Darkness shifted.
Cass drifted through it, empty, weightless. The last echo of the system prompt still lingered in his head.
[System]:You have died.
But the words hadn't finished. There had been a pause, an unfinished breath. Something had held onto him instead of letting go.
The dark peeled back like a curtain.
Cass inhaled.
Air. Real air. Cool and thin, dry in his throat. His chest lifted sharply as though shocked awake. His eyes snapped open to light.
Not the cavern. Not the dragon.
A ceiling. White, cracked with faint lines of age. A room washed in pale morning.
He knew this place.
The bed. The dresser leaning slightly to the left. The poster of a game release date pinned crooked above his desk.
It was his old room.
He sat up so fast the blanket tangled at his waist. His hands shook as he held them in front of his eyes. The fingers weren't scarred. His wrists weren't bruised from the weight of shields and straps. His body wasn't broken from a dragon's strike.
He was young again.
He stumbled out of bed and nearly tripped over a stack of worn books by the wall. His breath came shallow. He touched the desk, the wood rough under his palm. He touched the window frame. He pulled it open and cold morning air rushed in.
It was real.
Then he heard it.
"Cass?"
The voice froze him in place.
He turned.
The door to his room stood half-open. A figure leaned against the frame. Thin. Hair streaked with silver. A smile that always carried warmth, even when it was weak.
His mother.
Alive.
His throat closed. His chest burned like fire. He stared, afraid that even blinking might take her away.
She tilted her head. "What are you staring at me for?"
He couldn't answer. His mouth worked soundlessly.
She stepped into the room. She wore a house robe, worn thin at the elbows. Her hand rested on the frame to steady herself. Her face was pale, but her eyes were the same.
"Bad dream?" she asked softly.
He moved. Two steps forward, then more. His arms wrapped around her before he could stop himself. His face pressed into her shoulder.
She let out a surprised laugh. "You're trembling. What's gotten into you?"
He couldn't speak. Words clogged in his throat. His chest heaved. His hands clung tight, terrified she'd vanish if he let go.
Tears spilled hot and fast.
"It's okay," she whispered, patting his back gently. "It's just a dream."
No dream could do this. He knew it.
He pulled back just enough to look at her. Every detail struck him. The lines near her mouth, carved from years of smiling through hardship. The way her hair always escaped its tie and fell across her cheek.
Alive.
He choked on his breath, then forced the words out. "I'll save you this time."
Her smile faltered, just for a heartbeat. "Cass…?"
He shook his head quickly, wiping his face with his sleeve. "Nothing. I just… I won't let anything happen to you."
Her eyes softened. She reached up and brushed his hair back, the same way she had when he was small. "You've always said that. You've always been stubborn."
He caught her hand in his. Held it like an anchor.
It was warm.
He pulled away before he broke completely. His chest still burned, but now with something fierce. Determination.
He looked to the desk. The poster pinned crookedly.
World's Dawn Online – Global Release. September 17, 2035.
Today.
Five years in the past.
The morning when everything had started.
He knew what this meant. The debt hadn't yet consumed him. Valorin hadn't yet turned him into a tool. His mother was alive.
The game had just opened its doors.
He had been late last time. He had logged in after the rush, choosing the safe route as a Traveler because the fight for Lordships had been too fierce. By the time he'd grown strong, others had already carved the world into empires.
Not this time.
This time, he would start from the first moment. He would seize the path no one else dared.
He would become a Lord.
His mother had settled into the armchair by the window, resting with a cup of tea. She watched him as he pulled on clothes, checked his old headset, and adjusted the cables.
"You're really serious about this game," she said gently.
Cass paused. He looked at her, then nodded. "It's not just a game."
Her lips curved faintly. "It never is, is it?"
He swallowed. "Mom… if I can win, it'll change everything. I can take care of you. I can give you the treatment."
Her eyes lingered on him. She didn't argue. She never had, even when she knew the odds. She only nodded, softly. "Then go. Do what you have to do."
Cass sat at the desk. His hands steadied as he slid the headset over his head.
The world darkened.
[System]:Welcome to World's Dawn Online.
Light burst across his vision, filling it with endless skies and rolling plains. A horizon stretched out, broken by mountains and rivers gleaming in the sun.
Words unfolded like carved stone.
[System]:Create your character.
His breath caught.
Last time, he had chosen Traveler. A safe role. A path without risk. He had told himself it was smart. Practical. By the time he had realized how much he had given up, the world was already divided.
Not this time.
He typed the name without hesitation.
Cass.
The system accepted it.
[System]:Confirm your path.
Options glimmered in front of him:
Traveler.
Lord.
His hand hovered. He remembered the weight of shields, the laughter fading down the tunnel, the sound of his mother's last breath.
He clenched his fist.
"Lord," he said.
The choice locked.
[System]:Confirmed. Path of the Lord.
The horizon flared. The world began to shape around him.
Cass's heart pounded. He had one chance. One life. Five years to gather enough strength, enough resources, enough power to claim the Sovereign's prize.
Ten million dollars. The number that had destroyed him once.
This time, it would save her.
The light folded inward, pulling him through.
His new life began.