"Ooonii-chaaan!"

I ran back up the stairs as fast as I could, ignoring the voice which was calling out to me from below.

My heart was thumping. 

Expectations, and fear.

I was too used to being disappointed, that I'm afraid all of this is a dream.

A fresh start? ...Of course this isn't possible. I'm surely dreaming. I'll just... sleep, and wake up the next day to my cold reality. My life of solitude.

In a small, dirty apartment where rodents crawled. The landlord chasing me for overdue rent, and my sustenance on cup ramen alone.

...Yeah, that was more like me.

But... What was all this?

Really. What was this.

My eyes travelled as soon as I entered my room.

The scene before me, embodied my childhood. Something which I thought I'd lost forever.

How could it be possible?

Was this really happening?

I looked around for the umpteenth time, only to find that every single detail had been replicated from the past.

I pulled open one of my drawers labelled "victory chest" with tape. Inside it was filled with countless erasers with country flags on them, just like how I'd remembered it.

"All 13 of them too. What a scary coincidence. Ahahaha... Ha... ...."

As I closed my eyes and plopped down on my child-sized bed, I recollected my thoughts.

"Fuck... I can't follow this bullshit."

That dark, empty space before then... Was it actually real?

"Time Reversal".

Did it really happen?

I really returned to the past?

...If so... Gulp.

I opened my eyes once more, and looked at the bottom right panel of my vision again.

That's right. A panel. There was some sort of UI embedded within my peripherals.

I had been ignoring it for a while now, ever since I'd opened my eyes to this strange reality.

But the  [3] icon was shaking subtly the entire time, almost as if it's beckoning me to open it.

And this weird feeling that everything would be explained when I did.

A translucent screen appeared before my eyes.

 

[NEW!] [Welcome Message]

[NEW!] [Tutorial]

[NEW!] [Flag updated!]

 

I tapped on [Welcome Message].

[Congratulations on returning to life!] 

It read, I could almost taste the sarcasm soaked into those words.

Returning to life? Are you fucking with me? At first, I thought this was some sort of prank, but my mood turned increasingly serious as I read everything through till the end.

[You have received the Flag Correction System! Requested functions have now been implemented into the system to assist you with your second life.]

[User request: Correction — Ignoring the laws of cause and effect, the user can now influence and actively change past events in this new timeline.]

[User request: Time Reversal — Time have now been reversed to 30 years before the user's death.]

[User request: Game Interface — The user can now access the system UI at any given time.]

[User request: UI: Shop — The user can now access the shop function in the system UI.]

[User request: UI: Status Appraisal — The user can now view the statuses of other people.]

 

...All of these... were exactly what I had wished for!

I had obtained a game-like system?

"Correction". It said, I could change past events...?

"...Heh... Bullshit."

...But still.

A 'game-like' interface huh? As it had described, what I am seeing right now.

It's my status window. Charm, Charisma, Correction Scale, ...Option Assisting?

...There's also a shop at the bottom right corner.

None of this made any sense to me, yet I felt compelled to explore further.

Having finished the 'welcome message', I glanced over at the next item on the drop-list.

[Tutorial]—?

Tap.

[Would you like to receive a tutorial on system functions?] 

The 'system' is going to give me a tutorial?

My finger moved towards the "Yes", and a beat later, I heard a sudden click behind my ears, and I swore I saw the space distort for a moment.

What happened? I looked around me.

Nothing had changed. No, it did.

I looked down at the bottom right, and realized that the bell icon was no longer there.

Instead, there was the "End simulation" button instead.

"Is it broken?" I muttered tiredly.

Well, the voice did mention something about a game. Is this a bug?

...And why am I even taking this seriously. What am I, a kid?

...Okay, that was NOT funny.

"Haaah.... I could really use a can of beer right now."

All this nonsense, about returning to the past, or treating this world as a game or something.

None of it made any sense even if I think about it. I'm an adult, for christ sake. What am I doing, losing my calm so easily.

I should just accept the situation for now, and think of my future plans rationally.

...Rationally...

I pressed my head deeper into my pillow and sighed.

"How the fuck do I do that."

...I guess I should sleep.

Yeah. Nothing makes sense.

So I should just sleep it off.

Most of my problems usually go away when I sleep.

Let's do that then.

Since this can be nothing but a dream. So all I have to do, is to wait for time to pass-

 

—Knock knock.

My eyes jolted awake from the two knocks on the door.

"...Onii-chan?"

Hearing that nostalgic voice, and that affectionate way of calling "brother", my body froze.

Shit. Not her. Anyone else but her!

It's a dream. It's a dream, I reminded myself.

But these jitters. They still wouldn't go away.

"Onii-chan, are you inside?"

My heart beat pensively, filled with conflicting feelings.

That's right, it's her.

My little sister, Minase!

How do I face her? How CAN I face her?

Ever since that day, I...

Shit... Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

I felt sick, I wanted to throw up, but there was this strange expectation of mine that continued to whisper "what if's" in my head.

Correction.

The user can now influence and actively change past events.

The devil's temptation just seemed so alluring.

No, stop. Don't have any more expectations. Have you not learnt anything?

You'll just get your hopes crushed again.

That's right.

...Tenryuji Minato, you're a failure.

You don't deserve happiness. You don't believe in fairy tales. You're all alone, in your own depressing world.

My mind cooled down rapidly.

And then... What came next was..

Yeah, what exactly came next?

This was a dream without a doubt.

But in this kind of dream where everything felt so realistic, I was going to meet my sister again?

...Why was I nervous again? This was a dream right?

This was a dream right.

I'm repeating myself.

No, I'm not repeating myself.

Okay, okay.

So deep breaths, you can do th-

"...Umm... I'm coming in, okay?"

No wait... I'm not ready!!!

The door clicked open before I could finish preparing myself.