I opened my eyes in the same place again.
I quietly looked around me, recalling what had happened in the previous time loop.
'So I died just because the doctor told me his name. But why did I die? Shouldn't he have been the one to die? From what I understand, the person dies here if they learn or realize things they're not supposed to know. Does that mean I wasn't supposed to know the doctor's identity?'
My mother opened the door and entered the room. She looked at me curiously — I was standing there motionless like a statue, lost in my own thoughts.
"Dear, are you okay?"
Her voice pulled me out of my trance, and I looked toward her.
"Oh? Mom, I'm fine. I was just… thinking about some things."
"Is that so?"
'Hmm… Now that I think about it, why aren't my parents pressuring me? It's not normal for them not to ask anything, especially after I've been sick and unconscious multiple times. Could it be that the illusion prevents them from doing so?'
I left the room with my mother and went through the usual routine. After finishing breakfast, I looked at my parents. I had decided to use this simulation to learn more information.
'At first, I thought this illusion was a happy one. But it turned out to be hell. I'll try to get out of it. My parents are different from the people I know, so I'll try to figure out what this illusion is trying to tell me.'
"Dad, Mom — can we talk?"
They both looked at me in surprise, then glanced at each other. My father nodded and gestured for my mother to sit back down after picking up the dishes.
"What's wrong, son? You look serious."
"I want to ask a few questions, but I want you to answer honestly. Also, please don't ask me how I know things I shouldn't know. Is that clear?"
My mother looked uneasy and shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
"Dear, you look scary with that expression. Is something wrong?"
To my father, I must have looked like a cold, distant child — as if there were a wall between us. They both felt the pressure coming from me. A ten-year-old child shouldn't have been able to make them so tense.
"I'm fine. I just need to know a few things. Please trust me and answer — it'll help me a lot."
My mother opened her mouth to speak again, but my father raised his hand to stop her.
"Understood, son. You can ask whatever you want. I promise we won't hide anything from you."
I smiled faintly at his words, then immediately returned to a serious expression.
"First — can you tell me the name of the hospital where I was born?"
They looked at me strangely, but my father quickly answered.
"You were born at the nearby hospital The Covenant Hospital."
It's the same name. That means what the doctor said was true so far.
"Next question — did you ever get to know any of the doctors there? And do you still have contact with them? Don't mention names, just answer yes or no."
After a short silence, my father replied again.
"Yes, we do have a connection with one of the doctors."
My mother looked even more worried, but didn't interrupt. She trusted my father's decision.
"Is there anything strange about that doctor? I mean, what kind of person was he? Did he ever act oddly? Tell me even the smallest details."
My father rested his chin on his hand, thinking silently for a while before speaking again.
"He was kind-hearted and helped others, especially children. A model doctor, really. I don't recall him doing anything strange… but he did perform check-ups on you when you were little. Since then, he's continued to check on you occasionally. But son, you should remember that."
I leaned back in my chair, running a hand through my hair, and sighed deeply.
'Again — something else I don't remember. I don't recall ever visiting the hospital regularly for check-ups. It seems this doctor has a deep connection to me.'
"Dad, did he ever tell you why he was doing these check-ups? It doesn't make sense for me to have so many."
"Now that you mention it… I wonder why we allowed it."
My father fell into deep thought, and then, as if recalling something, looked at me sharply and tried to speak.
"Now I remember — he said it was all for $#$%#."
I couldn't hear his final word. It was as if the world itself refused to let the name be spoken.
"Dad, can you repeat that?"
Before he could speak again, both my parents began to tremble — and then exploded into a bloody chaos.
I calmly stared at the mass of flesh that filled the room. After all the previous deaths, I had stopped feeling anything deeply.
'I've always laughed at those time-loop protagonists who cry every time. I mean, they'll just reset everything — so why act weak? Humans naturally adapt to repeated pain and death. Those who keep crying after hundreds or thousands of loops are just weak people who got powers too big for them. Truly pathetic.'
I thought silently as I looked at the table now covered in blood and flesh. The nauseating smell of meat filled my nose and made my stomach churn, but I ignored it.
'The real question is — why couldn't I hear my father's final word? I couldn't hear the doctor's name before, and now I couldn't hear the person the doctor supposedly did everything for. That's extremely suspicious. For some reason, I feel like I couldn't hear the doctor's name because of the illusion… but the person my father mentioned — it feels like the world itself rejected that name. So how did the doctor know it? How did my father even manage to say it?'
Things were getting more complicated with every loop. My childhood, which I thought was peaceful, was hiding mysteries that no one was meant to uncover.
I placed my hand over my mouth, feeling my face.
"…I'm smiling?"
I muttered in disbelief. The mystery had ignited my curiosity and excitement. I felt a burning desire to uncover the truth — after all, this was my life. I had every right to know what had happened.
I tilted my head back and smiled madly, then burst into loud laughter.
Dark mist filled the room, gazing toward the table in the center — where two mangled bodies sat — while a boy laughed hysterically before them, indifferent to everything around him.
The mist rippled and sent out a blade, slicing off the boy's head. His head fell to the ground, still wearing the same crazed smile.
The mist turned to the side, noticing a new presence entering the room — the doctor, wearing his usual white coat.
He looked at the three corpses with a sorrowful smile.
"What a shame… he keeps dying so quickly. But he's learning more with each loop. At this rate, he'll uncover the truth soon."
The doctor glanced at the mist, then turned and walked out.
"Devour everything, my friend."
The mist rippled and spread across the room, consuming everything it touched — growing larger and larger until it devoured the entire world.