Ethan stared at his phone screen, his mind still sluggish from the chaos of the morning. The ssage was simple:
I won't be ho early. The planning committee has a eting, but I left food for you in the fridge. Love you.
His eyes lingered on the last two words. Love you.
Another surprise. Another thing he hadn't expected.
He had a sister. In this new world, in this new life, he wasn't alone.
But without the mories of the original Ethan, how was he supposed to act around her?
If he slipped up, if he acted differently, she would notice.
And if she started asking questions… what if she thought he was an imposter? Worse—what if she thought he was so evil spirit possessing Ethan's body?
His stomach twisted. He needed an excuse.
I could say I lost my mories… but who would believe that? mory loss isn't sothing that just happens randomly. And I'm too young to be having dentia.
The thought made him groan, rubbing his temples.
The reality of his situation was crushing. If he walked out of this room and made even one mistake, it could doom him.
I just died. I am not ready to die again.
His grip tightened around the phone as if it were the only thing keeping him tethered.
Then it chid.
A new ssage.
Ethan's breath caught in his throat as he looked at the sender.
It was from him.
His fingers trembled slightly as he tapped the notification. A video file popped up with the title:
"For Future ."
A shiver ran down his spine. What the hell is going on?
He hesitated before pressing play. The screen flickered to life, and there he was—or rather, the previous Ethan.
The man on the screen looked the sa as him, but there was sothing different—his posture, the way his eyes carried a hollow weight, as if he had been shouldering sothing unbearable.
Ethan felt an odd guilt creep in. This was his body, yet the soul that belonged to it was gone.
Then, the recording spoke.
"Since you opened this video, that ans the ritual worked."
Ritual?
Ethan's breath caught. The original Ethan had planned this? He hadn't died by accident—he had summoned him here.
His heart pounded as the old Ethan continued.
"You know, it's surprising that it actually worked… I an, I just found the steps online."
The Ethan in the video let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh. It was dry, empty—like soone who had already given up.
"I know you're probably wondering why I would do a ritual to erase my own mories. Well… It was to forget about Emily."
Emily?
The na ant nothing to Ethan, but before he could dwell on it, the past Ethan continued, his voice carrying the weight of sothing deeply personal.
"I know you're thinking, 'Who the hell is that?' right now."
Ethan tensed. It felt like the video had read his mind.
"Emily… was my girlfriend. Well, I guess my ex-girlfriend now."
A flicker of emotion crossed the old Ethan's face—nostalgia, pain and regret. He lingered on the words, like they physically hurt to say.
"We t at the academy. And you know what the funny part is? She approached first."
" I never thought I had the qualities to get confessed to, but for two years, we were together. Two years, I loved her, and I thought she loved too. She always said we'd face the world together, that she'd be by my side no matter what…"
"What a joke."
"The mont I awakened as a Forsaken E-Rank Hero… she started acting differently."
A sharp pang hit Ethan's chest as he listened. He didn't just say E-Rank. He said Forsaken.
"I ignored the signs at first. Told myself she must have her reasons. Maybe she was stressed. Maybe she was busy. But deep down, where reason lives and my heart couldn't reach… I knew why she was avoiding ."
"All those false promises. All those lies."
"She swore she'd stand by , that nothing could change how she felt. But the mont she realized I was stuck at the bottom, she pulled away—like I was nothing. And I… I still hoped she would co back."
"I was a fool."
"And my fantasies? My delusions? They shattered completely the day I went to her apartnt."
"I wanted to fix things. I thought maybe we just needed to talk. I thought maybe if I told her how much she ant to , how much I was willing to fight for us, things would be okay."
"But instead… I found her in bed with Alex."
The way he said the na Alex was drenched in loathing.
"Alex, our classmate. Alex, the guy who awakened as a Valiant C-Rank Hero. Alex, who had always been around, but I was too blind to see it."
His voice grew sharper, angrier.
"She never even noticed I was there. She was too busy, too… engrossed."
His next words ca out in a whisper, filled with disbelief.
"She never even let kiss her."
Silence.
The weight of those words hit like a hamr.
"For two years, she always told she 'wasn't ready,' that she wanted to take things slow. And yet… there she was, moving her hips like a damn professional for him."
Ethan felt a sharp chill crawl down his spine. The betrayal. The sheer humiliation. It wasn't just heartbreak.
It was a complete and utter shattering of everything he believed in.
"Since then, I wasn't myself anymore. I went through the motions, pretended I was fine. Every ti my sister asked what was wrong, I'd just smile and say 'nothing.' But inside? Inside, I was drowning."
His voice cracked again, but he pushed through.
"And to top it all off? While they got recruited into top-ranking clans, I was left waiting—sending applications, hoping for a response that never ca."
"I knew I would heal… eventually. That one day, the pain would be a bad mory. But I didn't want to wait. I didn't want to carry this weight any longer. So when I stumbled upon the ritual… I took the chance."
He looked directly at the cara now, his eyes hollow yet determined.
"And now, here we are."
The video cut off.
Ethan sat there, phone in hand, his mind blank.
What the hell did I just watch?
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