"I am sorry, Ethan. I never wanted to do this, but I have to… I have to, because you do not understand. You just don't understand that Cole only wants what's best for us. We tried to tell you, but you didn't understand… I am so sorry, Ethan."
"J…J…Just kill me, Amanda. This pain is too much, it hurts like hell…"
"Sorry, Ethan…"
"Here, let me do it, Amanda. I know it's hard for you."
"Are you sure, Cole?"
"Yes, Amanda."
"Fucking bastard… I won't die by your hands!" Ethan said, and with those words he jumped off the mountain.
He was already injured — those wounds were brutal. All his fragments had been taken, stripped away by the very people he once called family. His love, Amanda, had pierced him from behind with the Dragon Sword — an S-tier ranked weapon that blocked all healing fragments from activating.
For the next five minutes Ethan's whole body his every muscle his every nerve was in so much pain that he was in hell. And then, finally, it ended. He died.
....
"Brother, wake up! Wake up, brother — you sleepyhead. Today is your last and my first fragment magic ceremony. We will get to choose our first fragments. Wake up, brother…"
"Hmmm? What—Elara? You—Elara?"
At the sight of Elara, Ethan screamed and jumped out of bed he held Elara in his arms, "Elaraaaa! What are you doing here?
Where am I?" He looked around and saw a very below-average room with very little furniture and his cute little sister in his arms.
She did not look very happy.
"Did you have a bad dream, brother?" Elara asked, ignoring his tense expression and the way he was holding her like a little girl.
"Elara… yes, brother."
"Can you slap me? I want to kn—" Before he could finish, he got what he wanted. Thuppp.
For the next three seconds Ethan just sat on the bed holding Elara, then burst into laughter. "Hahahahah! Did it really work — the Null Fragment? I can't believe this!" Seeing her brother laughing like a maniac, Elara grew a little worried. Maybe it was the failed magic ceremonies finally getting to his head. "It's okay, brother…" she said softly.
As Ethan laughed, he suddenly noticed he was still holding his sister, and she for some unknown reason looked at him very pitifully. Coug cough.., he finally let go of his five-years-younger sister.
"Brother, if you don't get ready in the next five minutes, I am going to kill you. I promise," Elara said in a cold voice.
Listening to Elara's cold voice Ethan stood up ,
He just looked at his sister, then ran toward the washroom while mumbling to himself, "Maybe it worked."
Ethan and Elara finally reached the building where the magic ceremony was going to take place.
"I have been to this building more than a hundred times in my previous life… if this is not a dream. But it all looks so real. Maybe the Null Fragment really did work," Ethan thought to himself.
"Brother, look! It's Amanda and Cole, they also came to cheer for us."
As Ethan turned in the direction his sister pointed, he saw two people — a tall girl around seventeen with black hair and black eyes, a beautiful body, and beside her a tall guy with blonde hair, broad shoulders, and blue eyes just like his own. Amanda and Cole.
At that moment anger, hurt, sadness — many emotions curled up in his mind when he saw them. But the only thing he truly felt was disgust. They looked good together, yes, but all he could see was that thirty years later these same people would kill him. He didn't get angry. Instead, he simply looked back at the building.
"Hello Elara, my cutie pie. And Ethan — late again, aren't you? I bet you slept late, didn't you?" Amanda teased.
"Yes, he did, Amanda sister," Elara replied with a smile.
"Amanda, you didn't need to be here, you know. Since your fragment was already unlocked and activated last year, what are you doing here?" Ethan asked coldly.
"Wooo, someone is in a mood today," Cole said.
"I am here for you and Cole, since you both haven't unlocked your first fragment yet. I came to cheer you on," Amanda replied.
"Oh yes, I remember now… Cole also didn't unlock his fragment until he was seventeen, because of that incurable disease that stopped his body from synchronizing with fragments for four years. Finally, in the last year, he unlocked his first fragment — a rare, square-lined blue fragment with a water element specialized in weapons. His first signature weapon: the Water Spear. How could I forget?"
"And me? I got a normal grey and green plain circle-shaped fragment with healing abilities, specialized only in healing others. In this world where fragments are everything and infinite… instead of getting stronger, I got myself killed. I died as a Core-level fragment user."
How pathetic
"You guys go on to the main hall. I have to use the restroom. Elara, go with them," I said to Amanda and Cole.
"Are you sure, Ethan? We can wait for you…"
"No, no need to waste time because of me. I'm sure Cole is also excited. Please, you three go — I will join you in a few…"
"Okay, if you say so," Amanda replied.
I watched them as they vanished from my vision, disappearing into the building where many people were heading.
"I'm going to go too… just one last time I want to check if this world is real," I thought.
I walked around the building and saw everything exactly as before. In my previous life I couldn't even find the restroom and had roamed around for a bit. It was all the same — the tall glass building, the grass, the big walls, the guards — everything was the same.
"So it really worked. The Null Fragment. That means I got a second chance… yeah, let's go."
But then a thought crept into his mind. "The Null Fragment was supposed to be a myth. If it really worked, does that mean it took something in return? Unlike other fragments that synchronize with the body, the Null Fragment takes something and gives you one wish. But then… what did it take from me? Well, it doesn't matter. I can't change the past even if I wanted to. Well, let's go to the ceremony
BUT
"Hahahahaha I CAN'T BELIVE IT WORKED … This time I will be as selfish as possible. In this world where fragments are everything — infinite and nothing less than miracles — I will be stronger. I will do everything I wanted to do in my previous life but couldn't because I was a simp. I was blinded by kindness. I neglected my sister, who only had me, for these people who are evil and selfish. I cared for them, I cried for them, I did everything for them while neglecting my own family and myself. In this life, I will be the richest and the most powerful one can be."