My eyes are shut. And I feel myself waking up once more with my body rejoicing from no threshing pain.

‘Where am I?’ I wonder yet at the same time hoping I never find out. For every second I don’t know. Is certainly a better life.

Ignorance is bliss.

That is until reality hits, and when it does it doesn’t seem to stop. Right Father...? I think to myself.

As my eyelids open, I hear an alarming voice.

“Number one, when were your powers granted to you?”

This couldn’t be…

Millimetre, by exact millimetre up to the atom in precision I replicate my moves.

Similarly, every word I speak out loud is perfectly rehearsed one thousand times prior.

Then I feel the pillars of light slam into me once more.

‘Where is this dammed Goddes!?’ I declare loudly in my head hoping that she can hear, hoping that for a moment she can feel pain.

Even though last time I saw here before resting. I don’t this time.

Once again, I wake up to the same words. And one more time. Just once more I endure the pain of being an emotionless performer on a stage. Playing my role to death. And then not receiving anything.

Once more. And once more. And one last time. One last, last time.

And so on.

No matter how much blood I lose, no matter how much I feel my voice goes.

Nothing changes.

I always reset back to the chamber…

This time I don’t respond. This time I don’t try anymore.

He gives me a different respond. One that my ears aren’t tired to deafness of hearing.

“I guess I’ll have to wait for your ambassador then.”

Then through an oak door he pulls a steel ring handle and shuts it harsh.

I’m speechless, beyond sadness beyond regret, beyond anything.

Finally, my rational side wakes up the instant the door reopens, and I am met with the nature ambassador. The very figure of a lion and stature of a human.

“Hello, I’m the ambassador of the nature kingdom, and it has come to our attention that you are in a dire situation.”

“I see…”

“For now, before I start any formalities do you have any questions…?”

I almost feel fearful speaking to this person as any second he might truly return to some primal sense and devour each bone of me.

“Do you know any Arthurs?”

His eyes light up, and I can see every single nerve within his retina and start to even see myself perfectly in the reflection of his iris.

“How do you know Arthur, the previous ambassador?”

He reacts, without any questions that maybe I could be on about a different Arthur to him. Meaning absolutely father had some connections which I didn’t know about, as high as being a past ambassador!

He never really talked about his past, nor his emblem or what he does on a regular basis.

Even though he cared for me all these years since a mere, vulnerable and abandoned boy.

“He was my adoptive father.”

“Was…?”

He adds, not realising what has occurred.

“In the fight he was… he was…”

“I see… That’s unfortunate, Arthur - I mean your father was a great man. I will have to be continuing with the questions, mind me.”

I don’t respond. If I were to continue talking about father, I wouldn’t be able to handle the guilt of his demise.

I knew he could die; I knew he was going to die.

How utterly selfish, ‘right?’.

“Don’t blame yourself kid. Trust me not even your dad could fix everything.”

He paints the silence with a streak of amazement, as somehow he reads my very minds and train of thought.

“How did you know-“

“Trust me, as an ambassador there are many things, we blame ourselves for not being able to do. It’s all a matter of time before you crash down on yourself from the blame. It’s not your fault kid. Arthur knows what his actions will result in.”

“You don’t understand! If it isn’t for this stupid thing none of this would have happened!”

Grasping my arm and holding the emblem to him and then almost wanting to cut off my entire arm off. Just for the sake of never seeing or being associated with the symbol of time. Or rather the symbol of loss.

“You’ll understand soon enough…”

Then he continues on.

“My first question I will naturally have to ask is, when did you acquire this emblem?”

I stutter even in my head, who would believe me getting reset over and over again. And what sort of perceived danger would that pose to them.

Could I really trust this person, when about fifty times now he has voted to execute me...?

Stolen novel; please report.

‘Let's try then... And if anything goes wrong, I can count on casting my ten second rewind spell...’

“A couple days ago...”

“How can that be possible, when first of all your emblem indicates you advanced twice?”

I twist my eyes in horror and look at my emblem, nothing changed, it is the exact same as before – a perfect replica if not.

“What do you mean?”

He then shows me his emblem mounting on his should after pulling a steel plate.

“A beast emblem...”

My heart electrically jumps with impulses of fear, and I imagine the daunting image of the fight’s aftermath.

I calm myself with a breath, and my chest feels heavy still.

“Advanced ten times...”

My mind didn’t know how I could tell, but just by looking at it I could sense the advancements. With each one being a thud as they registered in my mind.

“I see...”

This seems like an appropriate time to reverse quickly, possibly to change his future temper with me.

“Tien seconden!”

Nothing happens.

“That imprisonment bonds your under will reject any spell you cast, and that blue pigment dashed around absorbs your energy to stop you being able to start a cast.”

Things just got a lot worse... But I still can’t think enough rational thoughts except ‘I am going to die’.

“Look... I’ve been resetting over and over again. Reliving the same day! I’ve seen this day too many times to count...”

“Explain.”

“There isn’t much to explain! It sounds unreal I know! But please for Arthur you have to believe me!”

I endure a long silence and he leaves almost frustrated.

“I’ll see what I can do... But for now, you won’t be seeing any more ambassadors, we will need to discuss what you just said...”

‘Note to self, do not ever try to explain the reset phenomenon’, even when explaining it to Richard it was never certain. It seems with every time I try the chances of someone believing me significantly reduces.

A slumber enraptures me, and once again I wake up in front of the panel.

The same actions follow through without much change, except I can clearly see some sign of frustration when the nature ambassador raises his hand.

Again.

And I eventually reach a solid point once more.

“When did you get your emblem?”

Implores the nature ambassador once more.

I didn’t want to lie when I feel that this could be me my only friendly ally.

“A couple months ago, I didn’t think much of it... I thought it was a prank played one me. But only just then did I fully understand it wasn’t - not at all.”

He stops and scratches his chin.

“Do you know the full scale of your emblem powers and do you have any aims?”

“I have no idea what this emblem means or stands for, I don't have any aim! I just want to live a peaceful, quiet life!”

“I see, the next ambassador will now enter – the wisdom ambassador.”

He leaves the door and as it closes an apocalyptic bang follows squeak a prolonged squeak.

Soon enough the sound of solitude is disturbed, and the ambassador of wisdom entered, a woman with a rather strange aura around here.

And if I had to compare this strange feeling surrounding her it would definitely be similar to that of the Time Goddess. A daunting, empty feeling.

Without much of an introduction she starts in a rather cold manner.

“So...”

And then pauses before making direct eye contact.

“As one of my own I really do pity you. But exceptions are one within reoccurring infinities. And simply put, out of every possibility I don’t see you making this out alive.”

‘Well, that doesn’t sound like good news...’ an awfully disappointing voice speaks out.

“What do you mean by ‘one of your subjects’...?”

“Any affiliated wisdom emblems originate in the wisdom kingdom, including time. I don’t have questions, but if you do this is the chance to ask away. So, make it quick and short.”

“How can you be so confident not to ask questions are you even taking this seriously!?”

“I have considered every outcome and causation. There is nothing else to know.”

“I have an artefact; did you consider that.”

I snap back at her.

“Say that again!”

She lashes her face back around to me.

“I have the time artefact.”

“A person like you possibly couldn’t!”

“It’s a fifty-fifty possibility, either I do or don’t. And it is one-hundred precent your loss or gain.”

“So, what do you want for this?”

‘It turns out all the powerful people have great tendency to fall for greed. Note to self-do not become like this…’

“You get me out of here, and I will give you the artefact-“

And suddenly I am cut off.

“Do you really think that someone with a mastery wisdom emblem would fall for such a con!?”

She walks out then without consideration. Much closer than before yet in the grand scheme of things still at the beginning.

The door opens once more for the final time, four open doors, four different ambassadors. This would therefore be the dark ambassador. The most mysterious figure on the panel.

And the one to have caused all the disasters that unfold.

I don’t hear footsteps as the cloaked man walks in or from the cloth dragging on the cracks and dips of the stone.

“Who are you!? What do you want!?”

“The dark ambassador of the secret society – the dark kingdom.”

A voice echoes not from the body but from right next to my ears, as if he is there sitting next to me and whispering.

“I want your secret powers.”

“What powers…?”

“The Endless Rest powers.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about…”

“Oh, yes you do. Resetting, resetting over and over and over, I wonder how many times you have seen my face, maybe this is the first time or the one-thousandth time. Oh, I do wonder.”

The voice becomes so irritatingly slithery like a snake tail being inserted right into my ear. With every ‘s’ being lingered on – a familiar strange feeling.

“What do you want me to do!?”

I break, and no longer can keep an act.

“First, you get out of here. Then we can negotiate endlessly sound good?”

“Why would I want to help you!? You destroyed my life, my family and my village! I swear no matter what I will kill you!”

This is the only way out for me, but by doing so what dignity do I have left… What honour and pride would I have…

To blindly trust the same person who had slaughtered my family.

“Never! I would rather die than ever accept your offer!”

“Oh well, at least consider.”

Then he leaves and my fate seals for this reset.

Once again, the board offers the same sentence.

How determined is this dark ambassador if it meant he loses his objective in the other reset world line…

Just that though offers nightmares of what is yet to come…

Once again, I reset getting to the same point. Desperately trying to somehow, someway to convince a genius; the wisdom ambassador to allow me safe passage, whilst also not revealing the stopwatch is the artefact.

Then being the dark ambassador presenting a tempting toxin.

It feels impossible to win, as if playing a chess match with the best player, with the only move you know being surrender.

My mind goes blank even though I know I have just rest, and no matter who is speaking to me, I am mentally torturing myself.

Should I take the dark ambassador’s offer…

I can’t use emblem or non-emblem casts here, and every moment when I am not guarded by a mastery emblem user I am put to an unbreakable sleep.

There isn’t any other way…

But what about Father... Jim… Richard…

I somehow by coincidence or by the mischievous works of the gods wake up and see the dark ambassador.

And the tingling in my ear resumes from a blurry memory.

“First, you get out of here. Then we can negotiate endlessly, sound good?

I look back into the shadowy abyss of the person’s face.

‘I swear… I will kill this monster…’

“Fine…”

A voice struggles out of my throat.

“I wonder how many pain staking resets it took you to say yes…”

It takes almost every hormone to stop me from bursting out in rage, and even if I am to. Would It achieve anything…? No probably not…

“Just take me out of here!”

“As you wish servant, stand by.”

He leaves the room and I feel empty as a slow painful sleep overcomes me.

I wake up in the panel room, which no longer amazes me. No longer looks grand or detailed. Everything looks bleak and dull.

Then before anyone speaks a slither of a vowel. A large explosion erupts from the panel and just like that a concise sequence of casts and spells burst.

Within an instant four mastery emblem casters are in front of me casting away, all about to detonate. All with the combined force to probably leave a quarter of an entire kingdom territory unusable. One entire sixteenth of the planet gone.

But yet again, it would take so much time to regenerate the energy to reuse a mastery emblem that this would be their only use.

Before hell lets loose within this random hall, I feel myself flung out. Just like that the dark ambassador dashes to me pushing me to the ground, where I fall into a pit that wasn’t there previously.

A trail of fire, beams of agonisingly light follow. And then everything is gone. Except the feeling of my organs moving around as I fall infinity.

With the only thing I can see clearly is the pocket watch is his hand.

Then everything combines together to form the ground as collateral damage seems to occur all through my spinal cord as I hit the ground.

I can move.

Very slightly.

But I can move…

Everything comes at a price… And as father always said... When one door closes another open…