It was not the red glow of fire from a battlefield, nor the cold darkness of death.
This light was warm, gentle—alive.
Aeron suddenly opened his eyes.
His breathing was fast, as if he had been pulled out of deep water. He clutched his chest and inhaled sharply.
"H… ha… I'm… alive?"
His heart was pounding violently.
He looked at his hands.
No blood.
No wounds.
No burns.
His body was completely intact—just as it had been before he ever stepped onto a battlefield.
Slowly, Aeron sat up.
The bed beneath him was not hard like a soldier's cot. It was a simple wooden bed with an old but clean sheet. The room around him felt small… familiar.
Mud-plastered walls.
A wooden ceiling.
An old cupboard in the corner.
Soft morning sunlight entering through the window.
This place—
"…This is…"
His voice caught in his throat.
"This is my uncle's house…"
Aeron's eyes widened.
This was the house where he had lived as a child.
The place where he stayed before becoming a Hunter.
His body trembled.
"No… this isn't possible."
He stood up, and just then—
"Brother…?"
A small, soft voice reached his ears.
Aeron froze.
That voice—
Gentle.
Familiar.
Painfully precious.
He slowly turned toward the door.
A little girl stood there.
She looked about nine years old.
Small body.
Shoulder-length black hair.
Eyes filled with innocence and slight worry.
She was holding a broken wooden toy in her hands.
"Brother, are you okay?" she asked timidly.
Tears immediately filled Aeron's eyes.
"…Ria?"
His lips trembled.
This was his younger sister.
Ria Ashford.
The sister he had once watched die.
Aeron's entire body shook.
He took one step forward.
Then another.
Ria became nervous.
"B-Brother?"
The next moment—
Aeron pulled her into his chest and hugged her tightly.
So tightly that Ria struggled to breathe.
"B-Brother… it hurts…"
But Aeron didn't let go.
Tears streamed down his face without stopping.
"Not this time…" he whispered.
"Not this time will I ever let you go."
Ria was confused.
"Brother, why are you crying?" she asked innocently.
Aeron slowly loosened his grip and held her face gently with both hands.
Her skin was warm.
Her eyes were full of life.
She was alive.
"I'm fine," Aeron said in a broken voice.
"I just… had a bad dream."
But it wasn't a dream.
He remembered everything.
When he was very young—
One night—
A monster had attacked their village.
That monster—
Had killed their parents right in front of his eyes.
From that day onward—
Only Aeron and Ria were left.
They were brought to this house—
To live with a distant relative.
That relative wasn't kind.
But at least, he gave them shelter.
And from that very day—
A dream was born inside Aeron's heart.
To kill every monster in this world.
"I won't leave you alone," Aeron said softly, placing his hand on Ria's head.
Ria smiled.
"You're acting strange today, Brother," she said with a small laugh.
Aeron managed a faint smile.
Then suddenly, something struck him.
He turned sharply toward the wall.
An old calendar was hanging there.
He walked toward it quickly.
The moment he saw the date—
His blood ran cold.
"…Twenty years ago?"
His breathing stopped.
"I… I've come back twenty years into the past?"
This was the same year—
The year he went to take the Hunter Exam for the first time.
The moment where everything began.
Aeron sat down heavily on a chair.
His mind started racing.
"So that means…"
He clenched his fists tightly.
"I've been given a chance to change everything."
He remembered—
Which mistakes he had made.
Whom he trusted wrongly.
Whom he failed to save.
He also remembered—
Which monster would attack on which day.
Which city would be destroyed.
Which companion would die.
Aeron stood up and looked outside through the window.
The sun was rising.
A brand-new morning.
But for him—
This wasn't just a morning.
It was a second life.
"This time," he said to himself,
"I won't be weak."
He turned and looked at his little sister.
Ria was sitting on the floor, playing with her broken toy.
Innocent.
Unaware.
Aeron walked toward her and gently placed his hand on her head.
"Ria," he said seriously.
"Yes, Brother?"
"No matter what happens," Aeron said firmly,
"I will never leave you alone."
Ria smiled brightly.
"Are you promising?"
Aeron nodded.
"Yes," he said without hesitation.
"I promise."
A fire ignited inside his heart.
But it was not the fire of revenge.
It was the fire of protection.
The fire to save lives.
The end of monsters—
Was no longer just a dream.
It was his purpose.
And this time—
He would write the ending himself.
To be continued…