Leon stood amidst a battlefield of ruin. The once-vast plains of Devia had been reduced to a wasteland of shattered earth and smoldering corpses. The sky above crackled with unstable energy, remnants of a battle so great it had torn through the very fabric of the world.
His breathing was ragged, his vision blurring. His black-and-gold Beast Tamer robes, once a symbol of his hard-earned status, were now tattered rags barely clinging to his frame. Around him, the bodies of warriors, monsters, and legendary creatures lay still, their lifeless eyes staring at nothing.
His beasts—his greatest companions, his ultimate strength—were dead.
Leon let out a hollow chuckle.
So this is how it ends?
Twenty years. Two decades of struggle, victories, betrayals, and pain. He had started as nothing—a Beast Tamer, the weakest class, mocked and dismissed. But through sheer will and knowledge, he had clawed his way to the top. He had found hidden legacies, mastered lost techniques, and raised creatures so powerful they had once ruled entire continents.
Yet, in the end, even he had not been enough.
A cold, emotionless voice echoed in his mind.
[You have reached the end.]
Gaia. The being that governed Devia. Not just a system, but the will of the world itself. Leon had always known of its existence, though it had never acknowledged him before.
His knees buckled. The battlefield spun around him, darkness creeping into his vision.
And then—nothing.
---
Silence.
For a time, there was only emptiness.
Then—
Gasp!
Leon's eyes snapped open, his body jerking upright. He sucked in a sharp breath, feeling the rush of cold air in his lungs. His hands clutched at the grass beneath him—soft, real. The scent of fresh earth and wind filled his nose.
He wasn't dead.
Slowly, he sat up, glancing around. The battlefield was gone. Instead, he found himself in a vast, open field, the sky above clear and blue. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of a nearby tree.
Then, a familiar message appeared before his eyes.
[Welcome to Devia. One year before the official launch.]
Leon's breath caught.
He knew these words. He had seen them before—twenty years ago.
But this wasn't a game login. His body was real. The world around him was real.
And he had gone back in time.
---