Player Reboot Initiated...
The world flickered.
One moment, there was nothing—no body, no breath, no beating heart. Only the hollow hum of a System left idle, its purpose fulfilled.
Then—sensation.
Cold stone beneath bare feet. The metallic tang of blood in the air. The weight of a sword in his hand.
Arion gasped, his lungs burning as if he'd been drowning. His vision swam, then sharpened.
He was standing in the ruins of Brownhollow.
SYSTEM REINITIALIZED
USER: ARION OF BROWNHOLLOW
STATUS: ALIVE (???)
The village was exactly as he remembered it from his first day in this world—burned homes, trampled fields, the stench of death clinging to the wind. But something was wrong.
The sky was the wrong shade of blue.
The System's diagnostics flared crimson:
TEMPORAL ANOMALY DETECTED
Current Timeline: 298 AC (Robert's Reign)
*Discrepancy: User's memories extend to 303 AC (Post-Long Night)*
Conclusion: Timeline Reversion Event
Arion's hands trembled. He was back at the beginning.
But this time, he wasn't a lost soul stumbling through a nightmare.
This time, he had the System.
And this time, he remembered everything.
The Second Playthrough
The bandit raid played out exactly as before. The same screams. The same fire. The same rusted axe lodged in the mud.
But Arion didn't hesitate.
COMBAT LOG:
Dirty Fighting (Crit) → Bandit #1 Executed
Environmental Hazard Exploit → Bandit #2 Crushed
Intimidation (Success) → Bandit #3 Flees
The System's notifications blazed with new intensity:
XP GAINED: 100 (Retroactive Bonus - "Efficient Elimination")
TRAIT UNLOCKED: VETERAN'S INSTINCT
*Effect: +20% Combat Reflexes (Past Life Experience)*
Lysa, the girl he'd saved before, stared at him with wide eyes. "You—you moved like a knight."
Arion ignored her. He strode to the spot where he'd first found the Valyrian fragment—and dug.
The pendant lay exactly where it had been, its three-headed dragon sigil gleaming dully. But now, the System's analysis revealed something new:
ITEM: *BURNED SIGIL (FRAGMENT 1/3)*
Hidden Property: "Anchors the bearer to the timeline."
Arion clenched it in his fist.
This changes everything.
Rosby Redux
Ser Tallad's arrival was a carbon copy of the first timeline—same gaunt face, same dismissive tone. But Arion was ready.
"Ser Tallad," he said before the knight could speak. "Lord Gyles is coughing blood. The maester says he won't last the year. And Littlefinger's men are coming for Rosby's debts."
The knight's sword was at Arion's throat in an instant. "Who told you that?"
*CHA Check (7/10 + Veteran's Instinct): Critical Success*
"No one told me," Arion said calmly. "I saw it."
He let the words hang, watching the knight's face twist with suspicion, then dawning horror.
NEW QUEST: THE PROPHET'S GAMBIT
Objective: Use foreknowledge to alter the timeline.
Reward: Unlock New Game+ Mode (Retain all previous skills/items on death).
Butterfly Effect
The changes started small.
He intercepted Brune before the poacher massacre, ambushing him with a crossbow bolt to the knee. (Lothor Brune: Permanently Crippled)
He leaked Ferry's embezzlement records to Tyrion two years early. (Master Ferry: Executed by Lannisters)
He led a Rosby patrol to the Dragonpit ruins and recovered Dawnbreaker before Littlefinger's agents could find it. (Item Secured: Dawnbreaker (Sealed))
But the System pulsed with warnings:
TIMELINE DEVIATION: 18%
Consequences:
Varys is aware of you.
The Night's Herald's awakening accelerates.
Bran Stark's visions now include YOU.
The Herald Remembers
The dreams returned.
Not the vague nightmares of before—memories. The horned shadow standing over him in the godswood. The taste of Valyrian steel on his tongue. The moment he'd plunged Dawnbreaker into its heart.
And now, in this reset world, it recognized him.
PROPHETIC FRAGMENT (100% Accuracy):
Vision: The Herald's voice, whispering across time—
"You cannot outrun me, player."
The New Endgame
Winterfell.
Arion stood before Bran Stark, the boy who was not a boy, his hands clutching Dawnbreaker and Dark Sister.
"You're cheating," Bran said, his voice layered with the echoes of a thousand ravens.
Arion smiled. "I'm optimizing."
FINAL QUEST: THE HERALD'S RECKONING
Objective: Destroy the Night's Herald—permanently.
New Strategy: Use timeline resets to weaken him across iterations.
Risk: Each death erodes your humanity.
Beyond the Wall, the ice cracked.
The game was far from over.