Cayden’s thoughts were blank.

As the huge fireball zoomed closer to his face, he did not think of dodging it. He struggled to move his body, but even his fingers wouldn’t listen to him.

Fate must have been hinting him he will die at this moment, since memories started to flash before his eyes, scolding him what a dumbass he’d been.

The first monster invasion he witnessed was the time when he witnessed his parents being eaten by a half-human, half-alligator Dark Tower monster.

He and his best friend survived the hell of that apocalypse tutorial and paved their way through the monster world of The Dark Tower, only to end up witnessing his most trusted friend being eaten by a BOSS monster.

When life started to go downhill, he met Xyris. Being together for two years is so bleak that he did not get to appreciate it back then. Before he knew it, she died after paying the price of participating in that penalty game meant for him.

Then his comrades, teammates, friends, and everyone he knew died one after another. All because of him.

Being engulfed in this huge hellfire could be his punishment after all.

Because everybody else died while he got to live.

For fifteen years, he never stopped fighting. Seeing those painful memories he forcibly buried deep within his heart, was enough to make him question himself.

Were all those efforts worth it?

Were all that sacrifices ever contributed anything?

He did not fulfill his promise to Xyris. He could not stand up and protect his best friend, Pete. He gives false encouragement to his comrades in this raid.

In the end… they failed.

He failed them.

Maybe it’s better to just die after all.

Intense pain overwhelms Cayden. His whole body was on fire. He was engulfed in extreme heat.

But it was no ordinary fire. The iron's melting heat pierced deeply into his bones and captured his bones and blood vessels. Like an electric wire that sparked because of its contact with water, Cayden’s veins started to erupt simultaneously.

The originally calm mind is bombarded with extreme pain!

Bright golden light flashed in front of him.      

A sharp alarm sounded, and dizziness, nausea, and a strong sense of pain stimulation transcended all parts of his body. Completely overwhelming him, and before he knew it, his consciousness had drifted off.

Or at least he wanted it to be.

No matter how much he wanted to lose consciousness, something is not letting him go. The bright, golden light that flashed in his eyes was sharper and more intense.

Cayden forcibly tore his eyelids open.

Because of the pain, he was disoriented. His fingers curl in pain before he grabs whatever he can reach and pulls it closer to him.

Feeling the substance of sand in his fist, he let it go. His head was throbbing in pain as he sat up. It took more than ten seconds to slowly recover.

!!!

"Anton?! Jayson!!" He screamed at the nothingness.

There was no one beside him. He was alone, sitting in a large expanse of sand. Except for the golden light that screams ‘THIS IS HEAVEN BOY!’ above, he can’t see anything in the distance.

[??p9te793bje]

[J9gjeof659gshf]

Just below the golden light, indecipherable garbled characters keep popping up.

Cayden did not pay any attention to it and looked around. The place is devoid of life and inhabitants. If he’s correct, he should be in a place where dead players go after they die inside a game.

He looked down at his clothes. He’s not wearing the enhanced army suit created by Jayson. He’s currently wearing his white shirt, army pants, and combat boots.

There was no trace of wounds in his body either. He tried to stand up and was surprised to see that the pain he felt was no longer there.  

[Player Cayden Campbell, at 13:05 on February 26, 2030 of the Solar Calendar in Dark Tower, was confirmed dead.]

[Failed to clear the eightieth floor of the Dark Tower.]

[Player survival duration: 15 years, 9 hours, 45 minutes, and 46 seconds.]

[Character Chart Rating: S]

[Overall Player Points: 1,997,854,054]

[Ding – Welcome to the world of the Void.]

Cayden stood up straight and looked up. The golden light that glimmered from the system’s prompt can fool anyone into thinking that he’s one step closer to reaching heaven.

[Player Cayden Cambell failed to clear the eightieth floor instance game and died.]

[Under the Dark Tower’s law, player Cayden Campbell should be sentenced to serve his karma for two hundred years.]

Cayden’s sharp eyes narrowed.

[An appeal has been submitted for player Cayden Campbell, exempting him from serving his karma.]

[The appeal has been approved. Player Cayden Campbell will no longer be required to serve his karma for two hundred years.]

[You will be sent to the World of Reincarnation and be reborn.]

The system’s continuous prompts made Cayden raise his brow slightly.

He’d been living inside the Dark Tower for fifteen years and had witnessed its cruelty. So how come it becomes so generous by exempting him from serving his karma?

[Data checking…]

[A hidden item has been awarded to Player Cayden Campbell.]

[Unsealing….]

[You have obtained the Legendary item, Drifter’s Clock.]

[Readding item to your inventory list.]

[Congratulations! The item, Drifter’s Clock, has been added to your inventory list and will automatically be used.]

Below the prompt, there are two options that he has to click.

[Would you like to use the Drifter’s Clock to rewind the item?]

[Yes]   [No]

Cayden clicked "yes" in a heartbeat. Thinking he will never get another opportunity with the Dark Tower, feeling generous like this.

The panel instantly disappears and is automatically replaced with another one.

[Would you like to give up all your points to rewind the time back to July 7, 2016?]

[Or would you prefer to give up half of your points to rewind the time back to July 7, 2022?]

2016…?

2022…?

Seven-year gap. Cayden contemplated.

What happened in 2016 and 2022 that the Dark Tower made him choose between the two?