6:00 AM. Grey light filtered through the barracks window. The rough blanket scratched at my skin as my own scream lingered in my ears. A sour taste of bile burned my throat. I pressed my hands to my mouth, haunted by the memory of ash and death.
Twice. I had died twice.
My body wouldn't budge. Fear gripped every muscle tight. Get up? Go out there? To die again? No way. I couldn't. I wouldn't.
I curled up small, yanking the thin blanket over my head, wishing to vanish. If I stayed still, maybe it wouldn't happen. Maybe this awful dream would finally stop.
The barracks noises came and went. Footsteps echoed. Grunts sounded. Gear scraped. Time slipped by, counted only by my racing heartbeat.
A rough hand grabbed my shoulder, pulling me up hard. Sergeant Borin towered over me, his face full of annoyance. "Wen! Get up! It's almost seven bells. You want latrine duty for a week?"
I shook my head, words stuck in my throat. Hot tears stung my eyes.
Borin huffed, thinking I was just lazy. "Pathetic. Get dressed. You're late for gate duty." He didn't wait, just dragged me out of the bunk. My feet slapped the cold floor.
Somehow, I got my clothes on. My shaky fingers struggled with the leather straps. My body felt like lead. Borin pushed me out the door toward the South Gate.
Checkpoint duty. With Jin Kai.
Everything felt far away, like I wasn't really here. I stood at my post, numb, ignoring Jin Kai's usual taunts. My eyes tracked the sun climbing higher, counting minutes to noon. To death.
I didn't move when the smugglers showed up. I didn't react to Jin Kai's bragging. I just watched, like I was already gone, waiting for my end.
11:58 AM. "Piercing Light!" The blast hit. Heat burned. Then nothing.
I gasped awake, choking, back in the bunk. 6:00 AM.
Loop four. Despair drowned me, cold and heavy. This wasn't a dream I could escape. It was a trap.
This time, I ran.
As soon as my feet touched the floor, I sprinted. Out of the barracks, down a side hall, ignoring the yells behind me. I found a dark supply closet near the mess hall, stinking of old grain and rat mess.
I huddled in the shadows, knees to my chest, begging any god to hear me. Please, make it stop. Let me live past noon.
Dust floated in the thin light under the door. Hours dragged on. My stomach growled. My legs cramped.
Around ten, the door slammed open. Two patrol guards peered into the dark. "Well, look at this," one said, yanking my arm. "Skipping duty, Wen? Captain Liu will love this."
They pulled me out. I didn't fight. What was the use? They took me to the Captain's office. He yelled at me, angry, and cut two days' pay from my tiny wages. A pointless penalty when I knew I wouldn't live to get it.
They didn't send me back to the gate. They didn't send me anywhere. Shamed and let go, I wandered with no purpose.
11:58 AM came. I was in the main courtyard when I heard it, a dull boom from the South Gate. Jin Kai's Piercing Light. I braced for the heat, the pain.
Nothing came.
My eyes opened wide. I was still standing. Still breathing. The city hummed around me, vendors calling, kids laughing. The blast was far off, not touching me.
Confusion mixed with wild relief. Did hiding work? Was it over?
Carefully, I headed to the city walls, craving space, needing to see. I climbed the steps to the wide path circling Veridian.
The sun warmed my face. Below, the city buzzed. Maybe I was free.
I walked the rampart, breathing deep, relief so strong it ached. I didn't notice the old stones underfoot. Years of wear had weakened the wall.
A grinding sound hit. The stone under my foot shifted, broke. My stomach dropped as the path collapsed.
I clawed for something to hold, finding only air. The ground raced up fast below me.
A scream ripped from me as I fell.
Impact. Darkness.
I gasped, eyes snapping open. 6:00 AM.
The rough blanket. The grey light. My heart thundered.
Loop five. Despair sat heavy in my gut. But something else was there too. A sharp thought cut through the fear.
I died again. But not the same. Running changed it. Hiding changed how I died, even if the time stayed the same. Death found me at noon, but not always by Jin Kai's blast.
It wasn't set in stone.
If I changed what I did, death changed too. That meant it wasn't fully unavoidable.
The loop wasn't just a cage. It was a pattern. And patterns could be figured out. Maybe even broken.
A small, desperate spark lit inside the heavy darkness. Hope was too big a word. But resolve? Yes. A tough, stubborn resolve.
I couldn't stop the loop by hiding. I had to face it. I had to learn it.
Six hours. I had six hours until death came again. This time, I wouldn't hide. This time, I'd watch. I'd learn. I'd find out what really happened at the South Gate.
