"Mind your tongue when speaking of the lord."
It wasn't a suggestion. It wasn't a plea.
It was an order.
For that one moment, the dazed, dirt-covered youth vanished—and in his place stood the ghost of a general. The posture. The weight behind the words. The air of authority so deeply etched into his soul it defied time itself.
Yue Jin froze.
For a second, he didn't know how to react.
Then his expression twisted—shock turning to something sharper.
"The hell was that?"
He stepped back, brows furrowed.
"Who do you think you're talking to? You snap at me like I'm your servant—what's wrong with you?"
But Yu Jin didn't answer.
His eyes had already glazed over, focus drifting—not on Yue Jin, not on the dirt or the crowd around them, but on the translucent square still hovering in front of him. The one only he could see.
It hadn't vanished.
The words remained, anchored in midair like a ghost refusing to leave.
[System Initialization]
Identity Confirmed: Yu Jin
Status: [Alive – Rebirth Granted]
He stared at it.
The strange letters floated in stillness, written like brushstrokes from no hand he could recognize.
They didn't vanish. They didn't move. They simply waited.
Yu Jin's breath steadied as his eyes tracked every character. His thoughts, scattered just moments before, began to draw together like lines in sand.
He didn't understand what it meant—not yet. But something inside him knew: this wasn't a dream. And it wasn't divine.
It was real.
"You're not going away… are you…" Yu Jin muttered, eyes still locked on the floating square.
Yue Jin's expression tightened.
"What did you just say?"
No response. Yu Jin didn't even glance his way.
To Yue Jin, the words sounded like scorn. Like he was the one being dismissed. After all that? After everything?
"You think I'm the one who needs to go away?"
Still nothing.
The anger snapped.
Yue Jin stepped forward and punched him across the face.
"Then fuck you too!"
Yu Jin's head snapped sideways, jaw ringing from the blow. The puddle rippled beside him, his own reflection shattered.
He blinked—hard.
Yue Jin was already storming off, spitting curses under his breath.
Yu Jin didn't chase him. He didn't say a word.
He sat there for a moment longer, hand pressed to his face. The sting was real. The warmth of blood rising beneath his skin—real. The silence that followed, heavier than before.
The square still hovered in front of him. Unchanged. Waiting.
Finally, slowly, Yu Jin rose to his feet. His limbs steady this time.
He turned toward home.
The square followed.
The door shut behind him with a quiet thud.
Yu Jin stood in the stillness of his home, the dust of the road clinging to his skin. Everything was where it should be—mat, bowls, spear rack untouched—but it felt... unfamiliar. Like someone else's life.
He lowered himself slowly to the floor, sitting with his back straight, legs folded.
The square hovered in front of him, just as it had the entire walk back. Unmoving. Watching.
[System Initialization] Identity Confirmed: Yu Jin Status: [Alive – Rebirth Granted]
He stared at it, silent.
"What year is it…"
The square shimmered. New lines appeared.
Current Date & Time:15:46 – January 14th, 180
Yu Jin's eyes narrowed.
"One hundred eighty…"
He leaned back slightly, gears turning behind his calm expression.
"Ten years before I meet Lord Cao Cao…"
Then his gaze shifted to the numbers above the date.
"But… what is fifteen forty-six?"
He watched the digits change slightly. Confusing. Foreign.
His brow creased. The numbers meant nothing. Not yet.
After a long silence, he exhaled.
"...Later."
He turned his eyes away.
The year was enough. For now.
Yu Jin stared at the floating square, mind beginning to turn not with emotion—but with logic.
It had responded to a question.
A specific one.
He leaned forward slightly, testing the air between them like a general prodding an unknown formation.
"So… you can understand me?"
No response. The square didn't flicker.
He studied it a moment longer, then tried again.
"Who are you?" "What… are you?"
Still nothing.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Can't you give me any information?"
The moment hung.
Then the square pulsed once—softly.
New text began to scrawl itself beneath the previous lines, one brushstroke at a time.
Welcome, User. You have successfully rebirthed under the effects of the [Rebirth System].
This system exists to aid you in your renewed life.
For more information, say or think: Help