This was where Yueting had been born; of course, she had only ever heard about this place since she never actually had to go to the hospital herself. "See? This is you," Meiyang points at a baby, the baby was quite ugly. "Now, you might think this part is unnecessary, but look at the baby carefully," Meiyang insists. 

Yueting hadn't noticed, but the baby looked nothing like her. Of course, you couldn't expect a baby to instantly look like you, but the baby had both a different eye color and a different hair color. The hair was short, so it wasn't that easy to tell the color, but it definitely wasn't black. It was a rather light shade of brown. Not only that, but the eyes were a light blue. Even if Yueting had blue eyes when she was born, she'd still have a little bit of the blue in her eyes. Yet she had dark brown eyes, with not a speck of blue.

"That baby is not you, yet it is your parents," Meiyang remarks.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Yueting asks.

"That this baby isn't you," Meiyang clarifies.

"So, I have a sibling?" Yueting inquires, visibly confused.

"No," Meiyang responds.

"So?" Yueting presses, trying to figure out what Meiyang meant. But that is when it hits her. That baby wasn't her, but it also wasn't her sibling. It was supposed to be her parents' child.

"It's so ugly," Yueting's mother remarks. "I must agree, this is a disgrace of a daughter," Yueting's father adds.

"Give us a different one," Yueting's mother demands of the nurse.

"I'm sorry, miss, but I cannot do that," the nurse answers, obviously aware that she would lose her job.

Taking out a big chunk of money, Yueting's father asks the nurse, "Will this be enough?"

"Yes, sir, of course. I will bring you the best baby," the nurse answers.

Yueting had some slight understanding, considering the nurse seemed like she really needed the money. But even so, changing children was a serious crime.

Not too long after, the nurse comes in with a different child, Yueting. "It seems you recognize the situation, Yue," Meiyang remarks. The baby brought in was Yueting. Not to praise herself, but the baby was considerably more beautiful than the other one. With beautiful black hair, despite being very young, and dark brown eyes shining golden in the light. Though something easily noticeable was the beautiful necklace the baby wore, identical to the one the system bore. "Now that you've taken this in, let us continue," Meiyang suggests.

As the room changes once again, the two of them land in a children's room. Knocking down the door, a young girl runs inside happily, with her new toys in her hand. "Sysy, look what Mommy and Daddy bought me!" the young girl happily exclaims, though there was no one else in the room.

"Can she see us?" Yueting asks.

"No, she's talking to someone else," Meiyang responds.

"Sysy?" the young girl says. After that, a system-like window opens.

⌞System message: My apologies, young master. I must not have noticed you coming back.⌝

"Look at the toys Mommy and Daddy bought me!" the young girl exclaims.

⌞System message: How wonderful, young miss.⌝

Yueting was visibly shocked. How could the younger her see a system window, talk to it, and receive a response? Hadn't Yueting only found this necklace after the boy gave it to her?

"What is this?" Yueting asks.

"It's you and the system," Meiyang explains.

"What does this mean?" Yueting asks, unable to figure it out.

Shifting the room again, they arrive in a forest, hearing someone swinging a sword. The swings were heavy and had a shock-like wave.

⌞System message: Young Master, your movements are getting better.⌝

It was the young girl, Yueting, swinging a heavy and large sword as if it were nothing. Without any buffs or assistance, in the modern world she used to inhabit, it appeared more akin to a fantasy realm.

"Where are we?" Yueting asks.

"The world of Leadale," Meiyang responds before continuing, "It's a fantasy-like world created by the system to help young Master Yue train."

"Mei, I don't remember any of this," Yueting says, referring to her only as "Mei," a name she reserved for the original Meiyang. She didn't want to, but sometimes it slipped out.

"That's because your memories were 'deleted,'" Meiyang explains as Yueting continues to observe.

The young girl effortlessly swings her sword, engaging in combat against an invisible enemy. However, it wasn't just ordinary swinging; each swing was infused with magic, and after each attack, the young girl added a magical spell, creating the illusion of multiple assailants. She seamlessly transitioned from wielding a heavy sword to other weapons, then to dual swords, and back again. It appeared as though she were training to become a one-woman army.

⌞System message: Good work for today.⌝

"Thank you, Sysy. Can we pleaseee get some sweets now?" the young girl says.

⌞System message: Of course, young master.⌝

As the scenery shifted again, they found themselves back in the room, although it had changed significantly. A teenage girl walked in, still Yueting but a younger version of her. Sitting down at the desk, the girl speaks, "System, please activate the study buff."

⌞System message: Young master, you should really learn to study on your own.⌝

"But this way is easier," the young girl responds.

⌞Study buff activated; things read will now be instantly saved.⌝

Yueting used to study tirelessly. This couldn't be real. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but even so, she put effort into everything she did. There was no way that was Yueting. She had no memory of this.

"I don't understand, Mei," Yueting says, her confusion growing as she sits down on the bed, watching the scene unfold. "You'll understand once you see what is going to come next," Meiyang reassures, changing the scene again. This time they were in a city, though it was a ruined city, one that looked like it had just gone through an apocalypse.

 In the midst of the collapsed city, there was a teenage girl, around the age of 17. She bore a striking resemblance to Yueting, yet bruises covered her body, and she wore military-style clothing. Two swords were strapped to her back, an AK-47 hung from her side, and a dagger was secured to her leg. Her long black hair was tied up into a ponytail. Turning around, the girl looked upwards, fixing her gaze above where Meiyang and Yueting stood. Above them was a huge purple screen, the system, displaying a significant message.

⌞MISSION FAILED⌝

The screen glitched, and the message switched from 'mission failed' to 'error.'

⌞SYSTEM ERROR⌝

⌞TIME WILL BE RESET⌝

After that message appeared on the screen, it seemed like time reset, though not instantly. Everything that had happened began reversing, akin to watching a reversed video. At the end of the reversal, they found themselves back in the childhood room, where Yueting first saw her younger self talking to the system. However, this time, she ran into the room happily, just as Yueting remembered it. Following that, the scene where Yueting was studying appeared again, and just as Yueting remembered, she was studying alone, putting effort into her studies.

"Are you trying to tell me that this is my second life?" Yueting asks Meiyang.

"No, this is your 8452nd life," Meiyang responds, taking a breath before continuing, "I'm the Meiyang you used to know in one of your first lives, one of the lives where you ascended to godhood before the system reset time." Meiyang finishes her explanation.

Yueting had known the system could change reality as it pleased, but this was too much for her to comprehend.

"Want a mango?" Meiyang offers, handing Yueting a bowl. How random.

"Why mangoes?" Yueting questions, followed by, "And why now?"

"You used to love mangoes, so I thought maybe it'd cheer you up," Meiyang explains.

Yueting was touched. The Meiyangs she had met so far were nothing like this.

"How come you are nice while the other Meiyangs aren't?" Yueting asks. This was already too much talking; usually, she only said a few words.

"Because with each reset, the future changes as well. Because of that, each version of me experiences a different childhood," Meiyang explains.

"But worry not, you'll surely find the Meiyang that you'll take to see the end of all of this. Just like my Yue planned to do," Meiyang reassures.

"Now it seems our time is nearing its end," Meiyang continues as she pulls Yueting in for a kiss, just a short one.

"Sorry, I haven't had the chance to meet you for a while. Farewell," Meiyang says as the dream world crumbles, and Yueting wakes up, the sun grazing her through the window.

❝An endless cycle of birth and rebirth, a carousel of existence spinning endlessly, but never moving forward.❝