Rain tapped softly against the window.
Liya sat frozen in her bed.
Her heart still pounded from the memory of the collapsing tower.
The dust.
The falling stone.
Ethan stepping forward without hesitation.
And his final words.
"See you tomorrow."
Her hands trembled.
She slowly turned toward the clock beside her bed.
7:12 AM.
The same time.
The same rain.
The same cursed morning.
The loop had not ended.
Liya covered her face with her hands.
"…Why?"
Ethan had done exactly what they thought fate wanted.
He chose his death.
No accident.
No chaos.
No chain reaction.
Just a deliberate choice.
And yet…
The universe had reset the day anyway.
She forced herself to breathe slowly.
Think.
If the loop still existed…
Then their theory had been wrong.
Or incomplete.
Liya stood up and walked to the window.
Outside, the same jogger in the blue jacket ran past the building.
The same car splashed water across the street.
Everything was exactly the same.
Except for one thing.
This time…
Her heart felt heavier.
Because Ethan had remembered her when he died.
That memory now belonged only to her again.
She closed her eyes briefly.
"…I'm sorry."
But sadness wasn't useful now.
She needed answers.
And there was only one place to start.
Hours later…
The bell above the bookstore door rang.
Ding.
4:00 PM.
Ethan stepped inside again.
Just like every other loop.
Rain dotted his jacket.
His curious eyes scanned the shelves.
And just like before…
He walked toward the counter.
"Sorry," he said casually.
"Didn't mean to bring the rain in."
Liya stared at him.
Alive again.
Breathing again.
Smiling again.
Her chest tightened slightly.
But this time she didn't hesitate.
"Your name is Ethan."
He blinked.
"…Yes?"
"You're traveling."
"Correct."
"You like bittersweet stories."
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
"…Okay."
He folded his arms.
"Have we met before?"
Liya took a deep breath.
"Yes."
"How many times?"
"Twenty-six."
His expression slowly changed.
"…That's a lot of meetings."
"And in most of them…"
Her voice grew quieter.
"…you died."
Ethan stared at her.
Silence filled the bookstore.
Then he sighed softly.
"Alright."
"You're either joking…"
"…or this is going to be the weirdest day of my life."
"Both," she said.
He leaned on the counter.
"So what happened last time?"
Liya hesitated.
Then she told him the truth.
"You chose to die."
Ethan blinked.
"…I did what?"
"You stepped into the collapsing tower at midnight."
"Wow."
"That's dramatic."
"It didn't work."
That made him pause.
"The loop continued."
He rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully.
"Okay."
"So fate wanted my death."
"Yes."
"And I gave it exactly that."
"Yes."
"But the loop still reset."
"Yes."
Ethan stared at the floor for a moment.
Thinking.
Then he slowly looked up again.
"…That means something."
"What?"
"Fate didn't want my death."
Liya frowned.
"But it keeps trying to kill you."
"True."
"But my death didn't end the loop."
He tapped the counter lightly.
"Which means the goal is something else."
Her stomach tightened slightly.
"You think we misunderstood everything."
"Probably."
Ethan looked directly at her.
"So let's ask a different question."
"What question?"
He smiled faintly.
"Not why do I die?"
"But…"
"…why do we meet?"
The bookstore felt suddenly quieter.
Because that question had never crossed Liya's mind before.
And somewhere deep inside the repeating day…
The true reason for the loop was waiting to be discovered. ⏳