I watched Advent of the Hero die the way it was always meant to: with the Demon King standing in the centre of the last city, and every last player wiped off the raid frame.

The server shut down. The screen went black.

Then a prompt appeared.

A new cycle is ready. Participate?

I clicked yes, expecting a joke, a final cutscene, an epilogue.

I woke up under falling snow, inside Advent, at the start of the story.

Only it isn’t a game anymore.

No menus. No logout. No respawns. In the old world, the Hero gift belonged to the players.

In this one, it belongs to a single person.

Me.

I’ve seen how this ends. I’ve already lived the game over.

Now I’m back at the beginning, holding the last Hero gift in existence and trying to force a different ending out of a world that has already decided it wants to die.

On the last night of the most realistic and popular VR MMO "Advent", I watched the world end the way it was always meant to.


The raid failed. The last city broke. The Demon King stepped through the walls like reality was thin paper. Ten minutes later, the server timer hit zero and everything I'd spent five years living inside shut down.


I should have taken off the headset and gone back to my room.


Instead, the game offered me a new cycle and one choice.


Now I've opened my eyes in a new reality. With no logout, no menu, and no second chances. The streets are under curfew. Demons are real. People die once. And the only advantage I brought with me is the knowledge in my head that tells me exactly how weak I am.


And this time, I'm not here to watch humanity lose.


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