Mike's eyes snapped open. The ceiling above him—same cracks, same shadows. The familiarity pressed like chains on his chest.
His gaze shifted. Mio was there, stormy eyes fixed on him, worry softening her features even as she tried to mask it.
Again… I couldn't protect her. After everything, I still failed.
"Mikey…?" Her voice trembled. "Are you just gonna keep staring, or… say something?"
Mike forced a crooked smile. He caught her hand for just a second, then released it before she could ask. "It's nothing," he said lightly, though his voice was tight.
(She doesn't need to know. Not yet.)
He rose to his feet. "Where's Chloe? I need to find her."
Like every loop, he found her and pulled her forward into the storm of time. The first wave ripped reality apart. The air screamed. Chloe's body erupted with fire.
[DING!]
[Ability Awakened: Solar Flare]
Golden light engulfed her frame. She staggered, eyes wide, before forcing a grin. "Mike! I can fight!"
Mike's eyes narrowed. Beneath the blaze, he felt it again. A flicker. A hidden spark. She didn't notice it. She didn't have time to.
Then the sky split open.
The apocalypse fell.
[DING!]
Telekinesis Capacity Enhanced: 4 Tons → 8 Tons
Power seared Mike's veins, his control doubling in an instant. He clenched his fists. But no matter how strong he became—
The outcome never changed.
Because he was there.
Unseen. Unreachable. Always waiting.
Brad.
It always began the same way: a voice dripping with curses, echoing through the chaos.
"Pathetic little fucks… you think you stand a chance?"
And then blood. Always blood.
Sometimes Chloe dropped first—her Solar Flare cut short as her chest burst open, her golden light extinguished before she even realized she was struck.
Sometimes Mio screamed as her Absolute Protection cracked apart, her own body crushed within the shield meant to save others.
Sometimes Mike fell first, silenced before he could even raise a hand, his teammates' cries tearing through him as darkness claimed his sight.
Brad's voice always followed, cruel and merciless.
"Die screaming, bitch!"
"Fucking weaklings!"
"Bleed for me!"
Every loop. Every failure.
—
Loop 3. Telekinesis: 8 → 16 Tons.
Loop 4. 16 → 32 Tons.
Loop 5. 32 → 64 Tons.
By Loop 12, tanks bent like toys in his grasp.
By Loop 25, skyscrapers collapsed at a gesture.
By Loop 40, highways split, concrete and steel falling like dust beneath his will.
But it didn't matter. Brad was always faster, always untouchable. The unseen killer. The voice in the dark.
Mio's stormy eyes burned as her barrier flared again and again.
[DING!]
[Ability Awakened: Absolute Protection]
She smiled bitterly, even as the cost ripped through her body. "I'll protect you, Mikey…"
And then she died. Every loop, she died.
Sometimes Chloe fell beside her. Sometimes Mike joined them in pieces. Sometimes the order changed. The outcome never did.
Because Brad never missed. And Mike never saw him coming.
—
By the fifty-sixth cycle, Mike's power had risen beyond the realm of men.
The wave split the horizon once more.
[DING!]
Telekinesis Capacity Enhanced: 1.4 Million Tons → 2.8 Million Tons
The air bent. Buildings groaned under his will. His reach spanned the battlefield.
[Telekinesis Rank: SR]
He could lift mountains. He could part seas. His grip could shatter the earth itself.
And still—
Chloe's light dimmed. Mio's shield cracked apart. Their screams filled his ears.
And Brad laughed, unseen, arrogant, merciless.
"Too slow again, shithead."
"Look at you—so fucking strong, but still useless."
"Die, die, die!"
Fifty-six loops of failure. Mike's power only made the weight heavier.
He collapsed, his throat raw, his soul hollow. Even now. Even with this power. I can't save them.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
—
[DING!]
[Regression Initiated.]
[Loop 57 Commencing.]
The wave roared. Mike braced for the surge. His telekinesis swelled again, immense and unstoppable.
But this time… something changed.
The energy twisted, sharp and unfamiliar, unlike anything he had felt before.
[DING!]
[New Ability — Unlocked.]
Mike froze, heart pounding. His veins burned with a power he couldn't name.
And somewhere in the chaos, Brad's voice slithered through the air, dripping with venom, oblivious as ever.
"Come on then, little fucker. Let's play."
The light swallowed Mike whole.