me, from the above..."
A soft golden light flickered from the lantern beside him, warming the cold air....
.....
Darkness...
No rain...
No fire...
No voices...
Just silence...
Then—
Breath.
He opened his eyes, leaning against the tree.
Cold bark pressed against his back, grounding him in a body that felt both new… and ancient.
In front of him stretched a vast green field, swaying gently beneath a blue sky. The wind carried the scent of grass, earth, and something unfamiliar.
Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
He tried to stand—
Then something flickered in his vision.
[ Gathering 99 Fragmented Souls… ]
[ Loading… ]
"What?" he muttered. His head throbbing like crazy as the air felt heavier around him.
[ Synchronization in Progress… ]
"W-what? What the fuck is happening...?!" He said as he clutched his head like its about to burst.
His vision blurred as the memories surged.
A gunshot.
A burning city.
An experimented life.
A record.
A dying world.
A thousand deaths.
Golden threads.
He screamed.
Pain tore through his skull as knowledge flooded his mind—memories that weren't his… but were his...
Lives he had lived.
People he had been.
"STOP—!"
His body collapsed into the grass as voices, faces, and emotions crushed his thoughts.
Regret.
Rage.
Hope.
Loss.
Love.
Everything.
Then—
Silence.
He woke up again...
Its night time.
The same field now lay beneath a deep blue sky, stars scattered like broken glass across the heavens.
The tree still stood behind him, unmoved by time.
His chest rose and fell heavily.
He remembered.
All of it.
Ninety-nine lives.
Ninety-nine stories.
Ninety-nine endings.
He clenched his fists.
"...Haha... So, that's who I am."
The wind whispered through the grass.
Not a hero.
Not a god.
Just someone who had lived too many lives to be ordinary.
And this...
This was the final one...
The night wind brushed against the tall grass.
He exhaled slowly, the weight of ninety-nine lives still pressing against his chest as a faint glow shimmered in his vision.
[ System Interface Online ]
He scoffed.
"Hey... it's been long enough since my second life," he said quietly.
"And you're still... here, by my side."
The interface flickered.
[ ...Am I that obvious? ]
A small smile tugged at his lips.
"Yeah," he replied.
"You're the most clingy person I know. Ineverylife."
For a moment, the system stayed silent.
Then the cold, clinical tone vanished.
[ Hey, that's unfair. ]
[ You're the one who keeps dying. ]
He laughed—soft, tired, but real.
"At least in every life, I've made some real progress.
Don't you think?"
The glow shifted, warmer now.
[ Tch. At least someone has to make sure you don't waste all that experience. ]
[ Do you have any idea how hard it is to collect all those soul fragments of yours? ]
He leaned back against the tree, staring at the stars.
"Well, couldn't blame you."
He then straightened, stepping forward toward the endless green field.
"So... since this is my last..."
"I guess I should keep the promiseI made in my first life."