'!'
"This…"
There was a flicker of hesitation.
Standing still, hands casually tucked into his pockets, Cruxius stared at the blue screen hovering in front of him. Its glow clashed subtly with the room's yellowish hue, casting an ethereal light as he tried to make sense of this sudden phenomenon.
'Did she spike my drink? Some kind of hallucinogen? Or is this part of a hero's halo—an illusion?'
A storm of doubts surged through his mind. His eyes flicked toward Lira's lifeless body before darting to the window. Outside, the wind carried the usual chill of night, and the moon hung undisturbed—calm and very real.
His narrowed gaze swept over the vast ocean beyond, a silent reminder that this mansion sat atop a private island—far from civilization, far from any prying eyes.
Complete isolation.
> [ Establishing bond with host ]
'A mechanical voice? What are you, some kind of nanotech?'
The voice echoed—mechanical, synthetic, yet disturbingly vivid. But he doubted it was nanotech. As someone deeply familiar with portable tech, he would've sensed even a trace. Besides, he hadn't even finished the wine she'd offered. After death, his body always reverted to the selected time point—within that 24-hour window.
There should be no way to carry anything—especially not tech—into the past.
And yet… the sound, the sensation, the light—everything felt too real and too solid to be dismissed as a hallucination. He turned toward the mirror placed across the room—
Only to find that there was no window in its reflection.
Whatever this was, it wasn't in the room.
It was inside his mind.
That left two options: he'd been drugged… or infected.
Without hesitation, he strode to a drawer, retrieved the BioTrace Mk.IV, and activated it with a sharp click.
No response.
No nanotech. No infection. Clean.
> [ Bond completed ]
DING!
> [ STATUS WINDOW ]
> Name: Cruxius Blac
Rank: A
Role: Super Villain
Ability:
[Black Loop] – Rank: SS+
Upon death, User can rewind to any chosen moment within the past 24 hours.
– Only memories are retained
– Physical injuries and damage are reset
– Time point is chosen after death
– Activates automatically
– No cooldown; reactivation requires death
– Cannot carry physical objects or energy through loops
> Core Stats:
Strength: B
Agility: B
Endurance: B
Intellect: SS
Charisma: A+
Libido: S
'Huh. Is this mine?'
A flicker of surprise crossed his face. The ability was clearly laid out—something he was supposed to learn through experience and painful trial, now spelled out in front of him. Even his rank and stats were there. His lips twitched slightly.
'I'm not that smart. And definitely not that horny. Is this thing broken?'
He found it a bit amusing. The stats displayed seemed to match the kind of assessments made by the Hero Association—each hero ranked and categorized. He had often used those metrics to gauge his own strength in combat.
So B-rank in strength, agility, and endurance made sense.
But intellect and libido?
Even if he gave some leeway to intellect… libido? That one was out of nowhere. He wasn't some sex-obsessed maniac.
> [ Awakening conditions met: Death of someone close to User's heart by User's own hand ]
'…'
Another window popped up, and this one hit deeper.
The system—whatever it was—had been triggered by him killing Lira. It made sense. She was one of the very few people he'd genuinely bonded with. His family was long gone, and Lira… Lira had entered his life by pure coincidence and somehow made a place for herself.
She was a good cook. He'd stumbled upon her family's failing restaurant while wandering through an alley and, impressed by her food, hired her as his personal chef on the spot. Later, he looked into her background and discovered a detail that changed everything—her sister, Neuril, a once-rising superhero, had died months ago.
He had been the one to kill her.
Even as the heir to Blac Corporation—one of the twenty wealthiest families on the planet—Cruxius had everything and yet lacked the one thing that truly mattered. Proof that even with infinite money, one could still be hollow. In a world of superheroes and miracles, his life had always been too convenient.
Charm, wealth, intellect, and skills—he had them all.
Except for one thing.
Ageusia—a condition that robbed him of the ability to taste.
And then, one day, in a run-down hotel on the brink of collapse, he'd tasted something for the first time in years. The food she'd cooked. The hotel had once been famous, thanks to its heroic mascot—her sister, Neuril—until her death ruined everything.
Cruxius erased all traces of Neuril's killer from the public eye. Deleted the reports, bribed the government, bought the judiciary, and pinned the blame elsewhere. And then, with subtle manipulation, he won Lira's heart and hired her as his assistant.
They became each other's solace.
And today… he'd told her the truth. Just to see her reaction. A test.
He knew that if he were in her place, he would've done the same.
He would've killed the one who murdered his family.
It was a loss—no doubt—but a necessary one. He had to know if she would forgive the one who destroyed her past.
[ Additional Ability Unlocked ]
[ Ability: HeartSync ] – Rank: SSS+
Description:
User may acquire the primary ability of any individual who falls in love with them.
The process is automatic and irreversible upon emotional confirmation.
The acquired ability is unique to the host and cannot be copied further by others.
[ Condition: The target must possess a strong emotional resonance toward the host—minimum threshold: Infatuation ]
'...SSS+?', Cruxius stood still, looking towards the window, completely silent as he saw a rank of an ability so high for the first time.
Supervillains may not have access to rank crystals or expert analysis, but for heroes, official data was available. According to that data, even the strongest heroes hardly achieved an SS rank.
[ Additional Feature Unlocked within HeartSync ]
[ Resonance Factor Activated ]
Description:
The deeper the target's emotional bond with the host, the stronger the derived ability becomes.
Multiplier range: 1x to 5x amplification, based on emotional depth and devotion.
Real-time updates available in the Status Window.
[ Caution: Betrayal or emotional rupture will result in power degradation. ]
'So... loyalty matters. Makes sense.' It appeared that he was getting the gist of things, looking at and believing what he was seeing, considering this world was already filled with too many things that he believed it all.
[ Synchronization Interface Installed ]
> Current Linked Candidates: 0
No emotional threads detected.
Awaiting connection...
'It really wants me to build a harem, doesn't it?'
[ Passive Trait Unlocked: Desire Magnetism ] – Rank: SS
Description: The more a woman loves you, the more charming you will appear to her.
Passive influence accelerates the emotional bonding process.
'Now that's just cheating...'
[ Skill Tree Available ]
[ Core Ability Path: Black Loop ] – Rank: SS+
[ Sub-Ability Path: HeartSync ] – Rank: SSS+
> New Node Unlocked:
[ Arrival Reward Bestowed ]
DING!
[ Black Loop's Rank is temporarily Boosted]
[ Pulse Limit: Override ] – One-Time Boost [ SS+ =⟩ SSS+ ]
> Description: For the next 20 seconds, the user may choose any time period to return back in the past after his death.
[ Time remaining: 00:18 seconds ]
Warning: Cooldown – Not applicable. Single-use only.
'!?!'
'Huh?', Cruxius stood there looking out the window as his eyes moved instantly towards the dead figure of Lira and then at the dagger.
Swiftly, he hurled himself down and knelt over her body, positioning himself just above her stomach.
He grabbed the knife and lifted her delicate, cold hand within his grasp.
With a smirk, he looked down, feeling no risk in giving it a try.
Considering that even if he died, he would return 24 hours back, he thought that if what that thing called the system told him was true, then he would have the chance to make things right this time, and in a much better way.
"You may never find a lover like me, Lira, who gave you revenge twice in a single night by being stabbed two times. I am a villain who returns every wound I receive a thousand times, you see." He stated as he pressed his hand with the knife slowly entering his chest, blood gushing out as his eyes settled on her lips, he declared.
"So, I will stab you a thousand times until your loud cries fill this room, all night long with much more thrust than before the next time we meet, okay, my love?—Scklt!"