My whole body felt heavy, like it had been soaked through with water. It was as if I couldn’t even lift a finger.
The thought that I’d been moved somewhere while unconscious—or that something had happened to me—seemed highly likely, so I ran through countless scenarios in my mind as I opened my eyes.
And then I found myself in a place that wasn’t unfamiliar.
“……”
A space submerged in ink-black darkness. The system from the original world had summoned me back into its domain once again. Why does it always bring me here when I lose consciousness? Could it be that, in those moments when my mental strength falters, it becomes easier to extract my soul?
Just as I was staring down at my body—what I presumed to be my soul—
Ding!
I flinched at the familiar sound effect. A system window appeared in midair.
[Would you like to ■■■ the ■■■?]
……Again. It was asking the same question as before. I said nothing and stared at the window.
“You’re… asking if I want to abandon the quest, right?”
I voiced the question a beat late. Immediately, the window vanished, and silence filled the space.
No matter how long I waited, there was no further response.
“……Ah.”
Then it suddenly occurred to me— If it could have told me more, wouldn’t it have done so already? After all, this world has its own system. Maybe the system that summoned me—the one from the original world—has almost no authority here and can’t act freely.
After a moment of thought, I spoke again.
“If I’m right, blink the window three times.”
The quest window flickered.
Exactly three times.
“If I say yes right here and now… would I go straight back to the original world?”
Blink, blink, blink.
I fell silent for a moment.
So my hunch was right. The system of this world wasn’t lying when it said the original world’s system was trying to take me back. This was how it planned to extract me—through this kind of loophole.
……But the me in that world is already dead. Would I end up in the afterlife or something? And if I go back… what happens to this world…?
‘We need you, Cha Eun-soo. You probably know it yourself by now… but none of us can hold out without you anymore.’
I replayed the desperate voice of the system in my mind. If I leave, all the S-ranks die. After that, the world collapses. I don’t know how exactly that would happen, but it’s likely a process far beyond human comprehension.
Hyung. Shim Tae-seong. Joo Cheong-gyeong. Jang Hee-gang. Even my sister and mother.
I pictured a scenario where all of them perished without a trace.
“……”
Fuck.
That can’t happen. Absolutely not.
The reason not to go back was far clearer than any reason to return. Sure, the fact that this second life of mine had been predetermined by this world’s system felt deeply unsettling and repulsive. For a moment, I’d even been overwhelmed with rage.
But the system was practically a god. So what if a god had kidnapped my soul and planned out my future? What could a mere human like me do about that?
If I abandoned the quest and returned now, sure—I’d be spitting in the system’s face. That’d count as some form of revenge. But…
“I’m sorry, but I’m not giving up.”
I stared at the system window like I was looking into someone’s eyes.
“I don’t know if you’re aware… but I was told that if I return, this world would be destroyed.
I don’t want my family—or anyone—to die.”
I didn’t want to irresponsibly ignore this world’s annihilation. It’s not like going back would offer me anything worthwhile, either.
“I want to stay here.”
As soon as my words echoed through the space—
Wooooooom…!
The air shuddered with a deep vibration. The window trembled violently, distorting my vision. It felt like the system was expressing its disbelief at my decision.
Or maybe it was pissed. After all the trouble it went through to retrieve me, I was now rejecting it. Maybe it thought I was being arrogant.
A reflexive sense of tension took root inside me. In this strange, surreal space, I couldn’t help but wonder what the system might do to me.
I was prepared to use my Third Eye if necessary—to summon this world’s system.
But the system from the original world didn’t respond with hostility.
[■■ is curr■ntly in ■ ro■■ess.]
New windows simply popped up.
[What ■■ said ■■■ not ent■rely ■■■■■.]
“……”
I frowned, staring at the text for a long moment.
Because half the characters were glitched or broken, I couldn’t make out what it was trying to say. Even if it had something more to communicate, it seemed it hadn’t even bothered trying—probably due to some kind of error. How unstable must it be, that even in its own domain it’s like this?
What the hell is it trying to tell me? There was something it wanted to say. I could sense it.
With a sour expression, I stared at the window.
“What are you tryi—”
Just as I began to ask, confused—
The window blinked out.
And at the same time, the ground beneath me vanished.
***
I woke up feeling like I’d just fallen from a great height in a dream.
What the hell? Fuck. That scared the shit out of me.
But unlike how rattled I felt, my body rose from the bed as if nothing had happened.
…What the hell? That wasn’t me.
A chill raced down my spine.
Yet my hands moved on their own, checking my phone, tidying the blanket.
…Wait.
The phone. This bedroom. It was all hazy—and yet, painfully familiar.
A long-buried memory surfaced.
This place… wasn’t it the house I used to live in, in my past life?
“……”
Even as my thoughts swirled in a daze, my legs moved on their own, taking me to the bathroom.
And not long after, the face reflected in the bathroom mirror—It was me. From my previous life.
Huh……
What the actual fuck is going on?
Did the original world’s system just yank me out on its own?
No, wait. That can’t be it.
I died in that life. And the date I saw on my phone earlier—it was in the past. Long before my death.
…And why the hell can’t I control my body?
Even as my mind was spinning into chaos, I casually brushed my teeth and washed my face, still wearing the drowsy expression of someone who just got up. The lukewarm water against my skin felt disturbingly real.
I ate a quick breakfast, turned on my laptop, and browsed through the news. Today was a holiday. Maybe this had been my routine on days off back then.
I was definitely looking at the screen, but none of it was sinking in.
And then, from one corner of the monitor—something suddenly snagged my attention.
“Whoa, look at that quality.”
The words slipped from my mouth in awe.
It was a game ad. An illustration showed five characters lined up like cards, each with a different look. The graphics were so detailed, they almost looked like real people. None of them were smiling—their solemn expressions gave off a dark, somber vibe. Only the man in the center, with light brown hair and eyes, had a somewhat gentle and warm aura.
And the moment I recognized faces that perfectly matched their appearances, I froze in place.
The man in the center… was me. Me, Cha Eun-soo.
And the remaining four— They were Hyung, Shim Tae-seong, Joo Cheong-gyeong, and Jang Hee-gang.
[Survive as a Max-Level Guide]
“Guide?”
I read the game title out loud and tilted my head in confusion. Did it mean something like a tour guide or escort? Didn’t really seem like it.
That exact question lingered in my mind—
…And I know that because that’s exactly what I thought back then.
It’s coming back to me now. I remember it. I finally understand.
This whole situation— It was a fragment of my past.
A past I’d even dreamed about before.
It felt like I’d just taken a blunt weapon to the back of the head.
[Install]
My internal chaos didn’t matter—the memories kept playing out. Drawn in by the illustration, I hit the install button without hesitation.
[Installing]
[Installation Complete]
The download finished suspiciously fast. As if it had been waiting for me.
[You are the one and only S-rank Guide. Your mission: save four volatile S-rank Espers on the verge of losing control. Experience the thrill of conquering each of them through countless choices.]
The explanation came up the moment the game started. It laid out the world’s premise—Espers, Guides, what “Guiding” meant.
The more I read, the stranger my expression became.
“With a title like Survive, I thought it’d be a survival game, but this genre is…”
I’d never played a game like this before. Curious, I pressed ‘Confirm’ to continue.
Then the character in the center of the illustration—me—was introduced as the youngest son of a chaebol family.
When asked to enter a name, leaving only the last name customizable, I simply typed in my real name: Eun-soo.
The story began from the moment I awakened as a Guide at the age of twenty.
I was sharing his vision—watching blankly as my past self played through the game.
The scene where my older brother, Cha Eun-hyuk, lost control after realizing I was his Guide and tried to assault me. The first Guiding session I had with Shim Tae-seong. The incident where Joo Cheong-gyeong caused a terrorist attack in a hotel.
Every event matched perfectly with what I had experienced as Cha Eun-soo.
Whether it was the player making choices in the game or the Cha Eun-soo breathing and living in the real world… in the end, both were me. Of course the actions were identical.
…Inside the game I played—I reincarnated into it, without even remembering I’d played it?
‘…Originally, I tried to awaken someone in this world as a Guide capable of matching their level,’ the voice of the system, speaking in the guise of a child, echoed in my head once more. ‘But there was no such suitable existence in this world. So I started searching through other parallel worlds for the right soul.’
‘And in the process… I came across you, Cha Eun-soo, just after your death in the previous world.’
…Ah, fuck. Did I get played?
