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

he said

I began to

"Oh?"

at the sudden

can say that you bear striking resemblances to

slowly lifted his head. His face

real you take over? I have no

manner, every word he spoke

result. Even though it pained me to be reminded that I was a fraud, I

with a slow

"I'm good."

"You're good?"

me with a strange look on

"Ha."

hand, he let out

for long, as his complexion crumbled and his voice

think you have

with a scarlet color that totally enveloped the room as he

"Khurk!"

on both knees

both hands, I slowly

Tap. Tap. Tap.

footsteps echoed throughout the

at that moment that the pressure

"Khuak!"

disappeared, my body reflexively gagged and a wave of

to heavily gasp for air while a single string

"…My bad."

Jezebeth's voice

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

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

of things I want to say, and even though you

finger, my head

"How should we start?"

a

intact you see, so I'm having a hard time remembering certain things.

head, Jezebeth

you have much time till he

hand while extending the other toward me

a whiff

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

echoed in my thoughts like many whispers, resembling the

I kill you right now, a

my head became, sending me into this weird phase that made it hard for me to keep my focus. Everything around me felt so off

I've

hissing sound stopped and he appeared in my vision once more. He kept the

did he

that of a human, and the way he

complete enigma in my

made him especially scary

on your face, you must

my thoughts, I was jolted

same thin smile on his face,

circles. The

records are weakening. No, the Akashic records

I swallowed a

started to tremble

of the Akashic laws, but with every regression, or time loop,

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

footsteps, Jezebeth turned his head to

a fighter running out of stamina, and what if they get so desperate that they

feel my

His words…

experience a sudden feeling of dread as I

the Akashic records weakened, and as regressions took place, I became aware of the previous regressions within my mind with each new regression

enveloped Jezebeth's

"This power…it's so addicting."

though he spoke in a low whisper, his words reverberated so powerfully inside the room that it felt

his attention toward me, the glow on

This is the last loop. Once 'he' dies,

more intense with each word he said, and my face

to why I kept

loudly inside of my head, and my view

tried my best to keep

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

I don't need to

and my eyes blinked several times, unable to comprehend his

eyes stared at me. No, he

you've experienced to end, right? Then carry it

Jezebeth halted himself mid-sentence.

over

you can kill yourself just yet. Not unless you

he was pondering, it didn't take long for his

in my direction, his smile became

this might be even

was looking at me,

to live

he looked straight into my eyes. Before

wants to die, while another wants to