Restarting As An SSS-Rank Rogue

The stars shimmered like distant embers in the endless void above, countless constellations twisting into patterns far beyond human understanding. Kael sat atop a ruined platform, one of many fragments of stone and debris drifting through the abyss. His pitch-black hair clung to his bloodied face, and his dark, lifeless eyes reflected nothing—not sorrow, not triumph, just emptiness.

Around him, the battlefield lay silent.

The corpses of warriors—human and otherwise—were strewn in a heap, their bodies broken, their souls long departed. Some had fought alongside him. Others had stood against him. In the end, none of it mattered. He was the last one left.

If he could even call this survival.

The entire right side of his body had been erased by the monarch's final attack. Blood loss should have claimed him minutes ago, yet sheer willpower kept him clinging to the last embers of consciousness. He had endured for one reason alone.

To see the end.

And there, at the heart of it all, lay the final obstacle—the Void Monarch. The entity that had ruled over the tower, the nightmare that had shaped Kael's every battle, now reduced to a hollow corpse. 

Riddled with weapons, its once-dreaded form was now nothing more than a ruin of flesh and shadow. Kael's twin daggers remained buried deep in its hollowed chest, the final strike that had put an end to everything.

He had done it. He had cleared the tower.

A familiar chime echoed in his mind.

Ding!

A translucent panel flickered to life before his fading vision.

[Floor Panel]

[Congratulations, Challenger.]

[You have reached the end of the Tower.]

[Ascension Commencing.]

Kael's breath hitched. Ascension?

He had expected a victory prompt. A portal home. Maybe even the closure of knowing he had freed humanity. But as the words burned into his mind, reality itself began to shift.

The battlefield dissolved. The void twisted.

The ruins, the corpses, the remnants of war—everything shattered, breaking apart like fragments of a dying dream. The stars above spiraled, rearranging themselves as space itself folded and rebuilt.

And then, before him, a path took form.

A staircase. It spiraled into the unknown, its steps stretching beyond sight, beyond reason, beyond the very limits of this world. 

Kael's breath came in ragged gasps. His mind raced.

No… it can't be.

This place—this cursed tower—was never a prison. Never a test to free humanity. It was a threshold. A gateway to something far greater. And he… he was the only one who had reached it.

Kael gritted his teeth, forcing his broken body to move. He had to see it. He had to know what lay beyond those steps. But the moment he tried to stand, his strength betrayed him. His limbs refused to respond.

The pain—the agony that had tethered him to life—was fading. In its place, a sharp, piercing cold seeped into his bones.

No… Not like this. Not after everything. Not when I was so close.

[Final Reward Processing… Failed.]

[Retrying Process… Failed.]

[Unable to process final reward…]

[Alternative Reward will now be applied.]

Kael's vision blurred. His body felt like it was sinking into an abyss far colder than the void around him.

His final sight was the system's last message.

[Restart Initiated.]

And then, everything faded to black.

.

.

.

Click! Clack! Click!

The rhythmic tapping of keyboards filled the air, a mechanical symphony of productivity. Kael's eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry as he adjusted to the soft glow of a computer screen.

His fingers twitched. His breath came slow and steady, but his mind was anything but.

Where… am I?

The scent of old coffee and printer ink clung to the air, so familiar yet so utterly foreign. As his senses sharpened, he noticed the rows of desks around him, each occupied by employees typing away, their gazes fixed on their screens.

A corporate office.

No—this office…

Kael's stomach twisted. His chair scraped against the floor as he abruptly stood up, the motion so sudden that his knees nearly buckled. This wasn't possible. He knew this place. The layout, the desks, the dull hum of the air conditioning—he had spent years here before the world turned to ruin.

But that can't be right. This place was destroyed…

A tremor of unease crawled up his spine. Heart pounding, he took cautious steps toward the glass corridor at the far end of the office, his legs moving on instinct. His reflection caught his eye.

He stopped. Stared.

A young man with curly black hair and sharp black eyes looked back at him, his face devoid of the scar that had once defined him. His body was leaner, shorter, his features untouched by time and war.

He lifted a shaking hand to his cheek. There's no scar.

His breath hitched.

You've got to be fucking kidding me…

His heart thundered as he fumbled inside his suit jacket. His fingers brushed against something solid. A compact, familiar weight. His phone. With rigid hands, he lifted it, his pulse hammering against his ribs. The screen lit up.

[New Email: Work Notification]

But that wasn't what made his blood turn to ice.

It was the date.

March 25th, 2025 - 2:27 PM

Kael's vision blurred at the edges. His grip on the phone tightened until his knuckles turned white.

That's impossible.

He swallowed. His mind raced, searching—grasping for any other explanation. A dream? A hallucination? But the office, the people, the air against his skin—it was all real.

His lips parted, voice shaky.

"System. Show me my status."

Nothing. A void of silence swallowed his words. No familiar interface appeared before his eyes. No stat window. No System notification. The weight of realization slammed into him like a tidal wave.

"Oh, it's Kael. You okay?"

The voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He turned to see Salia—long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a warm smile she probably didn't even know she had. She was one of the more well-liked employees, a year or two older than him, someone he never considered more than a workplace acquaintance.

But that wasn't what made his stomach twist into knots.

She was supposed to be dead.

Kael felt bile rise in his throat. His body acted before his mind caught up, and he barely managed to mumble, "I… I don't feel so good," before rushing past her.

He stumbled into the bathroom, his stomach churning as he barely held himself together. He reached the sink but didn't make it—his body lurched forward, and he barely had time to brace himself before he was throwing up whatever breakfast he had that morning.

His breaths came ragged, his chest heaving as he gripped the toilet seat for support. The nausea lingered, but his mind was too preoccupied to care.

This isn't right…

Kael remained crouched for a moment, forcing himself to take slow, steady breaths. Eventually, he dragged himself to the sink, turning the cold faucet on full blast. As he splashed water on his face, he hesitated before looking up at his reflection.

It hadn't changed…the face staring back at him was that of his younger self. He tried to summon the system panel— nothing. No notifications. No interface. No confirmation of a trial run.

Then that means…

The realization hit like a freight train.

I've really gone back in time.