"A prison camp, right?" Reid asked, brushing low-hanging leaves from his hair.
Lyra groaned and didn't bother looking at him. "We've been over this a million times. When's it finally gonna stick?"
"It's just… hard to wrap my head around," Reid said, voice quieter. "Why hold that many prisoners of war? Feels unnecessary."
Lyra stopped walking. Tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You're not wrong. Maybe they're planning something bigger."
The Starborn moved cautiously through the thick forest of Astoria, its towering trees blotting out most of the moonlight. Each step sank slightly into damp soil. They were deep into no-man's land now.
"That's it up ahead," Arthur said, squinting into the gloom and pointing.
Lyra stared, unimpressed. "That's a rock, dude."
"What? No—it's… wait, what?" Arthur blinked. "That can't be."
"For a guy with moon-related powers, your night vision sucks," Lyra said, smirking.
"I found it," Clyde called out. He pointed to the left, where the faint silhouette of a tall metal fence cut through the trees. Spotlights buzzed faintly in the distance.
Arthur sighed. "Well, I was close."
"Close doesn't count when it's prison infiltration," Clyde replied, not looking back.
"Quiet," Rin whispered sharply. Her hand was raised.
A spotlight swung through the trees, its glow brushing past their position. Everyone pressed against trunks and underbrush, holding their breath.
Reid crossed his fingers, whispering something under his breath.
A sudden, muffled yelp broke the stillness. Something thumped to the forest floor.
"Shit," Reid muttered.
The body of a guard lay in the dirt, eyes wide and glassy. Ren stood beside him, white sword glinting faintly in the pale moonlight. Another corpse dropped nearby—same clean wound, same expressionless execution.
Arthur frowned. "You're fast. I'll give you that."
Ren didn't even glance at him. "No one said we couldn't kill. They're not innocent."
"Maybe not," Arthur replied. "But this is ruthless. No one said we had to, either."
Clyde stepped forward, grabbed Ren by the collar, yanking him forward. "Watch it. We take lives only when necessary. You don't know their stories. They could've had families."
Ren shoved him off. "Get off me, Winslow."
"You—"
Arthur slipped between them, hand on Clyde's chest. "Focus. We're on the edge of enemy territory. This isn't the time."
Both nodded reluctantly and turned toward the compound. Ren's blade dissolved into drifting snowflakes, vanishing in the breeze.
The group circled the perimeter of the fence, cloaking their mana traces with practiced control. They moved in sync with the arrival of a cargo wagon. As the massive gates creaked open, they slipped through the gap, silent as shadows.
A lone guard spotted them mid-sprint. "Yo—"
A blade pressed to his throat before he could finish. Ren's breath brushed against his ear. "Utter one more word and you're dead. Stay quiet and you'll see tomorrow."
The guard's eyes trembled. He nodded slowly and holstered his weapon. Hands raised, he stepped back.
Ren stepped away without looking at him.
"Is that what you wanted to see?" he asked Clyde.
"Shut it, Natsume." Clyde pointed at him. "Your voice already pisses me off."
Ren's brow twitched. "Keep that finger up, and I'll jam it in your eye."
"Hmph."
Arthur grabbed Clyde's shoulder tightly. "I said focus," he hissed. "This is why I didn't want you two on the same team."
Suddenly—"Intruders!" a guard shouted. A rifle charged and fired a mana bolt directly at Lyra.
Rin moved before anyone else. She shoved Lyra aside and took the shot herself.
The projectile seared through Rin's shoulder, burning skin and muscle as it passed. She collapsed with a sharp gasp, the scent of scorched flesh filling the air.
"Rin!" Lyra caught her before she hit the ground. "She's… she's out cold." Her hands trembled. "What kind of weapon is this?!"
"They've got advanced tech," Ren said, swinging his sword in a circle.
An icy dome crystallized around the group just as more bullets ripped through the air.
"They're firing at us! Think fast, leader!"
Arthur's breath caught. "We have to get Rin to Elowen. She's not waking up anytime soon."
"That's not even possible!" Clyde shouted. "We're surrounded!"
Lyra clutched Rin tightly. "These are humans. Normal people. But their weapons… they hurt us."
"She'll die if she stays with us," Arthur said, voice low. "We can't protect her like this."
"We can't abandon the mission!" Clyde snapped.
"And we can't die for it!" Arthur roared back. "What's the point of saving anyone if we're corpses?!"
"The barrier's cracking!" Ren shouted.
A second later, the ice shattered. Mana-charged bullets tore through the dome.
Arthur fell, screaming, blood soaking through his tunic. His stomach and leg were hit. Ren went down next, clutching his chest. Lyra took a shot to the arm but kept hold of Rin.
Everything went black.
…
A sharp bell rang.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Lyra groaned awake. Her arms were numb. The room smelled like mold and dust. No windows. No visible doors. The floor was cold concrete.
She tried to scream but her mouth was gagged. She was tied to a chair—so were the others.
"Good morning, newcomers!" a voice sang.
A woman stood near the far wall, spinning a brass bell in one hand. Her red hair was tied in loose braids, and her smile didn't reach her eyes.
"I'm Guinevere. You're my new toys."
She sauntered toward them and perched herself on a creaky wooden rocking chair. "We knew you'd come. You might've made it further if one of you hadn't let a guard live."
Ren's eyes locked onto Clyde's across the room.
Guinevere tilted her head. "My dear friend Damien asked me for a favor. So I'll indulge him. He wanted you all for a little game. And I never miss a chance to ruin the life of the young Sword Saint."
She crossed her legs, gently rocking in place.
Five minutes passed in silence. The ticking of a clock somewhere behind the walls was the only sound.
Then she frowned.
"Hmm. Perhaps I started too early."
Lyra let out a muffled scream, struggling against her restraints.
Guinevere giggled. "It's cute how you still think that'll help."
The chair creaked.
"By the way, where's the rest of your team?" Guinevere stared into Arthur's eyes.
"I know there's more of you. I don't mean the ones I nearly killed either. I'm talking about the ones you came with. I wonder what their assignment was."
She knows of Milo and Elowen, Arthur thought. He furrowed his brow, keeping his expression calm. Inside, he braced for the worst.
—
Sosuke's fist slammed into Grey's face. The boy dropped, clutching his cheek.
"What the hell?! What did I do?!"
"I don't remember… but I know you did something to me!" Sosuke growled. "Tell me and I'll spare you."
He was bluffing. Even if he remembered everything, he still couldn't bring himself to kill Grey.
Grey scrambled back, raising trembling arms.
"I—I called for Astoria's military! I reported your name and they're coming for you!"
Sosuke paused. "I see… I think I remember some things now." He placed a hand over his scarred eye. Then vanished.
He reappeared in the middle of the town center. A single breath. Arms raised.
"I'm here for you! Come out already!"
"How many times has it been?" Damien asked from the shadows.
Sosuke didn't respond. He lunged and kicked Damien in the gut, sending him crumpling to the dirt, coughing.
"Tell me what's going on!" Sosuke shouted. He stomped on Damien's arm, pressure increasing with each word.
Damien grunted but didn't flinch. "You're in a time loop. I've placed a condition that you'll never meet. I can only choose one, and I can't change it. Without your star eyes, it'll be impossible."
Sosuke's brow furrowed.
Damien raised his free hand, forming a sigil mid-air.
Too slow.
Sosuke seized his wrist. "Killing you doesn't work, does it? Maybe I'll just leave you alive this time."
Damien grinned. "Then I'll kill more people. There's no way out of this. Not one you'll ever choose."
He slammed his forehead into Sosuke's face. Sosuke staggered back. Damien spread both arms wide—sigils gleaming in the air behind him—pointed straight at the surrounding crowd.
Sosuke didn't move.
Let him.
Mana arrows exploded from the sigil, piercing through flesh and bone. Screams rang out—cut short.
Blood soaked the ground.
"You said I won't figure it out yet. So what does it matter if you kill people now?" Sosuke's voice was flat. Detached. "They won't be dead. I'll just reset it."
He summoned his katana.
A single slash through Damien's stomach.
Then flame—consuming his face and torso.
He waited for the world to lurch. For the timeline to fracture. For the fog to roll in, as it always had before.
But nothing came.
Just bodies.
Just blood.
Just silence.
…
The crowd didn't rise.
They didn't scream.
They were still dead.
"What…?" Sosuke whispered. His eyes darted across the massacre. "You… you couldn't have…"
Damien's corpse moved.
A twitch. Then fingers. Then a grin, stretching across his half-burned face as he slid a hand over his cheek.
"I'm feeling something again…"
Sosuke stumbled back. "You changed the starting point! You left that out… of course you did. There'd be no other reason to explain everything unless you already had something planned—"
He dropped to his knees, clutching his head. Guilt crushed him. The weight of every corpse. Every second lost. Every loop twisted by invisible hands.
"No… no no no—"
"They're just Astorians. Why do you care? They hate you after all." Damien said, casually shrugging.
Sosuke didn't answer. His tears fell freely now, streaking down dirt-covered cheeks.
"You're weaker than me… but I still can't do anything…" his voice cracked.
"Oh, how I wish I could remember it all too." Damien tilted his head, grin curling across his lips. "I'd marvel at every last bit of your pain. I'd hope, anyway."
He licked the blood that dripped from his nose. "Oh well. Let's see how much more you can take."
Damien lunged forward—his kick smashed into Sosuke's ribs, launching him backwards.
Sosuke hit the ground hard. Dust exploded beneath him as he skidded to a stop.
"You've given up?" Damien stepped forward slowly, eyes narrowing. "That's all?"
Sosuke coughed, spit laced with red. He pushed himself up on one elbow.
"Given up…? No." He looked up through damp strands of hair. "You're right. I shouldn't."
He struggled to his feet. "If I give up now, it'll only cost more lives. If I stop fighting… the chaos won't stop. It'll just be me who stopped. And then I'll never remember who I am."
Damien beamed. "Exactly! Couldn't have said it better myself."
"But…" Sosuke's voice softened. "I don't want to live this life anymore. One of constant struggle. Constant death. I want something else. A life. A normal one. I could move—somewhere quiet. Somewhere far."
Damien frowned, almost offended. "What are you on about now…?"
Sosuke vanished in a blink. His katana sang into existence and sliced for Damien's neck.
But Damien was already moving. He leaned back, flipped, and landed in a crouch a few feet away. He wagged a finger.
"Not just yet, Estrella." He stood up and turned away. "I've got something that'll make this even more fun."
He raised both hands, magic forming between his fingers—not a weapon this time.
A sigil. Something complex. A spell woven not with destruction—but with theater
It blossomed into a glowing screen above the square.
"Hellooooo? Is this thing on?" Guinevere's voice echoed through the air. She smiled through the projection.
Sosuke froze. His eyes widened.
"What…?"
"Greetings, young Sword Saint." Guinevere stepped aside from the screen.
"I have your little friends right here. Ready to be exterminated—at my friend's command, of course."
Behind her, tied to chairs, bruised and bloodied—Rin, Arthur, Lyra, Reid, and Ren.
"Rin!" Sosuke yelled.
"You've got a favorite?"
Damien and Guinevere said in perfect unison.
Guinevere's smile sharpened. She pulled a small blade from her pouch. "That sweetens it."
She stabbed it into Rin's hand.
Rin screamed. Her whole body jerked from the shock.
"STOP!!"
Something snapped.
Sosuke's sword surged with lightning. He charged—not just with speed—but with rage behind every step.
He cut down Damien.
One clean stroke.
A blur of movement.
Blood on the wind.
Damien collapsed, gasping, magic fizzling out around him.
Sosuke stood over the body, chest heaving.
"I can't beat the loop… if she's always the one who ends up hurt." He stared down at Damien's corpse.
His grip tightened.
"I need to find a different way."