Chapter 15: The Breaking Point

Adrian stood at the edge of the battlefield, watching the sun sink below the jagged hills. The sky was painted in hues of crimson and dying gold, a sight he had witnessed countless times before. The wind carried the scent of earth, sweat, and the metallic tang of blood—ghosts of battles won and lost. Yet, despite the familiarity, there was something different this time. Something wrong.

The murmurs had started again. Low at first, whispers exchanged between soldiers who thought they spoke in secrecy. But Adrian had learned to listen beyond the surface, to catch the frayed edges of fear laced within their words.

"Wasn't this where Joran fell last time?"

"I swear I saw this exact battle unfold before."

"How did the Lord know the enemy would attack there?"

The words echoed in his skull, each one tightening the invisible noose around his thoughts. He had prepared for this. Planned for it. But the loop was slipping—seeping past his own mind and infecting them.

Behind him, footsteps approached, slow and deliberate. Adrian didn't need to turn to know who it was.

Kael. His right hand. His shadow. The only one who had already woken up.

"They're remembering," Kael murmured, his voice barely above the wind.

Adrian exhaled through his nose. "Not fully."

Kael stepped closer, standing just within his periphery. His stance was relaxed, but Adrian knew better. There was tension beneath the surface, coiled like a predator waiting to strike. "Not yet."

A pause stretched between them. In the distance, soldiers moved about the camp, their movements routine, practiced—but the way they looked at him was new. A hesitation in their salutes. A flicker of uncertainty in their eyes. They knew. Not everything. Not the way Adrian and Kael did. But enough to make them question.

"Do you think it's because of us?" Kael finally asked.

Adrian turned to him, meeting his gaze. He was sharp, as always, but there was a question behind his eyes. Was this their doing? Were they the ones spreading the infection of memory?

"I don't know," Adrian admitted. The words tasted bitter. He had always been the one with the answers. The one with the plan. But the more the loop unraveled, the less control he seemed to have.

Kael's lips quirked, almost in amusement. "That's a first."

Adrian shot him a look. "Enjoy it while it lasts."

Kael let out a quiet chuckle, but the moment faded fast. The weight of knowing pressed on them both, and neither had the luxury of levity.

A gust of wind swept through the camp, rustling the banners overhead. The sigil of House Voss rippled against the twilight sky—a symbol of strength, of dominion. But to Adrian, it was a reminder of how many times he had failed.

He turned back toward the camp. "We move at dawn."

Kael didn't argue, but there was something in his eyes as he nodded. Something that made Adrian's stomach twist.

Doubt.

Not in the battle ahead. Not in their strategy.

In him.

Flashback: A Previous Loop

A sharp pain in his gut. Blood pooling at his feet. Kael's arms catching him before he collapsed completely.

Adrian gasped for air, his fingers clawing at the wound, but it was useless. He was dying. Again.

Kael's voice was urgent, but distant. "Stay with me. We can still—"

A sound. A whisper at the edge of his consciousness. "Not yet."

Then darkness. And then—

He woke up.

Adrian's hands curled into fists. He could still feel the sensation of dying.

This time would be different.

It had to be.