Yiannis's thoughts wandered back to that unforgettable day the day the Restart Crystal was first unveiled.
The colossal stone on the 70th floor had captivated every Sinless who had managed to survive up to that point. The atmosphere was thick with a mix of tension, curiosity, and disbelief.
And then he showed up.
Dizzy Sword Roe Sochun. A man renowned for his bold confidence and unmatched skill. With steady hands and eyes burning with resolve, he stepped closer to the crystal.
"If this is fake…"
He hesitated, his gaze fixed on the swirling golden light that seemed to pulse with life.
"…then let it consume me where I stand. But if it's real… I'll start fresh. And maybe, just maybe, the world will finally make sense."
A hush enveloped the Sinless surrounding him. Even the strongest among them felt a shiver, as if the Tower itself was holding its breath.
Then, with the soft glow of the crystal reflecting in his eyes, he disappeared.
The golden light danced across the stone walls, leaving behind an eerie silence.
Yiannis had been there, lurking in the shadows, watching intently. His lips pressed into a thin line.
The crowd around Roe Sochun murmured, debated, and speculated about what had just transpired:
"Did he… really go back?"
"There's no way… that's impossible!"
"It's a trick. He's still here somewhere…"
But Roe Sochun's final words lingered in everyone's thoughts:
"If this is fake… let it consume me. But if it's real… maybe the world will finally make sense.
Yiannis found himself drifting back in time, beyond the turmoil and hopelessness of the Restart Crystal, to a lecture he once caught from a man named Ritsushima, a Sinless who had been a science teacher in his past life.
Ritsushima was always so composed, thoughtful, and endlessly inquisitive. Even in the Tower, surrounded by death and despair, his mind was a constant flurry of questions.
"Just think about it," Ritsushima had said one evening, leaning against the stone walls of the 72nd floor, his fingers tracing the glowing cracks of the Tower.
"If Roe Sochun or anyone who uses the Restart Crystal disappears from our reality… where do they actually go? It can't just be simple death. That's too crude, too limited for something as intricate as this Tower."
He took a moment, his eyes reflecting the soft glow of the Restart Crystals embedded in the floor.
"There are a few possibilities. First: alternate timelines. The crystal doesn't obliterate the user's existence; it sends them back along a temporal branch. A world that's identical in every way, except now the individual remembers events that technically never occurred.
Their past decisions become their current understanding. Theoretically, the moment they restart, a new timeline branches off from their birth, diverging in countless directions based on their choices."
Yiannis recalled how some had laughed, yet Ritsushima's steady voice made them hesitate.
"Second: parallel universes. Not just timelines within our own universe, but an entirely different universe. The crystal serves as a bridge. The user isn't erased from the Tower, so to speak, but transported to a version of existence that's beyond our grasp.
Maybe they wake up in an alternate reality, structurally identical, yet unreachable for anyone left behind. We might never see them again because their existence is folded into dimensions we can't interact with."
He leaned in closer, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret.
"Three: quantum replication. The crystal might be duplicating their consciousness, capturing their memories, and creating a new version of themselves in the past while the original body is wiped out.
Or perhaps… the original is put into stasis, tucked away somewhere in the Tower or even outside of it. This could explain why we never see the users come back, even though theoretically, they could 'return.'"
Ritsushima's eyes sparkled with a blend of fear and excitement.
"And none of these theories have to contradict each other. If you think about it the right way… they could all be true at the same time. Each time the Restart Crystal is used, it might create infinite branching paths, parallel existences, and quantum selves.
Every person who has vanished could be living a thousand different lives all at once. Or maybe… they are truly alone in a void, and we just can't perceive them. The Tower, the crystals, maybe even God… perhaps they don't follow the rules we think are normal."
Yiannis recalled how, even back then, Ritsushima's words carried a weight that made the speculation feel terrifyingly plausible. The teacher didn't claim to have all the answers; he simply laid it out with logic and precision.
"The crystal isn't magic. It's science that's beyond our grasp, and maybe even morality that's out of our control. What we see our friends disappearing, our lives moving on it's just one perspective. A single frame in a film that's too vast for us to fully understand."
Yiannis had listened in silence, soaking in every word. Despite all the despair, the selfishness, and the mistakes made by the Sinless who ran back into the past… Ritsushima's theories somehow made it all click, in a way.
Not a comforting kind of sense. Not a moral kind of sense. But… a framework to grasp the impossible.
And for the first time, Yiannis found himself wondering:
If Roe Sochun really did go back… how many versions of him are out there now? How many paths are running parallel to this one, hidden from our view?
Yiannis's thoughts wandered back to the raid on the 85th floor.
He had led his team with unwavering confidence, his strategies spot-on, and his instincts razor-sharp. The Pack of Angels forty strong had followed him into the chamber, ready to tackle whatever challenges the Tower had in store.
For a brief moment, everything was going smoothly. Monsters fell to their coordinated attacks. Floors were cleared. The teamwork was flawless.
But then… the Tower retaliated.
One by one, his comrades were taken down. Some fell to vicious claws, others to sheer brute force. And a few, overwhelmed by despair, reached for the Restart Crystal, disappearing in a flash of golden light.
By the end, only fifteen were left standing. Yiannis didn't hesitate. He didn't shed a tear. He didn't waver. He pressed on, as he always did, leaving behind those who had fallen and those who had vanished.
Yiannis pressed against the wall, blood trickling down his face and arms, his body screaming from countless injuries. The 98th floor was pure chaos.
What happened? he murmured to himself, his voice barely a whisper. Everything was going so well… until now.
A shout cut through the mayhem:
"Yiannis! Wake up! Help me kill this thing!"
It was Kaii, charging forward, eyes wide with determination, weapon poised for action.
But just as he was about to strike, a monstrous claw lunged from the shadows.
It slammed into Kaii's stomach, piercing deep and nearly reaching his heart. Blood gushed out, staining the floor, and the impact sent him reeling back with a sickening crunch. One of his lungs had been punctured.
"KAII!"
This enrages Yiannis and he goes to the attack with pure anger. While going for the attack he sees something a white line almost like an opening thread it looks like a chance for victory so he charges on and slays the 98th floor boss in one slash.
He lands on the floor trying to stand he uses sword to help him stand.
HUFF
HUFF
PANT
PANT
"Yo Kaii you okay?"
No answer.
"Hey."
One of the final members of the Pack Of Angels the Smiley Trickster Nitta Kaii.
He always smiled and would prank someone even at the most dangerous situations, the members gave him that name. But this time that smile has faded and no more tricks.
"Wait."
"When did you get a crystal?" Yiannis glanced at the crystal that Kaii was holding in his hand.
"So have also had the same thought as well have you?"
He truly felt betrayed. Kaii lowered his head he could not look at Yiannis anymore he felt sad.
Yiannis looked the other way his voice cold.
"Go."
"I'm sorry Yiannis."
"I told you to go. Before I change my mind."
Yiannis walked to the door of the 99th floor. The gate opened and Yiannis walked in. As he vanished in the door Kaii staggered and set himself up to a pillar of the tower.
The wound was too deep a small hole that also stabbed through his lung no mere potion would even heal this type of wound, it was done by the boss Abirin. The only way to heal this wound is to find a rare type of Priest but problem is that there are no Priests in this game as they were never added.
What the hell was that GOD person thinking?
He laughed nervously. His best friend never noticed that he was holding the [Restart Crystal]. Kaii held it tightly he felt the cold rough edges it was something that he learned from Yiannis.
"I am glad to have met you Yiannis."
He falls of the pillar and his body vanishes into the clouds.
Inside the 99th floor Yiannis is getting ready to battle the boss but he wipes off a tear as he felt that his best friend already met his end and his soul is leaving the game for good.
He took a stance and went for the attack.