My name is Minato.

A man who'd lived a life filled with misfortunes.

Or rather, a man who had squandered away his chances.

At his career, his friends, his family, and even... his love.

A man who'd once been a coward, an idiot, an immature boy bent on breaking relationships with people who cared for him.

...It was too late to return to those days. To those... carefree days.

I remembered my life end, the moment when my existence was extinguished into nothingness.

Like an insignificant speck of dust in space, gone and forgotten by everyone.

...Not that there was anyone left that cared about me though.

For this pitiful excuse of a man who had met his eventual, self-destructive end.

The abyss that I greeted, was empty... but it was comforting in its own way.

At the very least, I would finally be free in the truest meaning of the word.

 

...Or so I thought.

 

A voice.

It began with a voice in my head.

A strange, synthetic voice that bordered on being robotic.

It spoke to me.

[Question. Do you want to live.]

 

...Do I want to live?

What kind of question is that?

After having experienced all that would break a man, do I want to return?

Of course not. This wasn't some kind of reincarnation fantasy.

I had screwed up my entire life, and although I was dissatisfied with the end, I wouldn't want to return a second time.

When the voice ceased to speak, I felt empty again.

If I had a face right now, I would probably be smiling.

...Yeah. What was the point of returning, when I was already at the end of the road?

The end game, the finale. Conclusion. Done deal. There was no way to turn things back.

I'm not a masochist. I don't want to suffer any more, so—

[Affirmative. "Correction" function requested. Adjusting question.]

 

Eh?

Before I could finally close my eyes in this dark empty space, the voice continued,

[Question. Do you want to re-live your life if you had the chance to turn things back to normal?]

 

...No. I refused again.

I had a chance? What kind of bullshit is that? It's not like the world could go back in time.

 

[Affirmative. "Time Reversal" function requested. Adjusting question.]

...What the hell is it saying?

 

[Question. Do you want to re-live your life if you could turn back time?]

 

...Return to time? That's...

Stupid.

Returning to time is one thing, but it's still impossible after all.

The many mistakes I made in that life, and the many people that pushed me to make those mistakes...

It's an absurdly difficult game that I was destined to lose from the very beginning. After all, if you're forced to make those options that I did, you would end up with this shitty bad-end route like me anyway.

 

[Affirmative. "Game Interface" multi-function requested. Available system function remaining, 1. Adjusting final question.]

[Question. If you could turn back time and re-live your life, correcting it as a player with system-assisted knowledge, would you?]

 

...If... if this is possible then...

I wonder, why I'm even thinking about this rationally even when my life had already ended.

All these 'if's and 'if-not's.

What is wrong with me. Who is even speaking in my head.

...But even then...

I couldn't help but ponder over it seriously.

 

Game Interface... it said that right?

Was it because I said I needed choices?

Then, that means this game interface would only give me choices?

...No, that's not enough right?

I need to know everything.

I'm sick of being backstabbed, being cheated on, having my feelings crushed without knowing a thing.

Everyone looked at me like a fool, and I... I hated that.

Game interface, right?

I've played games before.

Status... that's right. If only I could see the status of other people as well...

And also... also, a shop!

A shop that sold everything I needed to play this game properly.

And... and...

[Maximum functions reached. System is now being created.]

 

...What?

System?

Feeling bewildered by all this, I stopped thinking in silence. 

The voice never replied to me for a long time.

 

It was until a monochrome screen appeared before me, did the voice return.

[Please enter the name of your system.]

Name...?

[In the case a name is not given, the system's name will be generated automatically upon start-up.]

...I don't get all of this. 

I didn't think much, and ignored the voice.

I'm sure all of this was some kind of weird fantasy in my head.

I must be beginning to feel how empty loneliness is.

The window before me suddenly disappeared as I thought so.

[User input not detected.]

[System has now been registered.]

[You have acquired the "Flag Correction System".]

...System this, system that, what is with this stupid machine...?

[Now commencing Return.]

Return?

The space suddenly started to shake.

A bright light fills the once empty void, and...

The last thing I saw was a screen before me.

On that very day, I, Minato, had obtained the Flag Correction System, a power that would allow me to correct my once unjust world.