The alarm's shrill scream tore through the silence, a relentless drill boring into my skull. I smashed my fist against the snooze button, the plastic cracking under the force. Another Loop because I tried to change the script again. Is it the Two-thousandth loop now? The numbers blurred in my mind,
I dragged myself upright, my faceless reflection staring back from the dusty mirror. A hollow silhouette—no eyes, no mouth, just a faceless person with brown hair. Of course. In this twisted game, only the "main characters" got the privilege of a face. The rest of us? Ghosts. Extras. Background noise in someone else's story.
The walk to school was a scripted nightmare. Same crowded streets, same robotic students shuffling forward with blank expressions. Even the damn winged horse statue at the school gates seemed to sneer at me today. Congratulations, it seemed to say. Another day as a nameless NPC.
Then she appeared—Luna Destiara, stepping out of her sleek black car like royalty descending from a throne. Sunlight caught her golden hair, turning it into a halo. Every step she took was punctuated by imaginary camera flashes, the world bending to highlight her presence. And there he was, waiting under the sakura tree like a poorly written love interest—Theo, the protagonist with a face carved by gods and a brain filled with sawdust.
"Yah! Don't sneak up like that!" Theo clutched his chest dramatically as Luna materialized beside him.
Her laughter chimed like silver bells. "So weak! My Cousin has more courage than you!" She hugged her textbook to her chest, the picture of a tsundere heroine straight out of an anime trope.
I bit down hard on my nonexistent lip. This is Episode 3. The episode where the heroine "accidentally" falls in love with the Protagonist, where sidelong glances suddenly carry weight. I'd seen it play out 1,203 times. 1,203 variations of the same cliché.
The bell screeched, summoning us to class. Ivansia Ardenia stood guard outside 2-C, her glasses glinting as she adjusted the stack of textbooks in her arms. Ivansia the kuudere, Luna the tsundere, and the Protagonist Theo, as dense as a brick.
"Open your books to page 42," droned the faceless teacher at the front. I slumped into my seat, the front-row view of the chalkboard as meaningless as ever. Behind me, the real lesson unfolded:
Step 1: Luna "accidentally" drops her pen.
Step 2: Theo bends to pick it up.
Step 3: Their fingers brush. Cue blushing, stuttering, and Ivansia's icy glare.
I snapped open The Red String Theory, its pages dog-eared from countless readings. The words blurred as my mind wandered. 1,203 loops. 1,203 deaths. 1,203 resets. Each one ending the same way—the world shattering like glass, reality rewinding to this godforsaken morning.
My goal is clear: I was trying to make the plot fit the original, but now? I want to destroy this damn destiny. But until when? This body began to remember each death-throat slit by the villain, chest pierced by meteor fragments, murdered in a deserted alley.
Why bother? The thought slithered through my mind, venomous and familiar. You're just a background character. A glitch in the system.
But this time… this time felt different.
---
The lunch bell shattered the silence. I reached for my bento, I have no mouth, but I still tried to eat food—stale rice and a single pickled plum—when Luna's voice cut through the chatter.
"Here." She slammed a pastel-pink lunchbox onto Theo's desk, cheeks flushing. "D-don't get the wrong idea! I just had leftovers!"
Theo scratched his neck, that infuriatingly clueless grin plastered on his face. "Ah, sorry Luna! I already ate—"
CRACK.
My fist hit the desk before I could stop myself. Every head swiveled toward me—or rather, toward the empty air where my voice had come from.
"You're doing it again," I hissed, the words spilling out like poison. "Every. Damn. Day."
Theo froze, her pen slipping from her hands. "W-who…?"
"Shut up!" I stormed toward Theo's desk, invisible to everyone but the two trapped in this scene. "You think this is a game? That her feelings are some side quest for you to ignore?"
Theo blinked, his smile faltering. "Luna doesn't really—"
"Don't." My voice dropped to a growl. "You've rejected her 356 times. Ignored her 267 times. Made her cry 54 times. And you still pretend you don't know?!"
The classroom froze. Ivansia's glaring at me. Luna's breath hitched, tears pooling in her wide eyes.
"W-what are you talking about?" Theo laughed nervously. "Luna and I are just—"
"Friends? Yeah. Sure." I leaned in, my faceless void inches from his perfect nose. "Keep telling yourself that while she cries herself to sleep. While she wonders why she's never enough."
"Stop it!" Luna's slap rang through the room. Pain bloomed across my cheek—a familiar sting.
I laughed, bitter and broken. "Hit me all you want. It won't change the fact that he'll never see you!"
Chaos erupted. Luna trying to hold her tears, and Theo stood silence beside me.
"ENOUGH!"
Class rep Mia's voice cracked like a whip. She pointed at me, her flawless face twisted in disgust. "Whatever you are, Stop provoking them."
I laughed—hollow, broken. I did it again, I derailed the plot. Reset already. Shatter the sky. End this.
I gritted my teeth, vanished from their sight, I headed for the rooftop and continued reading my novel, the rooftop door cracked open there I saw Luna like she had been crying. She apologized for slapping me on the cheek, I didn't think much of it.
I waited thinking the sky will shatter and the loop bound to happen again. On the rooftop, sunset staining the city blood-red… nothing happened.
No quakes. No falling meteors. Just the wind whispering through my hollow chest.
This time... was different.
My notebook spilled horrors:
Loop 56: World ends—Luna dies in alley
Loop 309: Reset after Ivansia's family bankrupt
Loop 881: Luna confesses... reset next day
My hands shook. Loop 1,204: Glitch. No reset.
I ran to my home and threw open my apartment window. Night air chilled my faceless skin. In Loop 666, I'd hung myself here. But I always woke up in bed.
"Different this time," I told my mirror's void.
My phone buzzed—news alert: Gang activity near Kartini Street.
Memories flooded—Loop 56's bloodstained alley. I ran.
At the intersection, golden hair glowed under streetlights. No Theo. Just me.
---
Rain slicked the streets as I tailed Luna's trembling figure. She clutched her grocery bag like a lifeline, shoulders hunched against the downpour.
Turn left here. Avoid the alley. Don't—
Too late.
Three shadows detached from the wall. "Well well, lost little rich girl?"
Luna froze, knuckles whitening around her pocketknife. "Stay back!"
"Or what?" The leader grinned, gold teeth glinting. "You'll poke us with your—"
I ran to her and took out a sprayer filled with red liquid from my bag.
SSSST!
Chili spray hit his eyes. He howled, clawing at his face. "YOU BIT—"
"RUN!" I grabbed Luna's wrist, dragging her into the maze of alleys.
"Let go! Who are you—"
"Shut up and move!"
We skidded around corners, boots pounding behind us. Luna stumbled, ankle twisting in a pothole.
"Tch. Useless." I scooped her up, ignoring her yelp.
"Put me down! Pervert! Stalker! I'll—"
"You'll die!" The words ripped from my throat. "Again. And again. And again."
She fell silent.
37 steps left. Right at the crumbling shrine. Through the broken fence—
"Open it!" I kicked the rusted gate. Luna fumbled with her keys, hands shaking.
"Y-you know where I live?!"
"Not now!"
We crashed inside as fists hammered the door. Luna slid down the wall, chest heaving.
"F-first aid kit," I ordered. "Under the fake Van Gogh painting."
Her head snapped up. "How do you know about—"
"NOW!"
She limped back, clutching the kit. I yanked her ankle onto my lap.
"Ow! You're worse than the gangsters!"
"Quit whining." My hands moved on autopilot—alcohol, bandage, compression. 1,203 loops of field medicine. "Would've healed faster if you'd worn sensible shoes."
"Since when do you care?!" She jerked her leg back. "You're just… just some faceless creep who—"
"Who saved your life."
Luna limped back, eyes narrowed. "Are you some… yandere stalker?!"
I looked at her backpack "Says the girl with seven knives in her backpack."
Her breath hitched. "How—"
"Three switchblades. Two box cutters. A butterfly knife. And grandpa's antique kris." I pressed an ice pack to her swelling. "Am I missing any?"
She recoiled. "Who are you?!"
Moonlight bled through the curtains. Somewhere, a clock ticked toward midnight.
"Someone who's tired of watching you die."
The words slipped out. Luna's eyes widened—real fear now.
"…Die?"
Silence. Rain pattered against the windows.
"Why?" Her whisper hung in the air. "Why did you help me, the one who slapped you?"
The truth clawed at my throat:
Because in Loop 56, you died clutching my hand.
Because in Loop 309, your last words were "Thank you."
Because in Loop 867, you kissed me like I mattered.
"We're... neighbors," I finally chuckled. "My house is at the end of the street blocked by the project." The fourth lie about where I lived.
Her blonde eyebrows rose. "But that project-"
"Sleep!" I cut in. "We have a chemistry exam tomorrow."
She caught my wrist. "Wait." Her fingers trembled. "That chili spray…"
"Homemade." I tossed her the bottle. "Blend of ghost peppers and vinegar. Works better than your pocketknives."
She caught it, lips quirking. "Tactical hot sauce? You're weirder than Theo."
"Well, its better than your seven knives." My finger pointed at the chili spray "Takes one to know one, Princess."
"Ugh! Sleep on the floor!" She threw a pillow at my head but left a blanket folded neatly on the couch.
She goes to her bedroom. From behind the bedroom door, I hear a low voice: "...thank you." Words I've only heard a couple of times in past loops.
As the storm raged outside, I stared at the ceiling. For the first time in 1,204 loops…
the system glitched. I saved Luna without the help of Theo, In the past loop only Theo can help the heroine.
The world didn't end. The sky didn't crack.
Luna's soft snooze mingled with the rain.
This changes everything.