----

"When there's a will, there's a way. When there's a way, there's always an obstacle. When there's an obstacle, there's a path. When there's a path, there is a choice. When there is a choice, there is the possibility of choosing wrong. There is always the possibility of failure, soldier."

- Carmine Saffire, the Crimson Hero, on lecturing an unnamed soldier

----

Evan King had been an ordinary office worker who had made all the wrong choices.

Becoming estranged from his family, breaking up with his ex-girlfriend, Rara, even entering the shitty company he was currently in, were all choices he regretted.

He prided himself on being a realist, but he ironically lost himself in fictional worlds.

He had just finished a novel called "KIARA", a popular webnovel that starred a main character that strangely reminded him of his ex-girlfriend. Childish and perhaps a bit weird, but yet the strongest person in the world. Evan had seemingly become obsessed with the novel, and the protagonist, Kiara Vier.

It was the only thing he had left.

The plot was admittedly good, and the characters were well-developed.

Sometimes, he wished he was there watching her grow.

Rara. I miss you.

He had stumbled home after drinking with his two-faced colleagues, and had slumped on his couch.

He rarely cried, so he didn't know why he was tearing up tonight. Perhaps it was the alcohol. Perhaps it was the fact that this was their tenth anniversary. No matter the reason, Evan was on the brink of despair.

He remembered Rara's face, his high school sweetheart, and the bittersweet memories that came with her. The perfume that she liked to wear, the conditioner that she liked to use. Her delicate face and upturned features that had contorted into a hurt expression at his words.

Let's break up, Evan had said.

And they had. And he regretted it, more than anyone would ever know. He had just wanted better for her, better than an office worker who barely could scrape up enough money for rent.

It felt a bit stalker-ish, but she had been his whole life. Evan had never liked romantic tragedies much, so why did he feel like he was in one?

He remembered his family, his parents and sister, who had slammed the door on him in shame after he dropped out of the prestigious university he had attended.

Mother, father, that university wasn't really wasn't for me, I'm sorry-

The look in their eyes, of anger, of disappointment.

Almost as if he were dying, his life flashed before his eyes.

That feeling that came on these nights, the feeling of either wanting the whole world to disappear or to disappear from the whole world, swung by again like an old friend coming over to have a drink.

Even an ordinary person had their troubles.

In the midst of it all, Evan picked up his computer, flipped it open, and clicked the tab he always left open: Chapter 1 of "KIARA".

Running away, that was exactly what he was doing.

Just as he clicked the READ button, Evan's vision fizzled out, swirling like a kaleidoscope. He was now in a large expanse of darkness, a never-ending plane that stretched out endlessly in every direction.

Had he fallen asleep?

He heard an automated voice.

[Due to the existence of another cross-player, system response: The Butterfly Effect will commence. Prepare for a transmigration into an earlier host body to balance the existing world.]

Then the appearance of two floating buttons, under a question.

Would you like to escape?

Yes/No

Transmigration?

Evan, under the influence of alcohol, was woozy.

His finger shifted towards the screen as he clicked the [Yes].

[Player Evan King] has chosen option [Yes] [Player Evan King] is given gift 'All-Seeing Eyes' (!) Finding Host Body (!) Preparing Soul Transfer Safe Travels, [Player Evan King] Good Luck, Thief Hero

The system messages disappeared just as Evan blacked out.

His eyes were thrust into another kaleidoscopic field of vision, when it suddenly stabilized.

Huh?

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his hand.

A baby's hand?