The pain was sharp.
Harvie felt the dagger pierce his chest. His vision turned red. He could barely breathe.
Edna…
Her name was the last thing in his mind.
And then—
Darkness.
Everything stopped.
No sound. No pain. No light.
Then—
> [UNLAMENTED – ACTIVATED.]
> [Returning to: One Day Earlier.]
A cold wind touched his face.
Harvie opened his eyes.
He was lying in a small tent. The same old blanket. The same weak light coming from the lamp.
The same sounds outside—soldiers talking, people moving, children laughing.
He sat up slowly.
His hand touched his chest.
No wound. No blood.
Just… silence.
He looked around.
This place again.
This time again.
He stood up and stepped outside.
The village was just like before. The same smiles. The same air. The same danger waiting at the edge of the forest.
But Edna… she was alive.
He saw her standing by the well, drinking water, wiping sweat from her neck.
She laughed at a soldier's joke.
So bright. So alive.
Harvie didn't smile.
His hands were shaking, but he hid them in his pockets.
"I can't keep doing this," he whispered to himself. "But I have to."
This time, he moved early.
He warned the guards to double-check the hills. He moved the child from the ruined house before the sun even set. He planted a trap spell he copied from a corrupted mage he had killed last loop.
He watched Edna from far away.
When the corrupted wyvern appeared—
He was ready.
The monster dove from the sky, wings spread like a shadow.
Harvie jumped.
[Volt Rend] activated. His body moved fast—like lightning. He leaped from roof to roof, then struck the wyvern in the eye with a blade coated in fire oil.
It screamed.
The beast turned, tried to run.
But the trap spell triggered. Chains of red light caught its wings.
Soldiers and mages attacked together.
The monster died fast.
This time…
No one died.
Edna stood there, blinking.
She looked at him.
"You… knew it was coming."
Harvie said nothing. He wiped his blade.
"You saved the child. You saved me. Again."
He looked at her.
And for the first time, he forced a small smile.
"I was lucky."
She didn't believe it.
But she said nothing.
As the villagers cheered and called his name, Harvie walked away.
He sat alone by the riverbank.
His hands were cold.
He had died six times so far. All to save her.
This time, he didn't cry.
He just stared at the water.
His reflection looked back—tired, quiet, empty.
"I saved you," he whispered. "So why do I feel like I lost something?"
The system said nothing.
But deep inside, Harvie could feel it.
Every death… was changing him.
Little by little.