Toki opened his eyes.
Noise struck him first.
Laughter. Vendors shouting prices. The clatter of wooden carts. The shrill squeals of children weaving between stalls.
He was standing in the middle of the marketplace.
Alive.
The sun was high. Snow reflected light in sharp crystalline flashes. Colorful fabrics fluttered in the wind like banners of peace.
For a moment, his mind refused to understand.
Then it did.
He looked down at his hands.
No blood.
No tremor in his fingers.
No revolver in his grip.
No hole in his skull.
His breathing became uneven.
He turned slowly.
Reginald stood near the central fountain with his men, arms folded, posture rigid. Knights stood in neat formation. Civilians laughed. A butcher chopped meat onto a wooden slab.
Everything was exactly as it had been.
Toki lifted his gaze toward the sky.
The moon's shadow had already begun its slow crawl across the sun.
The eclipse.
It hadn't fully begun yet.
But it would.
His stomach twisted violently.
He pressed both hands over his face.
His shoulders began to shake.
"Damn it…" he whispered.
His fingers dug into his temples.
"I forgot… I forgot to set the anchor…"
His breathing broke into short, panicked pulls of air.
"I can't reset again from here… I can't fix it like this…"
People nearby gave him strange looks.
One woman tugged her child closer.
A merchant muttered, "What's wrong with that knight?"
Reginald glanced over and scoffed.
"What a lunatic."
Toki lowered his hands slowly.
His eyes were already wet.
This wasn't relief.
This was worse.
Because now he remembered everything.
The river of blood.
Ozvold's smile as he died.
Kandaki's clenched fists.
The smell inside the caravan.
The gun against his own head.
He swallowed.
"I don't have time to break."
He forced his legs to move.
"I have to save Mathias."
His thoughts raced.
"If I stop Bernard from killing Harold… if I keep Mathias alive… maybe the chain reaction changes."
Maybe.
Maybe.
He started running.
Hard.
Ignoring shouts.
Ignoring people jumping out of his way.
"Toki!" one of his subordinates called. "Captain!"
He didn't answer.
He didn't stop.
Reginald watched him sprint past, snow kicking up behind his boots.
"He's lost his mind," Reginald muttered.
Toki ran harder.
His lungs burned.
He knew what was coming.
He knew the smell that would hit.
He knew the miasma that would crawl over the city.
But right now —
It hadn't begun.
He could still hear music.
Children laughing.
God.
How long do they have?
Minutes?
Less?
The palace gates came into view.
He didn't slow down.
"Captain, you can't—!"
He shoved past the guards.
One stumbled and nearly fell.
"Forgive me," Toki muttered without looking back.
He burst through the corridors, boots striking marble with desperate echoes.
Servants stared.
Officials stepped aside in shock.
He reached the throne room doors and threw them open violently.
They slammed against the walls.
King Mathias sat calmly on his throne, reading merchant permits.
He looked up.
"Oh, Toki," Mathias said mildly. "How are preparations for the young knights' examination?"
Toki's chest heaved.
His vision swam.
"We don't have time for that!"
His voice cracked through the chamber.
Mathias frowned.
"What do you—"
"When the eclipse completes, something catastrophic will happen!"
He rushed forward.
"You have to come with me. Now."
He grabbed Mathias' wrist.
The king instinctively pulled back.
"Toki," Mathias said carefully, "explain yourself. Slowly."
"There is no slowly!" Toki shouted.
His voice echoed off the stone.
"You need to move!"
Before Mathias could respond, the doors burst open again.
"Your Majesty!"
Bernard stormed in.
"We must evacuate! The knights— they're attacking each other!"
He stopped when he saw Toki.
His expression shifted.
"Toki! Thank the heavens you're alive!"
He grabbed Toki's shoulders firmly.
"We have to find Harold, Roland, Smith—"
Toki stared at him.
Bernard's eyes were clear.
Sane.
Not bloodshot.
Toki's lips trembled.
He cupped Bernard's face suddenly, almost desperately.
"Bernard…"
Tears slid down his cheeks.
"You're not insane… You're still yourself…"
Bernard blinked.
"What are you talking about?"
Then he hardened.
"There's no time for this! People are killing each other!"
As if summoned by his words—
A distant scream pierced the halls.
Then another.
Then steel striking steel.
The eclipse darkened the light filtering through the windows.
Toki's heartbeat accelerated.
It's starting.
"We need to move now!" Bernard ordered.
The three rushed into the corridor.
Chaos was already unfolding.
Two knights grappled on the ground, teeth tearing into each other's faces. One slammed his head repeatedly against the marble until bone cracked and gray matter splattered.
Blood sprayed across a tapestry.
Another knight bit into a throat and ripped flesh free, chewing blindly as crimson poured over his armor.
Mathias froze in horror.
"By the gods…"
Toki drew his revolver.
He didn't hesitate.
Bang.
A knight's skull burst apart in a violent bloom of red mist and bone fragments.
Bernard grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing?!"
"We don't have a choice!" Toki roared.
"They're not conscious anymore!"
A knight lunged at Bernard and sank his teeth into his forearm.
Bernard shouted in pain.
Toki smashed the attacker's jaw with the revolver's grip. Teeth flew out, bouncing across the floor.
He fired again.
The bullet tore through the attacker's eye, exiting in a spray of blood and tissue.
The body dropped twitching.
"Move!" Toki shouted.
They pushed through.
Stepping over bodies.
Slipping on organs.
The air thickened with the metallic stench of blood and the sour reek of opened intestines.
They reached the corridor near the autopsy chamber.
The massive door stood closed.
Toki stopped.
His body went rigid.
That smell.
Even before it opened.
It seeped through the cracks.
Rot.
Thick.
Clinging.
Bernard placed his hand on the door.
"Stay behind me," he told Mathias.
Toki's eyes widened.
"No— Bernard— WAIT!"
But it was too late.
The door opened.
A deafening crack split the air.
A muzzle flash burst from the darkness.
The bullet passed cleanly through Bernard's skull.
Then through Mathias'.
Blood exploded from both heads simultaneously.
Bone fragments scattered like shrapnel.
Brain matter painted the wall in a wet arc.
Their bodies convulsed once.
Then collapsed.
The sound of their armor hitting the floor echoed horribly loud.
Toki stood frozen.
A ringing filled his ears.
He stared at their bodies.
Twitching.
Eyes still open.
He stepped forward slowly.
There was no rage left in him.
Only resignation.
He already knew.
He walked into the room.
Darkness swallowed him.
At the center stood Smith.
Revolver in hand.
Smoke curling from the barrel.
Lorelay lay to his left, her throat torn open, blood pooling beneath her in a thick, glossy lake.
Old Felix's body was slumped against a table, chest cavity split open, ribs exposed like broken gates.
Harold's corpse lay face-down, skull shattered.
Toki spoke quietly.
"You've used all your bullets, haven't you?"
Smith's eyes twitched.
Then he lunged.
They crashed to the ground.
Smith's hands locked around Toki's throat.
He squeezed.
Hard.
"Why don't you ever listen?" Smith snarled, eyes wild.
"Why do you insist on doing everything yourself?"
Veins bulged in his forehead.
"I'm your master! Do you think you don't need me anymore?!"
Toki clawed weakly at his wrists.
His vision blurred.
Dark spots formed at the edges.
"I'm not… trying to replace you…"
Smith pressed harder.
"You think you're stronger now?"
Toki's lungs screamed.
Air refused to enter.
His thoughts scattered—
Then—
Utsuki.
The caravan.
The children.
His eyes widened.
"Damn it…"
He forced his trembling hand into his coat.
Found the revolver.
Lifted it shakily.
Pointed it at Smith's face.
"I'm sorry…"
Bang.
Smith's skull detonated.
Fragments of bone pierced the ceiling.
Blood and brain matter splattered across Toki's face.
Smith's body collapsed onto him.
Heavy.
Lifeless.
Toki pushed him aside weakly.
He crawled toward the doorway.
Outside—
Silence.
No screams.
No steel.
Just stillness.
He dragged himself into the corridor.
Bodies everywhere.
Piles of them.
Knights he had trained.
Children.
Servants.
Some torn open so badly their organs spilled out like coiled ropes across the marble.
One body was missing its entire lower half.
Another had clawed its own face off.
The eclipse was complete.
The light had turned sickly and gray.
Toki staggered upright.
"All dead…"
His voice echoed hollowly.
He stepped over Bernard's corpse.
Blood soaked into his boots.
The palace had fallen again.
And somewhere beyond the gates—
The caravan was coming.
And he hadn't set the anchor.
He staggered toward the exit.
His hands shook violently now.
Not from fear.
But from realization.
"I can't die again here…"
His teeth clenched.
"I have to survive until I can move the anchor."
Outside—
The snow was red.
The city had already begun tearing itself apart.
And in the distance—
A dark shape approached the gates.
A caravan.
Toki's breath caught.
"No…"
His legs refused to move.
He stood there.
Watching.
Knowing.
And powerless to stop it.
The second cycle had begun.
And it was already collapsing.
Ozvold was the first to move.
He jumped down from the carriage, boots crunching into the blood-stained snow, and grabbed Toki by the shoulders.
"Toki! What happened?!"
His grip was firm — grounding. Real.
Toki looked up slowly.
His face was pale.
"Nothing," he said hoarsely. "I couldn't change anything."
Ozvold frowned. "What are you talking about? Change what?"
Before Toki could answer, Utsuki stepped down from the carriage. She rushed toward him and cupped his face gently in both hands.
There was dried blood on his cheek.
"Who did this to you?" she whispered.
Her thumbs brushed beneath his eyes.
"It's going to be okay. It's not your fault."
Toki's lips trembled.
"Yes," he said quietly. "It is."
His legs gave out.
He dropped to his knees in the snow.
Kandaki and Tora stood near the carriage, watching with wide, frightened eyes.
Kandaki clenched his fists. "Master…?"
Tora looked between them, confused. "Why is he crying?"
Toki bowed his head.
"You shouldn't have come to the capital today…"
His voice broke.
"You weren't supposed to be here."
Ozvold knelt beside him. "Toki, explain. What are you saying?"
Before Toki could respond, a sharp pain exploded inside his skull.
He gasped and clutched his head.
His pupils began to tremble violently.
The smell returned.
That suffocating stench.
Rotting meat. Iron. Open flesh.
He gagged.
Then he bent forward and vomited into the snow.
His body shook uncontrollably.
"No…" he whispered. "Not yet… it's too early…"
The eclipse was still incomplete.
So why—
A slow clap echoed behind them.
"Well now," a smooth voice said lazily, "this doesn't seem like the ideal place for a family reunion."
Every muscle in Toki's body went rigid.
He turned slowly.
The Star Collector sat casually on the driver's seat of the carriage.
One leg crossed over the other.
Blond hair shifting gently in the wind.
Green eyes shining with quiet amusement.
His missing arm sleeve fluttered.
He smiled.
Toki's breath caught in his throat.
Ozvold stood immediately, hand on his sword.
"Who are you?"
The Star Collector tilted his head.
"Ah. You must be the loyal friend."
Toki began crawling toward him through the snow.
His fingers dug into red-streaked ice.
"Please…" he rasped.
"Not this time. Kill me instead. Please. Just me."
The Star Collector raised an eyebrow.
"You had time to prepare," he said lightly. "Three whole days."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"Now it's my turn to keep my promise."
He snapped his fingers.
The air shifted.
Eight massive shapes materialized in the snow around them.
Boar-like creatures, towering, thick-muscled, their tusks jagged and stained dark.
Their breath steamed in heavy bursts.
Then ten more appeared.
Then more.
And more.
In seconds, the courtyard was crowded with grotesque bodies.
Thirty.
Forty.
The ground trembled beneath their weight.
Several immediately began feeding on nearby corpses in the distance — tearing, snarling, crunching bone between their teeth.
"Enjoy yourselves, boys," the Star Collector said casually.
Ozvold stepped in front of the others, blade drawn.
"Get behind me!"
Utsuki raised her hands, flames forming between her fingers.
Kandaki stood shaking but drew his sword anyway.
The creatures lunged.
The first wave crashed into Ozvold like a living avalanche.
His sword flashed.
One beast's skull split.
Another's throat opened in a spray of dark blood.
He moved with deadly precision, cutting down creature after creature.
Utsuki hurled fireballs that exploded against thick fur and flesh, igniting bodies, filling the air with the sickening scent of burning meat.
Screams — animal and human — blended into one.
But then—
One of the larger creatures stepped forward.
It was nearly twice the size of the others.
Its eyes glowed faintly.
Ozvold struck it across the neck.
The blade bounced back violently.
The impact jarred his arm.
"What—?!"
The creature charged.
Its tusks caught his sword and wrenched it aside.
Another beast leapt onto his back, teeth sinking into his shoulder.
He roared in pain.
"Toki!" Utsuki shouted.
She launched a concentrated burst of flame at the larger beast.
The fire hit—
And reflected.
The blast ricocheted backward, exploding near her.
She screamed as the shockwave threw her across the snow.
Eight of them.
Toki stared through blurred vision.
There were only eight empowered ones last time.
The Star Collector chuckled softly.
"Oh," he said, noticing Toki's expression. "You remember."
Toki's teeth ground together.
"You said… there were eight…"
The Star Collector replied pleasantly. "But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy creating more."
He gestured toward the battlefield.
"It gives the others hope."
His smile widened slightly.
"They start believing they might survive."
His eyes gleamed.
"It hurts my heart to tell them they won't."
The beasts overwhelmed Ozvold.
Two held him down.
One crushed his arm beneath its weight.
Another tore into his side.
He kept fighting.
Even on his knees.
Even as blood soaked through his armor.
"Get… away from them!" he roared.
Utsuki staggered back to her feet, coughing.
She summoned fire again.
It barely slowed the larger creatures.
One slammed into her with crushing force.
She hit the ground hard.
Several beasts descended upon her.
Kandaki ran forward with a cry, swinging wildly.
"Tora, stay back!"
A beast knocked him aside mid-swing.
He hit the ground and didn't get up immediately.
"TOKI!" Utsuki screamed.
Toki tried to rise.
His limbs felt like stone.
The Star Collector grabbed him by the hair.
Forced him upright.
"Watch," he whispered into Toki's ear.
Toki struggled weakly.
"No—"
The creatures tore into them.
Ozvold's roar became a strangled cry.
Utsuki's voice broke into raw agony.
Kandaki screamed for his master.
Tora's shriek pierced the air.
Snow turned red.
The sounds were unbearable.
Wet tearing.
Bones snapping.
Crying.
The empowered eight stood like silent executioners while the others fed.
Toki screamed until his voice shattered.
Until no sound came out.
Until only air tore from his lungs.
His body trembled violently.
His mind fractured.
The Star Collector released him at last.
Toki collapsed forward."You are sick!"
The courtyard fell quiet except for the low growls of feeding beasts.
The Star Collector crouched beside him.
"You call me sick," he said mildly.
"Then why didn't you rise to help them?"
Toki's eyes were empty.
"You ran from the marketplace to the palace."
His tone sharpened slightly.
"Trying to outmaneuver fate."
He leaned closer.
"Today is written in blood."
He stood and tossed Ozvold's sword in front of Toki.
The blade landed with a dull thud in the snow.
"You could leave," the Star Collector said.
"Walk away."
His smile returned.
"Or take the shorter road."
He turned slightly.
"My work here is done."
Toki stared at the sword.
Snow soaked red around it.
He picked it up slowly.
His hands were steady now.
"I will kill you," he whispered.
His voice was hollow.
"And I will make it hurt."
The Star Collector laughed softly.
"I look forward to it."
Toki raised the blade.
For a moment—
Just a moment—
The wind stopped.
Then he drove the sword into his own throat.
Steel cut deep.
Blood poured over his hands.
It splashed into the snow in a violent bloom of crimson.
He fell forward.
The world fading.
The Star Collector walked over casually.
He nudged Toki's body with his boot, rolling him onto his back.
Green eyes studied the lifeless face.
A faint smile curved his lips.
"See you in the next loop."
The eclipse completed.
Darkness swallowed the sky.
And everything went still.