Chapter 14: Fractures Beneath the Surface

The air was colder that morning, the camp filled with a heavy silence as Adrian walked through it. Soldiers went about their routines, moving like shadows, their faces too familiar yet too distant. He saw them all—the same faces, the same expressions, repeating their roles in this never-ending cycle. But now, he saw more clearly the cracks beneath the surface.

His footsteps were heavier today. The weight of what Kael had said lingered, echoing in his mind like a faint drumbeat growing louder with each passing moment.

"We're trapped." Kael's words, spoken so softly the night before, reverberated in the stillness. Trapped. That one word seemed to carry the weight of their entire existence. They had been fighting this war for what felt like centuries, but in truth, it had been nothing more than a series of loops, a cruel repetition of failed plans, lost battles, and empty victories.

Adrian paused outside his tent, staring at the horizon. The sun had barely crept over the edge, casting long shadows that stretched like fingers across the camp. It was beautiful in its own way—yet so terribly hollow.

His mind drifted back to the past loops. The faces of soldiers who had fallen, the pain of the betrayals, the repeated moments where he had tried, and failed, to change the course of the war. The faces always remained the same. But their stories, their lives, were slipping away, fading into the distance. I've lost track of them.

The flickering memory of one particular loop caught him—a battle he had fought with such fervor, thinking that it would be the one to break them free. The one where he had seen it all go wrong, just as he had so many times before. Yet each time he had pushed forward, thinking he could change it.

But now, his every movement felt like a ghost walking through the motions. He knew what would happen next. He knew the outcome. The soldiers would fall. The plans would fail. The same betrayal, the same death, the same hopelessness.

"Lord Voss." Kael's voice broke his reverie, sharp and commanding. Adrian turned to see him standing at the edge of the camp, his gaze not quite meeting Adrian's.

"I know," Adrian said, before Kael could speak again. He wasn't sure how he knew, but the words came out with certainty. He knows, too.

Kael didn't respond immediately, but there was something in his posture—a rigidness, a coldness—that wasn't there before. "You can feel it, too, can't you?" Kael asked, his voice barely a whisper, yet it carried with it an unmistakable understanding.

Adrian swallowed hard. Yes. The truth was too much to bear. The crushing knowledge that they had been reliving the same moment, the same choices, over and over again. And each time, the outcome was the same. But why? Why couldn't they break free?

"Everyone feels it now," Kael continued, his words barely more than a murmur. "The soldiers, the commanders—they know we're stuck in this loop. And yet, we keep playing our roles. We keep fighting for a future that never comes."

Adrian turned toward him, his expression unreadable. He could see it now—the subtle changes in Kael's gaze, the way his hands clenched at his side. Kael had already come to terms with it, hadn't he? The weight of the truth had already sunk in for him.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep pretending," Kael admitted, his voice raw. "I keep seeing the same faces. I keep hearing the same cries. And every time, it's as if we're all… dying again."

Adrian's stomach twisted. "I'm trying to keep it together," he said, though his words felt empty. "I have to lead. We can't let this defeat us."

Kael shook his head slowly, his eyes dark. "It's already defeated us. We're not in control anymore."

The words landed with finality, cutting through the dense fog of Adrian's thoughts. The truth had become undeniable. They were not going to escape this. They were stuck—trapped in a never-ending cycle, no matter how hard they fought.

Adrian's grip tightened on the hilt of his sword, his fingers digging into the worn leather. The weight of it all—the crushing knowledge that no matter how much he fought, how much he struggled, he would never escape this—began to press down on him like a heavy stone.

"Then what do we do?" Adrian's voice broke the silence.

Kael's eyes met his, and for the first time, Adrian saw the faintest flicker of something like hope. "Maybe it's time to stop trying to fight it," Kael said quietly. "Maybe it's time to accept it."

Adrian's breath caught in his throat. Accept it.

The thought was alien, and yet, it carried with it a strange allure. Could he? Could he really stop fighting the inevitable? Could he allow himself to let go of the burden he had carried for so long?

He didn't know.

But in that moment, he realized the full weight of Kael's words. It wasn't just the soldiers who had been affected by this loop. It wasn't just the generals. It was him. He was breaking.

With a final glance at Kael, Adrian nodded slowly, though his heart felt heavy with the decision. He didn't know where the next step would lead, but one thing was clear—the battle ahead would not be like the others.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he wasn't sure what would happen next.