The air rushed back into his lungs.
He was standing beneath the same banners, the same sunlight spilling over the marble.
For a heartbeat, Alain dared to believe it was new.
"It's different this time," Lia whispered beside him.
Maybe it was. The air didn't taste like static yet. The courtyard still smelled of lilac and wine instead of ash.
They moved fast, almost frantic—splitting up, scanning the crowd, testing every variable they could remember. Lia spoke to the guards, Alain to the servants, both repeating names like charms against fate.
"He's still here," she said when they met again. "The brother."
They crossed the courtyard, cutting through a dozen lives on rails. Hoddr turned when they reached him, the same faint smile on his face.
Alain's jaw tightened, Kenaz roaring in his left hand.
"We stop him before he speaks."
The mistletoe pulsed, red veins threading through its leaves.
Lia grabbed his wrist. "He hasn't done anything yet!"
"He will."
They argued in whispers, while the world waited patiently around them. Then, as if bored of their indecision, it moved on without them. Across the courtyard, the Jotnar drew his bow.
"No—!"
The arrow left his hand, carrying a gleam of runic light.
ᚻ — Hagalaz.
Baldr's laughter caught in his throat. The world froze mid-breath.
Then it shattered again. Alain blinked.
[Attempt #2 — Failed]
[Resetting Environment …]
[Corruption Level: 20 %]
He stood immediately from the bench, golden glow already on his right hand. This time Alain didn't even hesitate.
"Again."
[Attempt #3 — Failed]
[Corruption Level: 30 %]
Lia's voice cracked. "You can't just keep—"
Yes, I can."
The sky flickered. The marble blurred.
[Attempt #4 — Failed]
[Corruption Level: 40 %]
Each loop shortened, colors thinning, people becoming silhouettes.
[Attempt #5 — Failed]
[Corruption Level: 50 %]
"Alain—"
"Again."
The world obeyed.
Now the laughter came early. The arrow sometimes flew before the Jotnar even drew the bow. The Revelation was trimming time, condensing cause and effect into a single inevitable moment.
[Attempt #6 — Failed]
[Corruption Level: 60 %]
Alain's hands shook. His vision flickered.
"Why won't it work?" he shouted. "Why won't it ever work?"
Lia tried to reach him, but her hand passed through static.
"Because you're the only thing still trying to make it work," she whispered.
He ignored her. "Again."
Baldr fell. Light broke. Alain blinked.
[Attempt #7 — Failed]
[Corruption Level: 70 %]
He was laughing now, raw and soundless. Even he didn't realize he was doing so.
The color drained from everything except the red mistletoe and Lia's eyes.
[Attempt #8 — Failed]
[Corruption Level: 80 %]
The Revelation stuttered. Half the world reset. Half stayed broken.
Fragments of older loops overlapped the new one—ghosts walking through ghosts. Baldr died twice in the same breath.
Lia's voice came from everywhere at once.
"Please."
The plea barely reached him through the noise.
His eyes were dull, unfocused.
"Again."
[Attempt #9 — Failed]
[Corruption Level: 90 %]
[Warning: Host Destabilizing]
The next loop never came.
The sound that replaced it wasn't code or wind—just a human voice breaking through static.
"Stop!"
Lia's scream ripped through the collapsing air. The courtyard froze mid-collapse, color draining until the world was little more than a sketch.
Alain stumbled forward, disoriented. His hands left streaks of ember where they touched the ground.
His skin was cracking — faint fissures of shadows running down his arms, like his body couldn't decide if it was still alive or just residue. Every breath came out smoking, his eyes muddy with a faint fog.
"Enough!" Lia's voice trembled. "You think you're saving them, but you're not saving anyone! You're just proving it right! Proving that nothing can change!"
He turned toward her, panting, shoulders shaking. "If I stop, it all ends. If I keep going, maybe—"
"Maybe what? Maybe the world finally thanks you for breaking yourself?"
Her voice cracked but didn't waver.
"You keep giving everything away—your blood, your breath, your sanity—and for what? For a story that was never yours to fix!"
Alain's vision flickered. Every heartbeat shed a little more light from under his skin. He looked down, his veins glowed a dull orange, pulsing in uneven rhythm, each throb threatening to burst.
He shook his head, voice trembling. "I can't—if I stop now—"
…
"Then stop for me."
Those words cut deeper than any wound. The world rippled, color bleeding back for the first time in nine cycles.
Alain swayed where he stood, the light leaking from his veins fading to embers. His body looked less like flesh now and more like cracked porcelain, faint heat glowing beneath every fracture. Each breath came out thin and smoky.
Lia crossed the space between them—before the world could start again.
Her hands shook as she caught him by the shoulders.
"You did enough," she whispered.
His knees buckled, and she pulled him close, her arms wrapping around him before he could fall.
The contact felt unnervingly warm. Especially so, since he hadn't realized how cold he'd become.
He pressed his forehead against her shoulder. His chest heaved once, then again.
"I couldn't fix it," he murmured, voice shaking. "No matter what I did…"
"You weren't meant to," she said. "All that matters is that you tried."
Her words lingered, and for the first time, the Revelation listened.
The glow along his arm softened, the cracks closing to faint scars. On the back of his right hand, a rune pulsed a steady gold.
ᚷ — Gebo (Exchange)
Her left hand caught his, their fingers lacing together; a rune shimmered there in silver light.
ᛇ — Eihwaz (Endurance)
When their palms met, the two runes shone together—gold and silver light weaving across their fingers like crossing threads.
The Revelation responded. A pulse rippled through the air, and the voice returned — calm, resonant, and final.
[Final Truth Identified]
[Progress: 3/3]
[Concept Synchronization Completed]
Alain looked up, making eye contact with Lia.
...
"I want to create a satisfactory ending," he said softly.
Lia understood what he meant. Without hesitation, she nodded.
Alain blinked.
He stood at the courtyard once more, actually, both of them this time.
The arrow struck. This time, Alain moved before thought.
He reached Baldr in time to catch him as he fell, the weight of his body shockingly light. The world slowed.
The rune on Alain's hand burned against his palm, gold lines pulsing like a heartbeat.
Baldr's eyes opened. They were clear, calm, and almost amused.
"So you finally reached me," he said softly. "Took you long enough."
Alain froze. "You—"
"Know?" Baldr smiled faintly. "We always know, for a moment, right before the end. Think of it like a glimpse into the future."
His gaze drifted to the mark on Alain's hand.
"Exchange," he murmured. "I remember when it burned on mine. It's a hard one to bear. Feels like you're giving pieces away until nothing's left."
Alain swallowed. "Then how do you stop it?"
"You don't." A faint laugh. "That's the curse of people like us."
He turned his eyes toward Lia.
"Endurance and Exchange. Two halves of the same coin. She bears what you give. You give what she bears. The world keeps turning on that."
The glow in his chest began to fade. He reached up, fingers brushing Alain's arm.
"Don't waste it on fixing endings. Use it to create new beginnings."
The light left his hand and flowed into Alain's rune.
Gold fire raced along his veins, settling into a single, steady pulse.
Baldr smiled once more.
"There. That's better. Now I'm proud to call you my disciple..."
He exhaled. His body turned to light.
[Revelation Completed]
The light spread outward, cracking the air like glass.
And then the world shattered.