Ace reached Heaven's Gate.
He trudged along a marble path that cut through puffy clouds and a golden sky, limping toward the towering white doors. His wounds throbbed, but the weight of lost lovers, friends, and countless lives felt heavier. Soon, he told himself, the nightmare would end and a peaceful future could begin.
When he neared the doors, they swung open on their own. A gold light spilled out and blinded him for a moment.
As his eyes adjusted, he spotted angels floating above the path in two neat rows. They were not graceful women with feathered wings. They were oversized eyes, taller than grown men, ringed by long white lashes, their stares cold and condescending.
Ace felt as if he had crossed from one gate to another. This realm looked pleasant, but its dwellers were grotesque.
"Top One Ranker, Ace Avalanche. You have made it to the top. As revealed, you earn one wish strong enough to change your world's future," one angel declared, its deep voice echoing through the realm.
Ace drew a long breath. At first he had fought to survive, but the friends he met showed him life held more than raw endurance. Now they were gone, leaving their dreams in his hands. Those dreams could live only if the apocalypse ended.
"I just want this apocalypse to end," he said.
If the chaos ceased, he and the other rankers could clear the gates and monsters. Scars would remain, as would people with strange skills and bloodlines, but order could return.
"You could not have asked for anything more disappointing, Ace Avalanche. You survived and reached the top, yet weak humans have corrupted you," another angel sneered.
"It's amazing he climbed to Heaven's Gate with such a frail resolve."
"Haha! Humans are so weird."
"Indeed! Haha!"
Their laughter rolled over him. Ace ground his teeth and clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms.
"What's so wrong with wanting a regular, peaceful life?!" he yelled. "Ever held someone you love while they died? Ever wake up to find half your camp leveled 'cause some high gate popped in? Ever smelled death in the air or felt that gut‑twisting fear?!"
"The troubles of mortals do not concern us."
Damn monsters. There's gotta be somebody or something that can take you down! Ace thought.
"You have a big problem, Ace Avalanche," an angel said. "You ignore reality. You get one wish for your world, not the multiverse. Yes, you can stop gates on Earth—for five years. Then a new tutorial will begin, and another top ranker—perhaps you again—will gain a wish. The multiverse has its own rules, and a weak human like you cannot change them. You are trash. Think before you wish."
"A… tutorial?" Ace whispered, eyes wide.
"Do you not understand? I used common terms for earthlings," the angel replied.
Ace covered his face with one hand. "So this apocalypse is just the first round? If we want things to change, we gotta keep fighting?"
"That is how it is."
Strength drained from him. He fell to his knees like a puppet with cut strings. His hopes shattered. He could not fulfill his own dreams or those of the dead; the battles ahead would demand even more.
Can I really handle every fight solo?For who?
Could I team up with new people and fight shoulder to shoulder?
Knowing they might die like everyone else? he asked himself. Honestly, I'd rather hit reset. Yeah, that's the smart move.
"I want a do‑over. I wanna live again and make things right," he said aloud.
The angels took a long, heavy pause. Sending him back would affect only his world. At last they agreed.
"You shall receive a second chance, Ace Avalanche."
He bowed his head.
"You will return to the past. Your memories will remain, and your actions will shape a new timeline. Such knowledge demands flaws. We will let the multiverse choose them. Stand and continue, Ace Avalanche."
New resolve filled him. He straightened and limped forward. A small wooden door—still white—appeared before him. Hand on the knob, he glanced back.
"Is there a God?" he asked.
The angels looked at one another. Then, in chorus, they answered, "The seat of God is vacant."
"I see," Ace said, turning the knob.
He crossed the threshold and sank into darkness, floating as if gravity had vanished. Crimson glyphs formed before him, and somehow he could read them.
[Name: Ace Avalanche.]
[Wish: Second Chance.]
Heat seared his head.
[Scanning Ace Avalanche's memories.]
[Flaws due to the Second Chance wish have been decided.]
[First Flaw: As a ranker, Ace Avalanche shall no longer use active skills.]
[Second Flaw: As a ranker, Ace Avalanche shall be romantically detached.]
What kinda joke is that?! So the multiverse is siding with those angels? Ace thought.
Light vanished. His eyes snapped shut.
He woke in the past, inside his tiny apartment where the walls had ears, the rent was cheap, the streets were as dangerous as a first‑level gate, and loneliness—oddly—barely bothered him.