The crown again.The same cheers, the same voices.
Every reset made them sound hollower.
I wasn't afraid anymore.I wasn't even angry.I was… curious.
If this world reset no matter what I did, then maybe it didn't matter how far I went.
---
I walked past the king without looking at him.The crown slipped from my fingers and clattered onto the stone.The crowd didn't even flinch.
Their lines continued.Their hands clapped in rhythm.
Puppets.
---
My eyes found the soldier by the gate.The one who always shouted the same words:
"Our hero has come! The kingdom is saved!"
Every time.Every loop.His voice like a broken bell.
---
I raised my sword.
He didn't move.Didn't react.Just opened his mouth to shout the line again.
The steel cut clean.Too clean.
His body collapsed.Blood poured onto the stones.
And yet—
The crowd didn't stop cheering.The king didn't look up.The baker didn't blink.
Only me.Only I saw the soldier twitch on the ground.
---
For a heartbeat, his smile cracked.Not the empty, painted smile of before.A real expression.
Pain.
His lips trembled.And then… words.
Not the script.Something else.
"Why… can't I leave…?"
---
My chest went cold.
Before I could respond, the world snapped.
The soldier's body vanished.The blood on the stones was gone.And he was standing again.
Back in his place.Back with the same hollow grin.
"Our hero has come! The kingdom is saved!"
As if nothing had happened.
---
I stumbled back, nearly dropping my sword.The crowd didn't react.But my heart wouldn't stop pounding.
That hadn't been a glitch.That had been real.
---
The knight approached me then, armor gleaming.The priestess smiled.The mage grinned.
They repeated their lines like they always did.
But when I looked closer…I thought I saw it again.
Behind the masks.Behind the lines.
Souls.
---
I tightened my grip on the sword.
If this was just a script, then I would cut through it.If this world wanted to trap me, then I'd bleed it dry.
No matter how many resets it took.