Rei sat on the edge of his bed, knuckles white as he clutched the sheets. His chest was still heaving, but the pain was gone. The dagger, the blood, the bandits gone like smoke.
Regulus stirred in the other bed, half-asleep. "Oi… you're up early. Bad dream or something?" he mumbled, rolling over.
Rei opened his mouth he wanted to tell him. He wanted to shout, I died. I died and came back. The world reset.
But the instant the thought of confessing crossed his lips, a sharp, crushing pain lanced through his chest. His heart clenched violently, his vision went white, and his breath caught in his throat.
He froze.
The moment he shoved the words back down, the pain vanished.
His hand trembled against his sternum. "…Y-yeah. Just a nightmare."
Regulus gave a sleepy grunt, clearly not interested in prying further, and turned away.
Rei sat there in silence, his body trembling.
He couldn't tell them. Couldn't tell anyone.
The memory of the dagger was seared into his skull, and the strange law that bound him now whispered a clear warning: If you speak the truth, you die for real.
Which meant he had no choice but to carry it alone.
A gentle knock sounded at the dorm door.
Regulus groaned, tossing a pillow over his head. Rei, however, sat up immediately, heart already pounding. He knew this sound. He knew what came next.
When the door creaked open, Mimi Wospetra peeked in, hands folded neatly in front of her dress. Her small voice carried through the room.
"Good morning… The captain asked me to inform you that tomorrow, you'll be assigned to a mission in the deep woods. Bandits have been spotted again."
Rei's stomach sank. The exact same words. The exact same mission.
Behind her, Takan adjusted his goggles and pushed them up his forehead. "I'll be accompanying you, too. I'll handle scouting and… data collection." His tone was as nervous and bookish as before.
Regulus sat up, yawning. "Bandits, huh? Sounds fun. Easy warm-up mission if you ask me." He smirked. "Tomorrow can't come fast enough."
Rei's chest tightened. His mind replayed the memory of the dagger cold steel splitting his ribs, the darkness closing in, and then waking here again.
He clenched the blanket in his fists, biting back the words he couldn't say. If I tell them… I'll die for real. I know it.
"…Got it," Rei muttered hoarsely.
Mimi tilted her head at him, her voice as innocent as ever. "You don't look well, Rei. You should rest today before the mission."
Rei forced a nod, his body trembling. Rest, huh… yeah. Rest before dying again. Thinking in his head
[When tomorrow came]
The forest was heavy that night. Mist clung to the roots, and even the torches the bandits carried seemed swallowed by the dark.
Regulus crouched low, muscles already tense, enhancement magic buzzing faintly at his boots. Rei glanced sideways at him and remembered — last time, this is where he lost control.
"Don't burn it all at once," Rei muttered, pretending it was just casual advice. "Anchor your legs. If you surge too fast, you'll leave an opening."
Regulus blinked at him. "Since when do you know about enhancement?"
"Since I've watched you nearly eat dirt a hundred times," Rei said flatly.
Regulus scowled. "Tch. Fine. Whatever."
The ambush came quick — shadows darting out of the mist, blades gleaming. Regulus moved fast, but not reckless this time. His speed was sharp but balanced, his axe biting through a bandit's guard like it was nothing.
Rei deflected another strike, his sword clashing hard, sparks snapping against the bark of a nearby tree.
Then it happened.
A blur of motion, a whisper of steel. The dagger-wielder, the same one who had killed Rei before, lunged from the blind spot. Rei knew the angle his body reacted before his mind caught up.
He pivoted, letting the blade slide across his shoulder instead of his heart, and drove his boot into the attacker's chest. The figure stumbled back, coughing, blood darkening their tunic.
The assassin staggered, mask cracking against a rock as they fell. For a second, the mist pulled back just enough for Rei to see her face.
A woman. Long black hair tangled across pale skin. Eyes sharp, almost… familiar.
She hissed and scrambled up, clutching her wound, then bolted into the woods, leaving behind the broken mask and a trail of red.
Regulus turned, panting. "You good?! That was close—"
But Rei was silent. His eyes lingered on the mask lying in the mud.
No one else had seen her face. No one else knew.
Rei tightened his grip on his sword, his heart beating uneven. The woman's image burned in his mind, mixing with the memory of the night he was killed outside the academy.
Was it her?
And worse— why did she feel so familiar?
[A couple hours later]
The bandits were dragged back in ropes, groaning and spitting curses. Regulus carried two of them slung over his shoulders like sacks of grain, while Takan scribbled frantic notes about the "bandit formation" and "weapons used," muttering under his breath like this was a field study instead of a fight.
Mimi trotted along at the front, her small steps surprisingly steady for someone her size. "W-we did good today!" she chirped. "The academy will be pleased, nya—ah— I mean! …they'll be pleased."
Rei stayed quiet. The mask was wrapped in cloth and hidden inside his jacket, its cracked edge pressing lightly against his ribs with every step. He hadn't let go of it. He couldn't.
Back at the fortress gates, the guards hauled the prisoners away. The guild filed into the main hall, where an instructor with sharp eyes and a clipboard demanded their report.
Regulus grinned, wiping bandit blood off his axe. "Piece of cake. They folded once we hit 'em hard enough."
Mimi raised her hand. "Um, i-it wasn't that easy. There was one really dangerous one with a dagger who almost—"
"Almost what?" the instructor asked, scribbling.
Regulus glanced at Rei, then shrugged. "Almost nicked us. But Rei stomped her off real quick."
The instructor looked up. "Her?"
Rei froze, just for a second. "…Didn't get a good look. Masked."
The lie slid out too easily, but it worked. The instructor only nodded and wrote something down.
"Good work. Bandit activity has been increasing near the borders of Esteria. Your squad will be given a day to rest, then reassigned."
The group dispersed, some to the dining hall, others to wash off blood and dirt.
Rei lingered near the back, hand brushing over the wrapped mask hidden in his jacket.
He could still see her face. The long black hair. Those sharp eyes.
The same image from his first death at the academy.
He clenched his jaw. If I tell anyone, I'll die. If I keep it to myself… I might doom us all.
For now, silence was his only choice.
And so, when Regulus elbowed him with a smirk and said, "Oi, don't look so gloomy. You carried hard out there," Rei only grunted.
"Yeah. Just tired."
But inside, he wasn't tired. He was burning with questions he couldn't ask.
Not yet.