The Dawn of All Things

Liu Xingyu, a high school student, was sitting with her friends in the school courtyard. They chatted and laughed, her face bright with smiles. Anyone watching would think she was full of life and happiness, but deep down, she felt a void that nothing could fill.

"Did you hear about the party on Saturday?" her friend Miyu asked excitedly.

"Oh, yes! It sounds like it'll be amazing!" Xingyu replied cheerfully, but in her heart, she felt detached. "Why do I feel like I'm just... something unneeded?" she wondered silently.

Another friend chimed in, "Xingyu, don't tell me you're not coming! Like every time, this time we're all going together. You're always so funny and talented, and such a top student, but you never come to any gatherings!"

But Xingyu politely declined, saying she really had something planned that day. Despite the compliments, she knew that the smiles on her face were fake and that her energy was all for show—a mask hiding her wounds.

"What's the point of all this?" she thought. "No matter how hard I pretend, I can't forget what happened. I can't escape those painful memories and just live happily and freely."

Xingyu smiled outwardly, but deep down she knew her life was colorless. Every time she laughed or joked, every time she tried to live like a normal teenage girl, the memories of that incident resurfaced.

She had been eight years old when that fateful day occurred. Her mother had tried to escape with her from her father, who had been trying to kill them. To others, her father was a good man—a moral, hard-working husband. But no one knew the darkness inside him. He was quick to anger and capable of terrible things, only to break down crying afterward. Her mother couldn't bear it anymore, and one rainy night, she'd tried to flee with Xingyu.

Her father found out and chased them in a fit of madness, holding a knife. "I love you both!" Those were her father's last words after stabbing her mother. In one instant, he'd wept like a frightened child, and in the next, laughed like a heartless killer.

In that moment, her mother's voice echoed in her ears: "Yuyu, run!" It was a voice filled with terror.

Xingyu couldn't bring herself to run away. She had tried to help her mother, but she was cut with the knife as she struggled to save her, leaving her with a scar as deep as her shattered spirit.

After that incident, there was only emptiness, and the painful memory of her mother remained. Her father, driven mad, killed himself in front of her.

She still remembered that rainy, horrifying night. The police had arrived and taken her away, alerted by a witness who had called for help... but it was already too late.

Those memories intertwined as Liu Xingyu walked back from school with her friends, heading towards the bus stop.

"Are you really not coming to the party?" her friends asked again.

"Yes, come on! It'll be so much fun!" added her friend Suzy.

Xingyu smiled and shook her head, but inwardly, she thought, "I just don't care anymore. Everything here is so dull."

She separated from her friends after a few more exchanges, and as she walked, a tragic scene caught her eye.

A man was threatening a woman with a knife. It was like a nightmare brought to life, and Xingyu felt her breath quicken, her heartbeat race, and every cell in her body tremble at the sight, as if she herself was the one with the blade at her throat. That image alone was enough to drag her back into her past and bring back all those lost feelings from that day.

Fear overwhelmed her, paralyzing her. She heard the woman pleading, "Please, don't hurt me!" Her cries echoed her mother's from that day, replaying in her mind and heart.

Suddenly, Xingyu felt a crushing weight in her chest. She backed away. "No! No!" And then, she turned and ran.

Her childhood trauma still haunted her to this day; she never cooked or kept knives in her house. Just the sight of a knife would leave her struggling for breath, fear and weakness flooding her heart. Doctors had said it was a result of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Even a toy knife could send her into shock.

Liu Xingyu ran blindly, her eyes squeezed shut, oblivious to the red light at the crosswalk or the car speeding her way. She didn't hear the blaring horn or anything else. She just wanted to escape, but her flight led her to her end as the speeding car struck her in a heartbeat, sending her flying, her body landing on the cold ground.

In that moment, in her final moments, Liu Xingyu felt no fear—only peace and relief, as if all the pain she'd endured had finally faded. She thought, "Maybe this is better. I'm tired of this miserable life. Maybe it's better if I just die. It's not that scary after all. Mom, did you feel this same relief on that day too?" These were her last thoughts as she drifted into a deep darkness.

She wandered in and out of the darkness, feeling her surroundings grow quieter and less real. The sounds of cars and people around her faded, replaced by a gentle stillness, a faint hum, like the wind sweeping across an endless plain. A strange warmth spread through her body. The pain began to melt away, along with her sorrows and her grief.

Then, a faint light appeared somewhere far off, flickering at first like a candle flame. Liu Xingyu felt herself drawn to it.

She was no longer on the street. She was floating in an endless velvet darkness, her body lighter than air, her mind clear yet peacefully still. Oddly, she felt a deep sense of familiarity, as if she had been here before, as if this place had been waiting for her return.

"Hello, Xingyu." A voice came from the void. "I've been waiting for you for a long time, my chosen host."

"What? Where did that voice come from? Who are you? Where am I? What do you want from me?" she whispered, feeling as though she were sinking deeper into an endless darkness.

The voice spoke again, "I am the Xiao Jiu system. And you are the perfect candidate I've chosen. I need you to complete a mission for me, one that no one has succeeded in before. You're my last hope. Your willpower, your ability to adapt, to live and pretend—all of this makes you the best choice so far. And if you succeed, you'll have another chance at life."

Liu Xingyu, listening to this, smiled bitterly. "Willpower? Strength? If I were strong, I could have protected myself and my mother back then. If I were strong, I wouldn't have lived this miserable life. I'm not strong. I'm just... tired."

Xingyu replied, "I don't want your help. I don't want to work with you. I don't want another chance at life. I'd rather just rest and be at peace. I'm tired."

"Wait, think about it more carefully."

The system sounded desperate. In truth, it was running out of energy, and all the previous candidates it had chosen had failed miserably. Honestly, it felt that Liu Xingyu was the perfect choice for this mission and didn't want to lose her.

"Look, you have nothing to lose. You could gain gifts from every world, talents to help you complete the mission. You can keep everything you acquire in each world."

Still, Xingyu didn't open her eyes, as if she had already given up.

The system urged, "You'll live multiple lives, meet new people, experience new adventures. You could even find a family."

This made her pause. "A... family?" The system continued its tempting offers.

"Yes, everything is fine, as long as you complete the mission. You could even live in that world until a natural death, and if you complete your task successfully, you can choose any world to return to afterward."

It was tempting, but Xingyu wrestled within herself. "I can't. Life is meaningless."

But the system's voice persisted. "Saving the villain of each world, giving him love and care, could change each world's destiny. And it would also save your life. You might find a family, perhaps even create your own. This is your last chance."

It was as if the chains of her past were breaking. "I... I need to live. Maybe... it wouldn't be so bad."

In the end, she said, "Fine, I'll accept. I'll try. This mission you mentioned—I'll do it."

Hearing her agreement, the system felt a wave of relief. "Your mission will start now. I'll transport you to the first world immediately. When you arrive, you might experience a slight reaction. I'll brief you on the plot, the task, and all the information about that world. So, let's begin…"

    And so, the story began.