A Future Unwritten.

Screams, much like those of the Awakened, began to die out. From thirty screaming men, they had been reduced to fifteen, then down to eleven, and now only a measly five remained.

"This is slightly irritating," Aldric muttered, the memory of how many times he had returned coming back to him. It was a core memory, now seemingly the first that didn't need repetition for him to remember. He didn't need to check his status to know he had respawned thirty-six times.

This was very convenient because, for him to know how many times he had respawned since this core memory, he just needed to check how much more than thirty-six was on his 'returns' stat.

"Status."

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[ Aldric Voss ]

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Markings: [The Remainder] [A False Existence]

Affinity: [Null]

Rank: [Warrior(0)]

Xai Energy (XE) Reserve: 10/10

Returns: (47/?)

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"I can't even act surprised," Aldric chuckled dryly.

Although it felt like his first time returning since he checked his status at thirty-six, he knew not to trust his own mind. He had experienced eleven returns since then and couldn't even remember them, let alone make progress from them.

What had he done those eleven times?

What would he need to do differently?

And perhaps the most heart-dropping question was: Had he reached an endless loop?

For all he knew, that could be the case. In fact, it was most likely. Without any external influence or memory, it was expected that Aldric would repeat his actions again and again.

There was a high possibility that he had done these exact things, had this exact thought process, then ultimately died—only to do it again with no memory of the fact whatsoever.

Even if he wanted to do things differently by perhaps going with something random that he probably wouldn't normally think of, he couldn't be sure he hadn't thought the exact same way in his prior return, ultimately still binding him to a loop.

All Aldric currently had to differentiate between returns was the number of them shown on his status window, and although it was better than nothing, it still wasn't enough.

Aldric watched as the Knight swung its blade and struck down Chest Plate in a single strike. He observed the brutal murder with a cold and detached gaze, a glint of resignation flickering in his eyes.

'What now?'

Aldric thought, observing the Knight move towards Alzine. He knew his future and could even go back to the past to alter it, yet somehow, someway, he was blatantly unable to escape the inevitability of his fate.

'What's the point then? Why do I even want to live if it's just a constant repetition?'

Deep in thought, Aldric had not noticed the Knight finish off Alzine and approach him until he heard the familiar roughness of its voice, one that annoyed him more than it made him fearful.

"The lost men whisper to the gods pleas of redemption, and for that sin, The First spill the blood of the gods on the very altar they worshipped them... Why?"

Aldric knew the question even before it was asked, perhaps because of how many times it had happened, he didn't need repetition to remember it as well. So he pondered it, and the more he did, the more it infuriated him.

"You want to know why?" Aldric asked with a bitter smile devoid of any humor whatsoever.

Then he looked up at the Knight, stretched his hand towards it, and raised his middle finger. Before he could finish his defiant gesture, the Knight raised its sword in kind.

"This is my answer, you overgrown metal piece of sh—"

Blood, red and repetitive, spilled across the temple floor, and Aldric, along with his pain, was silenced once again.

[You have died.]

* * *

"Sigh... this is slightly irritating," Aldric muttered, the memory of how many times he had returned prior coming back to him. It was a core memory, seemingly the first that didn't need repetition for him to remember. He didn't need to check his status to know he had respawned thirty-six times.

This was very convenient because, for him to know how many times he had respawned since then, he just needed to check how much more than thirty-six was on his return stat.

"Status."

======

[ Aldric Voss ]

======

Markings: [The Remainder] [A False Existence]

Affinity: [Null]

Rank: [Warrior(0)]

Xai Energy (XE) Reserve: 10/10

Returns: (276/?)

----------

Aldric's body tensed, his blood ran cold as he gazed at the screen. He almost couldn't believe his eyes, and with every fiber of his being, he wished he didn't. He wished none of this were real, but remained damned to the knowledge that it was.

His legs gave out beneath him as he fell to his knees. If there's anything Aldric feared more than his own weakness, it's his death. However, as he knelt, the screams of the Awakened in the background served as a fitting counterpoint to his despair—he, for the first time in his life, hoped for death.

'Why?'

Why did he save the checkpoint? To avoid death? It couldn't be. He had died many times over, so perhaps to avoid what came after it? Yet, that still was no justification, since now 'after' would never come. He forsaked his future for a past he could not change.

"Is that what the notification meant, that for the greater past, you must forsake your future? What point is there in that?"

Aldric mumbled to himself, his eyes dead with psychological exhaustion. The Knight, in the same robotic manner, had killed all and left only Aldric alive, who knelt there resigned to his fate, one he failed to Alter.

The Knight stood over him and asked his question:

"The lost men whisper to the gods pleas of redemption, and for that sin, The First spill the blood of the gods on the very altar they worshipped them... Why?"

Aldric didn't spare the Knight a glance and simply waited for death.

"I want to know as well. Why? Why do any of it? Why do I keep dying to stop an aftermath I'll never know?" He looked up at the Knight who raised its sword in preparation to take Aldric's life.

"Because of a future that doesn't exist, I've died again and again to change the past."

Then death. That's what should have come next, swift and concluding. Yet, Aldric breathed, and did so again, and again, and again—he was alive.

He looked at the Knight with eyes wide in shock as it lowered its blade slowly to the ground.

Then, it spoke:

"For the sake of a future yet unwritten, the blood of gods was used as ink to rewrite the past"

[Personal trial passed.]

[You have been chosen as a final candidate.]

[The Firsts applauds you]