Chapter 1

The wind was fluttering.

Below the dark sky which was full of cracks, numerous corpses consisting of men and strange creatures were piled up like a hill. Remains of collapsing buildings could be seen from afar.

It was a scenery akin to the apocalypse.

A lone man stood with the help of his spear that impaled to the ground, lifted his head, and looked at the tragic sight in front of him.

"...Oi. You there, right?"

Before he knew it, a man in a white baggy tunic with white hair that almost touched the ground was standing behind him. His figure radiated a dim light that made him didn't look human.

Without moving his gaze to his back, the man continued.

"How many… How many left have survived?

[...]

"Am I the only one left?"

[...]

Kekeke

The man with a spear hung his head as he made a small laugh.

"Wow. I am the only one who survives. How cool. I should get the last man standing title for this. Is that what you want me to say?"

Gritting his teeth, he raised his spear-

"Don't fuck with me!"

and threw it right beside the other man.

Tried to balance his standing, he glared at the golden eyes that were devoid of emotion and shouted,

"What is the point of surviving when everything is destroyed!? My home, family, and friends. They are all gone!"

[...]

"There is nothing… left for me… to protect… in this world…"

Out of breath, he fell down on his back.

The last battle had taken a toll on him. It was already difficult to maintain his consciousness, let alone stand on his own feet.

The other man watched him with a blank look without uttering a single word.

"Tell me. Are you satisfied now?"

[...]

"Is this the ending you want?"

[...]

Frustrated by the lack of response, the man raised his head a little and shot him a piercing gaze.

"Answer me, Administrator!"

Thirty years ago. It was the year when the world started to change.

Portals that later be called Gates suddenly appear across countries all over the world. From it, monsters crawl out and wreak havoc on everything. Some people lost their lives and home because of it. This event was named The First Catalyst.

Amid the disaster, some people awaken a special power to fight the monster. They were called Awakener. They could use strength akin to superhumans, magic that only exists in storybooks, and many more, with the help of a system that appears when they awaken.

It was unknown back then who or what was the one behind the system, but it was no doubt that humanity was indebted to that being.

The same should be the case for him, as he survives until now thanks to the system. But he could never like the entity in front of him.

Administrator.

Such was the identity behind the system and the one who gave power to humanity to fight the foreign force invasion.

He made his first appearance in public when everything started to become bleak. As he started to participate directly in a fight with his heavenly strength, people started to refer to him as a god. With beautiful long white hair like silk, a pair of golden eyes, and his regal bearing, nobody could take their eyes from him. They worshiped him as the guardian of humanity.

But the man knows better than anyone else.

The reason that entity helped them was not for humanity itself, but to protect the planet earth from the invasion.

There was nothing wrong with that. When viewed from the surface, it was a mutual symbiosis in which both have the same interest.

[Everything would be different if you humans didn't fight each other in the first place.]

"Is that why you fuck us over and over again?"

The problem was that he treated them like chess pawns.

To produce Awakener, the easiest way to do it was to make someone experience a life-threatening situation while fighting the monster.

That was the case for the first generation of Awakener.

Besides the system, the Administrator could also control the appearance of the Gate to some extent.

So, what could he do to increase the number of pawns that could fight?

It didn't need the brightest mind to know the answer.

The Second Catalyst was the time when the number of Awakeners skyrocketed. It was not without reason as a third of the world's population died in that event. It could not be compared with The First Catalyst.

In The First Catalyst, they manage to hold on thanks to the monster that came out to be the weakest and not many Gates were formed to begin with. But in The Second Catalyst, dozens of Gates appeared and broke at the same time, which left them unprepared.

Because of that big tragedy, people started to name that event The Second Catalyst.

Since then, a lot of changes have occurred around the world. Many measures had been made to prevent the same tragedy from happening again. But still, many incidents that were similar but not the same happened over and over again, which lead to this ending.

Of course, this ending was also the result of human greed and their inability to unite. If only they could work together much better, perhaps this ending could be avoided.

But that still could not prevent him from directing his anger at him.

[My power is not absolute. There is a little I can do when you are busy with your personal conflict. Our enemy out there did not wait.]

"..."

[But still, I admit that I may have used the wrong approach.]

The Administrator turned his body sideways as he spoke with a monotone tone.

[My duty is to protect this planet, yet without the people to defend it, this world will fall very soon. As the Administrator, I have failed.]

"..."

[You have done a good job fighting to the end.]

"...Yet it all comes to naught."

His mouth began to twist.

"There is nothing I can do now as it is all over."

[It is not over yet.]

Looking at the sky with a blank look, he sighed.

"Stop with your nonsense. If you want me to become your dog in this barren world then I would rather stab myself."

[No. I don't mean that.]

The man in a tunic dress went closer.

[You can start over again.]

Twitching his eyebrow, he raised his body a little.

"...What do you mean by that?"

Facing the emotionless face, his eyebrow lit up.

"No way. It is possible… To return to the past?"

[Normally, it is not possible. But with your trait, combined with the rest of the power I have left, it is possible.]

A small period of time passed.

Suddenly, he covered his face with his right hand and laughed.

"I see. So that's how it is. No wonder you always stick to me like a leech. I always wonder all this time why you helped me. You basically want to keep me alive until the end to use me as your countermeasure, is that it?"

No reply was given, yet ironically that already gave him an answer.

Taking a sigh, he tried to stand with difficulty and grumbled in an annoyed tone.

"Fine. Do it. Send me so I can smack your face the moment I get back. That way you can become more sensible a little earlier."

[What a rude fellow.]

As the man made a comment, he made a small gesture.

Suddenly, an enormous array of lights appeared below them.

The wind started to move violently around them, making their hair and clothes flutter.

[When you open your eyes, you will end up in a time before The First Catalyst. From there, you will need to make a move to ensure the survival of your kind.]

"You don't need to tell me that. I will do it in my own way, though if I do really start from the very beginning, that means I will need to work my ass off again.

[Rest assured. Since you come back with it, you should not need to awaken your trait again as it is engraved in your soul.]

"That is really reassuring. It will be much more reassuring if I can have a way to give you some sense there, although I know it's impossible. I doubt we will ever meet there."

His first meeting with the Administrator was not long before he made his appearance in public. Meaning, unless humanity was on the brink of extinction, perhaps he would never show up at all.

[It's too soon to say that.]

The Administrator shook his head.

[Perhaps, we will meet much sooner than you thought, if fate allows it.]

The man frowned.

"What do you mean by-"

Before he could finish his words, a bright light flashed. When the light subsided, there was only the Administrator left on the scene.

As the wind stopped, a red pendant was revealed from behind his tunic.

Touching the pendant, he moved his gaze to the cracks in the sky that slowly started to widen.

[...He really doesn't look like you at all.]

As the sky started to collapse, the man disappeared, leaving the pendant on the ground, being buried by sand little by little.

***