The lecture continued normally.
Unlike last time, my mana didn't twitch, it didn't move, and the professor didn't react.
There was nothing to react to.
Time rewound. Not an entire day, just a few hours.
And it was longer than the first time.
I leaned back on my chair. I already knew everything this lecture had to offer.
Since I know that this is a time anomaly of some sort, I should confirm whether I'm alone or not.
Let's start small.
My mana.
My mana hadn't moved ever since I went back.
Not a single twitch, shudder, or even the normal flow expected from mana.
I was a little apprehensive of interacting with my mana, considering it's what caused all of this in the first place. But I had to know whether my mana rewound with me or not.
If it did, the potential would be insane.
I could keep training my mana everyday, then just go to the fracture at night and reset.
Miles of progress would be made in what seemed like a single day and night.
I shook my head at the thought.
The thought came easily. Too easily.
It was my unbridled curiosity that made me fall into this predicament with Dyrus Namil.
I created a pathway in my mind.
Nothing happened.
The mana didn't react.
I let it settle longer.
Just a bit.
Still, nothing.
Just when I was about to give up, my mana twitched. Like a beast waking up from a slumber.
It moved around weakly.
It seemed to hold no strength after what happened.
I brushed my awareness against it.
It didn't care.
That confirmed it rewound with me.
Thinking about it, I didn't know if I should be happy or sad.
The mana remembering wasn't a good thing.
That just meant it knew everything I did.
I didn't have a grasp on my mana yet. I had wanted to go to the library, but I got interrupted by Denis last time.
I didn't even know if my mana could 'remember'.
*Riiiiiiiiing*
The clock rang, signalling the end of the lecture.
The professor's gaze lingered on me longer than it should've.
He seemed really angry at me for missing most of the lecture then just not paying any attention.
Last time, when the lecture ended, I went to my room to experiment with my mana. After that, Denis came to my room to tell me about them wanting to discuss yesterday.
Then, the same rewind happened, but for some reason I was stuck in some sort of... limbo? Somewhere where no one existed, but their traces did.
There, I found the strange book with the fairy tale.
'Every time the clock was wound back, something small was left behind.'
My brows furrowed.
It seemed to hint at something about the loop.
Something small left behind...
It was too little information to make any guesses.
Right, the strange person that took the book.
So I wasn't alone.
But it made no sense.
After all that, I was sent to the past, and met Denis.
Denis seemed to act a little strange back then.
Maybe I should go see him.
My chest tightened a bit when I thought of Denis.
I would have to go meet Denis anyway after the lectures end to discuss Dyrus Namil and the mages.
I should focus on the more time-limited stuff.
By now, all students had left except four.
A boy counting something in the air.
Another covered in strange tattoos reading a book loudly with a half-human catgirl beside him.
And the fourth...
My eyes drifted to the corner of the lecture hall.
A red-haired girl in the corner.
She was talking to her books, the main one in the middle turning pages every few seconds.
I started walking toward her.
All the desks between us were empty. It was quite obvious that I was approaching her.
Her head twitched slightly as she seemed to notice me.
She turned to face me, her book still turning pages.
A questioning gaze.
That could be proof enough.
Unless she was an unreasonably good actor, it would be hard to fake such emotions.
Nonetheless, it wouldn't hurt to talk to her.
Soon, I stood by her desk.
Her books had closed by now.
There was no feeling of suppression around her this time.
I met her gaze, she titled her head slightly at that.
"Has anything felt out of place recently?" I asked.
Her eyes studied me for a second.
"Why are you asking me?" She said.
"You seem... observant." I answered awkwardly.
She chuckled at my response.
"Well, that depends."
I raised an eyebrow.
"On what?"
"On how much you've noticed." A smile bloomed on her face.
My breath caught.
She was much more energetic than last time.
She leaned forward. "So?"
"It's almost like I've experienced this day before." I said.
I didn't want to give too much while getting too little.
She looked at me expectedly.
She wanted more.
I took a deep breath.
"The lecture felt shorter, the morning felt heavier, this break feels constructed." I said.
Her eyes opened a bit more before she leaned back.
"So it's all just feelings? Nothing concrete?" She shook her head.
I clicked my tongue. "Maybe I just slept too little."
"Interesting. And I thought I was imagining it."
My eyes widened at her remark.
So I wasn't the only one who sensed it.
"You can sense it too?" I exclaimed a little too loudly for comfort.
She nodded, before turning to look around, sighing when she noticed no one looking at us.
"You need to be more careful." She whispered.
"Why?"
"Things that don't fit tend to get corrected." Her voice wandered off.
*Zzzzt*
The sound of electricity suddenly spread in the hall.
My eyes darted, searching for the source.
Above the red-haired girl, the light dimmed.
Then, for just a split second, an image appeared.
My body stilled when I saw what was inside.
It was me.
Disheveled hair, unkempt clothes, but still very obviously me.
I couldn't see what 'I' was doing.
I looked to the red-haired girl. She tilted her head at me.
Did she not notice?
I grit my teeth.
Looking around, no one else seemed to notice as well.
Then another image appeared.
It was me, surrounded by a group of people. They looked like students, but their uniforms were different. A small eagle-like badge was placed on their chests.
The image didn't disappear. It remained.
"It's getting worse, isn't it?" The red-haired girl murmured.
My eyes flicked to her, then back to the image.
For some reason, the me in the image above her felt more real than the current me.
I felt like the clone. The copy.
Loud footsteps echoed in the hallway outside the lecture hall.
*Click*
The door to the lecture hall opened slowly.
A slim man wearing glasses with a cape hanging from his back stepped in.
Behind him, a group of students walked unhurriedly and carefully, eagle-shaped badges hanging from their clothes.
The three other students in the hall all averted their gazes.
It was the student committee council.
The red-haired girl looked to me.
"Be careful." She said.
The student in the front studied the room before walking toward me.
"Are you Kyle Alars?"