The world ended again.
Mike's eyes opened to the same ceiling, the same suffocating routine, the same stormy eyes of Mio staring back at him with worry she didn't yet understand. He squeezed her hand briefly, masking his relief with a crooked smile before letting go. She didn't need to know. Not yet.
The cycle carried forward, each step identical to the dozens before. He searched for Chloe, pulled her into the future, and when the wave tore the sky apart, her body erupted with golden light.
[Ability Awakened: Solar Flare]
Her brilliance filled the battlefield. And as always, beneath that radiant blaze, Mike sensed the faint whisper of a second spark inside her — a strength she hadn't recognized, one she never had time to explore.
But this time, something different happened.
When the first wave hit, the familiar surge of telekinesis swelling through him, the system chime rang again. Only it wasn't the expected doubling of his invisible strength.
[Ding! – Host Has Acquired A New Ability]
[Cerebrum Fortis – Unbreakable Mind]
[Description – Host's mind is immune to mental attacks or invasions. Host has absolute focus and always makes rational decisions in any situation.]
[Skill – Telepathy: Can communicate with allies across a certain distance.]
Mike froze. His heartbeat thundered as the words echoed. His power was changing. Not just enhancing, but evolving.
It didn't save them.
The wave swallowed the city. Chloe's golden fire roared. Mio's Absolute Protection flared blue. And Mike, strengthened in both mind and will, tried once more to rewrite their fate. His telekinesis ripped apart skyscrapers, carved battle lines in the air itself, and yet—
Failure.
Chloe screamed as her light guttered out. Mio's shield cracked apart like glass. Brad's mocking voice echoed unseen, cutting through the chaos.
"Pathetic. You really thought this would change anything?"
Mike roared, but Cerebrum Fortis held his rage in check. Instead of charging recklessly, he calculated every move, stretched his power to its limits… and still watched them die.
Loop 57 ended like the rest.
He regressed.
Again. And again.
Every loop after 57 carried the new steadiness of Cerebrum Fortis. No more irrational rage, no more blinded fury. He acted with perfect clarity. His enemies didn't break him with taunts. He didn't waste movements. He thought like a commander, not a grieving brother-in-arms.
But Brad's shadow remained. Always unseen. Always laughing.
And always ending them.
By Loop 58, the system reminded him of the other force still bound to his body.
[System Chime!]
[Telekinesis Capacity Enhanced: 2.8 Million Tons → 5.6 Million Tons]
The raw weight of his grip doubled again. Cars folded into marbles with a twitch. Highways curled like ribbons under his focus. The very air bent as he moved.
And still—failure.
Brad's voice cut the battlefield like poisoned silk. "You can lift the sky itself, and it won't save them."
Mike clenched his fists, veins burning with restrained fury. Cerebrum Fortis kept him rational, but reason made the pain sharper. He couldn't even fool himself with reckless hope anymore.
Loop 58 ended in ruin.
Loop 59.
The wave screamed open.
[Telekinesis Capacity Enhanced: 5.6 Million Tons → 11.2 Million Tons]
Mike ripped apart an entire block of buildings and hurled it like shrapnel into the enemy tide. He split the battlefield with a gesture, forcing a gap wide enough for his allies to breathe. Chloe's Solar Flare roared brighter than ever, burning down countless abominations.
For a moment—just for a moment—it seemed they might win.
And then Brad's laughter returned. Hidden, unseen, like a shadow in the blood-soaked mist.
"Too slow."
Chloe fell first. A spear of flame from the humanoid beasts pierced through her chest, her golden aura sputtering into smoke. Mio's scream tore the sky as she threw up her shield. Mike tried to drag her back with telekinesis, every fiber of his soul burning to keep her alive—
The barrier shattered.
Loop 59 ended.
Loops bled together.
60, 61. Each time his telekinesis doubled, each time the system sang its hollow praise.
[11.2 Million Tons → 22.4 Million Tons]
[22.4 Million Tons → 44.8 Million Tons]
By Loop 61, his grip on the world was monstrous. He bent bridges into knots, crushed armies of beasts with a downward sweep of his hand, twisted cityscapes into weapons.
And yet, no matter how much destruction he wrought, Brad's unseen hand always carved through their hope.
Sometimes, Chloe died first. Sometimes, Mio's Absolute Protection consumed her. Sometimes, Mike himself fell under the weight of the unseen enemy's mockery.
Always failure.
Loop 62.
The wave tore open again.
[Telekinesis Capacity Enhanced: 44.8 Million Tons → 89.6 Million Tons]
Mike's power reached a height that defied comprehension. He crushed entire swarms into red mist. He pulled the ocean itself inland, drowning beasts by the thousands. He shattered the horizon with invisible force.
And yet the battlefield ended the same way.
Chloe's fire dimmed. Mio's shield collapsed. Brad's laughter pierced the air, always unseen, always inevitable.
Mike stood in the ruins, chest heaving, his body shaking under the weight of despair he could no longer deny. Cerebrum Fortis kept him rational, but clarity only made the truth crueler.
This wasn't enough. None of it was enough.
The loop broke.
And the world reset once more.
Mike opened his eyes to the same ceiling.
Loop 63 awaited him.
And though his telekinesis had never been stronger, though his mind had never been clearer, he felt the heavy weight of truth settle on his chest.
He was running out of time.