After rewinding to avoid the police, he began to seek things out. First, he needed to know what exactly was going on. Was he really reliving yesterday? Was it just a very coherent dream? Was it the effects of a powerful hallucinogen? Was someone playing an elaborate prank on him? Or maybe this was how time normally flowed in this world, like some temporal difference between the two worlds. He needed to figure it out ASAP.
He followed the same road as yesterday, going directly to his first hideout, and just like yesterday, he hid behind the dustbin. The three policemen would come in an hour, so he remained there for about forty minutes before he moved out to the opposite street and hid in a corner where he could see the dustbin.
Just like yesterday, the same policemen (two men and the mustache woman) came. They shone torchlights around and even emptied the dustbin to see if someone was hiding inside, and, when they couldn't find anyone, they hurriedly left.
Gaus waited for another ten minutes before he came out of hiding and went back to the dustbin street. Part of him wanted to leave but from yesterday he knew the police would find him no matter where he went.
Luckily, no patrol came back to that area that night. Despite that, he still spent most of the night watching out for the mustache woman and her troop.
He thought about the message from the blue panel which said 'magiwatch has saved 24-hours'. Did that mean he had turned time back for twenty-four hours? But he didn't touch the screw up to the time he fell asleep. So, probably, he did it unknowingly while asleep. Gaus shook his head. A part of him still didn't believe he was reliving yesterday; it was entirely possible the magiwatch was malfunctioning or something, so before concluding anything he should wait for the morning to confirm things first.
He waited anxiously. That night he didn't even sleep. As soon as it was morning he left into the city.
The first thing he saw was hundreds of people parading on the streets. Each was dressed in the same flowing, white robe he had seen on the majority of the people (including Abbas) yesterday. They raised their feet together and marched together in a highly coordinated fashion just like trained soldiers. Several people watched from the roadside and some even peeped through their windows and doors. The most mind-boggling thing was the eerie silence in the entire city despite the number of people around. Nobody said anything and the only sound came from the evenly marching of the white-dressed men. It was... disturbing.
After the parading men passed, the watchers from the roadside and those peeping from their houses came out and ran after them. Most wore the same outfit as the parading men but nobody said a word.
Gaus knew from yesterday that the city was currently parked with foreigners from different places. The ones he saw had different skins and looks, and excluding the people dressed in those white robes, they all had different dresses. Because of all these, nobody cared about Gaus' raincoat and it was easier to blend in.
He found a seat by the roadside and waited. At exactly ten o'clock he went to meet Ummi. It was easy since he vividly remembered their meeting point from yesterday.
He waited only for a minute before she came hurrying.
"Ummi... er... Miss, excuse me."
Ummi turned around and gave him a puzzled look. "Mister, do I know you?"
Damn it.
He wasn't supposed to know her name. And if he was really reliving yesterday then it was entirely possible that nobody else knew about what happened except him. For example, Ummi would remember nothing of their meeting from yesterday and as far as she was concerned this was the first time she was seeing him. Likewise, Abbas wouldn't remember him or their meeting and how they ate together. It would be weird if he was to know any of them.
"That's your name, right? That woman over there was talking to you." Gaus answered quickly. He turned to his left side and pointed at an empty space. "Huh, she was just standing right there."
Ummi looked at the direction he was pointing at before she turned to him. One look and he knew his act wasn't flawless and she barely believed it.
But she was still willing to hear him out. "What do you want?"
That line... She really doesn't remember anything! Gaus remained silent.
Should he follow her or not? After a short debate, he decided to follow her and further confirm the situation.
Shortly after they reached the ceremony ground. That same giant rock was floating in the air just like yesterday. The maidens poured water from the spring over it. Several others prostrated beneath it. All of them dressed in the same flowing gown. He suddenly realized these people bowing down beneath the rock were the same people parading in the morning. They probably did that same parade even yesterday and he only didn't see them yesterday because he wasn't there at the right time.
***
Later, Gaus went to the library.
He went directly to the woman sitting on the reception desk.
"Morning," he greeted.
"Morning," said the woman without raising her head.
Everything was playing exactly like yesterday as long as he repeated his actions. So he kept doing just that to convince himself that he was really reliving yesterday and that he was the only one that remembered what happened.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
He went to the first floor and took the same seat as yesterday - seat number 17. From there he could see Abbas reading silently on seat number 20.
He selected the same books as yesterday, carried them back to his seat, and started reading.
At seven minutes to three o'clock in the evening, Abbas came.
"Hey."
Gaus raised his head and looked at him.
"Hey."
"I wanna get something to eat, please can you look out for my books? I don't want the librarian to take them back to their respective shelves thinking I'm done."
It was disturbingly nostalgic.
They had lunch just like yesterday. Afterward, Gaus returned to his seat. All his attention was on the question: was he really reliving yesterday? At this point, he was convinced he was reliving it. He kept the question of whether it was possible aside since it had already happened. But the real question was why? Why would he relive this Tuesday, 6th of April, 2077 AC? Was he the only one aware of the current situation?
"Huh...." Gaus opened his mouth like an idiot as he realized he had already known the answer. It was obvious that everything had to do with his magiwatch, and the most likely scenario was him screwing the crown unknowingly while he slept. That would explain why the magiwatch saved twenty-four hours. And that would explain why he was the only one that remembered.
No matter, this was a one-time thing that would not repeat itself. All he needed to do was to make sure he didn't repeat the same mistake.
Happy he had found the root of his problems Gaus looked for a new book to read to kill some time.
Night came in a blink. Gaus started feeling sleepy, so he tore the side of his coat and tied the watch with it so as to prevent any unintentional screw while he slept.
Then he fell asleep. His left hand carefully hidden in his raincoat.
***
Scream.
At first light, Gaus woke up with a resounding scream. His body trembled under his sweat-soaked underwear.
Magiwatch has saved twenty-four hours.
Gaus gasped in shock. This was the same message he saw yesterday that made him think he was responsible for turning time back and repeating the day. But he didn't touch the watch yesterday. He was sure because he had carefully tied it in his cloth and also hid it underneath his coat before he slept. The only way for this to happen was if someone else had used his magiwatch while he was asleep...
Gaus knitted his brows angrily. As unlikely as it sounded this was the only viable possibility left. But why would anyone want to do that? How did they even know about it?
He wouldn't figure anything out by standing there, so he decided to wait till morning. After all, the policeman would be coming anytime now...
"Hey, what are you doing outside?"
He turned time back to the point before the policeman appeared. He fled to his hideout just like yesterday and waited for the morning.
In the morning, he looked for Ummi and went to the ceremony ground with her. After he was sure everything was exactly the same as the previous day he left for the library.
He spent the entire morning and evening reading books about the Multiverse and its different governments. He had already promised himself that he wouldn't sleep today just so he could see what exactly was happening. Was he the one responsible? Was it someone else using his magiwatch while he slept? He would have his answer today.
At exactly three o'clock in the morning, just when Gaus was flipping through a book called 'Water Dungeon', the world suddenly blurred and then everything went blank.
***
Scream.
At first light, Gaus woke up with a resounding scream. His body trembled under his sweat-soaked underwear.
Magiwatch has saved twenty-four hours.
"......"
Gaus opened his mouth to talk but couldn't find the words. It was obvious he would be repeating this very Tuesday again. But he didn't touch his magiwatch and nobody else did. He was one hundred percent sure since he didn't sleep at all. But why was he repeating the day again?
"Hey, what are you doing outside?"
Glaring at the policeman, he grabbed his collar.
"Stop this nonsense immediately, I know what you are doing. You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
The policeman was startled at the sudden turn of events. Never in his wildest imagination did he ever think a novice like Gaus would do that. He was stunned for several seconds. And before he regained his senses, Gaus had realized what he had done. Hitting a policeman was a crime in his previous world. The police would have no problem exercising all their power to put him behind bars just to make an example. He quickly released the man and almost at the same time turned time back to the period before the police arrived.
He fled to his hideout and slept. In the morning, he watched the parade and then went straight to the library.
He didn't pick any book, he just found a place far away from any disturbance and sat. Then he closed his eyes and began analyzing the situation.
As of now, he knew it wasn't him turning the time back and it wasn't someone else. So his theory about the watch being responsible for repeating the day over and over again was wrong. But how, then?
He thought for several hours. In the end, he had two possibilities: one, either the watch was doing it on its own without any outside input; two, there was someone else with the ability to manipulate time, in other words, Gaus didn't have autonomy over his ability to rewind time.
These were just theories: it could be right or wrong. It was his duty to find out the truth about why this damn Tuesday refused to go away.
Sigh.
So many questions and yet so few answers.
That day Gaus decided that the best way to do it was to start by studying the watch. It was very likely that all the answers he sought were there.
What did he know about his magiwatch and its ability to rewind time?
As soon as that question appeared in his mind he went back to the bookshelves and started selecting books. It wasn't long before he found a shelf dedicated to magiwatch. He selected ten books and took them back to his seat.
It was already three o'clock before he knew it. And then suddenly and silently his vision blurred and before he could even react everything had gone blank.
***
Scream.
At first light, Gaus woke up with a resounding scream. His body trembled under his sweat-soaked underwear.
Magiwatch has saved twenty-four hours.
He suddenly realized if he didn't actively find a way out of this loop then he might remain there forever.
For simplicity, he named the entire scenario as Time Prison. Because it was literally a prison albeit not a physical one.
He went to his hideout. In the morning, he went directly to the library. It was time to see what this magiwatch was all about.