Seeing me like this—
Screaming. Shaking. Clawing at my own flesh—
Yeah. Not exactly my best moment.
Elin, Aren, and Elena stood frozen. Like statues who'd just seen the cracks form in their own marble.
"…He's in pain," Elin whispered, wide-eyed.
Pain. Sure. Let's call it that.
Aren took a step back, like I was contagious. Maybe I am.
"I thought he just fainted. What the hell is this reaction?"
Elena dropped to her knees beside me, where I lay trembling like some broken-down machine that never learned how to stop shaking.
"Lucifer," she said softly, glowing hand on my chest,
"Calm down."
Warm magic spilled into me. Kind. Gentle. A lullaby made of light.
It didn't work.
Because the pain wasn't physical.
It was memory.
A future I lived.
A future that doesn't exist anymore—
Except in me.
I had survived hell.
But after my Personal Attribute rewound time—
Everyone else got the easy way out.
Me? Thanks to my Exclusive Attribute: Perfect Recall—
I remembered everything.
The blood.
The screams.
The silences between deaths—those were the worst.
The helplessness.
The failure.
And now?
Now I was paying the price.
But strangely—
I was grateful.
The pain lives in me.
That's enough.
As long as they're safe.
The pain dulled. Slightly. Barely.
But it never really goes away, does it?
I sat motionless, soaked in sweat and silence and something close to shame.
Then the thought hit. Sharp. Cold. Honest:
Not everything is worth seeing.
Because once I see it—
It lives in me. Forever.
And even if I closed my eyes…
It wouldn't help.
Because of my Personal Attribute: Eye of Tsukuyomi,
I could still see everything.
Even in the dark.
But maybe—
Maybe I could choose what not to see.
I reached into the survival kit.
Pulled out a strip of black cloth.
Tied it around my eyes.
A blindfold.
Not to shut out the world—
But to protect myself from it.
Because the more I see…
The longer it stays.
And I don't get to forget.
Ever.
The fabric scratched lightly against my skin.
The world disappeared.
Not into darkness—
But into quiet.
I could still see. Just enough to survive.
"Uh… is he blind now?" Elin asked, like I'd just decided to cosplay melodrama.
Aren opened his mouth—
Definitely about to say something sarcastic.
But Elena…
She stepped forward.
Slow. Careful.
"…Lucifer?"
Real concern.
Genuine confusion.
She didn't get it.
None of them did.
And honestly?
I hope they never do.
They don't have to carry what I do.
[[ Due to your synchronization with the Angel of Ruin, you have awakened the Personal Attribute: "The Angel of Ruin( Form)." ]]
[[ As a consequence of your evolving existence, you have lost the ability to use magic through normal means. ]]
[[ You have awakened an Exclusive Attribute: "Mark of Ruin." ]]
I froze.
Still blindfolded. Still thinking
But I felt it.
The message burned itself into my mind like an unwanted truth.
And then—
Pain.
My right forearm lit up with agony.
Not fire.
Worse.
Like something divine carving graffiti into my soul.
I didn't scream.
Didn't flinch.
You run out of reactions eventually.
I pulled the blindfold back just enough to look.
And there it was.
Etched into my forearm—
A dagger with outstretched angelic wings.
Encircled by a completed magical circuit.
Not ink.
Not blood.
Not fire.
Something else.
A symbol that shouldn't exist.
Beautiful.
Majestic.
Wrong.
The longer I looked—
The more wrong it felt.
"Lucifer, are you okay? Is everything alright?"
Elin's voice again. Careful.
"Tch… We've already lost enough time because of you." He muttered, eyes flicking away. "Let's just get moving."
His voice tried to sound annoyed.
Failed.
I nodded.
"Okay… let's go.
Thank you… all of you."
I tried not to think about the hell I'd just survived.
It didn't work.
Of course it didn't.
And maybe that's why Aren's comment didn't sting.
Not anymore.
Because I understand now.
He's not a bad person.
None of them are.
And maybe—
Just maybe—
I was starting to feel… something.
Not attachment.
Not yet.
But something warmer than being completely alone.
It hasn't even been a month since I landed in this ruined Novel.
I have nothing.
No friends. No allies.
But now—
Elin.
Aren.
Elena.
We've been through something together.
Even if only I remember it.
And that changed things.
I made a decision.
I won't let the tragedy repeat.
I'll stop it.
No matter what it takes.
And when I find the monster again—
It won't just die.
It'll suffer.
I exhaled. Slowly. Steady. Like I was pretending to be okay.
Then I whispered:
"Status Window."
[[ Due to Synchronization and Evolution of Existence, all Attribute Points have been reset to baseline. ]]
[[ Previous and post-synchronization Attributes have been converted into Freely Allocable Points. ]]
[[ You may now manually configure your Attribute Tree to reflect your redefined identity. ]]
[[ STATUS WINDOW ]]
Title: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ of ▓▓▓ — The Extra Who Shouldn't Exist
Name: Lucifer Blackthrone
Age: 18
Race: Human (?)
Rank: D
Supporting Constellation: None
Stigma: None
[ Attributes ]
Personal Attribute: ▓▓▓▓▓'s ▓▓▓▓▓ (?), Eye of Tsukuyomi, The Angel of Ruin (Form)
Exclusive Attribute: Perfect Recall, Mark of Ruin
[ Statistics ]
Strength: 10 Stamina: 10 Speed: 10
Perception: 10 Health: 10 Mana: Null
Perseverance: 58 Luck: 45 Charm: 91
[ Story Points: None ]
[ Free Stat Points: 180 ]
[ Remarks: How many times must you break to save what's already lost? ]
I ranked up.
Not a surprise.
Not after all that.
Not after synchronizing with something barely pretending to be divine.
Charm stat? Through the roof.
Almost holy.
Luck?
Neutral.
At least I'm not cursed anymore. Progress, I guess.
But Perseverance…
That one soared.
Not because I earned it.
Not because I tried.
But because I lived.
Because I remember.
Because I survived when I probably shouldn't have.
In this world, stats split into two neat categories:
Variable Stats: Strength, Stamina, Speed, Perception, Health.
You can change them.
Invariable Stats: Charm, Luck, Perseverance.
The ones that matter.
The ones you're stuck with.
Charm?
You're either born shining… or you're me.
Luck?
That's just fate laughing behind your back.
Perseverance?
It's the only one you earn by dying slowly and coming back anyway.
---
[[ Author's Note:
Lucifer just survived a timeline no one remembers—except him.
Pain leaves scars, but it also leaves purpose.
Thanks for reading! Drop a comment if you felt anything.
See you next chapter ]]