The story starts with a monotone voice announcing, "You have died.". The man receiving this news began to tremble on the ground, curled up in a fetal position. A large window entered his vision displaying the dreadful words in a blood-red mirk "You. Have. Died.", as if hearing it announced wasn't enough. The man began coughing, then chuckled. Laughter became manic as the trembling worsened. The man opened his body, spreading his limbs out and screamed, "Finally! Finally! Finally!~". The man laughed hysterically before he sank to the ground. Another window displayed itself:

"Would you like to restart?

"> Yes

"> No"

The laughing stopped, and silence consumed the atmosphere. The man became contemplative, slowly getting up and began walking. Pacing around usually helped his mind process his thoughts. After a while of pacing, he paused but eventually clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Nope! Who would want to go through that hell again?!". The window blurred as if fading away, then came back with a question:

"Is user #8465168736 sure?

"Is user #8465168736 sure?

"Is user #8465168736 sure?

"Is user #8465168736 sure?

"A once in a death-time situation will not occur again.

"Please think carefully.

"Would you like to restart your LIFE?

"> YES

"> YES

"> YES

...

"> no"

The man looked appalled at the screen for a moment, then switched to a bemused smile and said, "Yup. I'm sure. Once is enough!". The screen went dark and then fluttered back as if hesitating. This time it displayed, "User #8465168736's Life points have been removed. On behalf of the Life System, Admin #666 welcomes you to the wonderful world of the 'Darkness'".

The man dropped to his knees and clenched his heart, which was beating out of rhythm. His heart and mind felt numb, and his senses dulled. Something precious was removed. Something he wasn't aware he had but instinctively knew he couldn't live without. The man began to shake and could feel himself fading away. The last sight the man took in was the blood-red words: "Welcome to the 'Darkness'". Shadows enveloped his vision, then his body, and finally his mind.

The man who had not been named began to be forgotten. His name became a blur of the past, and the interactions he had with others faded from their minds. The man merely existed in the memory collective of 'Darkness', merely a whisper, fading away with time until he didn't exist at all.

As time went on, the whispers of this man faded. First his family, then his closest friends, then acquaintances, and finally, there were none. Time marched on, and with each passing second, the only thing that existed of the man was his identity, #8465168736.

Suddenly, a buzzing with brief intervals resounded within the darkness. It was a loud sound that almost seemed to be attracted to something. This is when the man felt an itch and a sense of pressure in his heart. Just as the itching became unbearable, a forgotten memory penetrated his head. It was the moment the man refused the reincarnation cycle, the restart. The joyous yet unexpectedly dreadful occasion for him.

"…What was that?" The man muttered.

The man's attention shot to the source of the buzzing, now a few meters away. His mind felt fuzzy the closer it got. The sound transitioned to a sharp, angry whine. It whined again, and its pitch was higher, with a louder amplitude. The man looked at the source again, and his gaze turned to a wryly smile. He noticed a floating dot that was the only source of light in the darkness and the origin of the buzzing. The man unsteadily tried to find the balance to walk over. The dot reacted to this and began to retreat, quivering as if it was afraid of him. The dot suddenly sped away from the man, and the man sped towards the light source. It was until he reached out and snatched the dot from its retreating place that the darkness made itself known again.

"Whoa~"

The maddening whine and what felt like something gnawing at his palm caused him to instinctively release the dot and snatch it back in his palm. The man tried to end the whine and buzzing from the little thing, yet the noise became more insistent and annoying. The man's cheeks scrunched up as he stared at a popup window with a glitchy message, "Rejec7ed being detected. User #8465168736, would you like to claim the being?

"> Yes

"> Yes"

Before he could answer, the light beamed towards his head. The last thing he saw was a fluffy being with one red eye and an array of jagged teeth similar to that of sharks. Darkness consumed the atmosphere, leaving the man collapsed on the ground. The whining continued to echo throughout the darkness, and the man could hear his heartbeat. However, this heartbeat was not his. The irregular thumping felt like knives stabbing through his ears into his skull. The man tried to cover his ears, yet he could still hear the deafening whine. The image of the being's shark teeth flashed through his mind. 'That thing is in my head?!' He thought as he couldn't tell if it was a real event or his imagination, yet the pain intensified, and heat exploded out of his head. Stars danced across his vision and slowly blurred as if being overwritten by them.

The man gasped with heaving breaths following his desperate attempt for oxygen. His eyelids were clamped shut, and he had difficulty opening them. They wouldn't open no matter his efforts until one finally creaked open.

The man was on his back, staring into the ceiling of nothingness. He felt something in his palm, where the small being gnawed at him. With his remaining energy, he lifted his palm in view of his eyes. It was a message prompt. Not one which hovered in his vision no matter where he looked, but one displaying itself on his left palm. He squinted his eyes and focused his gaze on the message.

"…#8465168736…"

"What…is this.."

The man could feel his heart rate accelerating, and his body began to shake. The message slowly faded from his mind, and as it did, he coughed and coughed until his lungs felt like they were on fire, and his head grew dizzy. And then he fell unconscious.

There was nothing. Thoughts could not be processed, nor feelings felt. There was nothing but neutered feelings and thoughts. There was no time, no pain, no regret, no remorse, no worry, no anger, no joy, no love. There was nothing but nothingness.

❖

A loud click broke the silence, and the world came crashing down once more. The man's head filled with chatter, and his vision blurred. Beams of light flashed through his eyes, disorientating him further. The sounds of tweeting birds and a swift breeze flowed past him like a river in a canal. 'Is this a dream?' he thought to himself. The soft grass touched his skin, and the pleasant forest fragrance assailed his nose. The more his senses reacted to the surrounding, the more he thought he was dreaming.

As the man thought about what happened before, he could barely remember anything except a few blurry images. He could feel pain in his body, which meant he was not dreaming. He also noticed a distinct feeling as if he was being watched. The man opened his eyes and quickly sat up, only to realise his entire body ached.

'I…I rejected the restart... but... why did I reject it?' he thought as he grasped his left palm.

The man's palm clothed a screen, which he had to stop short of a gasp. He stared at it and saw several flashing notifications.

"₩₳Ɽ₦ł₦₲!? Ⱡł₣Ɇ ₱Øł₦₮₴ ĐɆ₮Ɇ₵₮ɆĐ!

"₩ØⱤⱠĐ: 'Đ₳Ɽ₭₦Ɇ₴₴' ł₴ ₦Ø₮ ₴Ʉł₮₳฿ⱠɆ!?

"₳฿₳₦Đ0₦ Ʉ₴ɆⱤ'Ɽ'Ɽ'Ɽ #8465168736? ₩łⱠⱠ ฿Ɇ ⱤɆ₥ØVɆĐ.

"₳₦Ø₥₳ⱠɎ ĐɆ₮Ɇ₵₮ɆĐ! ₴Ɏ₴₮Ɇ₥ ⱤɆQɄłⱤɆ₴ Ʉ₱Đ-Đ-Đ₳₮Ɇ.

"₴Ɏ₴₮Ɇ₥ ØVɆⱤ-Ɽ-₩Ɽł₮Ɇ?

"> Yes

"> Yes

"System will no longer host itself inside user #8465168736?

"Arcana system removal complete."

The man's mind was dumbfounded for a moment, and his entire body was frail after the pain and endless suffocation. After he read the message, the symbols disappeared, and he felt dull, yet he felt something small and heavy on his wrist. The man looked down and saw a small, black tattoo. It was in the shape of a crescent moon with a star at its centre. The small tattoo twisted and turned before it slowly sunk into his skin. The man clawed at his wrist before manically looking around, trying to understand what was happening.

He quickly jerked to his feet and attempted to run. He felt his body tremble with every step, yet he sought to escape and get away from this place. He stumbled over his feet and fell. He crawled back up and ran, yet his body felt like it was being pulled back by something. The scenery of the world never changed, and the grass never thickened. That was until the man noticed branches and a tree, yet the leaves never changed through his running and falling. He was in a circle.

"This…must be a dream…."

Suddenly, he tripped over a tree root and slid down a slope leading to a dark abyss. He fell and fell but never saw the end.

"Gasp!"

Heaving deep breaths, he awoke once again. The familiar sight of trees swaying with the endless currents and the tweeting of birds aroused his mind. The grass tangled itself around his limbs, trapping him in place. He was in the same place as before.