The sky didn't turn red immediately.
It cracked first.
Like glass.
A thin silver line stretched across the blue above downtown Seattle. Nobody noticed at the beginning. People were busy—cars honking, screens glowing, coffee steaming in paper cups.
Then the line spread.
And the world ended.
Kai Anderson was already running when the sirens started.
"Gate anomaly confirmed! All Hunters respond immediately!"
Too late, he thought.
It was always too late.
The air twisted above the city square, folding inward like reality was being sucked through a wound. Buildings trembled. Windows shattered.
And then—
It opened.
A Gate.
Not the usual shimmering blue portal.
This one was black.
Black like something that had no right to exist.
Hunters flooded the area. High ranks in shining armor, weapons glowing with mana. News drones hovered above, capturing what would later be called the beginning of the Red Catastrophe.
Kai tightened his grip on his cheap steel blade.
D-Rank.
That was his limit.
Five years of training. Five years of crawling through low-tier dungeons. Five years of being told:
"You're trying hard, kid."
Trying hard.
He hated those words.
The first monsters poured out seconds later.
Tall. Deformed. Masks fused to their faces.
Screams filled the streets.
S-Rank Hunters leapt forward, cutting down waves in flashes of light. The ground split under magic blasts. Firestorms roared.
For a moment, hope flickered.
Then the boss stepped out.
Everything stopped.
It was humanoid—but wrong. Wrapped in black flames, wearing a cracked porcelain mask. In its hand rested a blade longer than a car.
Mana pressure crushed the air.
Kai's knees nearly buckled.
Someone whispered, "S-Rank… maybe higher…"
The creature moved.
And Hunters died.
Not slowly.
Not dramatically.
They were erased.
An S-Rank's barrier shattered like glass. A veteran tank was cut in half. Blood painted the pavement.
Kai forced himself forward anyway.
If he ran, civilians would die.
If he stayed back, he'd live.
His body moved on its own.
He lunged when the boss turned.
His blade struck its side.
It didn't even leave a scratch.
The masked head tilted.
For a second, Kai saw his reflection in the porcelain surface.
Small.
Insignificant.
The blade descended.
Pain exploded through his chest.
He hit the ground, lungs filling with blood. The sky above him slowly shifted—
Red.
So that's how it happens, he thought.
The sounds faded. The screams dulled. His vision darkened.
Five years of struggle.
For this.
He laughed weakly.
"If I had another chance…"
Darkness swallowed him whole.
…Ding.
A sound pierced the void.
Kai's consciousness flickered.
…Ding.
Hidden Condition Achieved.
Hidden?
Candidate Confirmed.
He couldn't feel his body. Couldn't see anything. Only the voice.
Cold. Vast. Mechanical.
Do you wish to regress?
Regress.
The word echoed through nothingness.
Images flashed—
His first failed Awakening test.
Guild members taking loot while he stood guard.
Being left behind during a dungeon collapse.
The masked monster above him.
Regret burned hotter than fear.
"Yes."
Silence.
Then—
Reality shattered.
His memories compressed violently. Time reversed like a tape ripping backward. Pain tore through him, but it wasn't death.
It was rebirth.
Kai jolted upright in bed.
Air rushed into his lungs.
No blood.
No burning city.
Just his old apartment ceiling.
The cheap fan spinning slowly.
Morning light leaking through worn curtains.
His heart pounded violently as he scrambled out of bed and ran to the mirror.
A younger face stared back.
Nineteen.
No scars. No hardened eyes.
He grabbed his phone.
March 3rd.
Five years ago.
Two months before the Red Catastrophe Gate.
His breathing turned uneven.
It worked.
He really went back.
But why?
He wasn't special.
He died like trash.
…Ding.
A translucent interface appeared before his eyes.
Not the standard Hunter UI.
This one shimmered gold.
Elegant. Simple. Absolute.
Synchronizing Timeline…
Authority Granted.
Authority?
The interface shifted.
Golden letters burned into existence.
Welcome, User.
God-Tier System Activated.
Kai froze.
God-Tier?
There was no such rank.
Hunters stopped at S.
SS was legend.
God-Tier was impossible.
Another notification appeared.
Unique Privilege #1: Absolute Growth
No stat limit.
No rank ceiling.
No evolution cap.
His breath stopped.
No ceiling?
That broke the fundamental law of Awakening.
In the old timeline, your potential was fixed the moment you awakened.
If you were C-Rank, you died C-Rank.
If you were weak—
You stayed weak.
Another window appeared.
Unique Privilege #2 Locked.
Requirement: Survive the First Gate.
His eyes sharpened.
The First Gate.
Seattle.
Downtown.
May 12th. 3:17 PM.
He remembered every second.
Every monster spawn.
Every collapse point.
Every hidden chamber beneath the subway line where a rare artifact waited untouched—because everyone died before reaching it.
This time…
He wouldn't die.
He opened his status screen.
Name: Kai Anderson
Age: 19
Rank: Unawakened
STR: 5
AGI: 6
VIT: 4
INT: 7
Authority Points: 0
Pathetic.
But it didn't matter.
No cap.
He clenched his fists slowly.
Five years before, it took him five years to reach D-Rank.
Now he had two months before hell opened.
Two months with future knowledge.
Two months with a system that defied the world.
His phone buzzed.
News notification:
"Unusual Atmospheric Distortions Reported Across North America."
His eyes narrowed.
That was early.
In the previous timeline, that article came one week before the Gate.
Now it was two months early.
The future had shifted.
Which meant—
The system didn't just send him back.
It changed the timeline.
A new notification appeared.
Main Quest Issued.
Prepare for the First Gate.
Reward: Unlock Unique Privilege #2.
Failure: Permanent Death.
Kai smiled slowly.
"No third chances, huh?"
Good.
He didn't need one.
He walked to the window and pulled the curtain aside.
The sky was perfectly blue.
Peaceful.
Normal.
People below laughed, walked, argued—unaware monsters would soon tear through their streets.
In five years, governments would weaken. Guilds would rule cities. The strong would live in towers above the clouds.
The weak would beg.
Kai pressed his palm against the glass.
"I won't beg this time."
The golden interface pulsed faintly.
Outside, for just a second, the sky shimmered—
A thin crack forming high above.
So subtle no one else noticed.
But he did.
Because he had died under that crack once before.
This time—
He would stand above it.
And when the sky turned red again—
The world would kneel.