The Author's POV

'What did I just see?'

Kevin felt his heart grow cold.

'T...that can't be real, right? Re..n would never do that...'

He was in a state of complete denial. But, it was at this moment that he suddenly recalled his past flashbacks of what Ren had done with Emma, and it was from there that he was able to calm himself down.

'That's not the Ren I know. It's a different Ren.'

He repeatedly told himself. Recalling the conversation he had with Ren in the past and connecting everything with his visions, things were slowly starting to make sense.

'Why is it dark?'

Following his death, the scene once again shifted. This time, the world was dark. However, upon paying close attention, he could hear the sound of birds chirping in the distance.

Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.

'Birds? What's going on?'

Kevin could faintly feel the warm, gentle sunshine enveloping his whole body.

It was then that Ren opened his eyes and Kevin found himself inside a one-bedroom apartment.

Rubbing his eyes, he blinked a couple of times and once more looked at my strange surroundings.

'This place...'

It looked familiar. Kevin couldn't just quite remember where he had seen this room before.

The room was furnished with the basic necessities that comprised a clean white bed, an old wooden spacious desk, a tall wardrobe, and a small bathroom. It was neither too big nor too small, but it seemed to have all the necessary facilities one might need when living.

'...Just why is this so familiar to me?'

Kevin thought to himself as he continued to stare at the room. It was strange, but Kevin knew for sure that he had seen this room before.

...But no matter how much he tried to think about it, he couldn't exactly remember where he had seen it.

'How odd.'

Shifting his body, Kevin's head turned to face the nearby window.

Reflected on it was a familiar face.

Jet black hair

Pale white skin

Blue ocean-like eyes

It was Ren's face...but younger. A lot younger.

'What memory is this?'

Kevin wondered as Ren's body shifted and he pressed his foot on the ground to help his body up.

"...Another failure."

Ren muttered while he stood up, and headed for the nearby desk where he sat down.

Opening the drawer beside the desk, he took out a small notebook alongside a small pen.

Grasping the pen beside him, Ren's body froze for a small second. With his eyes locked onto the pen, he slowly brought it next to his neck.

Click—!

Pressing onto the top end of the pen, the sharp tip came out.

Ren gently pressed it against his neck. Slowly, he began to put more pressure.

'What is he doing?'

Kevin wondered as he felt the sharp tip of the pen press against Ren's neck. His actions didn't make sense to Kevin at all.

'Don't tell me that he's...'

"Haaa..."

Before Kevin could come up with an assumption, Ren let out a long sigh and lowered the hand that held onto the pen. The pressure on his neck disappeared.

Casually tossing the pen on the desk, Ren reclined on the chair and emptily stared at the white ceiling of the room.

Grasping his chest with his hand, he mumbled.

"...What's the point? It's not like anything will change."

Though his words were casual, they were enough to alarm Kevin who was watching everything.

At this point, no matter how much he tried to feel the emotions Ren was experiencing, he couldn't feel anything. He basically felt like an empty shell whose sole reason for living was something that Kevin was still unsure of...but from his earlier actions, Kevin had an inkling that perhaps, just maybe, Ren didn't really want to be alive.

It was as if something was stopping him from dying. Or maybe he was just overthinking.

...but as he thought back at the moment he pressed the pen against his neck, Kevin was left uncertain about his theory.

Leaning his body forward, Ren grasped the pen he had thrown on the table and opened the book.

He then began to write something.

dear, he fell into a state of emotional turmoil. Assessing the situation, I decided to terminate the loop. Based on my calculations, the possibility of

freeze. Chills ran through his body as he had a hard

'I..it can't be, right?'

in a state of denial, but...he

the dots

it was only wishful thinking on

he was still nonetheless Ren. A stinging pain started to quickly spread

'...Why? Just why?'

[Trial 210]

pen,

anyone that Kevin was close to in the previous loop before he comes in contact with them in this loop.

paper, the world started to shift, and a red sky enshrouded

as corpses and limbs sprawled all

silence enshrouded

"Haa...haa..."

broken building, as the sound

'Where am I?'

then that he noticed that his right hand was missing and a

It looks

he was seeing, Kevin suddenly had a

laid on a figure

his body laying down on a broken building, the figure blankly stared toward the sky as a cruel smile sprung up on his

use, you won't be able

rang throughout the world

world seemed to have come to a standstill as demonic energy

"Stay put."

Kevin felt his hand rise

Crack. Crack.

the ground crushed against his body, resulting in a

the red-eyed figure was completely unfazed as he gazed in his

figure's smile only deepened as their

your useless

"Shut up."

as the area around him pulverized into bits. The gravity around him started to warp, and the buildings in the distance

Rumble. Rumble.

His power was overwhelming.

shocked to see a figure resembling himself standing in the distance, and it

'This scene...'

"Your turn."

of his hand motioned downwardly, Ren kept the other figure in check while he looked toward the

to Kevin that his power wasn't enough to contain

you waiting for? End

his other self who was standing in the distance. His voice sounded a little bit more rushed this

after glancing at the red-eyed figure

this the outcome that

are you talking

back. His brows furrowed tightly, and his voice

the other Kevin pointed towards the

of humanity has

the other Kevin's fists clenched tightly, his voice rang throughout

What's the point of killing him when there's no one

to the other Kevin's words, Ren slowly opened his mouth to say something. Matching his mouth, Kevin spoke inside

'Because I don't care.'

"...Because I don't care."

this point that Kevin finally understood why felt

scene that he saw in his vision. He

"You don't care?"

of his body was very faint and almost invisible, the

about the fact that because of your actions humanity is on the verge

"What are you doing?"

dull voice echoed

palm to

that I should've done the moment I

Clank. Clank.

up from the

time, Kevin felt Ren's face crack when

do you think you're

his body try to move, but no matter how much force he applied,

just how much of a predicament he was,

did you do to

Kevin turned to look at the other white figure who was watching the scene with an amused look on his face. Although he was also on the

going

the other Kevin proceeded

"khh..."

body slowly started to fade as his figure

suddenly started to feel

End it!!!! You know full well that you're the

'Desperation.'

he felt his

the

Kevin's feet came to a

Clank. Clank. Clank.

walked, Kevin felt the chains wrapping around his body

reach the other Kevin, Kevin realized that Ren had stopped

and glaring in the other

will be enough to stop

"I don't know."

other Kevin shook

At least for now, you won't be