Earth, a small, ruined planet.

There lived a human who repeated an endless cycle of regression. A regressor who has lived through over a thousand lives, unable to even die, all to defeat the beings that destroyed the world.

It was a period of time long enough to make one's mind go numb. Life could no longer be called life, and regression had become a punishment that had lost even its sense of familiarity. What awaits at the end of this repetition? Or does an 'end' even exist in the first place?

And so, around the 2,000th regression, starting yet another life...

Jjung met a certain human.

That human reached out first, suggesting they become comrades. Despite it being their first meeting, they were overly friendly, talkative, and better than anyone at the talent of getting under the regressor's skin every single day.

Jjung, whose personality was already ruined by the vast passage of time, could have destroyed that human whenever he felt like it.

But he didn't.

...Because they were very useful.

That human acted as if they knew everything about this world. The locations of hidden ruins, the weaknesses of demonic beasts, ways to survive, and so on. They casually shared information that even the regressor didn't know, and always offered themselves as bait without hesitation in the most dangerous moments.

Together, they crossed through countless deaths and endured countless despairs.

In the midst of endless regressions, Jjung was no longer a lonely regressor.

Since when was it?

He became accustomed to the time spent with that noisy human, it became natural, and he began to hope that this small warmth would last forever.

---

Parting came suddenly.

It was a day no different from any other. That human, who had offered themselves as bait just like always, stopped moving after a single mistake.

There was no time to say goodbye.

He couldn't even ask for their name.

Having lost that small warmth, Jjung thought of countless other timelines. He thought that if he abandoned this life and started over, everything might return to the way it was.

...And yet, in the end, he couldn't leave.

Because all the moments in this world—laughing, fighting, and surviving together with that human—

Had become far too precious.