Y/N woke up.

This time, like all the other loops the ceiling looked different.

It was withered and washed away like an old apartment.

He was in the ground sleeping.

An abandoned store.

He just lay there, staring at the ceiling.

Another life. Another loop.

Like the last loop he remembered Rain.

It seems he will remember everything from now on.

He remembered the snap of her throat, the blood, the her voice screaming even after.

He squeezed his eyes shut, a phantom pain twisting in his chest.

Why now?

Why was he remembering now? After so many loops, so many resets, why this time?

He opened his eyes again, the dark ceiling still there, unchanging. He sat up slowly, his body stiff, sore, like he'd been lying in one position for too long. He looked around the store.

It was abandoned, bare. A chair in the corner, a shelves were empty. A door on the far wall, letting in harsh, grey light.

He started walking, his clothes were heavy.

He shivered,.

He stood up slowly, carefully. His legs were shaky, but they held. He walked to the door and looked out.

Snow.

White stretched in every direction, blanketing concrete buildings. Cars sat frozen in place, unmoving. Not a single person was in sight.

Memories of this life started coming.

An apocalypse.

It seemed the world lost electricity, and after that, everything fell into ruin.

Now, it's the age of snow with undead creatures walking around.

He turned away from the door. He didn't like this place.

He looked around, his gaze falling on where he was sleeping. There was a small bag, inside it were items for survival but also a card sitting there, propped against the walls of the bag.

He picked it up.

It was a get well card. Looks super old, with simple blue letters.

"Get Well Soon, Y/N." It said. Inside, there was writing. Handwriting he... recognized?

Y/N,

We were so worried when they brought you in. You just collapsed, out of nowhere. The doctors say it was a virus?

Anyway, we're here for you, dude. Get some rest. We'll visit later. Don't try to do anything crazy, okay? Ha. Just kidding. Mostly.

Ira and Ren.

Ira and Ren. Again. Always Ira and Ren.

They died.

The voice was back, whispering in his mind.

He put the card back in the bag and slung it over his back.

He walked to the door, his hand reaching for the handle.

He had to find Rain. Even here. In this place.

The loop wasn't done yet.

He knew she was here. He could feel it, a faint, familiar pull, a crimson thread, stretching across.

He will kill her, even if takes years he will make her suffer for what she did to him.

He opened the door and stepped out into the wild.

Everything was abandoned, snow was everywhere and no sound can be heard anymore.

Dead human bodies in the ground.

He started walking down the street, not knowing where he was going.

Empty. Silent. Just the echo of his own footsteps on thick snow.

He started down, walking slowly, carefully.

As he walked, the voices started again, whispering, louder now, more insistent.

She's watching you.

Even here.

She's always watching.

Rain is watching.

He looked around the white fog, his eyes darting into the shadows, searching.

Someone? Rain? But there was no one there.

She's coming for you.

She always comes.

No matter where you go.

Escape.

He kept walking down, faster now, almost running, his heart starting to pound in his chest. He had to get out. He had to escape. Before she found him again.

He reached outside an apartment complexes.

This is it.

This is where she'll find you.

She's waiting.

She's always waiting.

In the dark.

In the shadows.

The word echoed in his mind, a new voice joining the chorus, a voice that was... familiar? Like a memory, surfacing from the depths of all those lives.

He stopped walking, his heart pounding, his breath catching in his throat.

And then, he heard it. A voice. Soft. Sweet. Familiar.

Rain's voice.

"Y/N?" she said. "Y/N, is that you?"

He froze, his body going rigid, his breath stopping in his lungs. He knew that voice. He knew it too well. He had heard it in 1205 lives. He had heard it screaming in his head just moments before.

A sound of footsteps on the snow can be heard, walking slowly taking it's time.

"Y/N" she said again, closer now, the voice coming from fog.

"I knew you'd come. I always know. Because we're connected, Y/N. Forever. Remember?"

He didn't move. He didn't breathe. He just stood there, frozen, listening to her voice, waiting for her to appear.

And then, she stepped out of the fog.

Rain.

She walked towards him, slowly, gracefully, her eyes fixed on him, never wavering. Her smile widened, becoming that grin, too wide, too sharp, too hungry.

"Y/N" she said, her voice soft, hypnotic, drawing him in, pulling him closer, even though he didn't want to move, even though he wanted to run, to scream, to disappear. "My Y/N. You're here. Finally. I've been waiting for you."

She stopped in front of him, close enough to touch, her eyes gazing into his, searching his soul, stealing his breath.

Her smile was inches from his face, her breath warm on his skin.

"Do you know how much I love you, Y/N?" she whispered. "Do you really know? I don't think you do. Not yet. But you will. You will understand. Soon."

She reached out, her hand moving slowly, deliberately, tracing the line of his jaw, her touch sending a shiver of coldness down his spine, even colder than the grey hallway.

He tried to move but he couldn't, his muscles didn't listen to him.

"I love everything about you, Y/N" she whispered, her breath warm against his ear. Her eyes unblinking.

"Everything."

Her fingers twitched as she reached for him, trembling with excitement.

"Your hair I want to run my fingers through it. Feel it tangle between them." She giggled.

She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a shivering whisper. "Your scent... it clings to your skin, your soul. I wonder would it stay if I buried myself in you? Pressed so close that I couldn't tell where I ended and you began?"

Her nails traced the air just above his cheek, a fraction away from touching. "Your voice. Oh, your voice. I hear it even when you're not speaking. It stays in my head, whispering and calling me. I know you don't mean to, but you call me, Y/N. And I'm always listening."

Her fingers moved to his cheek, tracing the curve of his bone, her touch light, possessive. "Your skin, so pale, so smooth. So delicate. I want to keep it perfect, protected. No one else can touch it. Only me."

Her hand moved lower, to his neck, her fingers wrapping around his throat, lightly, gently, but he could feel the strength beneath the softness.

"And your eyes, Y/N" she whispered, her voice growing softer, more intimate. "Your eyes are the best part. Like looking into the night sky. I could get lost in them forever. And I will, Y/N. I will. I'll keep them. Close to me. Always."

Her fingers tightened on his throat, just a little, a hint of pressure, a promise of pain. Her smile widened.

"I love you, Y/N" she whispered, her voice now a breath, a sigh. "I love you so much... it hurts. And soon... soon you'll love me just as much. You'll understand. You'll feel it. Forever."

Her eyes they were glowing red again, that dark light inside them growing brighter.

And Y/N just stood there, frozen, trapped, listening to her words, feeling her touch, staring into her eyes, knowing that this was it.

This was the end.

Again.

In another life.

In another loop.