A man lay still.
His face was carved by time, every line earned in battle. White hair draped over sun-beaten skin. His eyes, hollow and dim, had seen too much—and understood too late.
He was alone. No family. No comrades. No honor. Only memory. Only shame.
A single tear slid down his cheek .Not from pain. But from a wound far deeper.
His voice cracked in the silence.
"If only… I had been stronger…"
The words clung to his throat. His chest rose once. Then fell.
"I failed you, my lord…"
Darkness.
But regret does not die easily. It clung to him—heavier than death. In that void, a whisper echoed.
"I'm sorry, Lord Cao Cao… I failed you."
Then—
A faint glow.
A white square hovered in the black. Delicate brushstrokes shimmered across its surface.
Restart?[ Yes ] [ No ]
He stared. Numb. Confused.
But grief spoke louder than reason.
"Restart…? Yes… That would be nice."
The screen flashed—brilliant white.
Scene Shift – The Second Life
Heat. Dust. Noise.
He blinked, dazed. Sunlight stabbed into his eyes. Dust stuck to his skin.Shouts rang out around him—too loud, too real.
He looked down. His hands were filthy, but not broken. No callouses. No scars. No tremor from age or guilt. Just skin. Just flesh. Just young.
Where… am I?
A hand touched his shoulder. He turned sharply.
A boy—not more than twenty—stood behind him. Wiry frame, sharp chin, short in stature but with a steady gaze that didn't flinch.
The voice was younger, the features unlined, but Yu Jin knew them.
Those eyes. That stance. That stubborn fire behind a calm exterior.
Younger... but unmistakable.
My comrade. My brother-in-arms. I buried you. And now you're here.
"Yue Jin…?"
As the name left his lips, the world shimmered.
A soft chime—like the stroke of a zither—cut through the noise.
Then: a floating square of white light. Inked letters scrawled across it, shifting and alive.
[System Initialization] Identity Confirmed: Yu Jin Status: [Healthy – Rebirth Granted]
His chest tightened. The words hovered—impossible, surreal.
"No… what is this?!"
He swiped at the air—wild, desperate.
His hand passed through the screen. Again. And again.
"Get it off me!"
One swipe caught the boy's face. The boy flinched back, startled.
"Stop! What the hell are you doing?!"
A slap stung his wrist.
"Get a hold of yourself!"
"You! Get moving or get lost!" an officer's voice barked.
Yu Jin didn't respond.
A soldier stormed forward, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him from the line.
His legs buckled. Dust kicked up in clouds. He fell—hard—and laid there, gasping.
Beside him, a puddle shimmered.
He looked into it. The puddle rippled, clearing just enough to show a face he hadn't seen in decades.
The white hair was gone. No sunken cheeks .No weary eyes dulled by regret. No scars or lines carved by war and failure.
Only youth. Only the man he used to be.