The afternoon sun was bleeding through the library windows, casting long, amber shadows across the mahogany tables.
Reth Anchor sat hunched over a stack of Calculus textbooks, his pen moving rhythmically as he finished the last set of practice problems.
His hand ached, but he didn't stop.
He wasn't doing this for himself.
"Reth? Are you almost done?"
The voice was soft, melodic, and it made Reth's heart skip a beat.
He looked up to see Sarah standing there.
She looked radiant in her light floral dress, her blonde hair tucked behind her ear.
"Yeah, just finished," Reth said, offering a tired smile.
He pushed a neatly organized notebook toward her.
"I highlighted the formulas the professor mentioned will be on the midterm. I also added some notes on the integration shortcuts we talked about."
Sarah took the notebook, her fingers brushing against his for a fleeting second.
Reth felt a jolt of electricity, but Sarah didn't seem to notice.
She flipped through the pages, her eyes sparking with relief.
"You're a lifesaver, Reth! I honestly don't know what I'd do without you. My grades would be a total disaster."
Reth felt a warm glow of pride.
"It's no trouble, Sarah. I'm happy to help. Actually... I was wondering, since we're both done for the day, maybe you'd want to grab a coffee?"
"There's that new place on 5th Street that just opened..."
Sarah's expression shifted instantly.
The warmth in her eyes cooled, replaced by a hurried, almost forced smile.
She checked her expensive rose-gold watch—a gift from her parents, or so she had told him.
"Oh, Reth, I'd love to, really! But I'm actually swamped. My mom needs me home early to help with some family stuff."
"And then I have to pull an all-nighter to study these notes you gave me. Maybe another time?"
Reth's smile faltered, but he nodded quickly.
He didn't want to be the "clingy" guy.
"Oh, right. Family first. I totally get it. Good luck with the studying."
"You're the best! See you tomorrow!" Sarah chirped, already turning away.
She walked briskly toward the exit, her heels clicking against the marble floor.
Reth watched her go, a lingering sense of loneliness settling in his chest.
He started packing his own bag when he noticed something on the edge of the table.
A slim, leather-bound diary. Sarah's personal notebook.
She must have dropped it in her rush.
"Wait, Sarah!" he called out, but the heavy library doors had already swung shut.
He picked it up, feeling the weight of it in his hand.
He knew she needed this for her other classes.
If he caught her now, maybe he could give it back and see her for one more minute.
Maybe he could even walk her to her "family event."
He slung his bag over his shoulder and hurried out of the library.
Reth searched the main quad, but Sarah was nowhere to be seen.
He headed toward the student parking lot, thinking he might catch her car.
As he passed the Science Building—a place Sarah shouldn't have been if she was going home—he saw a familiar flash of floral fabric entering the side door.
Maybe she forgot something in her locker? he thought.
He followed her inside.
The building was nearly empty, the air quiet and heavy.
He followed the sound of her clicking heels up to the third floor.
He reached the hallway of the Science labs, but the clicking had stopped.
Then, he heard it.
A laugh. It wasn't the polite, sweet laugh Sarah gave him.
It was a breathless, high-pitched giggle.
And then, a low, masculine voice that Reth recognized instantly.
Mark.
Reth's stomach did a slow, painful flip.
Mark was the university's golden boy.
Wealthy, athletic, and notoriously cruel to anyone he deemed "beneath" him—which included almost everyone.
Reth stood frozen, his hand trembling as he gripped Sarah's notebook.
He leaned forward, his eyes finding the narrow vertical window of Classroom 302.
The sight felt like a jagged piece of glass being driven into his heart.
He saw Sarah.
The "innocent" girl he had spent all night tutoring was draped over the professor's mahogany table like a broken doll.
Her blouse was unbuttoned, the fabric hanging off her shoulders, and her skirt was hiked up to her waist, exposing her pale skin to the dim classroom light.
Mark was behind her, his movements rhythmic and violent.
His hands were possessively squeezing her breasts as he drove himself into her.
The sight of Mark's tanned, expensive watch-wearing hands against her pale skin made Reth want to vomit.
"Oh... ah... fuck, Mark!"
Sarah's voice wasn't the sweet, polite tone she used with Reth.
It was a raw, desperate moan that echoed through the quiet hallway.
"Hhaah... aa..."
The only other sound was the rhythmic, wet smack of flesh hitting flesh that filled the silence of the Science Building.
plap-plap-plap-plap.
Mark looked up. His eyes met Reth's through the glass.
He didn't pull away. He didn't look startled.
Instead, Mark's lips curled into a slow, mocking smirk.
He leaned down and whispered something into Sarah's ear—something that made her blush and cling to him tighter, her eyes closed in bliss.
Mark was looking directly at Reth, his eyes saying one thing clearly:
She's mine. You're just the help. Thanks for the notes, loser.
Reth realized in that moment that every "thank you" Sarah had ever given him was a lie.
He was just the tool that helped her pass her classes so she could spend her nights like this.
Reth let go of the notebook.
It hit the floor with a dull thud, the leather scuffing against the tiles.
He couldn't breathe.
The air in the hallway felt like it had turned into poison.
He turned and bolted, his sneakers squeaking loudly—a pathetic, desperate sound that seemed to mock his own existence.
The rain outside was a sudden, violent downpour, as if the sky itself was mourning Reth's dignity.
He ran into the storm, his clothes soaking through in seconds, his vision blurred by a mix of rainwater and bitter tears.
"I'm a spectator," he screamed internally, his lungs burning with every gasping breath.
"I've lived my whole life as a shadow! I did her homework, I bought her drinks, I worshipped the ground she walked on while she laughed at me behind my back!"
The humiliation was a hot iron in his chest.
He saw Mark's smirk in every raindrop.
He realized he wasn't even a rival to Mark. He was just a tool. A convenience.
He reached the main intersection of the city, the neon signs of the shops reflecting in the oily puddles like distorted ghosts.
He didn't hear the roar of the diesel engine.
He didn't see the massive wall of metal rushing toward him as the truck hydroplaned through the red light.
BOOM.
The impact was absolute.
Reth felt himself tossed into the air like a ragdoll.
There was a moment of terrifying weightlessness, then the sickening crunch of his shoulder meeting the asphalt.
Pain flared, white-hot and screaming, before fading into a terrifying, cold numbness.
He lay on the road, the rain washing the blood from his forehead into the gutter.
People were screaming in the distance, but their voices sounded like they were miles away.
"If I had one more chance..."
Reth's thoughts were slowing down, turning into heavy stones.
"I wouldn't be the nice guy. I wouldn't be the shadow. I would be the one... in control."
A cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out, vibrating deep inside his soul.
[Soul Resonance: 100%]
[Condition: Absolute Regression Desire—Verified]
[System Binding Initiated...]
Then, the world went black.
Reth's eyes snapped open.
He gasped, his lungs burning as if he had just surfaced from the bottom of the ocean.
He clawed at his chest, expecting to feel the jagged edges of broken ribs, but all he felt was the thin fabric of an old t-shirt.
He sat up, trembling. He wasn't on the street.
He was in his room—the small, cluttered bedroom of his sophomore year.
He grabbed his phone from the nightstand.
His hands were shaking so hard he almost dropped it.
September 15, 2024.
"No... it can't be," he whispered, his voice hoarse.
"I died. I felt the truck. I felt the life leave me."
He looked at his hands. They were unscarred.
The phone in his hand was the old model he had lost a year ago.
Suddenly, a shimmer appeared in the air.
A semi-transparent blue screen floated before him, pulsing with a faint, ethereal light.
[System Initialized: The Regression Overlord System]
[Host: Reth Anchor]
[Status: The Loser Who Died]
[Current Level: 1]
"Ding! Welcome back, Host. The timeline has been reset to 730 days before 'The End'."
"Will you remain a spectator, or will you rewrite your destiny with blood and desire?"
Reth stared at the screen.
The memory of Mark's smirk flashed in his mind, but the pain was gone.
In its place was a dark, cold hunger.
"I'm done watching," Reth said, his voice sounding different—older, harder.
[Tutorial Quest Triggered: The First Look]
[Skill Awarded: Truth Eye (Rank E)]
[Objective: Use 'Truth Eye' on a target to see their hidden statistics.]
Reth stood up and walked to the mirror.
He activated the skill.
His eyes didn't change color, but the world around him shifted, data pouring into his brain.
[Self-Target: Reth Anchor]
[Level: 1]
[Strength: 8]
[Stamina: 45]
[Charm: 12]
[Special Trait: The Regressor — You know the future. Use it.]
Reth looked at his reflection and smirked.
It was a dark, dangerous expression—the kind of look Mark used to give him.
"Mark... Sarah..." Reth whispered.
"This time, I'm the one who sets the rules."