novelraw Chapter 112: A Night in Endless Loop
Chapter 112: A Night in Endless Loop
Chapter 112: A Night in Endless Loop
“Long night? What do you mean?” Raven’s voice broke the silence, his brows furrowing as he stared at the dimly lit wall across the room.
[Even I'm not sure, lad. What are you going to do next?] Zera’s voice echoed faintly inside his mind, calm yet cautious.
Raven exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I may have experienced déjà vu,” he muttered. “I want to sleep badly… but it’s better to stay awake.”
He moved to the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, eyes half-closed yet sharp. The candle on the bedside table flickered, stretching its shadow across the wooden floor. Minutes turned to hours—11 p.m. bled into midnight, and then the silence deepened.
When the clock neared 1:30 a.m., a faint smoke slithered through the cracks under the door. Raven’s eyelids grew heavy; his breath slowed.
A strange dizziness assaulted his mind.
[Snap out of it!] Zera’s sudden roar jolted through his mind.
Raven gasped, blinking. Before he could react, pain exploded in his neck—a searing, slicing agony—followed by warmth spilling down his chest. His fingers trembled as crimson soaked his shirt. The world tilted, the candlelight twisting into darkness.
Then, silence.
A distorted voice broke through the void.
[Did you feel any change?]
Raven’s eyes flew open. He was sitting on the wooden chair, not the bed. His heart pounded.
‘Wasn’t I sitting on the bed? This is not deja vu.’
“What the hell… happened?” he muttered, his breath shaky.
[Are you okay, kid?] Zera’s tone carried concern.
Raven recounted everything, his words low and clipped.
“Is this the nightmare Roland mentioned?”
[No nightmare will be this clear.] A pause. [It must be the work of the chaos scroll. Be prepared, kid. You’re going to repeat the same day until you go crazy.]
Raven’s expression darkened. His fingers tightened on the armrest.
“So… I died in my sleep and woke up before it happened?” he murmured.
[Yes.] Zera sighed. [You’re already caught in a loop. Whether it’s a twisted illusion spell or a true temporal distortion, we prepare for the worst.]
[What happened before you died?] she asked again.
Raven recalled, voice steady. “Smoke crept in through the door gaps. I felt dizzy, drowsy. You warned me… then pain. Everything went black.”
[Assassination?]
“I’d have noticed if someone came in,” he said, but doubt flickered in his tone.
[The smoke disrupted your senses.]
Raven stood, his shadow stretching against the wall. “Then I’ll find him,” he said coldly. “And kill him.”
[First, understand why he targeted you. We need to know if it’s personal—or strategic.]
Raven nodded slightly. The air thickened around him as he took out the Frozen Ender Spear, its blade gleaming faint blue. He checked the clock—1:30 a.m.
He pricked his palm, letting blood drip down the spear’s tip. A faint rune shimmered.
Then he whispered, “Elapsed Illusion.”
The spell activated with a silent shimmer. The air bent faintly around him as time crawled forward.
1:32 a.m.
Smoke seeped into the room again, crawling along the floor. Raven sat motionless on the bed, eyes fixed on the door. His breath was calm—too calm.
A shadow flickered behind him. A cloaked figure emerged soundlessly, twin daggers gleaming in his hands. The assassin’s movement was fluid—too fast for a normal man. He lunged.
Steel flashed.
The blade sliced through Raven’s neck—
—or so he thought.
The body shattered like glass.
The assassin froze, eyes widening as fragments scattered in the air. Behind him, the real Raven stood, spear already thrusting forward.
The weapon pierced his shoulder, not the heart.
‘He missed?’
The assassin hissed, twisting with inhuman speed.
“Stop.” Raven calmly muttered.
The word wasn’t loud—but it carried power. The assassin’s body locked mid-motion, his muscles freezing. Even his mind trembled, forced to obey. His eyes widened.
‘Mind Manipulation? T-This looks like a spell of Wolves!’
He knew that even a single slip of information about his origin could bring disaster and instantly made up his mind.
He suddenly gritted his teeth.
A moment later, a strange fluid spread from the assassin’s mouth—glowing, corrosive.
It seeped into his veins. His chest burned. His lungs screamed. He coughed up blood and fell.
The assassin’s body convulsed—then went limp, collapsing beside him.
“He… killed himself?” Raven muttered, furrowing. The corpse was still, eyes blank, dagger clenched tight.
Then—
A scream tore through the mansion.
Raven snapped his head up.
Another scream followed, and then another. He dashed into the hallway, spear in hand.
Down the corridor, a tall black-hooded man stepped out from Roland and Jacob’s room. Raven’s heart sank as he saw Jacob’s headless body lying right next to the door.
“That newbie failed?” The assassin’s gaze landed on Raven.
The floor beneath his boots creaked. His aura pressed down like a mountain.
‘An assassin capable of killing Jacob…’ Raven whispered. “Expert Rank.”
He spun the spear once, yellow aura flaring along its edge.
He knew he couldn’t win—but he’d try.
His pulse steadied. The world slowed as his thought process increased tenfold.
‘Mind Web.’
The spell activated on its own, splitting his thoughts into four streams. Every flicker of movement, every twitch of the enemy’s muscles—Raven saw them all.
The assassin’s hand blurred. A shortsword materialized mid-air. He lunged.
The world turned slow. Raven could see the blade closing in—but his body lagged behind.
He yanked two vials from his inventory, cracked them open—
—and vanished.
The assassin’s sword sliced empty air. Raven reappeared twenty meters away, down the corridor, and drank both potions in one gulp. His veins glowed faintly.
Power surged through him—his strength climbing past Radiant Rank, brushing Expert.
Still not enough.
Raven’s face started to shapeshift, revealing his true face beneath—black hair, sharp eyes, and a closed vertical eyelid on his forehead.
“Who are you?”
The assassin hesitated.
Then, he dashed again, blade covered in a sinister red aura.
Clash!
Spear and sword met in bursts of golden and crimson light. Each strike cracked the air. The assassin’s blows were brutal, relentless; Raven blocked and deflected with precision, his arms aching under the force.
He vanished again—shadows rippling—and appeared behind the assassin.
The assassin twisted, blocking with his shortsword before the strike could land.
Raven smiled faintly.
The spear vanished.
The assassin blinked. “What—?”
Raven’s illusion shattered—the fake image disintegrating into shards.
The real Raven materialized behind him. His spear drove forward, piercing through flesh and bone.
The third eye snapped open.
A golden spark flared—then a beam of condensed lightning shot out, tearing through the assassin’s skull.
The body jerked once—then crumpled.
Raven stood still, panting.
The silence lasted only a second.
Then a voice—cold and female—echoed inside his head.
“Well, well, well… I came here to check why Omega Three and Theta Seven haven’t returned, but an unexpected variable popped up.”
The air shifted. Pressure crashed down on Raven like a tidal wave. His knees hit the floor, bones creaking.
He raised his head slowly.
A young woman with crimson eyes walked down the corridor. Her cloak shimmered black under the flickering lights. Each step she took covered ten feet, her presence bending space itself.
She raised a hand.
Invisible threads came from her hand, sliced everything in its path, including Raven’s body.
Raven’s vision splintered—his body breaking apart into fragments, each piece dissected into small, minute pieces.
And then complete darkness.
…
Gasp!
A distorted Zera’s voice broke through the void.
[Did you feel any change?]
Raven’s eyes flew open. He was sitting on the same wooden chair.
“F*ck,” Raven cursed out loud.
…