I bolt upright in bed, my heart hammering.
It's only dawn.
Cedric's sitting up too, his eyes wide.
"What's going on?" he asks.
"I don't know." I'm already moving toward the door. Did something collapse? Is Father hurt?
"Gareth, wait—"
I can hear Cedric scrambling out of bed behind me, but I don't wait. I'm through the door and hitting the stairs. My feet pound against the steps, the noise lost under the screaming from below. It's Father's voice. He's still screaming and then—
Silence.
The silence is worse.
I burst downstairs and move to the front room. Father's sprawled on the floor near the entrance, and there's blood spreading beneath him, so much blood that it's pooling on the stone.
A soldier is standing over him, wearing a purple and gold surcoat with a snake emblazoned on the chest. Those are different colors and a different symbol from our kingdom's. Nothing like Neldravos's white and red with its lion crest.
The soldier pulls his sword free from Father's chest.
"No!" The word rips out of me. "Father!"
The soldier's head turns. I can see his face under his kettle helmet's opening. Cold eyes. A scar across his cheek. And an empty expression like this is nothing to him.
Father's not moving. His eyes are open but they're not seeing anymore.
He's dead.
Father's dead and I'm standing here and—
"You bastard!"
I'm moving before I can think, charging at the soldier. With no weapon, no plan, just pure rage burning through me. I'll tear him apart with my bare hands if I have to.
The soldier shifts his stance.
I'm three steps away when his blade comes up, but I can't stop, can't slow down—
The sword punches into my stomach.
The pain is instant and blinding. I scream. I can feel the blade inside me, tearing through flesh and organs. My hands grab at it on instinct but the soldier easily wrenches it free and the sensation nearly makes me black out.
Blood pours down my front. My legs give out.
I hit the floor hard. I can't breathe. Can't move. Everything's going numb and cold. My vision is slowly darkening at the edges.
The soldier steps over me without a word, moving toward the stairs.
This isn't real. This can't be real.
Father's body lies just a few feet away.
Last night, Father was still alive. And now—
"GARETH!"
Cedric's voice comes from the stairs.
I try to turn my head toward the sound but everything's getting blurry. I can hear his footsteps pounding down, and him screaming.
The soldier turns toward the stairs, waiting.
I can't move. Can't get up. Can't do anything. My body won't respond. Everything's going numb, and cold is spreading from my stomach outward. I can only watch through blurred vision as Cedric reaches the bottom of the stairs.
Cedric's face is twisted in horror when he sees us.
His hands are empty like mine, just clenched into fists.
"You killed him!" Cedric screams, charging forward. "You killed—"
The soldier's blade moves in a clean arc.
Cedric drops.
He hits the floor and doesn't get back up. Doesn't move at all. Just lies there in a spreading pool of red.
No. No, this can't be happening.
I should have stopped him. Should have done something. But I can't even save myself.
The darkness is closing in from the edges of my vision. Everything's getting so cold. I can't feel my body anymore. I can't feel anything except this crushing certainty that I've failed.
Father's dead.
Cedric's dead.
And I couldn't stop it. Couldn't save them. Couldn't do anything except die.
Then there's nothing.
Nothing except for the darkness. There's no ground beneath me, no walls around me, nothing to see or touch or feel. Just an absolute void.
I should be terrified, right? Should be screaming. But I can't feel my body at all. Can't feel anything. Is this death? Just... nothing? Forever?
Then words slowly appear.
They're glowing, appearing in front of where my eyes should be. White text that seems to burn itself into my awareness:
Prerequisite has been met.
Unique skill 'Chronos' Curse' has been activated.
May your journey to infinity begin today.
The words don't make any sense. Prerequisite? Unique Skill?
The glowing text hangs there for a few seconds. Then it fades, melting into the darkness.
The void starts to recede. Light creeps in at the edges, growing brighter, and I start to feel something beneath me. Something soft. A bed?
Sounds filter in. Distant at first, then louder.
Someone's screaming.
I bolt upright in bed, my heart pounding.
A notification blinks at the corner of my eyes, but I ignore it.
I'm back in my room. Our room.
Cedric's sitting up in his bed, his eyes wide.
"What's going on?" he asks.
I stare at him. Cedric? He's alive. Sitting there like nothing happened.
But I saw him die. I watched him get cut down.
My hands press against my stomach. No pain. No wound. No blood. Just fabric and skin, whole and unbroken.
But how is this possible?
"Gareth?" Cedric's looking at me with concern.
The screaming continues downstairs. Father's voice, but then it cuts off suddenly.
The silence is worse.
I'm back at the beginning.
And it's happening all over again.