I didn't sleep.
How could I?I had just died — felt my chest torn open — and now here I was again, alive, holding the same crown, staring at the same crowd.
The cheers felt louder this time, almost mocking.Like they knew I couldn't escape.
---
I looked at the baker.
Still smiling.Her eyes wide, unblinking.I waited for her to move, to blink, to be human.
She didn't.
I turned to the soldier by the gate."Our hero has come! The kingdom is saved!"
Same tone. Same words. Same pause after "hero."Exactly like before.
---
Last time, I went along with it.I played my role.I took the sword, met the party, and walked into the forest.
And I died.
This time, I decided to try something different.
---
When the king lowered his head and spoke his line, I cut him off.
"Keep your crown," I said."I don't want it."
The crowd didn't stop cheering.The king's lips kept moving, repeating his script even as the crown slipped from my hands.
But for a fraction of a second, the world stuttered.
The cheer faltered.The air itself seemed to freeze.
And then it all snapped back.The king's voice continued.The crowd roared louder, drowning me out.
Like the world had pressed "reset" on only itself, trying to erase what I had done.
---
I pushed further.
I swung the sword down — not at the monsters, not at the path ahead — but at the baker.
The blade stopped mid-swing.Not because I hesitated…But because something caught it.
An invisible wall shimmered around her, like heat bending the air.
Her smile never changed.
---
I stepped back, heart pounding.
So that was it.The world would let me play along.But it wouldn't let me break the script.
Not yet.
---
The knight appeared again, bold as ever.The priestess smiled the same smile.The mage grinned crookedly.
All waiting for me.All pretending.
And I realized something.
If this was a loop, then I had time.Time to test.Time to learn.Time to see how far the cracks could spread.
---
The crowd still chanted "Hero."The king still begged me to defeat the Demon Lord.
But I wasn't listening anymore.
I was watching the cracks.
And with every loop, I swore…I'd make them wider.