Today was Sunday.
Again.
For the past… what, weeks? Months? I'd lost count. Every time the calendar flipped back, every time the same people smiled the same smiles and made the same meaningless small talk, I thought I'd gotten used to it. But you never really get used to living in a world that resets itself every seven days.
Imagine watching someone trip on the same sidewalk crack for the thousandth time. At first, it's funny. Then it's boring. Eventually it's mundane.
That's my life.
I used to think I was the only one stuck in this hell. The only one awake. Everyone else moves on autopilot, repeating their lines perfectly, like NPCs in a broken game. I memorized their movements, their schedules, even the words they'd say. Nothing changes. Nothing ever changes.
At least, until today.
Because today… I saw her.
She was standing in the plaza, right in the middle of the fountain. And she was wrong. Not wrong like her clothes or her face—she was too perfect for that. No, wrong in the way she looked at the world. Her eyes scanned the street, sharp and calculating, like she was seeing the strings behind the stage. The same way I look at people here.
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
Could it be? Another person like me?
I froze mid-step, trying to figure out what to do. What do I even say? I couldn't just march over and announce: "Hey, you and me are the same, right?" Yeah, no. That's how you get labeled a lunatic, even in a time loop.
Maybe I should just watch her from a distance. See if she does anything weird. Yeah. That sounds smarter. Safer.
Except… no.
If she really is like me, then when the reset happens, she might vanish. I might never see her again. And if she's not like me—well, what's the worst that happens? I embarrass myself in front of someone who's going to forget everything by next week anyway?
"Okay," I muttered, trying to pump myself up. "Just… walk over there. Just say hi. Totally normal. Not creepy at all."
My hands were shaking. My palms were sweaty. My legs felt like they were carrying me toward either salvation or disaster. With every step closer, my brain went into overdrive: What if I'm wrong? What if she's just another NPC? What if she's special and dangerous? What if she's—
Shut up. Just talk.
"Hi," I said, my voice cracking a little. "I have a question. It might sound crazy, but… are you, you? I mean—"
She cut me off before I could even untangle my own nonsense.
Her lips curled into a grin. Not the polite smiles the reset-people give me. This one was sharp, knowing, almost dangerous. A grin that said she'd already figured me out.
"Hmm," she said, tilting her head. "So you're the reason for this time zone. Interesting."
…Time zone?
I blinked at her, my brain stalling. "What are you talking about? I thought this was a time loop. I've been stuck in it for—I don't even know how long. And now you're telling me it's not a loop but a… time zone?"
"To you, it probably feels like a loop," she said, her tone calm, almost amused. "But it's actually a time zone you created. By mistake."
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut.
"Me?!" My voice shot up an octave. "You think I made this mess? That I somehow created a time zone where people live the same seven days over and over again? That's absurd! I don't even know how to do something like that!"
I realized I was shouting, and the reset-people nearby didn't even blink. They just kept walking, smiling, living their empty little lives. Like my panic was part of the background noise.
Meanwhile, she just watched me. Calm. Smiling like she'd seen this a hundred times before.
I hated it.
"What do you mean 'mistake'?" I demanded. "How do you expect me to believe that I—some random nobody—could possibly make this? You think I just snapped my fingers and rewrote reality?"
"Not snapped," she corrected gently. "Awakened."
I stared at her blankly.
She sighed, as if explaining this was a chore. "Look. Every rookie makes this mistake the first time they awaken their power. Some create paradoxes, some shatter timelines, some… like you… trap themselves in a repeating time zone. It's normal."
Normal?!
I wanted to laugh, cry, and punch something all at once. Normal, she said, as if it wasn't driving me insane. As if it wasn't crushing me under the weight of endless, meaningless weeks.
"And you…" I forced the words out through clenched teeth. "…who exactly are you supposed to be?"
Her grin returned, sharper than ever.
"My role," she said smoothly, "is to guide rookies like you."
The air seemed to freeze between us.
Guide? Rookie? Powers?
Her words echoed in my head, louder and louder, until I could hardly hear the noise of the plaza anymore.
This whole time I thought I was trapped in some meaningless, cosmic joke. Some broken loop that the universe threw me into by mistake. But if she was telling the truth…
Then the joke was on me.
Because I was the one who made it.
And that meant—
The world reset around me with a sickening snap, cutting my thoughts in half.
Sunday again.
But this time, I wasn't alone.