Chapter 131: A Dream IV

The next time Erick opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a hospital bed, with his parents seated beside him. Their faces were etched with worry as they fussed over him, repeatedly asking how he was feeling.

The moment he remembered the accident, Erick abruptly sat upright. His breathing quickened as he looked between his parents, desperately demanding to know what had happened after he lost consciousness. Deep down, he was still hoping they would tell him it had all been a dream. That the silver-haired man was alive and well. That none of it had actually happened.

But their answer shattered the last of his hope.

The man involved in the accident had died. His body had already been handed over to his family for burial.

For a moment, Erick felt as though he had forgotten how to breathe. He remained frozen, barely aware of his own body, until a familiar voice suddenly rang inside his head.

The Gaya System.

It was speaking to him again!

The very same system that had helped him grow stronger in his previous life, only for its master to eventually steal his body.

And now, after all this time, it had returned.

Erick stared blankly at his parents, who were calling his name and trying to get his attention. Their voices seemed distant as he focused entirely on the system’s words.

"Erick. Do you want to go back?"

Erick couldn’t bring himself to care about anything else.

The image of Zephyr being struck by the car kept replaying in his mind, over and over again. He wouldn’t have reacted so violently if the man hadn’t died because of him. Zephyr had stopped because Erick had called out to him. He had turned around, only to be struck by that car.

He had died because of him.

Yet, amidst the turmoil in his mind, Erick hadn’t forgotten what the Gaya System had done to him. He remembered everything: how it had cultivated his body and abilities while gradually eroding his consciousness, all to prepare him to become a vessel for its master.

As much as he wanted to agree immediately, knowing it was the only way to save the silver-haired man who had just died because of him, Erick forced himself to question the offer. After all, he couldn’t trust the system.

"Why?"

The Gaya System fell silent for a moment before finally responding.

"We will compensate you. Everything... ended up going wrong. My master lost, even after taking over your body. In the end, your body couldn’t accommodate the full extent of his power. He lost the war, and..."

Its voice trailed off. For the first time, an unmistakable hint of sadness seeped into its otherwise emotionless tone.

"He... fell into a slumber again. A deep slumber from which he would never awaken. Now, the only thing I can do is reverse time with what little power I have left and give my master another chance. Otherwise, if his archenemy finds him, he will die."

Erick couldn’t help but laugh at its words. The situation was so absurd that he hardly knew how else to react.

"So, you want me to go through everything all over again, only for your master to take my body once more?"

His tone was laced with mockery, but beneath it lay genuine temptation. He wanted to agree. If time could be reversed, perhaps he could relive those moments and save the man who had died right in front of him. Perhaps he could prevent Zephyr’s death this time.

But then another thought crept into his mind.

What if things turned out differently this time? What if, after returning to his original life, he never got the chance to be reborn? What if he lost this life forever?

For the first time, Erick’s gaze shifted towards the middle-aged couple fussing over him.

His parents.

He had always believed himself indifferent to them. He had never thought he cared enough to be troubled by the prospect of losing them. Yet, as he watched their worried expressions and the way they hovered anxiously beside his hospital bed, he realized he had grown far more attached to them than he had ever allowed himself to acknowledge.

Zephyr was important to him. But so were these two people who had given him the kind of childhood his previous life had never known. They had loved him unconditionally, showered him with affection, and given him a home where he had never once needed to feel unwanted.

He couldn’t simply pretend that none of it mattered.

As those thoughts settled in his mind, the Gaya System spoke again, revealing something it had never told him before.

"Didn’t my master compensate you by giving you the chance to be reborn in this new world after taking over your previous body? He isn’t that cruel. He knows how to repay a debt, even if he never says it aloud. After taking your body, he instructed me to give you a new and better life."

The system paused briefly before continuing.

"If you agree to go back and do a little better this time, I promise to let you be reborn in this world again."

Erick remained silent as he processed its words. Now, more than ever, he was tempted to accept the offer. For a long moment, he simply sat there, lost in thought. Eventually, he reached for his mother’s hand and held it, his gaze lingering on her face. Then he glanced towards his father, who was hovering beside the bed, watching him with concern.

The Gaya System continued pressing him for an answer. Its voice echoed persistently in his mind, reminding him that it didn’t have much time left in this dimension and couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

It was then that Erick finally spoke.

But his question had nothing to do with what the system had been saying.

"I saw someone today. Was that person Lucien O’Connell? And Zephyr... I saw him too."

The Gaya System fell silent.

When it finally responded, its voice carried an unmistakable note of confusion.

"They are most likely different people. Aside from you, I haven’t sent anyone else into this plane."

Something indescribable flickered in Erick’s eyes. Fortunately, the Zephyr who had died because of him wasn’t the Zephyr he knew. With that thought, a faint smile tugged at his lips.

"I’ll agree to your offer. I’ll make my body even stronger than before, so your master can have an even better vessel."

His smile lingered as he continued.

"But I want you to do a few things for me first."

The Gaya System seemed taken aback. Its remaining time in this dimension was running out, yet Erick was still making demands.

"What things?"

Erick’s smile took on a faintly cruel edge, and his eyes narrowed with a dangerous glint. Whatever he had in mind, it was clearly not something the system would appreciate.

And sure enough, the moment he told it what he wanted, the Gaya System could only curse.

"You’re crazy!"

Erick didn’t know what had happened to Zephyr in his first life. The man had disappeared without a trace, and Erick had never learned what had become of him. But in his second life, he had witnessed someone who looked remarkably similar to Zephyr die right before his eyes. He had watched the man get struck by a car and collapse onto the road, all because he had called out to him.

He wanted to save Zephyr.

This time, things would be different.

After returning to his first life, he wanted the Gaya System to find Zephyr for him. And once he had fulfilled the system’s demands and been reborn into this ordinary world again, he wanted it to bring the Zephyr he knew along with him. They could start over, meet as strangers, and get to know each other properly.

As for the Zephyr of this lifetime—the one who had died because of him, the one who might have an entirely different soul—Erick couldn’t bring himself to care if the Gaya System killed him. He only cared about saving the Zephyr he knew.

That was all he wanted.

Before he could dwell on it any further, the space around him began to distort. The hospital room, his parents, and everything else blurred, as though reality itself were being torn apart. The familiar sensation of his soul disappearing washed over him, and in the next moment, he returned to his first life.

Except...

That damn System betrayed him again!

It sealed away all his memories after he returned!

While searching for Zephyr, the Gaya System had probably discovered that his body possessed greater potential than Erick’s. Naturally, it went ahead and chose Zephyr as its master’s new vessel instead.

Moreover, Lucien—who was now actually Cien, the person Erick had encountered in his second life and specifically asked the system to give knowledge of the future to and bring back with him—also ended up saving Zephyr, who was supposed to die.

Erick had never known how Zephyr died in his first life. That was why he had asked the Gaya System to find him. But now that his memories had finally returned, he finally understood what had happened. And when he did, he could only smile wretchedly at it all.

After that, he started destroying everything around him, frightening Nana and Jake, who entered his room.