The night was silent, deathly so. The moon hung high in the vast expanse of the heavens, like a celestial eye watching over the mortal realm. It bathed the world in a pale silver light, casting long shadows that danced and swayed with an ethereal grace.
Deep beneath the earth's surface, hidden from the prying eyes of both mortals and immortals alike, in a vast chamber of darkness and crystalline light, a middle-aged man stood alone.
Len Fang.
His figure was neither imposing nor weak, but there was something about his bearing that spoke of countless hardships endured. With a calm face that betrayed no emotion and a straight body that refused to bow even after years of suffering, his eyes stared forward, his gaze fixed unwaveringly at the floating stone suspended in the air before him.
The stone pulsed with an ancient power, radiating waves of temporal energy that made the very air shimmer and distort.
His body hairs stood on end, every fiber of his being screaming at him that he stood before something that should not exist in the mortal realm—something that defied the natural laws of heaven and earth.
"After ten years of searching, wandering through forgotten ruins and forsaken lands, to think that I, Len Fang, will finally have the chance to see it with my own eyes!" Len Fang's voice rang out in the empty chamber, filled with a mixture of disbelief and triumph.
His hands trembled slightly—not from fear, but from the overwhelming emotion that threatened to consume him.
"Such misfortune has plagued my every step! Such suffering has been my constant companion! But at least, at long last, I have finally found it!" His eyes, which had been dim and lifeless for so many years, suddenly lit up with a fire that had long been extinguished. It was the light of hope—dangerous, intoxicating hope.
This middle-aged man standing here, his name is Len Fang. An ordinary man who had been thrust into an extraordinary and cruel world.
Among the survivors of humanity, his name carried no weight, commanded no respect. He was simply another soul struggling to survive in a world that had become a nightmare.
It is recorded in the annals of the new age, written in blood and tears, that twenty years ago, the world suddenly changed in a cataclysmic event that would forever alter the course of human history.
The world, in the span of a single night, suddenly became a playground for the universe—a vast arena where beings beyond mortal comprehension played their games of power and dominion.
It was said to be considered an evolution of the humans and all inhabitants of Earth, a great leap forward in the cosmic order. The system had announced it as such, proclaiming that humanity had been "chosen" for "ascension."
But one must ask—Is this really an evolution, or is it merely a cruel game between cat and mouse? Is this a blessing or a curse disguised in divine language?
The answer, for those who had lived through the past twenty years, was painfully clear.
Monsters from different corners of reality, entities that should have remained in myth and legend, suddenly manifested in the physical world. Angels with wings of light and eyes of judgment descended from the heavens. Gods, both benevolent and malevolent, awakened from their eternal slumber.
They all became real, their presence undeniable and terrifying.
And their arrival not only caused huge disruptions and wholesale destruction across every continent, it greatly led to the catastrophic reduction in the size of the once-almighty human population.
Cities that had stood for centuries were reduced to rubble in mere moments. Civilizations collapsed overnight. Billions perished in the initial chaos, and billions more fell in the years that followed.
The strong trampled over the weak. The fortunate ascended to power. The unfortunate, like Len Fang, merely struggled to survive another day.
Now, Len Fang—a human who has endured all sorts of misfortunes and suffered countless injustices, who had been betrayed by those he trusted and abandoned by those he loved—now stood in front of the legendary artifact of regression.
The Time Stone: Jurdel.
One of the seven primordial artifacts said to have been created at the beginning of time itself, when the universe first drew its breath and the laws of reality were still being written.
If one were to hear this, if anyone were to learn that Len Fang of all people had found such a treasure, they would let out a shocked scream that could shake the heavens.
Len Fang? That Len Fang? The man cursed by fate itself? The man who had lost everything time and time again?
Finding not merely an artifact, but one of the mythical time stones?
It was absurd. It was impossible. It defied all logic and reason.
Yet he had done it. Against all odds, through sheer persistence and a refusal to surrender even when all hope seemed lost, he had succeeded.
And now, the choice—the most important choice of his entire existence—lay with him alone.
To turn back time and change his miserable life, to rewrite the tragedy that had been his fate, or to not turn back time and perish here, dying with his regrets and his unfulfilled dreams.
"Sigh! Why am I even thinking about this?" Len Fang muttered, a bitter smile playing at the corners of his lips. He turned and sat down heavily on the cold stone floor, his legs finally giving way after standing in tense anticipation for so long.
The chamber around him seemed to pulse with ancient power, the crystalline formations embedded in the walls refracting the light of the time stone into countless rainbow fragments.
"After so many years of misfortune and suffering, after losing everything I held dear—my family, my friends, my dignity—who in their right mind would not choose to turn back time and change their own fate?"
Len Fang's eyes slightly constricted as he considered the implications, his mind racing through possibilities and consequences.
"But one must be careful, extremely careful, not to alert a Time Watcher or, even worse, a God who presides over temporal laws! If they were to find me, if they were to discover what I have done, then the misfortunes that have followed me all my life, that have been my constant shadow, might soon become the very least of my problems."
The Time Watchers were beings that existed outside the normal flow of causality, guardians appointed by the highest authorities to prevent temporal paradoxes and punish those who dared to tamper with the river of time.
And the Gods? They viewed time itself as their domain, their sacred territory that mortals had no right to trespass upon.
To use a time stone was to invite their wrath.
"But... who cares anymore?" Len Fang's voice suddenly grew firm, resolute. His fists clenched at his sides.
"To live or to die. That has always been the question, the eternal dilemma that has faced every sentient being since the dawn of consciousness. And I—Len Fang—will always, without hesitation, choose to live! When there is hope, even the faintest glimmer, there is always a way forward! I refuse to give up! I refuse to surrender!"
Len Fang's mouth widened into a determined grin as soon as he said that, the expression transforming his weathered face.
For the first time in years, he looked truly alive.
Without wasting any breath of time, without allowing doubt to creep back into his heart, he stood up and stretched out his hand toward the floating stone.
His fingers trembled as they approached the artifact, passing through the temporal distortions that surrounded it.
The surface of the stone was cool to the touch, smooth like polished jade yet thrumming with incomprehensible power. The sensation was almost overwhelming, as if he were touching the fabric of reality itself.
But such a thing did not bother Len Fang one bit. He had come too far, sacrificed too much, to hesitate now.
He simply gripped it harder, his fingers digging into the mystical material, and with all his strength—both physical and spiritual—he broke it.
Crush!
The sound echoed through the chamber like the shattering of the universe itself.
Cracks spread across the stone's surface like spider webs, glowing with brilliant light as the temporal energy contained within was released.
{ You have broken an artifact! }
{ You have broken an artifact of time—Jurdel! }
The system notifications appeared before his eyes, burning letters written in cosmic fire that only he could see.
{ Many gods are searching for you! }
{ Scanning the mortal realm... }
{ Scanning the divine realm... }
{ You could not be found! }
{ Your presence remains hidden! }
{ The Time Stone protects you! }
Len Fang could feel it—the attention of beings so vast and powerful that a single thought from them could erase entire worlds. Their divine senses swept across reality like cosmic searchlights, seeking the audacious mortal who dared to break a time stone.
{ Many gods curse you! }
{ The God of Eternal Moments places a curse upon your soul! }
{ The Goddess of Flowing Time marks you as her enemy! }
{ The Ancient One Who Watches declares you an abomination! }
{ You are being attacked! }
{ Divine judgment descends! }
{ Temporal erasure initiated! }
{ The Time Stone protects you! }
{ All attacks are negated! }
{ The power of regression shields you from harm! }
The chamber shook violently as divine wrath tried to penetrate the temporal barrier created by the broken stone. Reality itself seemed to scream in protest.
{ Regression is now possible! }
{ The river of time opens before you! }
{ Will you choose to regress? Y/N }
{ Warning: This choice is irreversible! }
{ Warning: Regression will fundamentally alter your fate! }
{ The choice is with you alone! }
The message stared at Len Fang directly in his face, unavoidable and demanding an answer. The system panel details remained floating in his vision, pulsing with urgency as the power contained in the broken stone began to destabilize.
He had only moments to decide.
But Len Fang did not hesitate.
"I know my answer already!" His eyes flashed with absolute resolve, with a determination forged through twenty years of suffering and loss. "I choose to live! I choose to change my fate! I choose... regression!"
His voice rang out with such conviction that it seemed to resonate with the very laws of the universe.
As soon as the words left his mouth, as soon as his will was made manifest, a blinding light erupted from the shattered stone, consuming everything.
Wooooshhhhhhhhhh!
The light of time shone with intensity beyond mortal comprehension, a radiance that transcended the physical spectrum and touched upon the metaphysical. It expanded outward in all directions, blocking the line of sight of every being, both mortal and divine.
The gods screamed in frustration as they were blinded by the temporal explosion.
The Time Watchers recoiled as the fabric of causality bent and warped around the epicenter.
Time itself begins to turn, flowing backward like a river reversing its course. The changes of life were taking place—every moment, every decision, every consequence being rewound.
Len Fang felt his consciousness being pulled apart and reassembled, his memories remaining intact even as his body regressed.
The world dissolved into pure light and possibility.
And in that moment, suspended between past and future, Len Fang smiled.
His second chance had begun.
...
New Author here! Please i will like for your opinion on my writing style and how i wrote the chapter. Please every opinion is valid. Also i intend to fully focus on this novel and actually seek to make it good, so your help is greatly needed.
Please support by commenting on chapters, as well as adding to library. Also your power stones are very much useful on this journey and i will be eternally greaful for each given one.