May 16th, the year 2167. The world is a graveyard, with the demon race having finally conquered every last inch of human territory. The human world has completely fallen into ruin. Smoke and fire rise from the remains of cities that once thrived.
Si Chen, the SSS-rank lightning assassin, is the last one left standing. He leans against a crumbling pillar, gasping for air as blood drips from his wounds.
It all started seven years ago, when several demon kings suddenly descended upon the world. They were forces of nature that no military could stop. Demon King Lanu led the charge with overwhelming power. He and his kin swiftly trampled over the realm of man.
Lanu looks down at the battered hero with pure contempt. He mocks the title of humanity's last hope, calling the entire race nothing but pathetic, fragile trash.
The demon king raises a hand glowing with a dark, lethal energy. He tells Si Chen it is time to fulfill his only remaining purpose — to die. A sphere of concentrated red power crackles between the demon's claws. The air itself seems to scream from the pressure. Lanu demands that the assassin become his food and his power. He is ready to swallow the last spark of human resistance.
An explosion of red and white light tears through the darkness. The two forces clash in a violent display of energy. Si Chen refuses to be consumed. He grits his teeth, forcing his exhausted body to channel every last drop of mana he has left. He thinks of the faces he will never see again. His sister, his comrades, his master — all of them were slaughtered by these beasts.
The memory of their deaths fuels his final stand. He does not care if it is the last thing he does. A blinding light begins to emanate from his chest. He vows to take the demon king down to hell with him. He screams the name of his suicide move as he ignites his soul. Lightning arcs across the sky, turning the night into day.
He activates his SSS ultimate skill: Terminus Arc.
A massive, devastating sphere of lightning erupts from his position. Lanu is caught in the epicenter, his expression shifting to pure shock. The demon finds himself paralyzed, unable to escape the blinding surge. Si Chen's body begins to fragment, glowing with an intense white heat. He stares forward with a calm, empty expression as he starts to dissolve.
Fragments of his life flash before him like shattered glass. He sees his sister, bloodied and broken in the rain. He remembers the silhouette of his master — a lonely, fading image in the void of his mind. Then a happier memory appears. His parents and his sister, when they were still a family. It is a world that feels like a lifetime ago.
With his final breath, he whispers that they will see each other soon. He regrets that he was not strong enough to protect them. His form continues to break apart into the light. He wishes he could have just been a little bit stronger. The demon king rages, cursing the inferior human as the explosion reaches its peak. The blinding light consumes everything in a white void.
Si Chen's thoughts linger on the past. If only he could go back and find that demon lair sooner. If only he could have stopped the very first demon king before the world burned. The weight of his failure is the last thing he feels. Then everything goes silent. He reflects on how he lost everything so early in the war.
Shards of his broken infinity necklace float in the darkness. The light of his sacrifice slowly fades away.
A single beam of light illuminates a bed in a dark, quiet room. It is a jarring contrast to the battlefield. Si Chen's eyes snap open. He is lying down, a small bandage across the bridge of his nose. He stares blankly at the ceiling, his hands resting on his stomach.
He is completely still, as if he is afraid to move. He sits up, his eyes wide with disbelief. He touches his chest, feeling the steady beat of a heart that should have stopped. He looks around the small, sterile room. He is alone, and the sounds of a busy world drift in from the hallway. He slowly walks toward the window, leaning against the frame.
He is still wearing a simple collared shirt and bandages on his arms. Outside, students are walking across a sunlit campus. The sign on the building clearly reads, School Infirmary Hospital. He is stunned to see the world intact. All these people are alive, and there is no sign of the demon invasion. He catches his reflection in the mirror, touching the bandage on his nose.
It takes him a long time to accept what he is seeing. The realization hits him like a physical blow. He has not just survived. He has returned ten years into the past, back to his university days.
Suddenly, a high-pitched digital sound rings in his head. His eyes dart toward the corner of his vision. A system window flickers into existence before him.
It announces that the integration for the power of gluttony is complete. A phone on a nearby table displays the date. May 16th, 2157. It is exactly ten years before the day he died. He stands by the bedside, staring at the phone. He is back before it all began, and this time, things will be different. Si Chen is visibly shaken as the realization hits him.
He is back three years before the descent of the demon kings changed everything. Three years from now, in 2160, the first demon king, named Wrath, will descend. It will be the beginning of the end for humanity. It was Wrath who opened the gates of hell, allowing the other demon kings to follow him into the human world one by one.
That moment was the starting point of the apocalypse. Si Chen remembers the total destruction, and the reason he lost everything in his previous life. The memory is a dark shadow over his current surroundings. He looks at his hands, open and trembling with a mix of shock and hope. He is finally back in a time where he can make a difference.
A fierce determination burns in his eyes. If he can defeat Wrath, the first one to appear, he can prevent the gates from ever opening and change the future for everyone.
A digital notification floats in front of him, announcing that the integration for the power of gluttony is now finished. The white lines of the interface hum with energy.