The Limit

* * *

..A show

Hahaha, thats right! The slaughter show you also witnessed!

With the clacking of shoes, Nare proceeded down the hallway.

Occasionally laughing in apparent amusement as she nostalgically recounted her past, but the contents the life Nare had experienced were frankly nothing but cruel.

An inescapable hell with no way out.

This woman had been trapped in that hell endlessly.

Could I endure if I fell into the same situation?

Just imagining it made me shudder involuntarily.

Impossible.

It would be impossible for me.

My heart would reach its limit in no time at all.

Perhaps this woman Nare had already reached her limits long ago and broken down.

Her laughter sounded so hollow and parched.

It started from a mere petty fit of rage. As usual, time rewound and I returned to the heads study room. Then I happened to notice the Ring of the Ranrananga White Lizard on my finger.

Gazing at her bony, slender fingers currently bare, Nare continued speaking.

That ring is a treasure of our family, passed down to each head generation after generation Actually, contrary to what those fools believe, simply wearing it doesnt automatically make one the acknowledged head. But it can still be called a symbol of the Luclees family head.

For the mere reason of being the bloodline meant to become this familys head, I ended up repeating this hell Thats what I thought at the time. I suddenly felt an intense hatred toward that ring. So I immediately took it off and threw it out the window.

Outside?

Yes. And then a commotion occurred. If I recall, one of the servants happened to find the ring that had fallen outside at the time? And Doj obtained that ring, leading to a dispute over who would possess it.

<Well, that would happen.>

If Sarelka had just said That ring belongs to me, it could have ended there. But that cowardly man couldnt do that. Doj tried to have Keranko inherit the ring instead. Which Karashia couldnt accept. Resulting in violence breaking out Karashia killed Keranko with Agzeliary.'

I see.

A similar event to the tragedy we had witnessed occurred.

By that point, I had gained the strange ability to perceive everyones actions within the manor from this room, you see. While watching that commotion unfold in the study room, I felt I felt a thrill I had never experienced from the repeated cycles until then. And I impulsively committed suicide.

Eh?

I wanted to try various things. Just by discarding that ring, my hated acquaintances would hurt and kill each other of their own accord! Hahaha, ahahahaha! It was delightful! So amusing! I began researching how to make them suffer even more! I tried all sorts of things. Even if I failed, I could just die and try again, so I could experiment quite casually!

No no no, you may call it casual, but you were dying each time you tried again, werent you?

<It seems this woman Nares heart has already broken somewhere, to the point she no longer fears her own death at all.>

And I arrived at one conclusion. Discard the ring in front of Karashias room. This was the optimal solution I reached after hundreds of trials and errors. When time rewound, I would immediately discard the ring in front of her room, then secretly return to the heads study room. By doing that, you wouldnt believe what happened! Karashia would go berserk, leading to the complete death of everyone in this manor, including the servants! I just burst into laughter when I discovered that fact! Oh, it was so utterly ridiculous! To see the very people who had tortured me endlessly turn on and kill each other oh, it was a sight to behold!! Ahahahaha, ahahahahahaha!!

Nare laughed.

Laughing loudly while clutching her stomach.

It was unclear if she truly found it amusing.

She walked ahead of me.

I couldnt see her expression.

I had no desire to, either.

After laughing for a while, Nare cleared her throat and resumed her personal story.

In any case, after discovering this optimal solution, I repeated it endlessly from then on. More times than I could count, really. Why, you ask? Because it was enjoyable. This was my revenge against them. I would confirm everyones deaths, bask in that satisfaction, then repeat time again. I just kept doing that over and over.

Hearing that, I thought Oh?

Why?

Hm?

Why did you keep repeating it endlessly?

Well, because it was my revenge.

Repeating it a few times, I can understand that. But its strange. Didnt you ever want to stop at some point?

Once everyone in the manor died, Nare didnt need to die after that. If you didnt die after that with no more enemies, you could have lived a long life, right?

I didnt mean to lecture on the futility of revenge.

But isnt the important thing what you do after achieving your revenge?

Why die satisfied after completing your revenge?

If you didnt commit suicide then, your life could have continued afterward.

..Hahaha.

In response to my questioning, Nare dropped her shoulders and let out a weak laugh.

By the time I realized it, it was already too late.

.?

Perfect timing. Ill show you.

Saying that, Nare approached a door further down the hallway.

This door was Kerankos room.

Inside, Keranko, Fateu, and Doj should be having tea.

Entering there would surely cause an uproar.

However, Nare paid it no heed as she flung open Kerankos room door without warning before I could stop her.

The moment she did, startled voices and screams erupted from inside the room.

That was the development I had imagined, but it didnt happen.

Not a single sound came from the rooms interior.

This was strange.

Thinking that, I hurried over to Nare and peeked into Kerankos room as well.

What entered my vision then was a shocking sight.

Inside the room, as I had expected, Keranko, Fateu, and Doj were present, enjoying tea.

However.

Keranko and Fateu were frozen in postures mid-conversation with each other.

Doj was frozen in the motion of pouring tea from the pot into Fateus cup.

Like a still image, they were all frozen in time.

Th-This is!?

Looking closer, even the tea being poured from the pot in Dojs hands had its motion stopped, as if frozen in an instant.

Weve reached the time limit.

Nare began speaking again with a somewhat bored expression.

After a certain time passes since the rewind, this happens. Time itself stops progressing any further. It wasnt like this before Peoples time continued moving without stopping, even if I lived a long life. At some point, I realized it had become like this. The extent of the space too. At least within this country, I could go anywhere before. Now its impossible. When I noticed, the manors surroundings had become enveloped in a mysterious haze, preventing me from venturing beyond.

Why?

<Ah I see, its already reached the limit, hasnt it?>

The limit?

<The strange power causing time to loop Its source was likely a god. This repeating small world loop persists based on some gods power. That gods power is>

Depleting, isnt it?

<Yes, probably. Nare likely caused an exorbitant number of loops beyond that gods expectations for the sake of revenge, draining their power. Thinking about it, Emi, thats probably why you retained your memories while looping too. The current god likely lacks the surplus power to control the soul of an alien intruder like you who newly entered this world.>

Well, theres your answer to your question. Even if I wanted to live a new life after achieving my revenge, Im no longer permitted that. Quite literally, I have no future. For the people of this manor including myself.

Nare turned to face me.

A parched smile on her face.

That expression, despite smiling, was utterly exhausted beyond any recourse.

Say, Emi. I have a request. With power like yours, I think you may be able to do it.

And with that exhausted face, in a faint, drained voice, Nare said this to me:

Wont you put an end to it?Our time.