A quiet spring breeze blew through the air as Doctor’s body laid crumpled in the ground. His black tendrils squirmed like snakes as they reformed into a body with a sickening squelching sound.

“You… what are you?!” Doctor screeched. “How is this possible?! You have no mana! I tested it myself!”

“Correct!” John said, applauding slowly. “Very good. You get a gold star. Your deductive skills are really good. Maybe it’s because of your overwhelming intelligence?”

“Answer my question!” Doctor yelled, lashing forward.

John leapt out of the way and caught the tendril, yanking hard as if pulling in a fish on a line. Doctor flew forward right into John’s fist, felling multiple trees in his uncontrolled flight. John’s eye flashed as he clenched his fist, pulling Doctor back right into his hand where he grabbed the monstrosity where he assumed the neck would be. Despite his flippant attitude, he was really pissed off. His mind started to go blank as he rammed his fist into Doctor’s face over and over, going even as the face turned into a bloody pulp. A snap of a twig brought John back to his senses, and he dropped Doctor with a sigh, dusting his hands off.

“Get up.”

Doctor put himself together again, facing John. His face was filled with indignation and rage, clearly upset at having been so greatly humiliated.

“How? How, how, how?! No, no, it must be tricks. Smoke and lights. What tricks are you pulling?”

John frowned. “...let’s think a little. If I had a trick like this, why wouldn’t I just use it at the start?

And what kind of trick beats the shit out of you? If you know of one, please tell me.”

“A Final Stand using a manless core? Some sort of experiment I’ve never heard of? Or-”

“Shut up!” John yelled, finally losing it. “I’m getting sick of your voice! Did you really think you were the only one with that energy?”

Doctor froze.

“No. Only two beings in this world have access to that energy. You cannot possibly have it as well. If you did, you would be-”

“Does it make sense now?” John said, his voice tense as he began to let all his frustration out. “All that shit you were talking. About how I was deranged, how I was wrong. Any of that coming back?”

Doctor’s eyes went wide as he stared at his hands.

“No… no, that’s not possible. I am the one in control, the one who… there is no god above me! I cannot possibly be-”

Doctor’s rant was interrupted as John shoved a pistol down his throat, his tendrils sticking out as John pulled the trigger. That wasn’t enough, though. Doctor wouldn’t die from just this. Crack after crack rang through the forest as John continued to pull the trigger, the inside of Doctor’s body lighting up, tendrils flaring violently as the monster’s body spasmed violently.

“Shut up!” John yelled, firing shot after shot. “You think you have it bad? I’ve had to live with this, day after day, and in the end, none of this even matters! I’m gonna [Reset] and I’ll have to deal with you all over again, and you won’t remember any of this! No god above you? I am the god above you! I do not bow to you. The only one who can make me bow-” John pointed up to the sky, “is that bastard up there, writing my words as we speak.”

In disgust, John pulled his gun out of Doctor’s body, tossing it away as a fresh one fell into his hands. He closed his eyes, and the image of Prota hanging from Doctor’s tendrils flashed in his mind. His heart tightened in anger. It was alright. This was just to let out all his rage. All his frustration. Prota wasn’t dead. She couldn’t die. He refused to believe that was possible.

“Kill me… again and again?” Doctor said weakly. His eyes lit up in interest.

“Ugh. You’re still conscious?”

“I cannot die,” Doctor giggled. “I have no organs. No body to kill. How will you defeat me? I’ve killed your friends. Your family. Your last hopes. You said it yourself, did you not? Victory is what we want. I might’ve lost the battle, manaless boy, but you’ve lost the war. You may have denied me my own satisfaction, but what do you have? Nothing.”

Doctor felt a sense of deep satisfaction as he watched as John closed his eyes, his hands trembling, taking in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He could see it. The despair in John’s eyes. All he needed was one small push.

“You’ve lost, manaless boy. Admit it. Your friends are dead. Your sister is dead. I’ve won.”

John let out a slow breath and opened his eyes. The light emanating from his body began to dim until the only light left was that coming from the full moon shining in the sky.

“...nothing, huh? Then that just means I’m back where I started. All I have to do is try again.”

“What are you talking-”

“Regression. Do you know what that is?”

Doctor froze. “...that is impossible. It is impossible for one to regress. That goes against the laws of the world.”

“I’m sure you thought reincarnation and transmigation were impossible until they happened. First time for everything, right?”

“I don’t know what allows you to bypass the role of an [Antagonist], but all that means is that my role as an [Anomaly] works just as well. I told you, Doctor. I’m not playing your game of chess. I’m playing the game I want to play, and we’re playing by my rules.”

John crouched down and got close to Doctor.

“You cannot win, Doctor. Honestly, I can tell you’re supposed to be smart. But in reality, you’re quite stupid.”

Doctor gasped in indignation, but John continued, not giving him time to refute.

“You’re only as intelligent as the [Author] can be. And that person, well, they’re not all that bright. As far as I know, thinking up complex schemes, intricate plans, that’s just not their thing. So I’m sorry to break it to you, but in the end, you’re pretty stupid. Limited by the one who made you.”

He threw his head back and laughed. Ironic. Everything he’d cursed about his own existence. Everything he’d hated about this world, the world of [Story]. It was all coming to work for him, wasn’t it? The [Author] he’d cursed so much was now working in favour of him. The lack of skill and quality the [Author] put into this goddamned [Story] was somehow allowing him to win.

All I know is what happened. You are so focused on one thing that you cannot see the next!

Maybe… maybe not everything was a curse after all.

“You can’t win, Doctor. I don’t know why you didn’t lose to Fate, but this is it. Since the [Protagonist] lost, it seems that I’ve been allowed to step up. And I’m not very well designed, Doctor. I’m a stupid, overpowered character with no room for growth or development. I’m a Gary Stu, if I remember correct. Unfortunately, when it comes to winning, that kind of [Character] is perfect. You wouldn’t have won anyways.”

John looked back at Doctor, expecting to see shock, but Doctor just shook his head.

“Marvellous. How marvellous. What a mind will come up with in desperation.”

“...this guy’s an idiot.”

“That would be you, manaless boy. The only fool here is you.”

“You know what? Let’s prove it. Kill me.”

“...what?”

“Kill me. I’m standing here. You can end me. Right now.”

“Surely someone as powerful as you would not die to a simple-”

“A powerful as me?” John laughed. “Don’t get it twisted. My body is still that of a human. You could kill me easier than any of the others you fought just now.”

“Impossible! The speed at which you move, the force with which you hit, an ordinary human body would never be able to withstand such-”

“Ah. Well, you’ll have to take that up with the [Author],” John sighed. “I complained about that at one point, but you know? A free win’s a free win. Why complain?”

He looked at Doctor, who was shaking on the ground. He could deny it no longer. Doctor had been coping with the words John had been speaking, but somehow, deep down, Doctor had known that John wasn’t lying. Now, with nothing left to deny, and John offering his own life, Doctor could no longer refuse the truth.

“It’s quite the shame, by the way. Your whole little despair shtick might’ve worked if it wasn’t me.”

“If you do it right-”

“Do it right, my ass. I’ll do your mother more right than your father ever did. Look. No process is perfect. Sometimes, you fail. And the more you try something, the greater the odds of you failing are.”

John crouched back down and held Doctor’s face, staring into his eyes, and for the first time, Doctor was forced to properly look at John. And what he saw was indescribable.

There was rage. There was sorrow. But it didn’t burn deep. Those emotions didn’t feel the same. Doctor had seen a lot of rage. A lot of sorrow. In the eyes of his toys, they’d hit him, glare at him, fight back, and in the eyes of those people, the emotion burned deep into their eyes. To call eyes the windows of the soul was quite fitting.

So when Doctor stared at John, his emotions were more like a filter. A blind, to trick people into believing that that’s all there was. But Doctor could see. He was especially talented at peeking past blinds.

But once he did, he saw… nothing.

John had never been in despair. He’d long since accepted whatever he’d been put through.

And with that, all that was left was…

“People who have nothing to lose don’t need to care about consequences. And someone who no longer cares about consequences is the worst kind of opponent, because it’s impossible for them to lose. There is, after all, nothing left to lose.”

John threw his gun toward Doctor.

“Alright! Time to die. Kill me, Doctor. Let’s get on with it.”

“No,” Doctor gasped. “No, I won’t give you the satisfaction. You do it.”

The words John had uttered to Doctor so many times were now being repeated back at John.

“Kill yourself.”

John picked up his gun and stared at it, seemingly contemplating the choice. Doctor calmed down just then, believing he had called a bluff, but then stared in horror as John easily raised the gun to his own head.

“Damn. I guess it doesn’t really matter how I go out, right? It’s not like you’ll remember this.”

There was a loud crack, and John blew his brains out.

~~~

John gasped as he sat up in the [Reset Room]. He looked down. His body was fine.

“Ugh,” he muttered, rubbing his head. A shot to the head wasn’t instantaneous death. Had he thought about it a little more, he would’ve just taken his pill, but John wasn’t always the brightest.

“Feeling better?” Zero grinned, popping up beside him. “You seemed a little upset.”

“Yeah? You try getting yourself tied to a cross for days in a row,” John grumbled. “Let’s see how you feel after that.”

Despite his annoyance, there was a hint of something else in John’s voice. Zero’s smile faded as he sat down next to John quietly.

“It’s not the first time you’ve seen Prota like that.”

“...it kinda is, though.”

Zero just sighed. “John. Why are you regretting your choice? You’re the one who told her to do that. You can’t be upset about this.”

“What?”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“You told her to make a choice. Once you did that, it was up to her to choose what she wanted to do. Or did you mean to say something like ‘make a choice, but only if it keeps you safe’? Don’t be ridiculous. You knew making a choice might’ve involved something you didn’t like.”

Zero pointed to Prota, who was lying a bit further away. It seemed she was sleeping. Had she arrived earlier than John?

“She died on her own, John. It’s what she chose to do. She made the choice to protect you. Even though she could’ve died. Even though she had no idea whether she’d be able to [Reset] or not. She chose you. Because that’s what she wanted to do.”

John looked at Prota. What had she said before dying?

“Thank you.”

Ultimately, those two words didn’t mean much. But… she’d gone against his words. She’d sacrificed herself, not knowing the consequences, not knowing the aftermath, and killed herself to keep John alive for just a bit longer, even though she knew he’d [Reset]. Even though she didn’t know what would happen to her.

And she’d thanked him for it.

She was a [Character]. Why was she dying for him? He was supposed to be the one in control. He was the [Reader]. The [Writer]. And yet here he was, being outdone by a [Character]. Someone he was still indecisive about. Someone he might abandon at any moment.

…no. Was he indecisive about Prota? He told himself he was. In his mind, he was still considering the possibility that he might lose her. That she’d leave. That she’d die. But his heart wouldn’t let him accept it.

He had to admit it. At this point, he was too fond of her. He didn’t want to put it any other way, but he couldn’t give up on her. He couldn’t leave her behind. He’d opened up to her. Shared the truth of the world in hopes that she’d become his companion. His friend. His family.

His sister.

“...Prota.”

The small girl stirred as her name was called and she sat up, her long white hair wrapped around her, tangled up like a bird’s nest.

“Nn.”

“Ready?”

“Ready for…”

Prota got quiet as she realized what was coming next. Her eyes drooped a little.

“We’ve got to do it again.”

Prota slumped down. She remembered what’d happened with Doctor. She couldn’t win. No matter how many [Resets] they went through, she’d never catch up. She’d never beat Doctor. She’d given her all to die. What else was there? If it took everything to block just one hit, just one, then what could she possibly do to win? She knew it. In her heart, she knew that winning against that monster would never be possible.

Proat looked up.

“...sorry.”

“Sorry? For what?”

“Prota died for nothing. John still died. So… Prota will stay out of John-”

“Hey. What? You wanna sacrifice yourself? Go ahead. Do it.”

Prota looked up at John.

“[Reset]. We can do it. Over and over and over. I won’t stop you. No, I can’t. I told you to make a choice. I’m not going to change my mind. But I’m not moving on without you. So when you die, I’ll die too, and we’ll [Reset] again together. Until we win.”

Prota stared at him. Wasn’t that just saying that she couldn’t die? No.

“Prota. I’m gonna ask for a favour though, ok? This might be a little hard.”

Prota looked up at him, listening.

“I want you to ignore everyone else.”

“...?”

“I’m asking you to let them die.”

Prota looked at him, clearly uncomfortable with the request.

“Haah… well, it’s hard for you to see this as a mere game of chess, right? Fine. We’ll do this the hard way.

A nod.

“Prota. This is your choice.”

“My choice…”

“I already told you. You can’t keep doing what I say forever. You’ve realized that now, right?”

“Nn.”

“Then follow through. If you want to save them… well, I’m not the one killing them. So do what you want. And I’ll follow.”

John stood up and walked toward the glowing [Reset] button.

“Come on. Let’s do it again.”

~~~

Prota’s eyes snapped open, and she was in front of a door.

“Ready?” Fate whispered.

Prota blinked a couple of times, trying to regain her bearings. This door. Fate. Danjo. They were in front of the room that was keeping John captive. John, and that girl beside him. She was Danjo’s sister, if she remembered correctly. Her mind felt muddled. The fight hadn’t lasted more than an hour at best, but somehow, it’d felt like an eternity ago.

“Nn,” Prota nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Fate bashed the door down with a kick, and the group piled in, once again seeing nothing. Just like last time, Danjo reached out, calling his sister’s name, and Fate held him back.

“You two. Remember. This isn’t the time to act irrationally.”

This time, though, Prota saw the burning anger in Fate’s eyes and understood it. He’d done so much to get here. So much to reach his goal. She wondered how he would feel he knew that he would lose. That even Kit stood no chance against the monster in front of them. She wanted to comfort him. But how? And what if he questioned her? Would she say that she knew because they’d lost, and she’d come back to life?

It was too late. Fate called out, starting the whole process all over again.

“You! You’re the one known as Doctor, right? You’ve done way too much. It’s time to pay for your sins. There’s no one else here. Give it up.”

Those words were so familiar, yet so distant. Like a fading memory, a familiar tune.

“Bravo! Bravo! You’ve done it! You, the good guys, have broken into my lair and slain my underlings. I’m alone and helpless. Is that not it?”

Prota was a lot more controlled this time. She locked eyes with John, and he gave her a reassuring nod.

[Ready?]

The messaging system was up. Prota closed her system and looked toward Olivia, chained to the ground. Doctor was talking. Fate was shaking. Suddenly, a new message appeared in her system.

[You have time to free Olivia. As [Characters], they shouldn’t notice you while they’re going back and forth. Just remember not to drop the chains.]

Prota slowly shuffled around, and just like John had predicted, Doctor didn’t make a single move to stop her. Danjo was too busy being overly nervous in the corner, so the only ones who knew what was going on were John and Prota.

“You… I see you’re still the same. You’re still doing the same things. Doing the same sick experiments. You’re not human. You’re a monster.”

Prota inched closer and closer. Soon, she was right beside the chained elf.

“What the-” Olivia started, but shut her mouth as Prota put a finger to her lips.

Without a word, she froze the chains and broke them as quietly as possible, freeing Olivia’s arms and legs. The elf turned to John, wanting to help him, but he shook his head.

“Go,” John whispered. “Get your brother out of here. Leave now. We’ll handle this.”

Prota quietly shuffled over to John, slicing through his ropes. Doctor and Fate were still stuck in their own world of dialogue, allowing John time to rub his sore spots. He didn’t do any more than that. What was there for him to do? With time to kill, he began to think.

If the last loop was any indication of what would happen, it would be impossible for anyone in this party to win. [Deus Ex Machina] energy was simply a cheat code. Even Kit had been easily demolished by Doctor. It was simply an energy that existed outside of the rules of this world. Doctor was playing according to a different set of rules. He was cheating at a game that was impossible to win otherwise.

But John was just as much of a cheater as Doctor was. He had the same cheat code. [Infinity]. He’d already proven that he could win using an energy of a similar calibur. Doctor hadn’t been able to defend himself against it. The only issue was that using it in front of everyone would raise too many questions. Cause too many issues. It would be impossible to deal with them effectively, especially with Fate’s lie detection ability. If Fate were to learn the truth of the world, it might break him.

He needed everyone else out. Dead, unconscious, or gone.

As far as he was concerned, Danjo and Olivia were the easiest to get rid of. They’d get killed by Doctor, or they’d escape together. Olivia was already slowly making her way to Danjo, so it looked like rescuing them would be easy. If she died in the process, then she died. John wasn’t going to go out of his way to prevent that, especially since he suspected she was meant to die anyway.

Unfortunately, John’s planning was unable to go any further as he was snapped back to reality as Fate roared, charging forward. Doctor still seemed preoccupied by whatever was going on, so he didn’t see Danjo and Olivia leaving. Good. If she got out, that was fine.

Fate was being played with again. Just like last time. The same as before.

“Prota.”

She looked up.

“Go.”

Prota nodded and fired off a volley of spells, which Doctor’s tendrils easily blocked. The battle proceeded mainly as it had before, but Prota was informed. She knew some patterns, understood how the tendrils worked and thus was able to do a bit better than before. The scene still looked strange. A frail and thin man, overpowering Fate and Prota.

John knew now, though. Doctor was not frail and weak. Underneath that coat was a wriggling mass of something unkillable. Why was Doctor protecting himself in the first place?

“This ends here!” Fate roared, the attack going off as it had before.

“Ah, you’re still the same as always, Sixteen. Headstrong. Ambitious. Yet utterly blind, still playing the role of the pawn in a larger game of chess.”

John couldn’t help but scoff. A pawn in a larger game of chess? Doctor was still unaware that he’d lost once already. John just had to pull it off again. It wasn’t a matter of being able to beat Doctor. It was a matter of getting everyone out in time.

Danjo and Olivia were almost out. Olivia was still weak, having just removed her mana restrainer, and Danjo was helping her out. Unfortunately, Danjo didn’t know what John knew, and his kindness worked against him. He looked back to see Fate fighting against Doctor, struggling and losing.

“Fate!” Danjo cried out nervously, clearly torn between saving his sister and his friend.

John cursed under his breath. He’d forgotten to account for something like this. Danjo wasn’t like him. He wasn’t going to judge the situation selfishly. He wanted to save Fate, even if it was impossible.

“You two,” Doctor frowned, and tendrils pierced both their heads, killing them in the blink of an eye. “I can’t be having this.”

John froze. Wait. Wait a minute. Something was wrong. No… no, Doctor should’ve been playing with his food better. Why had he just killed them like that? Danjo had almost escaped last time. Doctor had stalled for time. Why had he killed them immediately? Something was wrong.

Something was different.

“I don’t need those two anymore. Honestly, I’m insulted. Did you think I hadn’t noticed what you were doing?”

Prota looked up at John, dejection in her eyes. John shook his head and calmed himself down. Doctor had noticed what they were doing. Just another reminder that he didn’t abide by the rules of the [Story]. Right. This was a learning experience. He hadn’t expected this to be the winning loop anyway. [Resets] were best used in bulk, after all. He looked at Prota.

“...just do whatever,” he mouthed.

Prota closed her eyes and nodded, then charged in blindly.

“Prota, what are you-” Fate started, but shut up as Prota started to release such an incredible barrage of attacks that Doctor was forced to react.

“Wh- what the?” Doctor sputtered as he was seemingly overwhelmed with magic.

John’s frown deepened. Why was Doctor struggling? He’d defeated Kit, a Mystic. So why was he struggling against Prota?

“Enough!” Doctor yelled, all of his tendrils shooting out at once. A sudden increase in power. A spike of sorts.

John was incredibly confused. What was going on? He’d assumed Doctor simply had raw power, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Doctor wouldn’t be struggling like this if he’d been holding himself back before. So what was going on? What was he missing? He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice what was going on until it was too late.

“J-John,” Prota called out weakly. She’d gotten impaled by a tendril.

“John!” Fate yelled in desperation. “Prota, she’s-”

“No more out of you,” Doctor smiled, wrapping Fate’s mouth.

“Now, manaless boy. You got out of your ropes. But now what? You’ve lost. I won. So- what are you doing?”

John had pulled his gun out. He turned to Prota, who nodded weakly before her head went limp. John’s chest tightened, but this was part of the plan. Right. This was part of the path to victory. He needed to remember that.

It would just take a few more steps than expected.

“Nothing much. I’ll see you later,” John smirked as he shoved the barrel into his mouth.

“John, what are you doing?” Fate yelled, reaching out. John could see the desperation in his eyes. The fear. The panic.

He almost felt bad.

“Sorry about this, Fate,” John said. He was honestly sorry. He didn’t feel guilty, though. Fate wouldn’t remember this anyway.

He pulled the trigger.