I slammed into the ground, pain shooting through my body as sweat dripped onto the pearlescent floor. Dismissing my mask, I took ragged breaths, my MP nearly depleted, my stamina dwindling, lungs burning, muscles screaming, head pounding mercilessly. As I lifted my gaze, I found myself in a shining pearlescent cavity that was impossibly…calm.

  The ground had stopped shaking. The screams, howls, chants, and explosions from outside had vanished.

  Hell… They were still echoing in my mind. I shivered, pushing up with my hands. So that's what that gardener had been hinting at—an island-wide calamity. But why? Why would the masked figure summon such destruction? Why obliterate an entire island, himself included?

  And why the hell was I lying there, wondering? The silence didn't mean the chaos had stopped. I shifted to a kneeling position and glanced over my shoulder, heart skipping, my eyes widening. The doorway had vanished, replaced by a glistening wall. I scrambled to my feet, feeling for seams or ridges, but my hands only slid across its smooth surface.

  A strange buzzing tingled through my palms. At first, I thought it was from the vibrations of the explosions outside, but the sensation climbed up my arms, suffusing me with an overwhelming sense of peace and security. It felt as if I could stay here forever, as if time itself had paused just for me. As if nothing else mattered.

  I snorted, frowning at the foreign thought. Despite my burning muscles melting into warmth, despite everything in me wanting to relax, I knew I couldn't stay. This entire spire was in danger, regardless of how safe I felt.

  I'd made it inside—now it was time to go home.

  But as I turned, I found an empty room. No artifact, no goddess, no portal. I scanned walls, ceiling, and floor until—there. At the very center, a bud glistened like a star.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  I approached carefully, still panting, catching my breath. The bud grew larger with each step until it became the size of a head, its petals a shimmering pink. It stretched upward on a thick stem, up to waist height, then bloomed to reveal a white leather-bound book sealed with a lock. White mist flowed from it as it rotated, showing a cover with its oval-shaped window that looked out into…darkness.

  And yet, the novelty of it all entranced me. After staring at it for a long moment, I reached out and touched the cover. Brilliant light flashed, forcing me to shield my eyes with my arms. I squinted through my fingers, expecting it to fade, but it only intensified. The fingertips that had brushed the book tingled with a hot-cold sensation that crawled up my arm.

  I turned away to examine my hand and found glowing veins slithering along my forearm, light diffusing across my skin. The floor began trembling, growing more violent by the second. A loud click sounded behind me.

  I spun to see the book's lock shatter, pages flapping open as it blazed brighter than the sun. I should panic, should scream, but that otherworldly peace flooding my system wouldn't allow it. Even as luminous veins spread across my torso and legs, even as the quaking floor drove me to my knees, even as cracks spiderwebbed across the pearlescent walls, I could only stare in wonder.

  What…what was happening?

  What had I expected, rushing in here?

  An expanding sense of curiosity held back the knot forming in my chest—until I noticed particles of my skin drifting away like dust.

  I sucked in a sharp breath. “What?" I shouted, heart finally beginning to pound, despite the artificial tranquility. "What the hell?"

  I waved out my arms with wide frantic motions, acting as if they were on fire—but my hands slowly disintegrated, everything else lost in a brilliant white void. Then—SNAP. I looked up to find the book closed, its oval window now filled with a radiant female face. Her long hair waved as if underwater, her eyes blazing like twin stars.

  [Time Loop Initiated]

  [Restarts Remaining: 10]

  [Beginning…now]

  My body tore in a billion pieces, cutting off my terrified scream.