Aashish_Kookna

“If you could relive your life—not to chase fame or fortune, but to right your deepest regrets—would you dare face your own past?”

Yun Fei was an ordinary man in his thirties, living a life soaked in the bitter wine of missed opportunities and mistakes. A failed business, a broken family, friendships turned sour, and the loss of the only girl who truly loved him—his world was a long list of what-ifs and if-onlys. He wasn’t evil, but he had been weak. Not cruel, but often silent when he should have spoken. His was a life not ruined by one catastrophic event—but by a thousand small regrets that, over time, swallowed him whole.

And then he died.

Not in glory, not in battle, not even in some poetic tragedy.

Just… alone. Forgotten.

But death wasn’t the end

Born Again with My Future Regrets

Scene: Midnight – Swan Ring Database Access

Yun Xi sat at his desk, the Swan Ring glowing softly.

> "System," he whispered, "show me the Echo Registry."

CLASSIFIED DATA UNLOCKED: ONE-TIME ECHO VISUAL RECORD

A cascade of holographic projections unfolded before him—hundreds of timeline markers, faded names, and deleted coordinates.

Last Ping: City No. 5 – Underground Ruins

> "City No. 5? That was destroyed ten years ago."

> Correction: The city collapsed. The underground remained.

Scene: Living Room – Family Discussion

Yun Fei and Lin Xiya listened quietly as Yun Xi laid out the plan.

"We need to find him," Yun Xi said. "If he survived, he may know how to fight the system… and stay free."

> "City No. 5 was off-limits after the collapse. Radiation, rumors of disappearances…"

Lin Xiya interrupted, "Or Council interference."

> "If you go," Yun Fei said, "you won't be going alone."

Scene: Journey Begins – Secret Transport to City No. 5

At dawn, the family traveled underground via abandoned rail lines. A distant friend of Yun Fei, a scientist named Dr. Lei Mu, operated a hidden tram—one that used ghost routing to avoid surveillance.

> "You're looking for Echo-0001?" Lei Mu asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's either brave… or suicidal."

Yun Xi responded calmly, "It's necessary."

They entered a rusted tunnel, and the world above faded into silence.

Scene: Arrival – The Ruins of City No. 5

Cracked skyscrapers. Nature creeping through concrete. Silence thick enough to choke.

But beneath the city, hidden pathways hummed faintly—energy that wasn't quite dead.

Yun Xi followed the Swan Ring's pulse.

> Feather Sync Detected. Time Drift: 0.2%

There was a figure—cloaked in shadow—sitting in a room lit only by soft blue crystals.

The man looked no older than thirty.

As Yun Xi stepped closer, the man spoke without turning:

Yun Xi paused. "You're Echo-0001."

> "Not anymore. I gave up that name when I realized the Council doesn't just hunt. They rewrite."

He finally turned—and Yun Xi gasped.

> The man looked exactly like him—an older version.

"My name was Jin Huan," the man said. "I was the first to reject the paradise. And the first to be punished."

He opened his hand. A black feather flickered—cracked and damaged.

> "I burned out half my timeline to stay hidden. I'm alive, but not all of me made it."

Yun Xi swallowed. "Can you help me stop them?"

> "No. But I can teach you how to survive them."

> "Because one day, the Council won't send illusions or tests."

In the weeks that follow, Yun Xi trains with the First Echo—learning techniques to bend timeline fragments, break illusions, and shield his presence.

He learns about the Resonant Memory Map, the Fate-Shearing Cut, and the Reverse Pulse Heartbeat—skills only Echos can master.

But every lesson comes with a cost.

Each skill used… erodes a piece of himself.

As the chapter ends, the First Echo leaves him with one last warning:

> "The real test isn't power, Yun Xi."

Chapter 21: The One Who Ran First