Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

"A year?" YuWon mumbled in surprise.

"Yes. I kept you in a deep sleep to speed up your healing." Lysandra nodded. "But time outside continued to move forward."

Hundreds of questions erupted in his mind altogether. He had been missing for an entire year? What happened to Gina and Yeji? What happened to the regressor? What was going on in the world?

He clenched his fists. Everything he had planned had been rendered useless by Anna. He couldn't even imagine what the regressor would have done to Gina and Yeji.

Since she knew about my class, she'd definitely know about Gina's true identity. Fuck! I can't even think straight.

"I need to get out of here. I have to find out what's happening in the real world." YuWon informed Lysandra, hoping she could help him.

Lysandra stood up slowly, her eyes never leaving YuWon.

"If the savior wants to know what happened, then I can help you," she said and closed her eyes.

A moment later, the ground in front of YuWon rippled like water. Slowly, the ground split open and a mirror surrounded by leaves and tree roots appeared out of the crack.

"Look into the mirror," Lysandra informed YuWon.

YuWon nodded and peered into the mirror. For a moment, he could only see his reflection, but then the scenery changed and he could see the aftermath once he fell off the train.

Inside the train, Gina was furious and lunged at Anna. But no matter what she did, Anna dodged her every attack, moving like she had already seen it all before.

"You really think you can beat me?" Anna sneered as she struck back.

Using YuWon's sword, Anna hit Gina with the hilt. Clutching the back of her head, Gina collapsed, but Anna was already on her and stabbed Gina in the shoulder.

"You took him away from me last time," Anna snarled, pulling Gina's hair back. "So this time, no one will have him. Not me, not you, and especially that angel bitch."

Anna wasted no time to deal with Gina while she was down. She reached into her phantom bag and pulled out a slave collar. She was about to put the collar on Gina when Yeji shoved her and the collar slipped out of her hand.

Yeji tried reaching out for the collar, but Anna backhanded her. Yeji tried to fight back, but if Gina couldn't do anything to Anna, how could she? With a kick to the chest, Yeji was left gasping for air.

Before Yeji could get up, Anna took the collar and placed it around Gina's neck. The collar glowed for a moment before turning into a brand of enslavement and her owner was Anna.

After that, Anna turned to Yeji and sneered, "Try anything, and I'll kill her. That's not what your dear brother would want, right?"

Yeji knew what Anna meant. Absolute submission. Anna was every bit of evil Yeji could think about, and she didn't want to test Anna. Not when she had Gina under her control.

"Fine," Yeji whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "I'll do whatever you say. Just don't hurt her."

Anna smiled. Since YuWon had already placed a collar on Yeji, she couldn't enslave her, but with Gina as her puppet, Anna didn't need to. Gina had turned into the collar to keep Yeji in control and exploit her abilities.

That was all Lysandra could show him. As the scene faded from the mirror, YuWon couldn't control his anger anymore and punched the mirror with all his strength.

The glass shattered and flew everywhere, piercing YuWon's skin. But thanks to his achievement of being Lysandra's soulmate, the wounds got healed instantly. However, the wound in his heart remained.

"What about Yuna?" YuWon asked, after calming down a bit.

"The girl... jumped after you."

"... probably because of her quest or something."

Although YuWon said that, he still couldn't believe Yuna would do something so reckless. She was most likely dead, so there was no point in wondering about her.

However, when the sight of Anna turning Gina into her slave flashed before his mind, the anger returned, along with the feeling of helplessness.

Lysandra stepped forward, holding his hand between hers.

"I know this is difficult, but you mustn't lose hope," she said. "Since you've cleared the penalty zone, you can rejoin the trials. You can face her again and take your revenge."

"Revenge... yeah," he mumbled. "That's easier said than done."

He was fighting a regressor. Merely killing Anna won't solve his problems. After all, for people like them, death had little meaning.

If he killed her, she would go back in time and fix her mistakes. She'd come back stronger. He can't let that happen, but how could he stop that bitch for good?

He needed something else—some way to stop her from resetting the timeline, or better yet, a way to break her cycle of regression.

As he thought that, his eyes shifted to the ticket in his hands. A couple of moments later, a smile appeared on his face.

Any mythical reward that I want...

As he repeated the words in his head, he turned towards Lysandra. Since they were soulmates, she won't turn him away. No matter how ridiculous his demand was.

"Lysandra," YuWon said. "Can you take me back to the real world?"

"I can help you," she nodded. "But... I must warn you, savior. The world you wake up to may differ greatly from the one you left behind. A year is a long time for the apocalypse to take hold."

"It's fine," he said. "I don't plan on staying in this timeline for long. Just take me out of here."

"As you wish..." Lysandra nodded and, with a wave of her hand, opened a portal for him. "This will take you to your desired location."

"Thank you. I'll return for you—"

"No need, savior," Lysandra smiled. "I am coming with you."

YuWon didn't bother arguing. The more allies there were, the easier it would be to deal with Anna. But one thing had been pestering him.

He didn't know what he did for Anna to loathe him and everyone associated with him. But frankly, he didn't care. Anna crossed the line when she sent him to his death.

And putting that collar on Gina... She'll pay for doing that. Besides, she wanted me, now she can have my undivided attention.