I should have never turned back time again.
I should have let go of this power long ago.
As I looked into my parents' eyes, a part of me couldn't help but resent myself.
Ever since they regained their memories, they had been treating me differently.
It wasn't hatred, fear, or anything like that. I guess it was more of a quiet sorrow that I didn't know how to face.
It had happened so suddenly.
One evening, while we were having dinner together, both of them had abruptly stopped moving as if they had fallen into a coma.
I was panicked. Who stops moving while eating dinner? This wasn't a horror play. Such things do not happen.
Thankfully, by the next morning, they had awaken. Except, they had awoken with everything.
When I say everything, I meant everything.
Their past that I had hope they wouldn't remember.
It wasn't just fragments of the past, it was memories of every timeline they had lived through. That I had made them live through.
Every death they remembered, every one of our reunions, and every goodbyes. All of it had returned to them at once.
I called them one day for tea, but the silence that followed at the table was sadly suffocating.
No one knew what to say. But eventually, my mother was the first to break it.
"It seems your taste in tea has changed." She said.
It sounded more like an observation than a question. Her fingers trembled slightly as she lifted her teacup.
"Ah... yes," I replied softly. "It's been a long time, after all."
"It certainly has."
My father looked at me with a gentle smile. It was the same smile I had seen countless times throughout countless lives. Yet somehow, it hurt more than ever before.
"Ophelia," he said quietly, "you've grown so much."
I lowered my gaze as a response.
"How long do you plan to continue this?" He continued.
My mother reached across the table and placed her hands over mine.
They were warm. The same hands that had comforted me when I was a child.
"My dear," she said softly, "how much longer do you intend to carry this burden alone?"
I looked up at my parents.
There were tears gathering in my father's eyes.
"You've already done enough."
"No." I shook my head immediately. "I can still fix this. If I just try a little harder—"
"We know how hard you've fought for us," my mother interrupted, her trembling hand brushing against my cheek.
The touch was so gentle that it nearly broke me.
"We've seen it all now," my father said. "Every life you've lived. Every sacrifice you've made. Every time you've forced yourself to stand back up after losing everything."
His smile was small and sorrowful.
"You've carried burdens that no child should ever have to bear."
I lowered my head as tears blurred my vision.
"But if I stop..." My voice cracked. "If I stop, you'll all die."
Silence settled over the table.
Then my father let out a weary sigh.
"We will."
I froze.
"But, Ophelia..." His gaze softened. "We want to rest now."
The world around me seemed to fall silent.
My mother squeezed my hands tightly between hers.
"Living isn't always a blessing," she whispered. "Sometimes, choosing to let go is also a form of peace."
I stared at them in disbelief.
"No..."
My father smiled sadly.
"You've already given us countless tomorrows we should never have had."
"We laughed together."
"We watched you grow."
"We celebrated birthdays that were never meant to happen."
Tears streamed down my mother's face as she tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"And in every lifetime, you loved us with all your heart."
I could no longer hold back my tears.
"But I don't want to lose you," I sobbed.
"You won't," my mother replied immediately.
She pressed a hand against my chest.
"As long as you remember us, a part of us will always remain with you."
My father nodded.
"So please..." His voice trembled for the first time. "Choose yourself this time."
I clenched my fists tightly.
How could I? How was I supposed to live in a world without them?
As if sensing my thoughts, my mother smiled through her tears.
"Our precious daughter."
"You've spent so long fighting for everyone else's happiness."
Her hand gently wiped away my tears.
"Would it be so wrong to finally seek your own?"
For the first time since gaining the power to turn back time, I realized something.
The people I loved had never asked me to save them. All they had ever wanted...Was for me to live well.
We stayed like that for a while, just crying our hearts out.
We've come to a decision that it was best to let the world end if it was fated to end. If I failed in this lifetime again, then I did.
For a while, I was able to live peacefully with those I cared about. We would explore the world and donate more money to those who needed it.
We would spend our royal treasury buying every corner of the village grains so they could eat properly.
But as always, our peace always comes to an end.
The entire outsiders came down together, it looked like the sky had been tainted in blue and red with the beings, and they destroyed this world.
They risked everything to destroy this world and those around me, sparring just me. They killed children, elderly, and even my people.
I suffered once more.
I couldn't fight them alone. I didn't know how. I only knew how to use the system and support other people.
『 Under The Oak Tree 』
Use us. We can fight for you.
I had no other choice. Like they offered, I used my knowledge and understanding to summon constellations that came from the sky.
I altered the codes in the system and used it to lessen the cost it took to summon them, but in exchange, the dungeons appearing everywhere would probably destroyed this already destroyed world.
There's nothing to care about anymore.
By my side, twelve summoned beings who took on different forms from something akin to human to someone completely looking more like a dragon. No, maybe they were a dragon?
"This is the first time we have been summoned. Even if we die today, we have no regrets."
I nodded my head. Today would also be the day i die, the day i finally get to end this suffering. There is nothing left for me anyway. Even if i was afraid to die, I was ready to die.
As the constellations approached the outsiders instantly, my eyes being unable to follow, i used a different method to keep up with their movements.
I cannot see them if i focused on them, but when i look at the flow of strange symbols around them, everything seems to slow and I was able to comprehend the situation.
Violence unfolded around me like a stage play depicting the brutality of war.
Except this wasn't a performance.
This was real.
Even with everything I had done to support them, the tide of battle had gradually shifted against us.
The Outsiders were simply too numerous.
Even if the constellations could provide help, could protect me, and even offer fragments of their power, everything had its limits.
"Fall back!"
We retreated, unable to fight the outsiders with just us, even with my support.
So we retreated to the only place the Outsiders were cautious of.
The dungeons.
The moment we crossed its threshold, the Outsiders halted outside the entrance.
Their expressions darkened.
"...A dimensional fracture."
"Do not allow her to escape."
I rushed toward the injured constellations, desperately trying to heal their wounds.
"Stay awake," I pleaded. "I can heal you. I can still—"
"Enough."
I froze.
The twelve constellations had gathered together.
They looked at one another before turning toward me.
There was no fear on their faces.
"What... are you doing?"
『 Under The Oak Tree 』
There is one possibility we have yet to pursue.
"What?"
『 The Shiniest Gem 』
If we leave you a choice, you'll throw yourself into the fire again. We do not want such things.
She smiled playfully despite the blood staining her clothes.
"No," A terrible feeling settled in my chest. "No, wait—"
『 Above The Broken World 』
We have observed countless futures and all of your end is not well.
The symbols surrounding them accelerated.
The dungeon trembled violently.
The air itself distorted.
I stared at the System's coding shifting around them.
Then realization struck.
They weren't preparing an attack. They were rewriting the dungeon, as if they were converting something into a pathway.
What are they...
I realized too late what they were trying to do. "STOP!" I lunged toward them, only for invisible restraints to halt my movements.
Tears blurred my vision.
"You can't do this!"
『 The Shiniest Gem 』
Unfortunately, we can.
"Why are you doing this! I'm nothing more than a human!"
『 The Shiniest Gem 』
What kind of noona would I be if I let my child die?
"What are you saying..." I sobbed, feeling helpless.
『 Under The Oak Tree 』
You have fulfilled your responsibilities long ago. Now, live.
"Please..." I struggled against the restraints. "I don't want to leave you all behind!"
One by one, the constellations smiled.
"It was an honor."
"Thank you for allowing us to witness your story."
"We have never regretted choosing you."
Before I knew it, their body disappeared and a bright light flashed before me.