After Klo Yuthnir narrowed the distance between his eyelids, he lost consciousness as if nothing had happened.
But something strange did happen—when Klo opened his eyes, the usual hue in his pupils was gone. The deep crimson had vanished, replaced entirely by an indigo blue closer to the color of the sky.
He stared at the transparent-shaped panel floating in the air, raised his hand toward it—and punched it.
Nothing happened. Klo stepped closer to the system notice to read its content.
[Notification]
"One rewrite has been deducted from a total of 10."
"What does that mean?"—the tone was feminine.
"Does the owner of this body know about this floating thing?"
It turned out the fox spirit had taken over Klo's empty body. The ground and surroundings around her receded, and since it was unfamiliar to her, she leapt back into a defensive stance resembling that of a wild animal.
"What's happening?"
Everything changed around her—it became more like a pitch-black void, with a gentle light resting miles away.
The fox rolled her eyes toward that light as it advanced toward her with several unmeasured steps.
Could that be the exit?
The light drew closer, touching Klo's body, until she lost her sight for a while. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back in the same place she had been imprisoned—in the exact spot where Klo's arm had frozen.
She stayed still for a long while, the two girls calling her "Klo," while the werewolf boy exhaled warm, heavy breaths mixed with silly jests.
"What's wrong, Klo? Did that filthy place bring back some memories?"
The fox turned her head toward the group standing behind her.
"Klo? Is something the matter?"
The fox lowered her head to see the hands that would once again claim their lives. She took a step back—then lunged at Luna, trying to strangle her with Klo's hands.
She climbed on top of Luna, who was too weak to resist, because the person before her was Klo but not Klo at the same time.
The fox pressed down hard on Luna's throat, depleting the little air left in her lungs.
Luna tried to push her away, and even Elithia and the werewolf joined in to help.
It went on like that for a few seconds—until the moment Luna was about to bid farewell to the last thread of her life, Klo's right eye changed back to its usual brick-red color.
Klo pushed himself backward, cursing in words only he understood.
"Curse you, you vile fox—you'd kill the ones I love even in my absence. How cunning you are."
The fox tried to seize control of Klo's weakened body again, but his willpower fought her off.
Amid their struggle, Klo burst into hysterical laughter, which made the fox stop resisting.
"Fox… have you ever tried dying many times before? If you haven't, I'll make sure you enjoy it."
"What do you mean by that, you lowly human?"
"As long as we share the same body, you'll feel every pain I've endured."
Klo pulled a serrated dagger from beneath his jacket, gripping it tightly as he brought it closer to his neck.
Elithia and Luna moved toward him to stop him, but Klo kept them away.
"Don't come any closer—I have scores to settle with this fox. Even if I die, everything will reset."
Luna collapsed to the ground, clutching her clothes as tears streamed down her face.
"Why, Klo… why do you have to bear all this pain alone? Don't you deserve even a single day of rest?"
"She's right, Klo—I won't let you do this."
Elithia rushed toward him, but Klo conjured a stone wall with magic, adding a warding spell to repel counter-magic.
He gripped the dagger again, shortening the distance between it and his throat. The only word echoing in his mind was:
"Do it… do it do it… do it do it… do it do it… do it."
Klo brought the dagger close enough to scratch the surface of his skin, letting a few drops of blood drip onto the blade.
"You think you can do it, human? You're nothing but a weak creature."
Klo laughed, bringing it even closer.
"Do it… do it do it… do it do it… do it do it… do it."
Why am I nervous? Damn it, damn it—why won't my hand obey?
He gathered his courage and slashed his throat, the blood pooling near his body into a red puddle.
Klo and the fox opened their eyes to find themselves in the same place they had returned to earlier—the same spot where the fox had once slept.
[Notification]
"A rewrite attempt has been deducted. You now have 8 chances remaining."
Klo's appearance shifted—his hair turned white and grew longer, his eyes changed to blue, even the one that had reverted earlier. Two vertical lines cut through both eyes, his skin turned snow-white, and faint blue tattoos appeared all over his body.
"Are you… Klo?"
Klo drew his dagger again and slit his throat once more—this time without hesitation. Death no longer meant anything to him, and clinging to life meant defeat.
He died and returned, again and again, slicing his throat and leaving life behind.
He continued until he reached the final retry. The fox was so sick of it she could vomit from the sheer number of deaths she endured.
[Notification]
"A rewrite attempt has been deducted. One chance remains."
Losing meant true death.
"Stop it, you sick human—how can you bear all this?"
Klo smiled, drenched in sweat and trembling from the repeated executions. He collapsed unconscious on the ground along with the fox.
…
Klo opened his eyes to find himself among brown trees resembling oaks dressed in white. He scanned his surroundings to be sure.
Whoosh~
The ground was soft and cold, coated in white; icy flakes like paper scraps danced in the wind, whose chill bit into his ears with its melody.
Klo sat on the ground, leaving a depression where his body had rested. He rose and began searching for a way out of this situation.
He walked on, looking for a clue or anything that could help him. Lifting his gaze from the ground, he saw a girl shorter than him, wearing tattered clothes and a frayed hood that covered part of her long white hair, which the wind played with, tossing it behind her.
"Hey, girl—wait!"
Klo trudged toward her with difficulty, his steps leaving holes in the snow.
When he reached her, the girl turned to him with a smile.
"Finally, you've arrived."
Her skin was as pale as frost, and her blue eyes were bisected by a blue line—just like the one that had appeared on Klo earlier.
"Why did you wait for me?"
The girl raised her hand toward him. Klo took it, and she led him in a different direction through the forest.
The only thing Klo was thinking about was how hungry he was—he hadn't eaten breakfast—avoiding thoughts of the many deaths he had suffered.
The two of them walked without much thought, as if everything that had happened before meant nothing.
"What's your name, boy?"
"Klo Yuthnir. And yours, girl?"
"No… I mean your real name."
"My real name? Ethan."
"A beautiful name—it suits a great writer like you."
"...Thank you."
They kept walking until they reached a rocky ledge, behind which was a massive drop so deep the fog covered the bottom.
The girl climbed up the ledge—she wasn't sullen or expressionless; she smiled and moved freely, unlike Klo, who trudged forward like a walking corpse.
"My name is Lumi. Pleased to meet you, Ethan."
"Likewise."
Klo tried to smile but was too exhausted—he swayed backward, and before he could fall on his back, Lumi rushed to place his head on her lap.
Klo lifted his head slightly to see Lumi's smiling face.
"You're like a child, Ethan."
"I am a child—seventeen years old—unlike you, little one."
She tilted her head slightly, gazing into Klo's eyes.
"Don't you know I'm a thousand years old? It's rude to call a young lady 'little.'"
"Then, old lady."
"That's just as bad. Do you want me to retrain you?"
Klo chuckled softly, lying there drained of energy.
"You're really handsome in this form—long white hair and blue eyes cut through with blue stripes."
Lumi gently touched his face, her expression tender.
"Your white skin is cold, even with that color. I'm sorry for everything you've been through, Ethan—you haven't lived a life you can be proud of."
"I know that… but what surprises me is how much you know about me."
She leaned her head closer to his face.
"Aren't you afraid your little secret will be exposed, Ethan?"
Sigh "What secret? Even if it were revealed, I'm not satisfied with myself—my end always comes down to death or a reset."
Lumi moved her hand to his white hair, running her fingers through it.
"How do you know all this about me, Lumi? Just wondering."
"It's fine, Ethan. Since we share the same soul core, you can talk to me in your mind—or picture me before you so no one else can see me. And when two people share a soul core, they exchange their memory reels to build trust between them. From your memories, I learned you were a writer who used a device called a 'computer.'"
"I see."