Y/N stared at Ira and Ren.

Don't make them suffer again.

The voice in Y/N's head was sharp, cold, and clear.

It wasn't his voice. It was one made of multiple voices.

Warnings from lives he'd lived.

He looked at Ira. At Ren.

They looked worried, yeah.

But even if they were, he couldn't say anything.

"Just... you know... I a nightmare. Magic stuff. Probably just stressed out. You know!" He tried to sound casual, like it was no big deal.

Ira relaxed a little, some of the worry fading from Ira's face.

"Yeah, Sulthon's a pain. Maybe that's it. You been studying too hard, dude. Need to relax, maybe hit a Tavern later?" He clapped Y/N on the shoulder.

Y/N just nodded, forcing a weak smile.

"Yeah, maybe. Later." He wanted to get away from them. Every time he saw them he remembered the countless lives where they'd suffered.

"Okay, good. Come on, then. Let's go" Ira said, nudging him towards the classroom.

They started walking, Ira chattering about something, Ren walking silently beside him, still watching. Y/N felt their eyes on him, like they were trying to read his mind.

He kept his face blank, his eyes straight ahead, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.

Remember what happened before.

In other lives.

Friends will suffer.

The voices were getting louder now, more insistent.

They were filling his head, drowning out his own thoughts. He could see flashes of images in his mind, quick, brutal scenes from other lives.

Faces that looked like Ira and Ren, screaming, then twisting.

He clenched his fists, trying to push the images away. He had to focus.

As they walked past another classroom, a girl stepped out into the hallway.

Emi. She was carrying a stack of books, her brow furrowed in concentration. She looked up as they passed, and her face lit up when she saw Y/N.

"Y/N! Hey!" she said, her voice bright and cheerful. "You almost late for Sulthon again?" She smiled, a warm, genuine smile.

Emi she was always nice always friendly. Like Ira and Ren.

She also was a recurring presence in the loops also suffering.

In one life, she tried to be kind and help him after noticing how Rain was manipulating him. But the next day, she was found dead in her room, having taken her own life.

Y/N stopped, hesitating. Emi was still smiling at him, waiting for him to say something. Ira and Ren had stopped too, looking at him, then at Emi.

"Hey, Em" Ira said, grinning at her. "Just dragging sleepy head here to class. He had a nightmare, apparently" He laughed.

Emi's smile faded a little, her eyes going to Y/N, concern replacing the cheerfulness.

"Nightmare? Y/N, are you okay?" She stepped closer, her hand reaching out, like she was going to touch his arm.

Y/N flinched back again, more sharply this time. Emi's hand stopped in mid-air, her eyes widening.

Ira and Ren went still again, their smiles vanishing.

"Don't" Y/N said, his voice sharper than he intended. He stepped back, putting distance between himself and Emi, and Ira, and Ren. "Just... don't touch me."

If they helped him again, what would happen? Will they all keep dying over and over?

Emi's face crumpled, hurt flashing in her eyes. "Y/N? What... what's wrong? Did I do something?" Her voice trembled a little.

Ira stepped forward, putting himself between Y/N and Emi, his grin completely gone now, replaced by a hard, cold look.

"Emi, maybe you should go to class. We gotta get going too."

Ren stepped forward as well.

He didn't say anything, just stared at Emi, his eyes cold behind his glasses.

Y/N stared at them, at Ira and Ren.

Panic flared in Y/N's chest, hot and sharp. He had to get out of here. He had to get away from all of them. It's for the best.

"Dude, Y/-"

"Yeah, class" Y/N mumbled, backing away slowly. "Gotta gotta go. See you guys later." He turned and ran, not waiting for a response, not looking back.

He just ran, down the hallway, away from Ira and Ren and Emi.

He ran until he was out of the school building, out in the open air, gasping for breath. He stopped, leaning against a tree looking at the city, his heart pounding in his chest.

He looked back at the school.

He couldn't go back. Not yet. Not ever? He didn't know. He just knew he had to get away. He had to think.

He had to figure out what to do. And he had to do it alone.

Find Rain.

You have to find her.

She's the key.

She's always been the key.

The voices were pushing him now, pulling him, directing him. He didn't want to go to Rain.

He was terrified of her.

But maybe they were right, she was the key so he had to understand her.

And whatever this loop was.

He started walking again, not knowing where he was going, just walking. He walked through the streets of the fantasy city.

He walked until he found himself in a park. A quiet park, filled with trees and flowers and a lake.

The lake he had seen from his window.

He walked towards it, drawn by something he couldn't name.

He sat down on a bench by the lake, staring out at the water. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, it was a beautiful day.

He had to find Rain. He had to face her. He had to break the loop. Or die trying.

Find her.

Find her now.

Before it's too late.

Before you.

forget.

The voices were urgent now, pushing, pushing, pushing.

He closed his eyes, trying to block them out, but they were relentless.

He opened his eyes again, his gaze hardening.

He knew what they had told him to do. He didn't like it. He was terrified.

But he had no choice but to listen.

He stood up, his legs feeling a little less shaky now, a little stronger.

He knew where Rain was. He could feel it, a pull, a connection, like a red thread tying them together. He could sense her, somewhere out there, waiting.

Go to her. Now.

He just walked.

He walked towards his death.