Restart: the ultimate system

A Dangerous Path

Kai left Selene's chambers before dawn, vanishing into the city's shadowed streets.

Duke Alistair Ravencourt wasn't just a noble—he was part of the Ouroboros Order. A man who held both political power and control over the kingdom's darkest secrets.

Kai had faced assassins, conspiracies, and death itself.

But now, he was hunting a man who had spent decades ensuring no one like him could exist.

This wasn't just a battle for revenge.

It was a fight to reclaim his very identity.

A Secret Meeting

He needed leverage. Information. Something that could turn the game in his favor.

And there was only one person who might have it.

The Raven.

The name whispered through the underworld like a ghost story. A masked informant who traded in secrets too dangerous to be spoken aloud.

If anyone had dirt on Duke Ravencourt, it was him.

The Raven's Lair

Kai arrived at the meeting place—a decrepit watchtower on the outskirts of the noble district. Inside, candlelight flickered over a table covered in scattered parchments and maps.

A figure sat in the shadows, their face hidden beneath a black mask.

"So," the Raven murmured, voice smooth as silk. "You've come to bargain."

Kai didn't waste time. "I need everything you have on Duke Ravencourt."

The Raven chuckled. "Bold. But information comes at a price."

Kai tossed a pouch of gold onto the table. "That enough?"

The Raven didn't even glance at it. "Gold is cheap. I trade in favors."

Kai exhaled sharply. "What do you want?"

The masked informant leaned forward. "There's a prisoner in the dungeons beneath the Ravencourt estate. A man the Duke wants forgotten. Get him out, and I'll give you everything you seek."

A prisoner?

If the Duke was keeping someone hidden away, then they were important.

Which meant… they might know the truth about Kai.

He nodded. "Consider it done."

The Raven's lips curled into a smile. "Then our deal is struck."

Breaking into the Ravencourt Estate

Kai scouted the estate from the rooftops that night. It was heavily guarded, but not impenetrable.

A hidden passage beneath the eastern wall led to the dungeons. If he moved quickly and quietly, he could be in and out before anyone noticed.

He waited until the moon was high, then made his move.

Slipping through the shadows, he reached the passage and descended into the darkness.

The air was thick with damp stone and the faint scent of decay.

At the end of the corridor, a single iron door stood locked.

Kai reached for his lockpicks, working fast. The lock clicked open.

He pushed the door aside—

And froze.

Inside the cell, chained to the wall, was a man he recognized.

His face was gaunt, his eyes sunken. But there was no mistaking it.

This was Lord Cedric Vale.

A former noble—one who had been executed years ago.

Yet here he was, alive. Forgotten.

Just like Kai should have been.

The Truth in Chains

Lord Vale lifted his head, his voice hoarse. "Who… are you?"

Kai knelt, cutting his restraints. "Someone who's been erased, just like you."

Vale's eyes flickered with recognition. "Then you know… what the Duke is hiding."

Kai helped him to his feet. "Not yet. But I'm about to find out."

Because if the Duke had been keeping this man hidden…

Then there were more secrets buried in the darkness than Kai had ever imagined.

Secrets of the Forgotten

The Escape Begins

Lord Cedric Vale stumbled, his legs weak from years of confinement, but Kai caught him before he collapsed. The noble's once-proud stature had been reduced to little more than skin and bone, yet his eyes still held the fire of someone who had once commanded power.

Kai handed him a small vial from his belt. "Drink this."

Vale sniffed it warily. "Poison?"

"If I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead," Kai replied flatly. "It'll help your strength."

The noble hesitated for a moment before gulping it down. A sharp breath later, his posture straightened slightly, color returning to his face.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor.

Kai tensed, listening. Guards. Four—no, five.

The dungeon wasn't as abandoned as he had hoped.

Vale noticed his shift in posture. "They'll kill us before we make it to the exit."

Kai's lips curled into a smirk. "Not if they don't see us."

He activated [Silent Step], his presence fading into the darkness. Then he pulled Vale into the shadows just as the guards entered.

They passed without noticing a thing.

Kai waited until their footsteps faded, then motioned for Vale to follow. "Let's move."

But Vale wasn't looking at the guards—he was looking at Kai.

"I've seen that ability before," he murmured. "Only one bloodline in this kingdom possesses it."

Kai stilled. "What?"

Vale's eyes narrowed. "Tell me your full name."

Kai hesitated. "…Kai Evernight."

For a long moment, Lord Vale simply stared at him. Then, with a slow breath, he whispered,

"That name shouldn't exist."

A Forgotten Bloodline

They moved quickly through the underground passages, but Kai's mind was racing.

Vale knew something. Something important.

He needed answers.

Once they reached a secluded storeroom within the estate, Kai sealed the door behind them. "Explain."

Vale leaned against a wooden crate, taking a deep breath. "You aren't just some commoner caught in a noble's game." He studied Kai with sharp eyes. "Your blood… is tied to something ancient. Something the Ouroboros Order fears."

Kai folded his arms. "You're saying I have noble blood?"

Vale let out a dry chuckle. "Noble? No. Your bloodline is far older than any noble house."

Kai frowned. "Then what am I?"

Vale met his gaze.

"You are a Remnant."

The word sent a chill down Kai's spine.

He had heard it before, whispered in old texts and forbidden records.

Remnants were people who shouldn't exist. Souls that defied fate, living beyond their destined deaths.

Kai clenched his fists. "That's why the Order is hunting me."

Vale nodded. "The Ouroboros Order was created to erase anomalies like you. People who defy the cycle of life and death." His gaze darkened. "And Duke Ravencourt is one of their most devoted enforcers."

Kai exhaled. The puzzle pieces were finally coming together.

He had died and come back.

The Ouroboros Order had tried to erase him.

Now, Duke Ravencourt himself was involved.

This wasn't just about him.

It was about who he was—what he was.

And the Order would never stop hunting him.

Kai met Vale's gaze. "If I'm a Remnant, why didn't they erase me the first time?"

Vale's expression turned grim. "Because you aren't just any Remnant. You're something far worse."

The Truth About the Ouroboros Order

Kai narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Vale sighed. "Remnants are rare, but they aren't unheard of. Most of them die before anyone realizes what they are."

Kai nodded. "But I didn't."

"No," Vale agreed. "And that terrifies them."

He stepped forward, his voice lowering.

"There is a prophecy," he murmured. "An old one, hidden in the deepest vaults of the Order. It speaks of a Remnant who will not only defy death but break the cycle entirely."

Kai's pulse quickened. "And you think that's me?"

Vale's expression was unreadable. "The Order thinks it is."

For the first time, Kai felt something deeper than anger—a sense of destiny he had never asked for.

If what Vale was saying was true, then this wasn't just a battle for survival anymore.

It was a war over fate itself.

A New Target

Kai exhaled. He had more questions than answers, but one thing was clear—

He had to take down Duke Ravencourt.

Not just for revenge. Not just for survival.

But because the Duke held the key to everything.

Kai turned to Vale. "You said the Duke is one of the Order's enforcers. How deep does his involvement go?"

Vale's expression darkened. "He isn't just an enforcer. He's one of their leaders."

Kai's eyes flashed.

That changed everything.

Duke Ravencourt wasn't just a noble manipulating the Order for his own gain—he was one of the people who controlled it.

Which meant taking him down wouldn't just remove a threat.

It would shake the entire foundation of the Ouroboros Order itself.

Kai's lips curled into a dangerous smirk.

"Then I guess it's time to bring the whole system crashing down."

A War Begins

The road ahead was no longer about just surviving.

It was about ending the Ouroboros Order.

And it started with Duke Alistair Ravencourt's downfall.