Chapter 13: Fractures in the Dawn

The camp was too still. Adrian couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, even as he stood by the fire, the warmth of the flames doing little to stave off the growing unease. The night had always been filled with the sounds of the camp—soldiers talking, the clinking of armor, the low hum of fires crackling—but now, there was only a deep, unsettling silence.

The wind whistled faintly through the trees, carrying a chill that cut deeper than the night air alone. Everything felt… familiar. Too familiar.

Adrian stared into the fire, watching as the flames flickered and danced. They seemed almost too vivid, too real. The way they curled around the logs, the way they flickered—like he had seen them before. Again.

He swallowed hard, refusing to let the memories creep back in.

"You're still awake?" Kael's voice broke through the quiet, steady but carrying an undertone of something Adrian couldn't place. Kael stood just behind him, his shadow stretching long in the firelight.

Adrian didn't turn. He couldn't. Not yet. Not until he had a moment to breathe. The shadows in the back of his mind were closing in, and no matter how hard he tried to shake them, they stayed.

"I couldn't sleep," Adrian said, his voice low, eyes locked on the flames. "There's too much to think about."

Kael stepped forward, close enough that Adrian could feel the weight of his gaze. He didn't need to look to know Kael's expression. It was the same as it had been for days now—familiar, but there was a subtle crack in his composure.

"You've been saying that a lot lately." Kael's voice was soft, but there was an edge to it that Adrian couldn't ignore. "It's like you've forgotten what comes next." His words hung in the air, heavy with an unspoken meaning.

Adrian's pulse quickened, but he kept his voice steady. "I'm just trying to stay focused."

Kael didn't reply immediately. Instead, he looked at the camp, his eyes scanning the perimeter, a tension in his stance that seemed so out of place. The tension between them was palpable, even more so now that the loop was no longer an abstract concept.

"I've seen it too," Kael said, his voice low, barely above a whisper. "All of it. Over and over." He stepped closer, just enough to feel the weight of his presence behind Adrian. "I know what happens next. Every time."

The words hit Adrian like a strike to the chest. His heart skipped, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. He knew. Kael had known for days, maybe longer. The realization settled between them like a thick fog, and Adrian couldn't help but wonder how much longer he could keep pretending he hadn't noticed the cracks in his own sanity.

"You're not the only one," Adrian replied, his voice tight. "But we have a mission. We can't—"

Kael shook his head, cutting him off. "We're trapped in this cycle. Over and over again, and nothing changes."

Adrian's jaw tightened. He had been trying to push the thought away, but hearing Kael say it so plainly made the truth undeniable. The loop was real. They were trapped in it.

Kael turned away, his gaze distant, eyes scanning the horizon. "I thought I could fight it, change it, but…" He trailed off, the rest of his words left unsaid. They didn't need to be. Kael had seen the same things Adrian had. The moments, the choices, the betrayals. The way time bent and twisted, trapping them in an endless cycle.

Adrian swallowed hard, his mind racing. He had fought, struggled, and done everything he could to break free from the loop—but every time, the result was the same. The death. The failure. The return.

"We need to focus," Adrian said, though the weight of his words felt hollow. "We can't get caught in this. Not now."

But Kael didn't respond. His eyes were distant, far away, as if he were looking past the present moment entirely. He had already made peace with what Adrian couldn't accept. He had already come to terms with the loop.

Adrian wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. How much longer until he too would accept it?

The hours ticked by, the night dragging on. Adrian lay awake in his tent, eyes wide open, staring at the fabric above him as the weight of the loop closed in around him. Every thought, every memory, every battle—it had all happened before.

He couldn't escape it.

The faces of his soldiers, his generals—they'd all been here before. The quiet faces, the same questions. The same doubts.

And then there was the battle—the one that always came, always ended the same way, with the same painful loss. The same fate. The same betrayal. But each time, the sting was sharper, the weight heavier. Would it ever stop?

A flicker of movement outside the tent caught his eye. Adrian's breath hitched, and he sat up, instinctively reaching for his sword. But when he looked again, the shadow was gone. Another ghost?

His hand trembled as he laid it back down, thoughts swirling. The same thoughts that had plagued him over and over again.

In the distance, the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon. Adrian didn't want to see it. He didn't want to face another day in this endless cycle, but he knew there was no choice. He would have to keep fighting. The loop would continue. But maybe, just maybe, this time, he could do something different.

Flashback

The battlefield stretched endlessly before him. The same blood-soaked ground. The same cries of battle. But this time, something was different. Adrian felt it in the air, a shift he couldn't quite place.

He raised his sword, cutting down an enemy soldier with practiced precision. But as he did, his mind wandered. I've done this before. I've fought this battle before.

It wasn't the first time. It wouldn't be the last. The faces, the soldiers—they were all the same. The battle would never end, no matter how many times he fought.

Back in the present, Adrian closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. The weight of it all threatened to crush him. The endless cycle. The endless return.

But no matter how hard he fought, the truth was becoming undeniable.

Kael was right.

They were trapped.