The Author's POV

Fear.

An unpleasant and inescapable emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm.

It begins with your hair standing up. Next, your palms begin to sweat, and your body experiences a wave of nausea, making it difficult for you to comprehend what lies before you.

The world feels foggy. Everything that seemed so clear the previous moment becomes blurry, and in an instant, your entire body begins to tremble, and your heart beats so loudly inside of your head that it feels suffocating.

Fear starts off as an instinctive and primitive response designed to help us avoid dangerous situations.

…But what would happen when you're in a situation where you can't avoid this so called danger?

Helplessness.

That was what they would feel.

A wave of helplessness would wash over the individual as they find themselves in a situation where they could do nothing.

"Don't tell me you're planning on leaving right as I arrived?"

Jezebeth's words echoed inside of my ears, while the hair at the back of my neck stood up.

Fear was slowly starting to permeate my body.

"Haaa…haa…"

Unknowingly, my breathing became heavier.

As I slowly lifted my head up, my eyes met Jezebeth's, and my heart stopped for a moment.

'S..shit.'

I was overcome with a wave of helplessness as his presence completely enveloped my body, stopping me from moving at all.

"Hm?"

In the midst of my struggle, Jezebeth frowned.

Coming a little closer to me, he tilted his head a little.

"You…"

He pointed his slender finger in my direction, as his glaring red eyes scrutinized my body up and down.

My body felt completely naked as his eyes scanned it. It was as if he knew every secret inside my body.

Gradually, as he continued to stare at me, his eyes dropped and his head shook.

"…You're not him, again."

There were hints of disappointment in his voice as he turned his head to look away from me.

Right as he turned, I was able to hear his soft whisper.

"He would never make such an expression…"

Taking a step away from me, he looked around the room and continued to whisper to himself.

"This is strange…I'm sure I detected his presence before coming here. I don't think I'm wrong."

For the next couple of seconds, he didn't say anything and just quietly walked around the room with a pensive look on his face.

Coming to a sudden stop, he turned around to look at me.

Once again scanning my body, his brows jumped and a thin smile formed on his face.

"I see…"

Tap.

Taking a step closer to me, it didn't take long for him to arrive before me.

Extending his hand, my vision darkened as his plan covered my face.

I tried with all my might, staring at the hand that was snatching at my face, but it was all in vain; he stopped me without any effort on his part.

"Don't move. I'm trying to check something."

His voice loudly echoed inside of my ears.

As soon as his words vanished, I experienced an electric shock throughout my body. My body began to tense up in response to what he did, and my eyes rolled to the back of my head.

I wanted to scream, but it was all futile effort on my end as my mouth was sealed shut. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't say anything.

"Mhh! Mhhhhh!"

The only thing that came out of my mouth were low muffled shouts.

"Ah, it makes sense now."

Taking his hand away from my head, Jezebeth once again turned away from me.

He had a satisfied look on his face.

"It's just like I predicted. You were the ones that resulted in Magnus's death, and it doesn't look like an accident either. As expected of you…"

Turning his body around, our eyes met. This time, his smile faded a little.

must be his fake

my mouth stop once he said these words, but

I began

"Oh?"

brow raised at the sudden

way, you're not that different from him. You can say that you bear striking resemblances to this demeanor at

head and slowly lifted

about you disappear and let the real you take over? I have

every word he spoke

to be reminded that I was a fraud, I was

replied with a slow head

"I'm good."

"You're good?"

at me with a strange look on his

"Ha."

his hand, he let

as his complexion

you have

room as he snapped his head to gaze at

"Khurk!"

instantly dropped on both

I slowly raised my head to

Tap. Tap. Tap.

throughout the room

right at that moment that the pressure

"Khuak!"

my body reflexively gagged and a wave

the ground, I began to heavily gasp for air while a single string of saliva

"…My bad."

Jezebeth's

are at the moment. For a moment, I thought that you were

crossed legged on the ground, Jezebeth placed both of his hands on the ends

even though you might not be him, he should

finger, my head snapped

"How should we start?"

for a bit,

time remembering certain

his head,

that aside, it doesn't seem like you have much time till he takes over. I'll say a couple of

extending the other toward me until his palm was directly in front of my

caught a whiff

do? Should I just kill you before he takes over? There have been several instances when he's brought me quite a

many whispers, resembling

I kill you right now, a lot of my problems would go

became, sending me into this weird phase that made it hard for me to

think I've got a

he removed the palm of his hand away from me that the hissing sound stopped and he appeared in my vision once more. He kept the same

did he spare

at Jezebeth before me. Although his looks were similar to that of a human, and the way he acted

was a complete enigma in my

made him

your face, you must be wondering why I

being able to read my thoughts, I was jolted out of them by

thin smile on his face, he slowly stood up

circles. The sound of his soft footsteps echoed through

No,

his words, I swallowed a mouthful of

within my body started to tremble as

know this since you don't have the power of the

meddling with time isn't cheap regardless of what type of entity you are. Be it me, you...or the records, meddling with time doesn't come cheaply. Whatever the case, unlike me and you, the records don't use that much energy to reset the universe. Every reset is just a fraction of their

footsteps, Jezebeth turned his head to

the records slowly start to lose their powers like a fighter running out of stamina, and what if they

my head, I could feel my heart beating loudly as he

His words…

began to experience a sudden feeling of dread as

my mind with each new regression that happened. The records could no longer expend any energy in

glow enveloped Jezebeth's hand and his face

"This power…it's so addicting."

his words reverberated so powerfully inside the room that it felt as if the room itself

his attention toward me, the glow on Jezebeth's

your looks, you've already guessed it. This is the last loop. Once

word he said, and my face began

why I kept

loudly inside of my head, and my view

then, I tried my best to keep myself from

to know why he wasn't killing me. I wanted to know what was going inside of

I don't need

my eyes blinked

Jezebeth's face as his two glaring red eyes stared at me. No, he was

of your desires. You want to stop the loops. You want the suffering you've experienced to end, right? Then carry it out. Kill yourself right now.

Jezebeth halted himself mid-sentence.

placing his hand over

kill yourself just yet. Not unless

his brows to relax. The smile also returned

in my direction, his smile became

be

time, I knew he was looking

want to live

he looked straight into my eyes. Before I could even

wants to die, while another