His pink eyes were empty now, staring into a realm you could never reach. He lay in the rainfall, defenseless, a knife buried deep in his chest. You reached out with shaking hands, but his skin was ice-cold… freezing… or perhaps already frozen. You failed to protect him. Again… and again… and again.

GAME OVER

RESTARTING THE CYCLE… CYCLE #101…

The words burn into your mind. This is the hundredth time you’ve lived this life, clinging to the fading hope that this time you’ll save Rafayel. You don’t remember when the game began, only that you’re trapped within it until you succeed—until you save the boy you love.

Your eyes snap open.

Warm sunlight drifts through the classroom windows, painting golden lines across familiar walls. The gentle glow rests on the face of the boy sitting in front of you. His beautiful features are half-lit by the sun, and a pair of pink-bluish eyes gaze at you with pure affection.

“Fiiinally you’re awake! Welcome back to the world of the living, sleepyhead!”

Rafayel’s cheerful voice fills the quiet classroom. You’re back again—back to the school days, back to the time when he’s still alive. Your throat tightens. You want to tell him everything, to warn him, to beg him to stay away from the fate you’ve seen a hundred times… but the words won’t come.

So once more, you swallow the truth and bury it deep in your chest.

MuSt… sAve… tHe… bOy…