Ming Jun woke up in an unfamiliar space.

  No wait… I know this place.

  He stood up in surprise and looked around the room.

  Once… twice.

  “Stop looking. It really is,” a soft female voice spoke.

  “Who—” Ming Jun jumped and turned around to see the owner of the voice.

  “Hello.” A woman with striking long blue hair and eyes sat on a leather seat, wearing a white gown.

  Beside her was a man made entirely of shadows, with no facial features.

  “So it really is the same place,” the shadow spoke, his face turning to her.

  “Oh… interesting,” the blue-haired woman said with excitement.

  The shadow’s face turned back to her, and Ming Jun had a strong feeling that if he had eyes, he would be rolling them.

  “Let’s go.” He snapped his fingers, and the two males appeared in an endless dark space.

  “Is Noi Karn here too?” Ming Jun finally got his bearings and asked.

  He wanted to rush up to the shadow and grab him, but he was also intimidated.

  Honestly, if not for his extensive addiction to manga, he would have been scared.

  But after reading so many stories about teenagers talking to ancient abominations that existed before the earth was formed…

  Or entities beyond the universe itself...

  Outer gods with massive, strange appearances...

  Or the more normal deities that always appeared in human form...

  In essence, he had a feeling this day would come.

  Since the first time he experienced that loop.

  “Noi Karn is dead,” [Death] spoke.

  Ming Jun wilted immediately.

  He thought that after seeing that same movie theater hall they’d once watched a film in, he’d see the little guy again.

  But if such an odd entity said so, then it must be true.

  “Can he be brought back?” Ming Jun asked with renewed hope.

  “He has reached the end of his life. There is no way forward after that,” [Death] confirmed.

  “Ah.” Ming Jun sighed.

  There was silence for a moment before Ming Jun belatedly realized where he was.

  Then he took a step back and ran through countless manga plots in his head involving higher entities.

  What exactly is the first thing the main characters do upon finding themselves in this kind of situation?

  Stab a sword into the higher being—

  Definitely can’t do that, Ming Jun shook his head.

  Look at them with squinted eyes and endless confidence—

  Honestly, I don’t even think I can beat a chicken, much less whatever this is.

  Kneel down and thank them for bringing me back to life—

  But I haven’t died just yet. Who knows, maybe my madman of a half-brother has already minced me into meat.

  He certainly looked like he was itching to.

  Accept whatever dangerous mission it has in store for me—

  Ming Jun looked down at his slightly bulging tummy and wanted to cry.

  Sorry, I’d die in the first chapter of my story.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Come to think of it, I just might have already done so—since this all started with the loop…

  No, I’m getting distracted. Ming Jun tapped his cheek.

  Then hissed and rubbed his face because he’d hit too hard.

  After going through more bloody plots of revenge stories and harem tropes,

  he decisively chose a random option.

  “Hello,” Ming Jun walked over to the shadow and stretched out a trembling hand.

  His face was set with his most polite business smile—the one he used on customers who came into the store to buy manga.

  “Hello,” [Death] replied, stretching out a hand made of shadows.

  Ming Jun shivered at the strange cool sensation.

  They released hands, and Ming Jun took a step back.

  “That… is there anything you want me to do?” Ming Jun instinctively searched for a table to sit at but saw only endless space.

  Until his sight caught a door in the distance. He couldn’t make out its features exactly.

  “No,” [Death] spoke.

  Ming Jun was startled and focused on the conversation.

  So he doesn’t want me to do anything? Then why am I here?

  He waited for him to speak, but the shadow didn’t budge.

  So they both stood there in awkward silence.

  Ming Jun truly couldn’t bear it anymore and coughed.

  “Then why am I here?” he asked cautiously,

  fearing it was a matter of some cosmic secret that could not be spoken.

  “You brought me here, and so I chose to complete what you always wanted,” [Death] replied.

  Ming Jun looked at him in confusion, then slapped his head.

  He just remembered—entities like this usually speak in cryptic ways.

  Normally, the protagonist would immediately catch on and reply in an equally roundabout way.

  The two would exchange verbal tactics until the main character cheated the entity out of some OP ability.

  But I can’t understand anything he’s saying.

  I mean, I understand the words, but I have no clue what they mean.

  “Okay then,” Ming Jun bit the bullet and stumbled out a response.

  “You don’t understand,” [Death] said—or maybe asked.

  Ming Jun: Brother, you don’t have to tear my face like that.

  Even though he grumbled inwardly, he still obediently nodded.

  “First of all, I am also that shadow cat,” [Death] raised a finger.

  “Is your true body a cat?” Ming Jun felt at ease hearing that.

  After all, the shadow cat had saved them numerous times.

  Plus, it helped them realize their dreams—which was more than anyone could’ve asked for.

  So the shadow man didn’t seem so far away anymore.

  Ming Jun also based his ease on the fact that a god who watched movies eating popcorn with a bunch of kids was probably not a serious one.

  Therefore, Ming Jun blurted out that question.

  “No. It was just a vessel made for me to appear outside this space and meet you five,” [Death] said.

  “Let me guess—this is probably a cage you were tricked into by other beings like yourself,” Ming Jun muttered, laughing at the cliché.

  “You’re right,” [Death] spoke, surprise evident in his voice.

  Ming Jun choked.

  Brother, I was just joking. No way it’s really that cliché.

  “Were you so strong that you posed a threat to the others?” Ming Jun asked cautiously.

  “No—it can’t be…”

  “Yes,” [Death] almost sounded pleasantly surprised.

  “Then are you sure you don’t want revenge?” Ming Jun looked at him in distress.

  This guy was obviously betrayed by his fellow higher beings, yet he was too kind to seek revenge.

  How pitiful.

  If it was a female, I’d think this was a harem route.

  “No need,” [Death] said calmly.

  Ming Jun nodded as if he understood—while secretly shaking his head in pity, already thinking of how to “treat” him once he got out.

  “Then what exactly do you mean by completing what I started?” Ming Jun asked gently.

  “Prepare your mind,” [Death] spoke, ignoring Ming Jun’s change in tone.

  “Okay,” Ming Jun nodded.

  “So, I’ll continue. Secondly, I am what you humans call Death.”

  Ming Jun: So cliché.

  His gaze softened even more as a hundred manga involving betrayed gods of death flashed through his mind.

  But then he remembered the earlier words.

  “Wait… I called you here?” Ming Jun was shocked.

  He froze, mouth open.

  His mind, though, was agile.

  If I called Death here, that must mean I’m about to die.

  That was his final conclusion.

  But something was wrong. The cat appeared before now, and since he was the cat, that must mean it isn’t my incoming death that drew him to me.

  But this is the only time I’ve been so close to dying before…

  Unless—it was the first day of the apocalypse. The day I was stuck in that loop, dying over and over again.

  “Is it the day of the loop?” Ming Jun had to ask.

  “No. It was long before that—during the days when you sought death so frantically,” [Death] said.

  Ming Jun tried to remember when he might’ve sought death, but nothing came to mind.

  His life had been pretty bland—mostly beatings and abuse in the Ming estate.

  Not much time to actively jump in a ditch or stab himself.

  Then, like a whisper, he heard it—

  But the intention has always been there.

  Lurking just beneath the surface every time you felt you couldn’t bear the suffering any longer.

  That knife would seem not so sharp, the blade pressed on your skin not so painful…

  Then your attention would be shifted by another task meant to demean you.

  With the cycle repeating, over and over again.

  “Do you understand now, when you called me?” [Death]’s voice was quiet.

  Ming Jun raised his head slowly and nodded blankly.

  He was stunned to realize he had forgotten how horrible his life had been these past few months.

  “Ming Jun, you are someone who has only received malice from the world and mistakenly sought your own demise as a means to escape.

  That intense desire to use death as freedom brought me here.

  It was unique—to find not just one, but five humans who did not avoid me.

  Who almost earnestly desired to meet me.

  So I met you guys and realized something was missing.

  See, what death means at its core is the end of life.

  And life… is complex.

  It encompasses everything about a person.

  It’s a unique and special gift that should not be wasted by taking it into one’s own hands.

  Although I am impartial to everyone, those who take their own life go against the natural order.

  Death is the end of life—at its own time.

  Committing the act of killing oneself isn’t a complete death.

  But I digress. What I mean is: I wanted you to live.

  You brought me here. I saw not a living person, but someone practically born dead.

  It was my duty to take you to the end of your life therefore death—but that is not appropriate without living first.

  Life and death are opposites, yet bound together.

  So tell me, Ming Jun—can you feel not just your heart beating, but the life that flows in you and around you?” [Death] spoke each sentence while taking a step forward.

  At the end, he pointed a finger to Ming Jun’s chest.

  Ming Jun heard the fierce beating of his heart—and in that moment, he knew he was alive.

  He was here. Alive. And he wanted to keep living.

  Even though he was a fat, useless person without a single talent…

  He was also their friend.

  He was Noi Karn’s brother.

  He wanted to read more manga and watch even more anime.

  Then rant about it to the others—and argue with them when they made fun of his taste.

  He wanted to find out what kind of manga Yi Zheng would like.

  He wanted to go on dangerous adventures with Shae Harris.

  …Shae Harris.

  He—he also liked Shae Harris.

  He wanted to live not just for himself, but for her.

  I want to live.

  I, Ming Jun, want to live.

  “I want to live!” Ming Jun tried to shout it out, but his tears obstructed him.

  “Then live beautifully, one last time.”

  [Life] appeared beside him.

  She placed a hand on his head for just a second.

  “Who are you?” Ming Jun stopped crying, startled.

  “I’m the creator of the vessel he used—and also the skills you have. I am Life,” she smiled.

  “What are the skills for?” Ming Jun didn’t check at all and looked at them nervously.

  “Naturally, to stop [Malice] from killing your friends,” she patted his shoulder.

  “What!” Ming Jun thought of Shae Harris, who liked to rush into danger—

  Mori Aoi, who liked to cry—

  And Wei Zhi, who would probably be shivering in a corner.

  Yi Zheng… no, he was just human after all, and anything they needed powers to fight must not be something a human could handle.

  “Send me back now!” Ming Jun said in a hurry, not even caring what he would face.

  “Okay,” [Life] pointed at a door.

  Ming Jun shouted a thank you as he rushed out.

  His senses shifted—and his feet stepped on grass.

  He scanned the area and sighed in relief upon realizing he was still at the Ming family estate. There was no sound of fighting.

  That meant [Malice], or whatever it was, hadn’t left yet.

  That was when he looked forward—and saw his own body standing far away from him.

  Ming Jun blinked in disbelief, then looked down at himself.

  He was shocked to realize he was wearing his high school uniform.

  But at least I’m still me, he thought.

  Then what is he? Ming Jun studied the imposter using a replica of his body.

  He studied it closely and found one important thing—

  I know that’s my body it’s impersonating, but still—

  “So ugly,” Ming Jun said in a disgusted tone.

  His heart skipped a beat when the imposter turned to him and spat out his name.

  “Brother, I get that you might not like me, but did you really have to do that to my body? Even if it’s not actually mine?” Ming Jun was so disgusted he blurted it out.

  He swallowed the urge to vomit and glared at the imposter.