"Hey, Autumn Ease, can you hear me?" Ji Yingying's voice crackled from the bracelet, thick with static that blurred every word.

"I can hear you, but... the noise is terrible!" Autumn Ease tapped his wristband, feeling like he was using a vintage radio from the last century.

"If you can hear me, good. There's a button on the bracelet. Open it to find an earpiece. Put it on to receive our audio directly."

"Got it..." Autumn Ease examined the delicate bracelet, pulling out a Bluetooth earpiece. Once worn, the sound no longer blasted from the bracelet's speaker.

He felt like a secret agent infiltrating a hidden base—a thrilling rush, just like gaming.

"Confirming timeline: October X, 2014."

"Huh? That's a past date. Did I travel back in time?"

"Idiot, of course not. Time reversal doesn't exist. Anomaly Points have limited time spans. When they max out, they reset. You just landed at the start of a new cycle." Ji Yingying explained with a scoff.

*If only she spoke Japanese...* Autumn Ease thought. *I might actually enjoy the constant teasing instead of cringing.*

*Ah well, that's just how otaku are.*

"Do you recognize this location?" Blue light flickered on the bracelet, as if streaming the scene back to the real world via camera.

*How is any of this possible? Transmitting data across entire worlds...*

"I know. It's a small town. If I recall right... this is where I was killed by myself."

"If that's true, then..." Ji Yingying fell silent, thinking.

But Dr. Ji La's voice cut through Autumn Ease's earpiece.

"Autumn Ease, kill yourself."

"Huh? Why?"

"To uncover why this space exists, you must replay past events exactly."

"Wait—you mean kill that past me riding a bike through this alley?" Autumn Ease froze. "I thought you meant some doppelgänger."

"Exactly. Kill that cycling version of you. Then observe the changes to this world."

"But..."

"Your weapon's in the side pocket of your tactical boots. An alloy dagger."

"No way! Why must I kill myself? If it were my killer, fine—but why murder the victim? That makes no sense!"

"Autumn Ease, trust me. You have to do this..."

Just then, a clatter and clang echoed from the alley entrance.

Autumn Ease instantly pictured a rickety bike—everything rattled except the bell. He'd ridden it daily, always on the verge of collapse but stubbornly functional after quick fixes.

The noise grew closer.

"Autumn Ease, now!" Ji La urged.

Gritting his teeth, Autumn Ease drew the dagger and stepped around the corner.

Another him stared back, eyes wide with shock at the identical face.

Dagger in hand, Autumn Ease couldn't strike. Even as Ji La pressed him, he only managed to raise the blade with trembling effort.

"Screeeech!" The other him slammed brakes, but momentum carried the bike forward. It crashed into Autumn Ease—and the razor-sharp dagger plunged perfectly into his own chest.

*Slish!* Like slicing tofu.

Autumn Ease yanked the knife out. Blood sprayed across his face.

His first kill. Himself.

No nausea. Only endless dread and wrongness.

"Wait—if I killed me that day... was it *me* doing it?!" A horrifying thought struck him.

He hadn't meant to strike, but the collision forced it.

As if his death by his own hand was unavoidable.

*But that can't be right!*

He strained to recall differences.

The biggest: that past killer had worn a cruel smirk.

His own face now showed only turmoil—no trace of that grin.

*So another Autumn Ease must appear!*

Instinctively, he spun around. Before he could focus, a fist the size of a sandbag smashed into his face. He stumbled backward, collapsing to the ground.

Even the bloodied dagger clattered away.

"It's another you!"

"No kidding..." Autumn Ease growled, frozen by the sight of his own grinning, merciless face.

"Get up, Autumn Ease!"

He snapped back. *Stand first. Run if I can't win.*

The grinning him lunged with another kick.

Autumn Ease rolled aside. A direct hit to the gut would've left him helpless—hadn't he already been butchered once?

He scrambled up. The other him flashed a knife.

No time to grab his fallen dagger. *Run!*

He bolted without looking back, ignoring Ji Yingying's scorn over comms. Survival trumped pride.

*Screw dignity!*

He couldn't risk dying again without a resurrection guarantee.

At the next alley turn, he skidded to a halt.

Childhood street-fighting instinct kicked in: fake retreat, then counterattack.

Seconds later, the other him charged out.

Autumn Ease tripped him smoothly.

Small tricks sometimes win big.

He kicked away the knife and pinned the struggling figure down.

Their builds matched, but the other him was stronger. Autumn Ease strained with all his might, barely holding him.

"Grah!" The pinned him broke free. Autumn Ease jumped back, booting the dagger into a storm drain.

Now unarmed, fists were fair game. Autumn Ease could handle that.

"Huff... huff..." Exhaustion burned his lungs. He glared at his double. "Why kill me? We're the same person!"

"Heh... don't you get it? Why did *you* kill that other you? Wasn't he also us?"

"That was an accident! Why slaughter other 'Autumn Eases'?" Autumn Ease roared.

"Heh... hahaha—HAHAHA!" The other him threw his head back, laughing wildly. "Kill or be killed. In this game of survival, only one Autumn Ease can remain—the true one!"

"What game? Why must we fight?"

"This isn't a game. It's survival. Only one Autumn Ease lives. The last one standing is the real one."

"Why believe that? I'm the real one—I'm from the real world."

"Heh... you don't understand. Every Autumn Ease is fake. Every one is real. But only one is needed."

Done explaining, the other him charged with a roar.

They grappled like street thugs—no technique, just raw brawling.

Mutually assured damage.

Same moves, same instincts. Pure endurance decided it.

Autumn Ease's strength faded. His stamina lagged. Each breath felt like knives scraping his throat.

He wheezed like a broken bellows, willpower alone keeping him upright.

His combat suit's padding was the only reason he hadn't collapsed.

But now he knew: this was truly himself. Not an imposter.

*Why did he become so twisted? So extreme?*

*What happened to him? Will I ever know?*

He didn't know.

"Hyah!" Autumn Ease punched his double's eye socket. A kick to his gut sent him flying meters back.

The other him realized he couldn't win. If he couldn't kill Autumn Ease, escape was his only option.

Autumn Ease watched him limp away, too drained to chase.

He slumped against the wall, gasping. "Phew... almost... almost died. Brutal..." His combat suit was soaked with sweat. Salty droplets stung his eyes.

"Hey! Still alive? Move your ass out of there!"

"Obviously... just... give me a sec..." Autumn Ease wiped sweat from his brow.