The Truth

The storm continued to roar around them, rain hammering the ground as Professor Marshall's words echoed in the silence between Cael, Lina, and Nico. The tension was thick, and Cael could barely breathe as the truth—the real truth—hovered on the edge of revelation.

"You… designed it?" Cael's voice wavered, disbelief surging through him. "Why? Why would you do this to us?"

Marshall's cold smile remained as he took a few steps forward, completely unfazed by the weather. "Because you needed to understand. You all did. The loop wasn't meant to be a punishment—it was meant to be an experiment. A way to measure resilience, survival, and, most importantly, the ability to confront the deepest parts of yourselves."

Lina stepped forward, her voice sharp with anger. "Experiment? You've been toying with us, with our lives, over and over again for some kind of… study?"

The professor's gaze shifted toward her, and for a brief moment, his expression softened. "Not just any study, Lina. It's far more complex than that. You, Cael, and others who have been caught in the loop… you're connected by more than just time. You're bound by your regrets, by your unhealed wounds. You're all tied to this place by the parts of yourselves you refuse to face."

Lina gritted her teeth. "And you thought forcing us to relive our deaths would help?"

Marshall didn't flinch. "It was necessary. You've both been running from your pasts. You've avoided the pain, the memories that hold you back. The loop exposes those weaknesses and gives you no choice but to confront them."

Cael's mind spun, fragments of memories crashing against each other. The diaries, the fragmented glimpses of his life before the loop, the way his memories faded more with each passing cycle—it all started to make sense. But it didn't make it any less horrific. "And what happens when we do confront them? Does the loop just end?"

Nico, standing still as a statue, glanced at Cael before speaking softly. "No. It's not that simple."

Marshall chuckled, a dark sound that made Cael's skin crawl. "Of course, it's not simple. Confronting your past is just the beginning. The loop feeds on those memories, on your regrets. To escape it, you don't just face them—you have to accept them. You have to embrace the very things you've been avoiding. That's how you break the cycle."

"But why us?" Lina demanded. "Why are we part of this?"

Marshall's eyes flickered with something akin to pity. "Because you were chosen. I studied you, watched you. Each of you had something unresolved, something you couldn't escape. And that's why you're here. To give you the chance to do what you couldn't in the real world—heal."

Cael's mind swirled with anger and confusion. He wanted to reject the professor's words, to deny that his life had become some kind of twisted therapy session. But deep down, he knew there was truth to it. He had been running—from his failures, his lost potential, the decisions he wished he could undo.

Lina, too, seemed shaken. Her expression had hardened, but her silence spoke volumes.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Cael asked, his voice hollow. "How do we know this isn't another manipulation?"

Before Professor Marshall could respond, Nico spoke, his voice low but firm. "Because I've seen it. He's not lying, Cael. I've been through it all. The same memories, the same struggle. He's just left out one crucial detail."

Marshall's eyes flashed with warning, but Nico ignored him and turned to face Cael and Lina directly. "The loop isn't just some therapeutic mechanism. It's also a trap. It's designed to wear you down, to break you. And if you don't resolve your past soon enough, you lose yourself. Completely."

The words hit Cael like a punch to the gut. "Lose ourselves?"

Nico nodded grimly. "You forget who you are. Bit by bit, your identity fades. Your memories become fragments until there's nothing left of the person you once were. That's why Marshall's been so careful about who he picks. Only those who have a chance of survival are brought into the loop."

Marshall didn't deny it. "I needed to ensure the subjects were capable of withstanding the strain."

Lina's voice was trembling with fury. "So we're just lab rats to you?"

Marshall met her gaze, unblinking. "You were always more than that, Lina. This was meant to save you. To give you the strength you didn't have before."

Cael's fists clenched, his mind buzzing with rage and helplessness. "Save us? You're killing us, over and over again."

"It's the only way to force you to grow." The professor's tone was eerily calm, detached. "If I hadn't intervened, you would've remained trapped by your own regrets forever. The loop may be harsh, but it offers a way out—if you're strong enough to take it."

Before Cael or Lina could respond, a crack of lightning split the sky, illuminating the forest. In that flash, Cael saw something that made his blood run cold: shadows. Dark, faceless figures moving swiftly through the trees, closing in on their position.

"They're here," Nico whispered, his voice tight with urgency. "We have to move."

Marshall stood his ground, completely unbothered by the approaching threat. "There's nowhere left to run. You can't escape them now."

But Nico wasn't listening. He grabbed Cael by the arm and pulled him forward. "We need to get out of here—now."

Lina hesitated, her eyes flicking between Marshall and Nico. "What about him?" she asked, her voice uncertain.

Nico's expression darkened. "He's not coming with us."

Cael could feel his heart pounding in his chest. They didn't have time to argue. The shadows were closing in, and whatever was about to happen, they needed to be far away from it.

"Let's go!" he urged, pulling Lina after Nico as they darted into the trees.

Behind them, the storm raged on, and as they ran, the sound of thunder swallowed up the professor's last words.

"Face your past, or the loop will claim you."