The cheers didn't stop.
No matter how much I tried to ignore the baker's stiff smile or the soldier's repeating words, the crowd pulled me back into their rhythm. The crown in my hand felt heavier than before, like it knew I was lying to myself.
Still, I walked forward.
If this was really my second chance, then maybe all I needed to do was play along.
---
They gave me a party.
A knight in shining armor, proud and loud.A priestess with a gentle smile.And a mage whose grin looked just a little too crooked.
"Together we'll defeat the Demon Lord!" the knight boomed."Glory to our savior!" the priestess added.
Their lines landed too perfectly, like they were reading from a script.
But I followed anyway.
---
The forest path bent exactly where it needed to.The monsters appeared exactly when we were ready.Goblin after goblin fell to our blades like paper dolls.
The mage's fire burned clean through the night.The knight swung his sword in flawless arcs.Even I cut them down with ease, the blade moving as if the world wanted me to win.
For a moment, I almost believed this was real.Almost.
---
Then the ground shook.
The soil split open and a massive claw burst from beneath the earth. A beast with black hide and jagged teeth tore through the trees, its roar ripping the air apart.
Too strong. Too sudden. Too soon.
My companions didn't even flinch.
"Hero! Defeat it!" they shouted together.
The same tone. The same timing.A script.
---
I charged anyway. My sword clashed against its claw.
Pain.
The impact crushed through me, tearing my chest apart. Blood filled my mouth. My vision blurred.
I fell.
And for a moment, I thought that was it. The end of my second life.
---
Darkness.
Then—
Light.
---
I was back.
The gates.The towers.The banners.The crowd.
"Hero! Hero! Our savior has arrived!"
The crown pressed into my hands.The sword shoved into my grip.The king kneeling, whispering the same words.
"Defeat the Demon Lord… and peace will return to our lands."
---
My body froze. My chest remembered the pain, but here I was — standing as if nothing had happened.
I looked around.
The baker was still smiling.The soldier still repeating.Everything was the same.
Exactly the same.
---
I dropped the crown.
The sound echoed strangely, as if the whole world were hollow.
And for just a heartbeat… the baker's smile twitched.
Not much. Not enough for anyone else to notice.But enough for me.
This wasn't reincarnation.This wasn't destiny.
It was a loop.A trap.A mirror.
And I had just died inside it.