Chapter 1: Died Tragically, Lived Even More Tragically
Blood dripped from Arka’s lips as he struggled to breathe. A sword was buried deep in his chest, the pain spreading through his body like fire. His vision blurred, but he could still see the people in front of him—his so-called comrades. The same ones he had fought beside for years.
“W-Why…?” he croaked, his voice barely a whisper.
The female mage, Seraphine, sighed, as if she was tired of his presence. "You should’ve known this would happen, Arka. You were too strong, too unpredictable."
The knight beside her, Darius, gave a regretful shake of his head. "It’s nothing personal. We just can’t risk letting you live. You were never part of this world to begin with."
Arka wanted to scream, to curse them, to tell them that after everything he had done—after he had bled for them, fought for them, *died* for them—this was how they repaid him?
But he didn’t get the chance. The last thing he saw was Seraphine raising her staff. A bright light filled his vision. Then… nothing.
---
**[System detects anomaly. Activating Regression Function.]**
---
Arka jolted awake, gasping for air.
He blinked. The burning pain in his chest was gone. The cold ground beneath him had been replaced with the rough, scratchy fabric of a second-hand mattress. A musty ceiling fan creaked above him, spinning lazily.
His eyes widened. He knew this place.
Slowly, he turned his head and saw a dirty desk piled with instant noodle cups, a cracked mirror reflecting his younger face, and a cheap calendar on the wall. The date read:
**Ten years before the apocalypse.**
His heart pounded. His mind raced.
He was back.
“…I REGRESSED?!”
---
For a long moment, Arka just sat there, processing. He had died. Betrayed. Stabbed. Burned alive. And now, somehow, he was back in his crappy apartment *ten years before everything went to hell*.
A slow, eerie grin spread across his face.
“Oh, this is gonna be fun.”
Just then, a familiar robotic voice echoed in his mind.
**[System remains active.]**
**[Welcome back, User Arka.]**
**[Would you like to begin your revenge tutorial?]**
Arka chuckled darkly. He wasn’t the same fool who had blindly trusted his ‘friends.’ This time, he had the knowledge of the future, the power of the System, and a whole lot of grudges to settle.
This time, he wasn’t going to be a hero.
He was going to be a nightmare.
---
**End of Chapter 1**
