Tutorial failed.

Restarting eternity.

“That’s it,” Helen said as she opened the windows. “We’re skipping it.”

It had been three loops since they had resumed their attempts at defeating the elite in the vice-principal’s office with no success.

“About time,” Jace grumbled. “I wish you had seen the face of the fucker.”

“Tried my best, bro.” Alex shrugged. As usual, he was the only member of the group that was actively not helping. “Was closer, though.”

That was an outright lie. While he and Helen were getting more in sync with their actions, the enemy also seemed to adapt.

“I think we need to do something before getting back to him,” Will thought. “Maybe there’s a specific weapon?”

“A rocket launcher?” The goofball snorted, amused by his own joke. “It’s fine bro. Don’t be sadge.”

Annoyance was the last thing on Will’s mind. If anything, the time spent focusing on that single enemy had helped him read through the sections of Daniel’s file that Alex had smuggled through during the day. A lot of it was strange even for loopers, just as his friend had mentioned. Anyone going through the same experience could clearly see that the previous rogue was using dreams and metaphors as a means to express what was agitating him.

Wolves were abundant, as were mentions of the archer, and hints of faceless companions or friends. The latter appeared to be the party Alex suspected Danny had. What made the material extremely difficult to read was that even in the notes it was jumbled. One story would start then blend into the next, as if the school counselor had messed up the pages. The issue with that was that every page was meticulously numbered with no possibility of mistake. It was almost as if someone had taken Daniel’s thoughts, passed them through a blender and then poured them onto paper.

“We take our own classes this time,” he said. “Just as before.”

“You’re the one who suggested I take your class,” Helen said, agreeing in her typical fashion. “And no, I didn’t take it this loop.”

“Thanks.” Will smiled. Unfortunately for him, the girl didn’t reciprocate. “I’ll go get it, then.” He said after a few more moments.

“Now?” Jace stared at him. “Stoner, if you’re trying to slack, you’re really shit at it. You find an excuse before the work is done.”

“Whatever.” Will wasn’t in the mood for arguing. Feeling annoyed for a reason he couldn’t fully understand himself, he left the room, making his way to the boys’ toilet.

“And where are you going, Stone?” the coach asked. “Remember the bathroom policy?”

“Do I get to go here then, coach?” the boy snapped.

Silence filled the section of the corridor. The coach had been working at schools for long enough to have seen almost anything. Having Will growl at him was among the last things he expected. To make it even more awkward, deep inside he also agreed how stupid the new school policy was. Keeping the children safe was one thing, but even he could tell that this was getting counterproductive.

“Go do your business,” he said, waving his hand in the direction of the bathroom door. “And try not to make a mess.”

Chuckles and whispers filled the corridor. They were followed by more words from the coach who had settled on a new target for his frustration. Will didn’t even pause to listen, rushing into the toilet and tapping the mirror.

CLASS DUPLICATION!

A red message appeared on the mirror’s surface.

Only one rogue can be present.

Freezing eternity.

Will was barely able to read the new messages, before all noise stopped. The red messages vanished, leaving only a reflection behind. The only problem was that it wasn’t Will’s reflection.

“Never thought you’d be the one to fill the spot,” the reflection said.

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Seeing it, Will’s body took several steps back. An irrational urge made him want to run as far away and as quickly as possible. The person he was looking at, the person whose face he had had difficulty remembering, was none other than Daniel Keen.

“Don’t,” Daniel said. “Move away and we might not get another chance at this.”

“Chance at what?”

“It’s too complicated to explain. All I can say is that without my help, you’ll never be able to complete the tutorial. And unlike what it seems, eternity doesn’t last forever.”

Will’s instinct was to close his eyes and open them again, as if that would make everything better. While it did manage to reduce the initial shock, his dead schoolmate remained staring at him from the other side of the mirror. He was wearing the same clothes Will pretty much remembered him with: the aesthetically torn jeans, the no-brand t-shirt, and also a number of sheathed blades and weapons he definitely didn’t wander through school with.

“You’re dead,” Will uttered the greatest cliché one could under such circumstances.

“True, but I can still talk to you.” The other smirked. “I’ve got you to thank for that.”

“Me?”

“Your permanent skill. Face an enemy you’ve defeated before?”

“You’re an enemy?” While it was true that Helen’s conversation had made Will wish he could face Danny to measure up with him, this wasn’t what he had in mind. “You were a rogue…”

“Eternity isn’t perfect. The point is, you got me here, so now we can talk.”

“About what?”

“Oh, come on. You think I haven’t been watching all of you? You’re stuck here. You can’t complete the tutorial, which means you can’t leave the school area. Hell, you can’t even gather your own weapons. Sure, eternity might seem fun right now, but once all the players have gathered, it won’t matter if you’ve finished the tutorial or not. Then the pain will get real.”

“The players? What are you talking about?”

“Want to know?” Danny leaned forward until his forehead pressed the other side of the mirror. “I’ll tell you, but for that you’ll need to do me a few favors.”

As far as negotiations went, Will had seen worse. However, he had no intention of being played for a fool. Using the rogue’s reflexes, he leaped towards the mirror with the intent to grab Danny.

The boy’s hand passed through the mirror’s surface without fail, but before it could grab its target, the other rogue elegantly moved his hand away, evading the attempt. Without pause, he then took one of the daggers he was equipped with and threw them straight at Will’s face.

Instantly, Will moved to the side, only to realize that the weapon hadn’t left the confines of the mirror.

“See, I can’t hurt you,” Danny explained. “One-way attacks. You can hurt me, but until you come in here, I can’t do a thing. At least in theory. I think we both know that you can’t win a fight against me.”

Even after one attack, Will was inclined to agree. Danny’s actions were faster, more precise, not to mention he had way more weapons strapped on.

“I don’t trust you,” he said.

“That’s rich. And you trust the rest? Jace is an idiot, who’s been wanting to break your arm for months. Alex doesn’t know if the words coming from his own mouth are lies or truth. And Helen, do you think my girlfriend has told you a tenth of what she knows?”

There it was—the word that made Will feel as if he had ice cubes in his stomach.

“Or maybe you think you’ll figure out something from the file Alex stole? There’s nothing but crap inside—one of the ways I used to vent when things got really boring. How long do you think the muffin boy has had the papers?”

“A while?” Will admitted.

“More than a while. And in all this time what has he figured out? That I knew more than I told him? That I’ve been through this before? Give me a break.” Danny’s reflection moved in and out. “Look, it’s not like you have a choice. Without my help you’ll never clear the second floor, and without that there’s no way to end the tutorial.”

“The hints said that the weapons are optional.”

“They are, but you need to clear every room of the school for the boss to appear. But hey, you don’t have to believe me. Try your luck. Maybe I’m lying and you’ll do fine without me.”

If Danny had the thief class, Will would have had second thoughts. Even now he wasn’t convinced it wasn’t one big bluff to get the boy to do something that he didn’t want to. For all he knew this could be nothing more than an illusion—a false image of Daniel.

“Prove it,” Will said. “Prove that you’re not full of crap.”

“Proof?” Danny’s smile widened. “Why not. There are two hidden mirrors on the third floor facing each other. You can take them one at a time and you’ll probably win. But if you get Helen to activate them simultaneously, one of you will get a special reward. Do that and you’ll see I’m serious.”

It sounded like a trap. Something about the notion of standing between two mirrors made Will’s skin crawl. He kept telling himself that even in a worst-case scenario, all that would happen is that the loop would reset, but what if that wasn’t the case?

“You still don’t trust me…” the reflection sighed.

“I still don’t know if it’s really you. You died a week ago, but know everything we’ve been up to.”

“You killed five hidden monsters, and you still got to fight them,” Daniel countered. “Things are different in eternity. The only firm rule is that escape is fucking difficult.”

You had to die to break loose, Will thought. And, apparently, even then it wasn’t permanent.

“What’s it all about?” he asked.

“Eternity? Hell if I know.” Daniel paced about. “It’s one eternal game. You get skills, tasks, enemies… Oh, don’t waste your coins once you start getting them. The good offers take a while to show up.”

“Explain that.”

“You’ll know.” Daniel shook his head. “Just remember to come back here and challenge me once you’re done. There’s a lot we need to talk about.”

Without concern, the reflection walked off, disappearing from view. For several seconds, Daniel stared at the empty mirror. Nothing was in it, not even his own reflection. Slowly, he reached forward, bringing his hand toward the smooth surface. A few inches away, he stopped. After everything, he had no intention of going through.

After a few minutes though, he decided to take the opportunity that he actually was in the bathroom and relieve himself. As the stall door swung behind him, he heard the usual noise of school return once more.

Quickly he opened it again to see his own reflection looking back from the mirrors. For whatever reason, eternity had been unfrozen.

The inquisitive part of his mind wanted Will to challenge the former rogue again, just to confirm how the process worked. The more cautious one chose to leave that for later. Danny had always been surrounded by a ton of questions; seeing his reflection after death had brought a whole lot more, although with a promise of answers. Should Will share the find with the rest, though? The former rogue hadn’t told him not to, but he hadn’t encouraged him, either.

“Stone!” Coach’s voice boomed from the corridor. “You better not be doing anything fishy in there.”

“Idiot,” Will said beneath his breath as he washed his hands. Even in ten-minute loops the coach had a tendency of being annoying.

Not waiting for his hands to fully dry, Will walked into the corridor. The coach gave him a questionable look, then looked into the bathroom, in search of any telltale signs of questionably legal activity. Since none were apparent, the boy was allowed a noise-free trip to his classroom.

Half of the class had gathered by then, ready to spend another day of drawing. The entire loop quartet had been through this so many times that they could complete the assignment without seeing it. Sadly, they had to pretend it was new to them. Every action they took had to be carefully chosen to extend their loop as much as possible. It was only in the evening that they could break loose.