The dinner had ended.
Mary placed the dishes on the table and then said quietly:
"Go take a shower."
Kim lifted his head, surprised.
"Why? I'll do that when I return home."
She looked at him with curiosity.
"Your home?"
Then, as if it were the most natural thing, she said:
"You'll stay here tonight."
Kim froze slightly.
"Here?"
She answered simply:
"I already told your mom."
Kim slowly closed his eyes.
He whispered just one word:
"Mom…"
Then he stood immediately.
He headed toward the door.
Mary said quickly:
"Stay tonight."
He shook his head.
"Another day."
Then he left.
---
On the way…
His mind was filled with questions.
Had he lost all his power?
Had returning to the past erased it?
Or had time reset everything back to the starting point?
He reached into his pocket.
Found his phone.
And some coins.
Then—
He stopped.
There was something else.
A small box.
He didn't remember putting it there.
And before he could think further—
A message appeared in front of his eyes.
Kim froze.
The system.
But strangely…
The message was only one line.
Written on it:
"Life… for another."
His heart tightened.
He knew immediately…
Who this message belonged to.
Then another message appeared:
"Since you are in the past… a random draw for one skill or weapon is extended. Choose."
He hesitated for a moment.
Then said in a low voice:
"Skill."
A new message appeared:
"Throw the box on the ground."
Kim looked at the box.
Then he threw it.
In the next moment—
A blinding light exploded.
Many people in the area felt it.
Then multiple messages appeared rapidly:
"Congratulations.
You have obtained a skill of level—"
The message suddenly stopped.
Then another appeared:
"Level unauthorized to obtain."
Then—
"The skill has been deleted."
Then—
"Intervention from the system creator detected."
"Error… error… error…"
The messages disappeared suddenly.
And the system vanished with them.
Kim felt dizzy.
The world around him began to shake.
He lost balance.
Then—
He fell to the ground.
---
He opened his eyes slowly.
He was surrounded by many people.
Everyone stared at his face.
But…
No one spoke.
They only…
looked at him.
As if they had seen something terrifying.
Kim stood up quickly.
He didn't ask.
He didn't speak.
He ran straight to his home.
Opened the door quickly.
He heard his mother's voice from the next room.
But he didn't go to her.
He went straight to the bathroom.
Stood in front of the mirror.
He heard her voice behind him:
"Kim? Come here."
He said quickly:
"One moment."
Then he lifted his head.
And looked into the mirror.
He froze.
His eyes…
Were not brown.
They were…
Crimson.
Red as if blood ran through them.
He whispered in shock:
"How…?"
"When…?"
"This… I didn't have."
Suddenly—
A voice inside his mind.
"Yes."
"You didn't have them."
Kim's eyes widened.
"They were transferred by the system by mistake."
"But it couldn't stop them in the end."
"You have… obtained the crimson eyes."
His heart trembled.
This was the first time…
The system tried to prevent him from obtaining a skill.
A small window appeared.
Number of skills: 1
He clicked it.
The skill appeared.
Crimson Eyes
He opened its details.
---
Ability One
Blood Archive — Reincarnation
When the owner looks at an opponent…
The crimson eyes analyze the opponent's genes and bloodline.
Then summon…
The strongest warrior in the history of that bloodline.
From thousands…
Or even millions of years.
But the terrifying paradox—
This warrior…
Does not fight alongside the grandchild.
But against him.
---
Ability Two
Absolute Red World
When the owner fully opens the crimson eyes…
An empty dimension spreads around him.
All colors disappear from the world.
Everything becomes black and gray.
The only thing that remains colored…
Is blood.
The veins inside enemies glow crimson.
Like a map inside their bodies.
Inside this dimension…
Kim becomes the ruler of blood.
He can control the fluids inside his enemies' bodies.
---
Ability Three
Bloodline Legacy
The owner of crimson eyes…
Can temporarily steal a skill from the opponent's bloodline.
---
Kim stared at the mirror.
His eyes were scattered.
He did not know…
Whether this was a blessing.
Or the beginning of a new disaster.
Then slowly…
The crimson color faded.
Returning to brown.
His natural eye color.
And at that moment—
The door suddenly opened.
His mother entered hurriedly.
Breathless.
Her eyes full of concern.
She stepped closer.
"Kim…?"
He didn't lift his head.
He was standing in front of her…
But his face was in shadow.
She reached her hand toward him.
"Are you okay?"
"What happened?"
"Did… someone hurt you today?"
Kim was silent.
A second…
Two seconds…
Then he spoke in a strange calm voice:
"Strange…"
Her hand froze in midair.
"What's strange, Kim?"
He breathed slowly.
"I was just thinking…"
He paused for a moment.
Then said:
"How many times can a human heart break… before it stops feeling?"
Her expression froze.
But Kim didn't look at her.
He kept staring at the floor.
"You know…"
"There are things that don't kill a person immediately."
"They let him live…"
"But they take a little bit of him every day."
Her fingers trembled.
She stepped closer.
"Kim… I don't understand."
"What do you mean?"
He smiled a small smile.
But it was not a happy smile.
It was the smile of someone tired of explaining pain.
He said:
"Have you ever had a day…"
"When you discovered that all the memories you held onto…"
"Were not what you thought?"
She did not answer.
And for the first time…
She felt a distance between her and him.
Even though he was standing right in front of her.
Kim lifted his hand…
Wiped a tear quickly.
Then said:
"Do you know what's funny?"
His voice softened.
As if it was breaking.
"When a person is in pain…"
"They don't look for someone to save them."
He paused for a moment.
Then said:
"They only look for someone…"
He paused.
Then continued in a quiet voice:
"Who wasn't the cause of that pain."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Soundless.
Then Kim lifted his head slightly.
But without looking at her.
And said:
"Don't worry, Mom…"
"No one hurt me today."
He paused for a moment.
Then said:
"Just today… I understood some things."
And he fell silent.
But the thing he did not say…
Was heavier than everything he had spoken.