Chapter 2: Reunion

"This!"

Liam slowly pulled his arms up, feeling his face. Sure enough, the deep scars that used to be present were no longer present. "Is this really me?"

He slowly looked down at his hands and started scrutinizing them. They were soft and clean, completely devoid of the usual callouses and deep cuts he was used to seeing.

'Did I...go back in time? No. This must be some kind of attack.' Liam calmed his beating heart as he rationally analyzed his situation. 'Not even those bastards had the power to go back in time.

'I should first go through the system. Maybe there's something there that can give me a hint as to me what the hell is going on.

'First I should check that title. I don't know why, but something about it doesn't feel right.'

Not only did the title have a rank of '???', which is something Liam had never seen before, but just a bit after receiving it, he seemingly went back in time! Unless some external forces intervened, this title was most likely the cause of this incident.

"Status! Titles!"

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[Titles]

One who has witnessed the End (???)

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'My level went down to 0, and my stats went down presumably to what they were before I started Zenith Online, and my titles are all gone. It's safe to say that although the system said the reset had failed, it still wiped out almost everything. However, that title is still there! Something is weird about it!'

"Expand title 'One who has witnessed the End'!"

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One who has witnessed the End (???)

Description: As you witness the end of everything, all your struggles are meaningless. Yet, you keep trying, you keep fighting until you achieve your goal. As player 'Liam' is unable to handle this title's full effects, it is partially sealed. Until player initiates the game, the effects are hidden.

Effects: <Hidden>, <Hidden>, ??? (Sealed)

Requirements: <Hidden>

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"Damn it! Well, I guess it wouldn't be that easy..." Liam sighed as his thoughts drifted over to another matter.

'Although, it's not like I have no clues at all...if I need to initiate the game, then whatever that player data reset was wiped more than I thought...

'If initiating the game means what I think it means, this could actually be a huge blessing in disguise...well, that's not important right now. Until Zenith Online is released to the public, there's nothing I can do.'

Suddenly, Liam felt a wave of exhaustion overtake him. The physical strain of the years of sleepless nights he'd had, staying awake with the help of potions may no longer affect his body, but the mental strain was still just as present. Now, as he was sitting on a soft mattress, it hit him all at once.

As the foreign feeling overtook his body, Liam habitually reached out to his hip, trying to locate his spatial bag of potions before realizing where he was.

'I shouldn't sleep. Although highly unlikely, it's possible for this to be an illusion made by some mind reading god...but maybe a short nap wouldn't be too bad...' Without the help of potions, Liam quickly succumbed to his natural urges.

Laying there peacefully, on his soft bed, the final survivor of humanity could finally have a peaceful rest. Unbeknownst to him, his resting body was letting out a soft glow.

-----

In an endless, black void, a hooded figure stood perfectly still, as if he were a statue. The figure's head was tilted down, with his gaze fixed on a certain spot of the black void he stood on. It was almost as if he hadn't moved for millennia.

From his body emanated a mystical, dark green mist that seemed to expand to infinity, filling the void with a light green tint.

The figure had no features whatsoever. His face and body almost seemed to be blobs of black, seemingly merged with the void, with only the brown hood he wore separating the two.

Suddenly, a ripple permeated through the void beneath him before a scene of a young boy peacefully resting on his bed appeared. A toothy smile cracked on the figure's face as an ancient laugh resounded throughout the void.

"How interesting."

-----

"Hey brat! Wake up! Breakfast's ready!" Liam heard a nostalgic shout from outside his room as he shot awake.

"Anna...?" He muttered under his breath. Slowly getting off of his bed, he walked to his door and grabbed the door knob, finally processing what had happened to him. Taking a second to calm himself down, he twisted the knob, then walked down the hallway leading to the stairs.

As he walked over, he glanced out from the indoor balcony to the large area just to the other side of it. The balcony looked out into an extravagant room that was almost the size of a studio apartment!

With the glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the 70" TV next to huge speakers, and a luxurious sofa a few feet in front of it, the room had an expensive feeling to it. Many other ornaments scattered around the area added to this feeling, complementing the main aspects of the room.

The entire place looked vastly different from where Liam had been forced to live for the years before his regression. In fact, it almost looked as if it were a set from a movie. However, this was actually his house's living room!

Both of Liam's parents earned great wages, allowing them to live in a place like this. At the same time, however, because of their jobs, they were hardly ever home, often leaving young Liam alone. So to Liam, his parents' money was always a blessing and a curse.

'Dad had always liked to go overboard in these things...' Liam felt a wave of melancholy hit him. Then, a determined look formed in his eyes. 'If I've really gone back in time, I need make full use of it. This time, things will be different. I'll make sure of it.'

Then, Liam walked down the spiral staircase leading to the bottom floor as he made his way to the kitchen. Unlike the living room, the kitchen was a lot less ornate and decorated and a lot more simple, but still just as large.

Because his parents are always busy, Anna is usually the one who cooks the meals for all the members of the family. Hence, she declared the kitchen to be her territory and declared that she would be the one who controlled how it looked.

Unlike her dad's spendthrift attitude, Anna was more simplistic, and preferred practicality over beauty. It didn't matter how pretty something looked, if it wasn't efficient, it wasn't worth her time. This, combined with her natural stubbornness led to quite a few disputes between her and her dad.

"Anna?" Liam called out softly, looking for his sister. As he looked around the familiar place, tears started welling up in his eyes as old memories flooded his head.

"Yeah?" Anna poked her head out from behind a fridge, which had been blocking Liam's view of her cooking at the stove next to it.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to tell his sister, who had practically raised him, about everything that he'd been through. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her, and all about his knowledge of the future, so they can work to have a better life this time. But before any of that, he ran over to her and gave her a tight hug.

"Woah!" Anna let out a gasp in surprise, then not knowing how to reply, she muttered, "What's wrong?"

However, Liam didn't reply. He couldn't. He just stood there, in Anna's embrace, as waves upon waves of tears flowed from his eyes. To him, it felt as if all the pain and suffering he had gone through was melting away.

While this situation was new to her, Anna naturally returned the hug as she softly patted Liam's head. Whatever happened, she could clearly tell that her brother needed her comfort.

After a few minutes, he replied through his never-ending tears:

"I missed you!"