The rain fell quietly over universe seven.

A boy stood alone in the middle of the battlefield, his hands stained red.

Bodies surrounded him.

Broken weapons. Torn banners. Silence.

The soldiers behind him stared in fear instead of relief.

One of them whispered,

“How did he survive that…?”

The boy ignored them.

His chest hurt.

Not from wounds.

From something else.

Something crawling beneath his skin.

Black veins slowly faded from his hands as if they had never existed.

He slowly pulled his hood over his green hair and walked away from the battlefield without another word.

None of them noticed the clocks nearby had stopped ticking.

----

The air in universe seven felt colder than usual.

Issac walked through the empty streets quietly, ignoring the fearful stares following him from every direction.

People always looked at him that way after battles.

As if they were trying to understand what he truly was.

The rain continued falling softly against his hood as flashes of the battlefield replayed endlessly inside his mind.

Swords.

Blood.

Screams.

And those strange moments.

Moments where everything around him suddenly became silent.

Still.

Like time itself had frozen for only him.

Issac clenched his hand tightly.

That strange black energy had appeared again during the battle.

He hated it.

Ever since he was young, it had followed him everywhere like a curse buried beneath his skin.

Whenever fear or anger consumed him too deeply, the darkness awakened.

And every single time…

people looked at him differently afterward.

Like a monster.

Issac stopped walking once he reached the bridge near the edge of the city.

The river beneath reflected the dim lights of universe seven.

For a moment, he simply stared at his reflection in the water.

Then suddenly—

Pain shot through his chest.

Issac grabbed the railing tightly as unfamiliar images flashed violently across his mind.

A girl with red eyes.

A sword covered in blood.

A voice calling his name.

“Issac…”

His breathing became uneven.

The images disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving only confusion behind.

“…What was that?” he whispered.

----

Far away, in universe eight, a porcelain cup slipped from a girl’s hand.

It shattered against the floor.

The sound echoed through the silent room.

The girl froze.

Her red eyes widened slightly as her breathing became uneven.

After one hundred years…

she felt him.

“Issac…”

The room around her was cold and dark, lit only by scattered candles and glowing maps hanging across the walls.

Hundreds of universe symbols had been scratched into the stone over the years.

Failed portals.

Failed searches.

Failed hope.

Dust covered old books stacked across the floor beside countless unfinished spells.

She had stopped counting how many universes she searched decades ago.

Yet now…

for the first time in a century…

his presence returned.

Star slowly turned toward the glowing spell circle in the center of the room, her trembling hands tightening slightly.

Memories flashed through her mind.

Blood.

A sword.

Issac collapsing in front of her.

His final expression.

Her father’s laughter.

Star shut her eyes tightly.

“This time…”

Dark energy flickered around the portal.

Her voice barely rose above a whisper.

“I won’t lose you again.”

And the portal opened.

The portal closed behind Star with a low hum, leaving the night silent once again.

Universe seven.

After one hundred years of searching countless worlds, she had finally arrived at the place where Issac had been reincarnated.

The cold air brushed against her face as she slowly pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

This universe felt different from universe eight.

Calmer.

Yet something about it still felt wrong.

Darkness lingered here too.

Star quietly walked through the unfamiliar streets, her crimson eyes scanning every passing face carefully.

People moved around her without noticing the exhaustion hidden behind her expression.

For one hundred years, she searched endlessly across broken universes, chasing the ghost of someone she once lost with her own hands.

And now that she had finally found him…

fear settled deep inside her chest.

What if he hated her?

What if he remembered the moment she killed him?

Or worse—

what if he remembered nothing at all?

Star stopped walking.

A strange feeling suddenly pulled at her chest.

Not magic.

Not danger.

Him.

Without realizing it, her feet slowly carried her toward the bridge near the edge of the city.

The same bridge from her vision.

The same place where his presence felt strongest.

Rain began falling softly from the dark sky as the river beneath reflected the glowing city lights.

And there—

standing alone near the railing—

was Issac.

For a moment, Star could not move.

One hundred years disappeared instantly.

She remembered the knight who once stood beside her during endless wars.

The knight who protected her even after learning the truth about her father.

The knight who died because of her.

Yet the boy standing before her now looked different.

Younger.

Softer.

Unfamiliar clothes replaced his armor.

But it was still him.

Star’s hands trembled slightly.

Issac rested his arms against the railing quietly, staring down at the moving water beneath him.

Something about this place disturbed him.

Like his body remembered something his mind could not.

For days, strange headaches and flashes had haunted him.

Blood.

Swords.

Red eyes.

Pain.

And that strange voice calling his name.

Slow footsteps echoed softly behind him.

Issac turned slightly.

A girl with red hair stood a few feet away, staring at him silently.

The moment their eyes met—

his chest tightened painfully.

That strange feeling returned again.

Familiarity.

Confusion.

Fear.

The girl looked at him as if she had spent centuries searching for him.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

The rain continued falling quietly around them.

Then finally—

her voice barely rose above a whisper.

“Issac…”

The moment she said his name—

everything shattered.

Blood flashed violently across his vision.

A battlefield covered in bodies.

Black darkness crawling beneath his skin.

A sword piercing through his chest.

A girl crying.

Red eyes filled with horror.

Pain exploded through Issac’s head.

He suddenly grabbed the railing tightly as his breathing became uneven.

The visions disappeared instantly, leaving only silence behind.

But one feeling remained.

Fear.

Issac slowly lifted his head and looked back at the girl standing before him.

“…Who are you?”

And for the first time in one hundred years—

Star did not know how to answer.

Sleep no longer brought peace to Issac.

Every time he closed his eyes, the same visions returned.

Blood covering his hands.

Swords clashing endlessly.

A dark throne surrounded by shadows.

And crimson eyes filled with pain.

Issac suddenly opened his eyes with a sharp breath.

Sweat covered his forehead as he sat up slowly in the darkness of his room.

Again.

That girl appeared in his dreams again.

The strange girl from the bridge.

The one who somehow knew his name.

Issac pressed a hand against his head quietly.

Ever since meeting her, the visions had become worse.

More real.

More painful.

It felt less like dreams…

and more like memories.

Outside, the rain continued falling softly over universe seven.

Issac slowly stood from his bed and grabbed his hoodie before leaving the small apartment quietly.

He needed air.

The empty streets were calm at this hour, illuminated only by dim lights reflecting against the wet ground.

Yet no matter how far he walked, one thought refused to leave him alone.

Who was she?

And why did seeing her hurt so much?

Issac had tried to forget the girl from the bridge.

He truly had.

But no matter what he did, her face refused to leave his mind.

The sadness in her eyes disturbed him the most.

It was not the expression of someone meeting a stranger.

It was the expression of someone mourning the dead.

And somehow…

that frightened him more than the visions themselves.

Issac stopped near a small convenience store, quietly buying a bottle of water before continuing down the empty streets.

Universe seven never truly slept.

Lights from distant buildings reflected across the wet roads while passing vehicles disappeared into the rain-filled night.

Everything around him looked normal.

Yet his own mind felt completely broken.

Ever since childhood, strange things had followed him.

Moments he could never explain.

Clocks stopping suddenly near him.

Voices whispering his name when nobody was there.

Dreams of places he had never visited.

And now—

her.

The moment she appeared, the visions became clearer.

Sharper.

Real.

Issac tightened his grip around the water bottle.

He hated not understanding himself.

For his entire life, people looked at him differently.

Some feared him.

Others avoided him completely.

Even during battles, soldiers stared at him like he was something unnatural.

Maybe they were right.

Maybe something truly was wrong with him.

The thought alone made his chest feel heavy.

Rain continued falling softly as Issac closed his eyes briefly.

Then suddenly—

footsteps echoed behind him.

Issac stopped walking once he noticed shadows slowly stepping from the alley ahead.

Three men emerged quietly beneath the dim streetlights.

Weapons glinted faintly in their hands.

“So you’re the monster from the battlefield,” one of them sneered.

Issac sighed softly.

Troubles like this happened often after wars.

People feared what they did not understand.

“Move,” Issac said coldly.

The men attacked anyway.

Steel flashed through the darkness.

Issac dodged quickly, striking one of them hard enough to send him crashing into the wall behind him.

But the moment another blade nearly reached his chest—

something inside him snapped.

Pain spread violently beneath his skin.

Black veins slowly crawled across his hands once again.

The air around him suddenly became heavier.

The men froze in fear.

Dark energy flickered violently around Issac as anger flooded through him.

For a moment—

he wanted to destroy them.

Completely.

Then suddenly—

a familiar voice cut through the darkness.

“Issac!”

Everything stopped.

Issac turned sharply.

Star stood several feet away, her crimson eyes filled with alarm.

The moment he saw her—

the darkness weakened instantly.

The black veins slowly faded again.

Issac stared at her silently, breathing unevenly.

Why…?

Why did her voice calm the darkness?

The men quickly fled while fear still filled their faces.

Silence returned once more.

Rain continued falling quietly between them.

Then Issac finally spoke.

“Why do I remember dying whenever I see you?”

Star froze.

Pain flashed briefly across her expression.

For several seconds, she could not answer.

Because the truth was far crueler than he could possibly imagine.