I open my eyes. I feel the dusty sheets under my palms. I'm sweating and the ash sticks to my skin.

I feel my heart beating wildly. That nightmare. Another recurring nightmare. I hate these memories; I hate them with all my heart.

My head resting on the mattress, sitting on the floor with the blankets unmade. Maybe I fell while sleeping. What if this was also a dream?

Why am I at home? Wasn't I dead? Didn't the world end?

Ci-cin.

I get up and check the room. There is nothing new, different. It's the room it's always been. It's my room. The blue light, no eternal twilight.

I go to the window; outside, I see the corals, the mistake.

There is no escape. There is nothing.

I must have dreamed and then dreamed to remember. The Golden Doors; the encounter with that stain.

I put a hand to my head. I shake my ears. A whistle, a pain, and a sense of dizziness. My stomach is rumbling, I don't feel very well, I have to eat something.

I take two steps on the floor. I notice I'm wearing a fishnet stocking.

My clothes.

Why am I surprised? How much time did he spend under different clothes?

With my hand, I run the hem of the black and blue skirt. I look on the back of my neck for a little crown that isn't there.

I think back to the game. Was it just an illusion? The God of Wisdom manipulates people, whispering to them in their sleep.

I have a hard time believing it was all an illusion. It's not possible.

I played a game. So why is everything the same as before? Because the world hasn't started again, it hasn't changed and—

Something happened! Right.

I didn't finish the game! I threw away my life, exasperated by what now appears as a vague nostalgia.

I'm dead.

I dreamed like the other dead people. I was judged in some way. Perhaps an automatic procedure, like immortality. Beyond the Golden Doors, I discovered a truth that can be found only in death.

So, what am I doing here?

These charred boards, this roof, and the wind that has now stopped. What am I doing here, in the world, at the last moments of my life?

I feel a pang in my heart. Am I alive? Can I go out and try to resolve this situation?

I don't know what to think, to do.

I remember the desperation. I remember it well, but the negative feelings have disappeared, annihilated by my burial in that checkerboard world.

Oh, wait.

It's Y's fault. The [Yellow Queen] doesn't know it, but it is her work that breaks this reality. She is broken without realizing it.

If it hadn't been for her plan to alter the System and resolve the error by making it regress...

The God of Wisdom has always known about her flaw. It is essential that the [Yellow Queen] is defective, for her to allow it to be born into the universe.

Certain.

If this is the case, it is clear that the moment I launched [Red Sprite], I doomed the entire universe.

Yet that same circumstance, as I now experience, could rewind time if the conditions are met. As happened to the Corestar—destroyed by Irferno. My self-obliteration before the end of the game—stuck in an infinite move—caused an anomaly to occur.

So, it's clear what God of Wisdom meant when it entered the command to have me eliminate Y before she got in the way.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I have to get rid of the [Yellow Queen], so time could never rewind. At least, that's what it would be like.

On the other hand, if we did the procedure again, the God of Wisdom would still be fine. It can afford to play endless games.

With Y, without Y—I am helpless in all circumstances.

Hmm.

Really?

Ci-cin.

“Prr.”

I turn and see the cat.

“Oh, Gron.”

Gron paws at the doorway. It moves its tail and looks at me without getting any closer.

I bend down and hold out my hand, but it runs away whistling.

I stand with my hands resting on my knees. Sigh.

It's a mystery too, that cat.

Well, we better go talk to Y. As a good [undead], she will have a different perspective than mine.

Honestly, I don't want to kill her, and, deep down, the suspicion of being manipulated stops me.

It's a big mess to no longer know what's real and what's deception.

♦

“Hmm… so you're sure time is being rewound?”

“I have no other explanation at the moment.”

I shrug, sitting on the cushion on the porch.

Y wraps her tail around a beam. She scratches her chin. “But you, yourself~ say that these are illusions.”

“The dreams of the dead belong only to the dead. Furthermore, I fear that my crossing of the Golden Doors may also have been a mirage. I can't conclude anything with certainty.”

“Wait, those are memories I restored for you. I am sure you have truly passed through the Golden Doors.”

“You say so?”

Y nods, unrolling her six tails from the beam.

“I'm sorry, I don't want to doubt you. I know how much you love the System—but really… if I was manipulated, why couldn't you have been? I am trying to say…”

“I do not sleep. The ghosts of sleep can't do anything to me, ah-ah~♫. However—Rewinding time is possible. The circumstances you evoke I must consider—alas—equally plausible. However, we have no alternative but to try again with the Red Sprite.”

I glare at Y. “What do you mean? Why wouldn't there be alternatives?”

“You know, come on. The System is about to succumb to the error. There are no methods to fix it on a systemic level other than restoring a previous state.”

“But there's no one left. I don't think we need to restore it. We must first prevent the God of Wisdom from being born. I saw it. It was taking shape. If I hadn't given up, the endless move would still be going on—the madness would be consuming me.”

The [Yellow Queen] huffs and crosses her arms. Her tails twist, forming a rosette behind her.

“Empress, listen to me. Forget about the birth or otherwise of a hypothetical and transcendent being. The problem is in simple terms. If we do not act, the System will be completely corrupted. Does this imply that we will eternally relive the purification of the System? Well, welcome, it's better than not having a System.”

“Do you prefer a loop as a reality to save the structure of the System?”

“I exist for this too.”

Ci-cin.

I sprint to my feet.

The snake-headed tail shows fangs.

“The System is not alive! It's just a set of rules, and procedures, and doesn't have a life of its own!”

“Tsk. For that matter, I'm an undead too.” The [Yellow Queen] turns up her nose, turning her back to me. Her tails flutter again.

“Well, Y, I won't help you this time. I will not use my magic to start your trial. There must be another way.”

“I do not believe. In any case, I will try it myself, N. I imagine you are under the influence of God. There is no point in arguing.”

Ci-cin, Ci-cin, Ci-cin.

My tail and a Y tail intertwine. I feel I have to tone down the discussion, after all, there's no point in arguing between us.

“It would be great if you could find a different solution.”

“Huh?” Y turns to me.

“I mean, if you have any plans that don't involve the time rewind technique… yeah, it would be fine to help you.”

“I understand what you mean, but that's not possible. The System is compromised in its entirety. It's not like fixing the board, you—by hearing about your dreams—prove that the approach works.”

“In what way?”

“From your words, it is clear that Mircalla can be fixed, just as it is clear that you have gone back in time.”

I remain perplexed, immobile.

Y goes down the steps of the veranda, looking out into the dark world. In the distance, we hear the screeching of the tornado that finally stalls, now devoid of winds.

I'm going down too. I bend down and pick up a handful of ashes, which I let fall between my fingers. Tiny error crystals sparkle before being reabsorbed by the pile.

This landscape, this darkness. It's my Underwasteland.

However…

“Y, what if the God of Wisdom injected me with false memories? Memories of a future that never existed? I mean, you've restored my memories before and—”

“Look, there's no point in talking about it. We didn't do the Mircalla test, but, from your words, I know it's unnecessary. Are you going to help me?”

“I would like to, but I need time to decide.”

“I'm going to look for Fulzo.”

With those words, Y disappears with [Dungeon path].

Alone, I look around and try to understand the flow of my thoughts. Y, was she offended? Or is she disappointed? Or maybe she is indifferent and is just simulating concern?

She certainly appears determined.

I have some time, but I know she will take action somehow. Strengthened by her lack of willpower, the [Yellow Queen] cannot falter. She will act to protect the System.

Even if her solution is undesirable to any living being; me, Gron, and Fulzo all things considered.

Damn.

Remaining idle is not a desirable solution either. Waiting for this world to become a formless error.

The God of Wisdom knows this. It is certainly already known that we would play the same game several times.

Ci-cin!

I kick a little dune.

Anger.

Suffering.

Pressure.

I have to bypass the rewind. I need to figure out why the rewind puts the great dead God into this world.

Perhaps…

…if I talked to the [Emperor], I could figure out what to do.

But how can I find it?

How? The Ocean is infinite, yet I know that it has not dissolved. It is the only one that cannot dissolve while browsing it.

“Meeow.” I see Gron yawning up ahead.

The orange of its mane reflects part of the coral light, camouflaging the rest of the black fur with the environment.

Looking back, it seems to make me bow. It runs away.

Sigh.

This is not the time to get distracted by these things.

So…

[Dungeon path]