Death Reset: Rise of the Phantom Assassin

He should've been furious. Every part of his body-what was left of it- should've been screaming with rage. But in front of this bratty, chaotic little goddess, he couldn't even think straight. Was she really a goddess? Not some demon in disguise sent to toy with him?

"But I have to leave," Hyun Woo mumbled in a low tone.

There was no way he could stay here forever. Not in this eerie tower with some unknown bratty goddess. Not while the truth of what happened still burned in his chest.

"Hmm," she tilted her head, tapping her lips with one finger. "Well, to the outside world, Hyun Woo Lee is already dead. You can't go back with that body."

His breath caught. He looked down at himself, at the dried blood and ripped skin, the wounds that somehow no longer hurt. There had to be a way. It was a miracle he was even alive. No, he couldn't waste this chance.

She said he couldn't leave with this body, didn't she?

But she never said he couldn't leave at all.

If he became something else… if he inherited another body… if he became a phantom, a vessel or anything-

"Do you really want to leave that badly?" the goddess said, eyes narrowing as if reading his thoughts again.

He met her gaze silently.

"Well, in that case, there is a way," she said, flashing a small grin.

"A way?" His voice cracked with hope. For the first time since he fell, his eyes lit up.

"We just have to give you a new body," she said casually, like she was talking about changing clothes. "Mm-hmm." She pressed a finger beneath her chin, deep in thought. Then, as if deciding on a whim, she turned around. "Follow me, Zombie."

Without waiting, she started walking toward the arched door.

Hyun Woo trailed behind her. Another snap of her fingers, and the giant stone doors creaked open, flooding them with a blinding white light. Instinctively, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, everything had changed.

The prison-like place was gone.

Now he stood in a field of swaying grass, surrounded by towering green mountains and cascading waterfalls. The sky stretched wide and blue above them, white clouds lazily drifting. A gentle wind swept across the meadow, brushing his skin.

His lips parted, stunned. "…Was this… the tower?"

"Yup," the goddess answered without looking back, skipping lightly down the mountain path. "This is still inside the tower."

He followed, struggling to keep up. She moved fast, absurdly fast for someone so tiny. Then again, she was a goddess.

"Normally, I wouldn't do this," she continued, voice turning serious. "But the thing you left behind in the human world… that's something that must be handled with extreme care. So I don't have a choice. I have to send you back."

"The thing I left…?" he asked in a quieter, cautious voice. His steps slowed.

"That seed," she replied.

His body tensed.

Right. That cursed seed.

His hands clenched at his sides as rage flickered across his eyes. The reason he died. The reason they betrayed him. The reason he was thrown away like trash. He had been nothing more than food for it.

"…What was it?" he asked, his voice strained.

"A demonic seed," the goddess answered. "I don't know where those humans found it, but they were reckless. Feeding it holy energy, of all things… Do they even understand what could happen if it falls into the hands of true evil?"

"Isn't it already in evil hands?" he muttered bitterly.

She stopped. Turned to him. And after a moment, she nodded. "Yeah… you could say that."

He looked away, fists trembling.

From the very beginning… they used him. Played him. Pretended to care. Lied to his face.

"…From the start, I was just fodder, wasn't I?"

He didn't look at her when he asked. He couldn't. The pain in his chest was heavier than any wound.

"I really loved Han So Mi," he whispered. "But even that… was an act, wasn't it?"

"The fodder, huh?" the goddess mused. "If you ask me… I'd say you were more like a nurturer. The seed fed on your energy. It probably sees you as a parent figure now. That might even be why they decided to kill you. As long as you were alive, they couldn't control it."

"But-"

"And now we're here!" the goddess announced, cutting him off before he could say more. Hyun Woo looked around. Still the same mountain path. Just… more trees now. Was this really the place she was trying to reach?

"Fenrir!! Mama's back!" she yelled, arms wide open like a lunatic.

He blinked. Was she okay in the head?

But that moment of doubt vanished as soon as he heard it, a low, rumbling howl that made every hair on his body stand straight. Then it appeared. A glowing, white figure emerged from thin air and leapt into the goddess's open arms. Except… it wasn't small.

It was massive.

Hyun Woo stumbled back, nearly losing his balance. The air felt too heavy to breathe. The wolf had a beautiful, almost divine presence, but something about it terrified him on a primal level.

Fenrir.

He'd heard of it in myths. The demonic wolf fated to kill the mightiest gods.

No way… it couldn't be that Fenrir, right?

"Fenrir, this is zombie," the goddess said, motioning to Hyun Woo with a grin.

"…Zombie?" he mumbled to himself.

She stepped beside the wolf as it turned its gaze to him. Its golden eyes glowed with divine intensity. Glimmering rune-like patterns shimmered through its white fur, especially the diamond-shaped mark on its forehead.

"Zombie," she said again, but this time her voice was serious.

"I'll be honest with you," she continued. "I can give you a new body. But I don't know if you'll be able to use holy magic anymore. You've already lost that attribute. If you go through with this… the Lee Hyun Woo you knew will be gone forever. You'll be reborn as someone new, with new skills, a new face, a new life. No one will recognize you. Are you… fine with that?"

"Yeah," he said instantly, without hesitation.

She blinked. Well, she was a bit surprised.

Not everyone could let go of their past that easily.

But then she smirked, arms folded, nodding approvingly. "Alright then. Fenrir… you know what to do, right?"

The wolf gave a gentle nod. Then, without warning, it lunged.

"Wait-WHAT-!!"

Hyun Woo didn't even get to finish the sentence.

His head was gone first.

Blood splattered across the grass as Fenrir began feeding. The goddess watched, face blank, hands on her hips.

"…Should I have warned him first?" she muttered to herself.

****

Darkness, again.

Hyun Woo shot up as consciousness returned, panting. He looked around as he breathed heavily. His surroundings were different. He was sitting in front of an altar with a massive wolf statue behind it.

"…Haah… goddamn it. Was that a dream?" he muttered, instinctively reaching for his neck and face.

He remembered, his head had been eaten first.

He flinched as a familiar howl echoed in the distance. Whipping his head around, he spotted golden eyes glowing once again in the shadows.

Fenrir.

But this time, it didn't attack. It just stood there, watching him. So, it really wasn't a dream.

Then Hyun Woo noticed something. He looked down at his body. The wounds were gone. He touched his forehead. The bullet hole had vanished. And…

His hair. It was crystal white.

He stared at the pale strands falling across his eyes. Was this really him?

Also, he was… completely nude.

"What the hell…" he mumbled, eyes now catching faint golden runes glowing from his wrists to his elbows.

Ding!

A sudden digital sound startled him as a glowing screen appeared before him.

[System initializing!]

"A system…?" he echoed, confused. Fenrir let out a soft, low howl as if answering him.

[Merging completed!]

[The body of Hyun Woo Lee has successfully merged with the demonic wolf Fenrir]

[Rebooting system…]

[Reboot complete]

"Wait, merged? I merged with a wolf?! What the actual-"

[Problem detected…]

[The system recognizes 'Demonic Wolf' and 'Hyun Woo Lee' as separate entities. Current form is a merged figure without a name.]

[User, please enter a name…]

Hyun Woo stared at the message blankly.

So… he couldn't even use the name Lee Hyun Woo anymore?

He sighed, glancing over at Fenrir.

Did… they really fuse into one body?

It was actually…kind of creepy.

[Name successfully entered. Welcome, user Kim Na Yun.]

"What?! Wait!! I didn't type anything! What the hell?!"

He stared at the window in disbelief. It clearly said the name was successfully entered. But… he didn't do it.

He slowly turned to Fenrir.

"…Did you… name me?"

The wolf blinked.

Hyun Woo, no, now apparently Kim Na Yun, collapsed onto the stone floor, arms spread wide in defeat.

"…I got eaten by a wolf and now I'm reborn as someone with a girl's name."

The system gave no reply.

Fenrir wagged its tail.

"How was my life so tragic?!"