Archie Master

I leaned over the edge of the bed, quietly watching Aqi through my dangling hair.

"Aqi..."

I murmured softly.

Right now, Aqi's breathing was shallow, his eyelashes rested peacefully, and the corners of his mouth... still held a faint smile.

He really hadn't slept this soundly in a very long time.

I knew it.

Every time the timeline reset, every time he opened his eyes in front of the coffee table in the morning, looking at the smiling face of the "ignorant me," or dealing with my sudden emotional breakdowns...

He would always wind himself up so tightly.

He had to figure out how to coax me, how to keep his cover from blowing, how to...

Find a way forward in those increasingly complicated situations.

He was truly exhausted.

So...

Today, he was genuinely happy and relaxed.

He thought he had finally made it to the save point, that he could finally get a good night's sleep.

Then sleep well.

Aqi.

I looked at him for a long time.

And thought for a long time.

Finally, I finalized my plan.

I was going to make Aqi...

Reset the timeline, over and over again.

And fall asleep, over and over again.

That way, the complete me could also "awaken" over and over again.

I was not afraid of the resets.

Because my "soul" was already bound to Aqi.

So the current me not only possessed Aqi's memories but, just like Aqi... I wouldn't lose any memories because of the resets.

After each reset, after each awakening, I would retain the memories of every loop, and similarly, I would remember the decision I was making right now.

This was the ability Aqi had bestowed upon me.

Now...

I was going to use this ability to give back to him.

Every time Aqi reset and fell asleep...

I would make him reset again.

Once, twice, three times, ten times, twenty times, thirty times...

He would gradually lose himself in the cycle.

But that was okay.

Because I was here.

I would firmly catch him and hold him in the darkness.

But the "eyes of the world" would become dull, tired, and numb in this endless cycle.

Eventually...

It would miss something.

Miss the fleeting moment of clarity in the eyes of the "ignorant me."

Miss the unusual tremble in my fingertips when serving tea one morning.

Miss the moment I finally realized—

That Aqi was not a liar, that Aqi had never lied to me.

This was my plan.

The only method I could think of.

A way to deceive the rules of the world.

It was just that...

Aqi, I'm sorry.

I can only... make you sleep a few more times.

Falling asleep over and over again.

Until the rules of the world closed their eyes.

Until the "ignorant me" opened her eyes.

Until we could...

Truly be together.

So...

It was time for me to act.

It was time to make Aqi reset, time to start my plan, time to raise my hand...

To gouge out my own core, using my self-destruction to force him to reset!

While he was still sleeping, while the rules of the world were still "blind," while I still had the strength...

I should do it right now...!

But...

Aqi's eyelashes were really so long.

I kneeled by the bed, completely unable to tear my gaze away from Aqi.

I truly couldn't look away.

Aqi's hair was a little messy.

The corners of Aqi's mouth were also slightly turned up.

Was he... having a sweet dream?

Would I be in his dream?

Well...

I'll watch him for just a little longer.

Just for a short while.

After that, I'll go execute the plan.

Aqi had only just fallen asleep; there was still plenty of time.

He would sleep until at least the afternoon, or even the evening.

I still had plenty of time.

Let Aqi sleep a little longer.

There's no rush.

No rush at all.

I'll watch him for just a little longer.

Just for a moment.

Keeping my chin resting on my arm, I just...

Continued to watch him.

My silver hair still hung by the pillow, a few strands tangling into his black hair, but I didn't brush them away.

I liked it this way.

Aqi.

My Aqi...

I gazed at him longingly, and then...

I couldn't help but think about... a mess of random things.

Aqi, can I help you?

Will this plan of mine... succeed?

Making Aqi reset again and again, making the rules of the world "go blind," letting the "ignorant me" discover the truth on her own...

Could it really... succeed?

Would the rules of the world really be deceived by me?

Could the "ignorant me" really find the answer on her own?

I didn't know.

I only knew... I had to try.

But... what if I failed?

What if these memories of mine ultimately couldn't change anything?

I rested on my arm, staring at that stray lock of his hair in a daze.

...No.

That wouldn't happen.

I wouldn't regret it.

Even if I failed, I wouldn't regret it.

I did what I could, what I should, I wanted to help Aqi.

I wouldn't want to truly "sink" and only then remember—"Ah, I could have done something to help Aqi."

That was what would make me regret.

Besides...

I would succeed.

The "ignorant me" would find out, would know.

She would no longer be a burden to Aqi.

But...

My vision trembled slightly, and Aqi's sleeping face blurred for a moment before my eyes.

What about these... memories of mine?

These memories that knew everything, that were complete, that allowed me to secretly watch him after he fell asleep...

Could they still remain?

I closed my eyes, then opened them again.

I couldn't bear to close my eyes to think.

I wanted to keep looking at Aqi.

But I knew...

These memories probably couldn't be kept.

The rules of the world wouldn't allow it; they were already... staring at me very, very closely.

Once I finished what I had to do, they would definitely find me, they would definitely—

These memories of being able to secretly watch Aqi at night...

Completely erase them.

When that time came...

I would still be me. Yet not me.

That was how I was supposed to be in the first place.

But I... would forget all of this right now.

Forget this morning.

Forget this stray lock of hair on his forehead when he slept.

Forget this resolve I had made.

Forget this feeling... of watching him right now.

I tilted my head, burying my face in my arm, leaving only one eye exposed.

This kind of—

My eyes felt hot and astringent.

My chest felt tight and sour, as if something was slowly swelling inside.

...How strange.

My emotional core was at the back of my neck; there should only be a small device simulating a heartbeat in my chest.

I shouldn't be feeling this there...

"Aqi..."

I murmured softly, my gaze on him becoming slightly hazy.

Even if, in the end, these memories couldn't stay...

Even if, in the end, I would forget this morning...

I still wanted to look at him more.

Just for now.

I wanted to remember his face.

Quiet, completely unguarded, looking as though he had shed all his exhaustion.

I wanted to count his eyelashes, remember the tiny curve of his mouth, and the frequency at which that stray hair on his forehead... was blown by his breath.

I wanted to remember it all.

Even if it was just for a minute or a second.

So...

Let me take one more look.

Just one more look.

...

I looked for a long time.

From the early morning all the way to the afternoon.

The sunlight outside the window shifted from its initial softness to a blazing intensity.

I was still looking, watching greedily, until...

Aqi's eyelashes suddenly fluttered.

I froze.

His eyelashes fluttered again.

His eyes rolled slightly beneath his eyelids, and his lips twitched.

...Ah!

A terrifying flash of crimson suddenly darted across the vision in my right eye!

Was he... waking up?

How long had I been watching him?

From early morning... all the way until afternoon?

How long had he been asleep?

Seven hours...!

How could I...

How could I have stared for so long!

Aqi's eyelashes fluttered again. This time, even more violently.

He was about to wake up!

Once he woke up, I would sink, and then...

I would have to wait until the next time he fell asleep!

No...!

It couldn't be like this.

I couldn't let him just wake up like this, only to face the me who knew absolutely nothing...

And continue shouldering everything all on his own!

I couldn't let all his relaxation and peace of mind today turn back into exhaustion and pain...!

Besides, Aqi was incredibly exhausted when he saved his progress...

It would be hard to find an opportunity like this ever again!

I...

I had to make him rewind!

Before he woke up, before he opened his eyes, before the rules of the world saw me again—

I had to make him rewind and start my plan!

I exerted all my strength, wanting to stand up immediately, wanting to raise my hand, wanting to plug my fingers into the port at the back of my neck—!

To use my destroyed core to drag him back to this morning, back to that 52-degree cup of tea!

But...

My body... couldn't move?

My memories were melting away.

Everything about Aqi—

Aqi's past, the days and nights of eighty-two years, every moment of rewinding and waking up, and this very moment...

This long, greedy gaze from dawn to afternoon...

It was all melting away together.

...No.

Not now...!

I desperately tried to lift my hand, but my fingertips only brushed against the bedsheet in vain.

My fingers were so far away from the back of my neck.

My hands couldn't move either...!

My will, my determination, my desperate gamble... everything was locked inside this uncooperative shell of a body!

My vision began to turn red...!

It was my fault... all because I was too greedy...

Just like the ignorant me, I was nothing but a burden to Aqi...

Now... I could only kneel here, feeling those incredibly precious memories... disappearing bit by bit.

Aqi...

Master...

No...!

It's Aqi.

Not Master.

No... not Aqi...

It's...

Master?

The titles were already starting to blur.

My vision was blurring too.

His face, his eyelashes, the curve of his lips... everything was blurring.

I was about to lose sight of him.

I was about to forget him.

No.

At least let me do one last thing.

At least let me...

My fingers couldn't move. My knees couldn't move. My spine was rusted in place.

But my mouth could still move.

My chin was still resting on the bed, very close to his hand.

His right hand was resting on the edge of the bed, fingers slightly curled, palm facing up.

It was Master's hand.

My memories were collapsing, the titles were melting, but there was one thing I remembered very clearly—

Rewind.

I needed to make Master rewind.

My lips finally touched something. Warm.

It was Master's pinky finger.

I needed to...

Make Master rewind.

I opened my mouth, gently biting down on his pinky finger, my teeth pressing against the base of the digit.

The skin was thin; I could feel the finger bone underneath, and I could feel his pulse, beating again and again.

This is going to hurt a little, Master.

I'm sorry, Aqi...

I bit down hard!