The Author's POV

Coming out from beneath, the black threads gently wrapped around the white orb.

Opening his eyes, Kevin felt his mouth open.

"How should I start?"

Ren's voice echoed throughout the dark void.

After looking at the orb and seeing the reflection, Kevin felt his brow furrow as Ren fell into contemplation. He seemed to be thinking about the current circumstances.

"...Let's see if it's possible for me to completely replace my memories with his."

After uttering those words, Kevin watched as the black threads flung around like wild snakes and attempted to wrap around the orb as quickly as possible.

"Khh..."

Kevin let out a short groan as his hand pulled away from the orb.

Tsss.

What followed after was a sizzling sound. Lowering his head, Kevin caught sight of Ren staring at his hand which had become transparent.

Taking a moment to raise his head again, he gazed at the orb's reflection.

"Looks like I can't do that. Whatever Kevin put on me sealed some of my powers..."

Silence ensued after he uttered those words. After which, Kevin watched as Ren kept his gaze on the orb, and the same scenario from before replayed.

Time seemed to have passed by in the blink of an eye as the memories shifted, and it was now the fourth time that Kevin was staring at the same image of Ren standing up from his bed, in what seemed to be the Lock's dormitory.

"Hm?"

This time, a change to the scenario happened.

Ding Dong.

The door suddenly rang.

'What? Why did the bell suddenly ring?'

Taking aback by the sudden events, Kevin was unsure of how to react. Having watched the scenario well over four times, he had never seen this happen in teh past.

Kevin's attention was soon taken away by a subtle pull of his lips.

Opening his mouth, Kevin spoke through Ren's mouth.

"...As expected, you can't let this happen, can you? Without me, all hopes of defeating the demon king are null."

What followed after his words was the sudden appearance of a man in a blue jacket. He was holding onto a small box which Ren took and brought with him inside of the room.

After which, he looked through the contents and eventually pulled out an unfamiliar red book.

'That...'

Kevin instantly recognized the book in Ren's hands.

How could he not? It was the same book he had used back when Ren was in danger in the past.

"Oh? What an interesting book."

Focusing his attention back on the reflection, Kevin was able to see what was written in the book. It was his life.

'As expected, it's the same.'

...and it was from there that Kevin was able to confirm his suspicions.

Time moved forward, and now, with the aid of the book, Ren no longer died during the Hollberg incident as he did in the past. He managed to survive.

Kevin felt interest arise from within his body.

"Can this be enough to stop the loop?"

Kevin mumbled out loud through Ren's body.

But...

"Doesn't look like it."

Time passed, and Ren once again died. This time, he died during the inter-academy tournament. He made it a bit further, but he still died.

"...This won't do."

The same scene repeated itself once again. This time, the red book appeared in each scene.

Clank. Clank.

Reaching out for the orb once more, Kevin felt his mouth open as he muttered.

"I think I've got an idea of what I should do..."

Black threads once again started to form around the white orb upon reaching out for it.

This time, they were a lot less than before. Nevertheless, they were still many.

"A red book, huh? Is this the only thing, or have you left more?"

Kevin mumbled through Ren's mouth.

Locking his eyes onto the red book, the black threads gently wrapped around the white orb.

"...This might work."

Thinking of something, Kevin felt Ren's brows relax. After that, he stared at the reflection on the orb.

"Since you've received a book that outlines exactly what Kevin is doing, it stands to reason that his altered memories have to do with a book. How about an author entering his own book? This would reduce the possibility of you discovering that your memories have been tampered with, and I won't have trouble giving him the power of foresight..."

Trying to wrap around the orb, more black threads emerged from beneath it with each passing second. Soon, a black cacoon formed in front of Kevin's vision.

"Since I have only a limited amount of power, I can't add too many details to his memory. Nevertheless, it shouldn't be a problem. Right now, my priority is making sure that he does what I want, and that is...have Kevin kill the Demon King."

Removing his hand from the orb, Kevin felt his body take several steps back.

Carefully observing the orb, Kevin once again felt his mouth open.

"Trial one. Begin."

Following his words, the black threads revolving around the orb started to scatter and Kevin was once again able to see what was reflected inside of the orb.

'It's different.'

that Kevin noticed that compared to the previous versions of the loops,

far too different from that of the Ren

'...What is he doing?'

past such as the Hollberg incident, the inter academy

name became known by everyone in the world, and he was hailed

go dark and

'What happened?'

he continued to

the loop suddenly restart? Ren

"Another failure."

the top

his mouth, Ren's voice echoed throughout the

in Kevin becoming weak

'What?'

hand on the orb once

Kevin and the others becoming too weak and inevitably leading to his death

from beneath

I need to make a change in the subject's personality. If he is too smart or ambitious, he will derail from the plotline I have set up for

only ambition will be to live a happy life and in order to do that, he

his mouth speak, the more the black threads

Clank. Clank.

chains became more intense as

for growth will inevitably lead to a change in the plotline. A pawn is necessary. One that would

Clank! Clank!

from the chains became more and more powerful with each passing second. It was clear to Kevin that

inexperienced and will have a high chance of dying. When the time comes, I need something to make him more decisive. The

CLANK! CLANK!

shook with a wild

go of the orb, the black threads that were wrapping around it, dissipated till

scene began to replay on the white

'It's once again different.'

was once again shocked to see the scene change. However, if there was

the Ren

he

lot like the Ren that

he came into contact with what seemed to be a broker. Talking with him for a bit,

Clank. Clank.

that Kevin felt his

Clank. Clank.

sound, Kevin felt his hand press

"Red desolation."

it was enough for Kevin to understand

name of one of the ranked dungeons on

as Ren chose that exact

and trained himself. It was only after a while that he spotted several people

seemed to be a mercenary

them, Kevin watched their bodies eventually start to convulse and

'Mindbreaker curse.'

group experienced, Kevin was able to tell with a glance how they died, and it was

it, a sandstorm engulfed him. The only thing Kevin saw

happening only after Ren entered the eye of the storm. A massive castle appeared in the distance at

'What is he doing?'

Ren approached the castle and

he enter the

"Good."

Kevin, he felt his mouth open

'What good?'

words caused Kevin to be even more

Kevin spotted a black humanoid figure sitting on a throne. Staring at Ren with an amused look on his face, he began to toy with him. Ren did try

'This...make it stop.'

scene, Kevin wanted to take his eyes away, but

Kevin could only watch as the demon toyed

the same thing happen again. Training in the

was repeated five more times. Fortunately for Kevin, as this was

aren't you doing

stand seeing the same scene of Ren getting tortured over

'Do something!'

once again about to die, Kevin

took a total of five loops in order for me to recuperate some of the energy

the orb, more black threads

saw

with his subjects. The key is to pretend you don't work anymore and attack his core

scene unfolded. This time, however, he was

and exactly as the demon lost

exactly as

last for long as he once

CLANK. CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.

was stunned to see the chains that were binding him shake even more fiercely than ever

there, more sprang from beneath the ground, and

around his body, Ren was

Kevin was the fact that he felt his lips

"I've succeeded."

eyelids close,

"Aaahhhhhh!"

a

'What's going on?'

again, Kevin found himself

is he

him was the

"Ahhhhh!"

in agony throughout the room as he

"Quiet."

open. In the instant that his words rang out, the demon that

Kevin felt his eyes meet with

'This demon...he feels familiar.'

knew that he was the same demon from the orb, but the familiarity actually came from somewhere else. He just couldn't exactly

case, he didn't have much time to dwell on this

"It's you!"

through Kevin and

The demon froze mid-air.

had trying to get a small fraction

white glow suddenly enveloped the

that

"Ahhhhh!"

as his words faded, the demon let out another scream and his

'What did he do?'

watched the demon scream for the next

doing something to him. Unfortunately, the only thing Kevin could do was watch. The