Somewhere in Japan…
A man sat in his darkened room, motionless. His hollow eyes, sunken deep into his face, reflected the dim glow of his computer screen. The bruises beneath them—dark and clotted—were a testament to countless sleepless nights.
Tears rolled down his pale cheeks, yet his face remained empty, void of life. Around him, chaos reigned. Papers scattered across the floor, crushed cans and empty bottles littering every surface. The thick dust settling over untouched objects made it clear—this wasn't just a messy room. This was the home of someone who had long given up.
His lips trembled. His voice, hoarse and broken, escaped in a whisper.
"I… I lost…"
His body shook as his fingers dug into his scalp, nails pressing hard against his skin.
"Why is this happening to me…?"
Silence.
A silence so suffocating, it swallowed his words whole.
Then—
A sudden cry—raw, desperate, filled with agony.
"HELP ME! I JUST WANT TO SLEEP!"
His voice cracked, bouncing off the walls, lost in the void of his isolation. His fist slammed onto the desk, making the monitor flicker—just for a second, as if responding to his suffering.
Then—
Everything went black.
Saturday – 8:30 AM
Gasp!
Asahi's eyes shot open, his chest rising and falling in rapid, uneven breaths. Cold sweat clung to his skin, his fingers trembling as they gripped the sheets beneath him.
Sunlight poured through the window, painting the room in soft gold. The faint chirping of birds filled the air.
It was… normal.
Yet, his heart pounded like a war drum.
"What… what was that?"
He sat up, still catching his breath.
It wasn't just a dream.
The emotions—the suffocating despair, the sheer hopelessness—he had felt them as if they were his own.
"That man… that person was… me?"
A sharp buzz pulled him back to reality. His gaze flickered to the bedside table—his alarm clock blinked red.
8:30 AM.
"SHIT! I'M GONNA BE LATE!"
In an instant, the heavy thoughts vanished. He jumped out of bed, frantically searching for his uniform.
"Where the hell are my socks?!" he shouted, shoving aside piles of clothes.
Rushing down the stairs, he yelled again, "Mom! My socks!"
Kitchen – The Usual Morning Chaos
The scent of miso soup and grilled fish drifted through the kitchen, mixing with the warm morning air. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting long golden beams across the wooden floor.
A woman, around forty, stood by the stove, humming softly as she flipped the fish. Brown hair neatly tied back, warm black eyes filled with kindness, an apron wrapped around her waist—it was the perfect image of a classic, caring mother.
"Mom! My socks!" Asahi yelled, stumbling into the room.
Without looking back, his mother casually pointed toward the refrigerator.
"Huh? It's in the fridge."
Asahi stopped dead in his tracks. His brain short-circuited for a moment.
"…What?"
His mom nodded like she had just said the most logical thing in the world. "I put them in the fridge so they stay cool. The weather's hot today."
Silence.
The kind of silence where a man questions everything he knows about life.
"WHY. SOCKS?!" he muttered, completely dead inside.
"Oh! I saw a video where someone said keeping socks in the fridge before wearing them is good for your health!"
A deep chuckle echoed from the dining table.
His father—wearing glasses and a neatly pressed office suit—lowered his newspaper, smirking. "Like always, believing everything you see online."
Asahi groaned, rubbing his temples. "Why is this my family…"
His dad grinned. "Come on, Asahi. You're late."
"SHIT!" Asahi grabbed his ice-cold socks, shoved them on, stuffed breakfast into his mouth, and sprinted out the door.
The Legend of Asahi's Excuses
Asahi slid into the classroom at record speed.
"SENSEI!" he called out dramatically.
His teacher—a young woman in her late twenties—looked up from her desk. She sighed. "Oh boy…"
Asahi straightened his posture, placed a hand on his heart, and locked eyes with her, voice deep, serious.
"Sensei… I helped a grandpa today."
Silence.
"A grandpa?" she raised an eyebrow.
Asahi nodded solemnly. "Yes. He needed a potion. A potion to keep him alive."
A few students stifled laughter.
"I traveled through pain… fought against time itself… and in the end, I delivered that potion to him, ensuring his survival."
"....."
Sensei covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
The class erupted into laughter.
She sighed. "Asahi… can't you at least come up with a good excuse?"
"Damn it," Asahi muttered under his breath. "I should've thought of something better."
Evening – After School
Asahi stretched as he stepped out of the classroom, letting out a long sigh. The weight of the day clung to his shoulders like an invisible chain.
"Finally… it's over."
"Come on, let's walk home together."
Anari stood beside him, arms crossed, her eyes watching him expectantly.
Asahi hesitated, rubbing the back of his head.
"Huh… not today."
Anari blinked. Her smile wavered for a second. "What?! We walk home together every day!" she huffed, brows furrowing.
Asahi barely looked at her, waving a lazy hand as he started walking ahead. "Yeah, yeah… I'm going."
Anari puffed her cheeks, watching him go. She didn't chase after him.
But her voice, quieter than usual, carried through the air.
"Idiot."
On the Way Home
The streets were quiet, bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun. Asahi walked at a steady pace, hands stuffed into his pockets, his thoughts drifting.
"If I brought her along, she'd just take over my room, touch all my stuff, and act like she owns the place…" he muttered under his breath, shaking his head.
He exhaled, watching his breath disappear into the cooling air.
"Besides, Dad's coming home early today. If he sees her—"
And just like that, his brain started to do wild imaginations.
(DAD, IN HIS IMAGINATION): "I KNEW IT, SON! YOU'VE INHERITED MY TASTE! A BEAUTIFUL GIRL, JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!"
Asahi groaned, violently shaking his head as if that would physically remove the embarrassing thought.
"God, I really need to stop thinking like this."
Home – Front Door
Reaching his house, Asahi exhaled, rolling his shoulders before unlocking the door.
"I'm home!" he called out casually, stepping inside.
Silence.
He blinked, his grip tightening around the doorknob.
"Huh?"
The house was eerily quiet.
"Mom? Your favorite son has returned from an adventure!" he announced playfully, expecting her usual teasing response.
Nothing.
His smile slowly faded. A strange feeling crept into his chest, his stomach twisting as a sudden heaviness settled over him.
No one's here?
The air felt… off. Heavy. Unsettling.
Home – Kitchen
"Mom?"
Asahi's voice wavered slightly as he stepped toward the kitchen. His heart thumped in his chest, his fingers curling into anxious fists.
"Mom…?"
His foot hesitated at the doorway.
Then—
His breath hitched.
There—collapsed on the cold tile floor—his mother.
A sharp ringing filled his ears. His vision blurred at the edges. His mind refused to process what he was seeing.
"Oi…"
His voice barely escaped his lips, his body frozen in place. A cold sweat broke out on his skin, his throat tightening.
"No way."
His fingers trembled. His chest tightened, his breaths coming out shallow and erratic.
Wait, wait—
His knees hit the ground beside her as he grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently. Then desperately.
"Mom, wake up! Mom!!"
No response.
His trembling fingers pressed against her wrist, searching for a pulse—
Nothing.
His stomach twisted violently. The world around him blurred.
"She's… dead?"
A sharp breath left his throat—
"Aaaahh!! NO… NO… NO!!"
His scream shattered the silence. The room, the house—everything felt like it was caving in on him.
"What happened… how… who did this?! No—NO!!"
Then—
A sound.
The front door swung open. Rushed footsteps.
A voice—shaken, desperate.
"What happened—?!"
His father stood at the entrance, his work bag slipping from his grip, hitting the floor with a dull thud.
His eyes landed on his wife.
The color drained from his face.
"No… what happened?!"
He rushed forward, collapsing beside her, hands cradling her face, voice breaking apart.
"Stay with me! Please!!"
Asahi couldn't move. His heart pounded in his ears. His body felt detached, distant, like he was watching the scene from outside himself.
"No… no… what do I do now…?"
The weight of it all pressed down on him, unbearable, suffocating. His chest heaved, his fingers curling uselessly against the cold floor.
His vision blurred. His body swayed.
And before he could even process it—
Everything turned black.
"Hey! Asahi—!"
His father's voice was the last thing he heard before the darkness swallowed him whole.
The White Room
Asahi's eyes fluttered open.
His vision was blurry at first, a thick haze clouding his sight. But as it cleared, he realized something was… off.
A vast white room stretched endlessly before him. There were no walls, no ceiling, no floor—just pure emptiness. The air was unnaturally still. It felt wrong.
And then, he saw him.
A man stood a few feet away, his posture eerily still. He wasn't just silent—he was lifeless.
The atmosphere was suffocating. It wasn't just quiet. It was as if the world itself had forgotten how to breathe.
Then, a voice—calm, tired, almost relieved.
???: "Mmm… Finally. I've met you."
A chill ran down Asahi's spine.
That voice.
It was familiar. Too familiar.
The man looked to be in his forties—unkempt hair, hollowed-out eyes, deep bruises staining his pale skin. His clothes were casual—just a white shirt and faded blue jeans—but something about him looked… broken.
His body was frail, as if he hadn't eaten in days.
Asahi's heartbeat quickened.
Asahi: "...Hey. I know you."
The man didn't answer. He only stared at him with sunken, lifeless eyes.
Asahi: "You're the one…" His voice grew weaker. "The one from my dream."
And then, like a thunderclap, realization hit.
Asahi: "It's you…!"
The man's lips parted slightly.
???: "It's… me."
Asahi took a slow step back, his body stiffening.
???: "Do you know who I am?"
The way he spoke—low, exhausted—it sent a shiver through Asahi's bones.
He swallowed dryly.
Asahi: "Huh…?"
The man let out a weak chuckle. It was humorless. Empty.
???: "Come on. You already know."
Then—his voice shifted, deepened.
???: "I am you. Your future self."
The words crashed into Asahi like a train.
Asahi: "WHAT!?"
His body jolted. His mind screamed at him to reject the idea.
But the man—his future self—simply nodded, as if he had accepted this truth long ago.
Future Asahi (FA): "Yeah, yeah… I know. It's messed up." His voice was dry, almost sarcastic. "But you've been pulled into this dimension."
Asahi's stomach twisted.
Asahi: "How!?"
FA sighed, rubbing his temple. He looked so tired—like he had explained this a thousand times before.
FA: "When your mother died… the timeline shifted. And because of that, you were pulled here."
Asahi's breath hitched.
Asahi: "No… no, no, no." He clutched his head, his breathing ragged. "She's dead!? That's not—"
FA's gaze darkened.
FA: "Yeah. But we can fix that."
Asahi's world stopped.
Asahi: "Fix…?" His voice cracked. "You mean… we can bring her back?"
FA's lips twitched into a faint smirk.
FA: "Of course. In this dimension, I can reset time."
Asahi's breath grew heavy.
FA: "So when you wake up… you'll loop back. You'll return to the past."
His mind struggled to keep up.
Asahi: "So… I can go back?"
FA: "Yeah."
Asahi felt a sudden rush of hope, the heaviness in his chest lifting.
Asahi: "Then… I can save her!"
FA studied him quietly.
Then, he nodded.
FA: "I'll decide when and where you go. The perfect moment for you to change everything."
Asahi: "Yes! Thank you!"
Then—
Asahi: "Hey… I have so many questions."
FA chuckled softly.
FA: "Next time."
Asahi: "Next—"
Before he could finish, pain exploded in his head.
Asahi: "AARGH!!"
The world collapsed around him.
Back to Reality
With a sharp gasp, Asahi jolted awake.
His body was drenched in sweat, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
His head snapped toward the clock.
8:30 AM.
He stared.
His breath slowed.
Asahi: "…I looped."
His mind raced.
Then—
Asahi: "Mom!"
He leaped out of bed, his heart pounding as he ran downstairs.
The scent of miso soup filled the air.
His mother stood by the stove, humming softly.
Alive.
Warm.
Real.
Asahi's chest tightened. He wanted to run to her, hold her, tell her everything—but he stopped himself.
Not now.
Not yet.
His mother turned to him.
Mom: "Huh? What's wrong? You look pale."
She studied his face, concern softening her expression.
Then, she smiled.
Mom: "Did you have a bad dream?"
Asahi swallowed.
The weight in his chest was suffocating.
He forced a grin.
Asahi: "Yeah… a really bad one."
His mother raised an eyebrow but didn't push.
He sat at the table, stealing glances at her every few seconds.
She's alive.
The words rang through his head over and over.
She's alive.
For now.
A New Resolve
His father left for work. The house was silent.
Asahi sat beside his mother, gripping his hands tightly under the table.
Nothing had happened yet.
Nothing.
Asahi: (This time, I won't fail.)
1:30 PM.
They had eaten lunch. His mother had gone to take a nap.
2:30 PM.
Nothing.
His nerves were on edge. He checked every room, every door, every window.
And then—
DING DONG.
The doorbell.
Asahi's breath caught.
His pulse spiked.
Asahi: (Calm down. It's fine. It's just—)
He slowly stepped toward the door.
His hands were sweating.
He turned the knob.
A delivery man stood outside.
Delivery Man: "Sir, here's your package."
Asahi blinked.
He exhaled, feeling a little dumb.
Just a package.
He signed the receipt, took the box, and closed the door.
Asahi: (I overreacted.)
He set the package down and started peeling the tape.
Then—
He lifted the lid.
…
…
…
Asahi froze.
His fingers stopped moving.
His stomach churned.
Inside the box—
A severed human head.
His father's head.
Blood pooled at the bottom of the box, thick and dark. His left eye was missing. His mouth was slightly open, as if he had tried to say something before—
Asahi slammed the lid shut.
His body trembled violently.
He barely made it to the bathroom before vomiting.
His hands gripped the sink. His breath came out in short, sharp bursts.
His teeth were chattering. His pupils were dilated.
Asahi: "Wh… what do I do now…?"
He turned back to the box, still sitting on the floor, blood seeping through the bottom.
Then it hit him.
Asahi: (…I looped.)
His body shook.
Asahi: (I failed again.)
His breath turned ragged.
Asahi: (No… I need to sleep.)
Without thinking, he grabbed the bottle of sleeping pills.
This time—
He would save his father.
No matter what.
Darkness.
Then—
A blinding white light.
Asahi's eyes fluttered open.
He was back.
A pure white room surrounded him. Endless. Empty. Cold.
And standing before him—
Future Asahi.
His expression was unreadable. Cold. Detached. Like someone who had already given up long ago.
Future Asahi: "So… who died this time?"
Asahi's fists clenched. His breath was unsteady. His throat felt dry.
Asahi: "...Dad."
Silence.
FA sighed, his shoulders barely moving. As if this outcome was already written in stone.
The loop had begun again.
A blinding white light.
Back here.
Again.
No walls. No ceiling. No floor. Just an endless, suffocating void.
Future Asahi stood there, unmoving. Unshaken.
FA: "So... Dad this time? Hah."
Asahi's chest tightened. A sharp sting ran through his skull. His fingers twitched.
Asahi: "Why didn't you tell me… huh? WHY?!"
His voice cracked. His breathing was uneven.
Asahi: "You're from the future, right?! THEN WHY?!"
FA didn't even blink. His gaze was empty. Hollow.
FA: "Calm down."
FA: "I don't have any memories of my past… because I was killed in the future."
Silence.
Asahi's stomach dropped.
Asahi: "…Huh?"
His voice barely came out.
FA: "Yes. I was killed in the future. Everyone was."
FA: "After that, I ended up here. Trapped. In this void. With you."
Asahi felt his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Asahi: "So this isn't a dream…?"
FA's gaze sharpened. His voice deepened.
FA: "No."
FA: "This is a Dimensional Dream."
A chill ran down Asahi's spine.
Asahi: "(Huh?)"
FA took a step forward.
FA: "This is a dimension… but not a real one."
FA: "It doesn't exist. It has no form, no space, no time."
FA's empty eyes locked onto Asahi's.
FA: "But when you sleep… this dimension is created."
FA: "For you, it's just a dream."
His voice grew colder.
FA: "But for me…"
FA: "I was transferred into an unknown dimension. A place of nothingness. A white room with no air… literal vacuum. No sound. No time."
Asahi swallowed. The weight of those words was suffocating.
Asahi: "But… I can hear you."
FA gave a hollow smile.
FA: "Of course. Because for you… it's just a dream."
Asahi looked down. His mind was spinning.
Asahi: "Mmm..." (processing everything)
A long silence followed.
Then, Asahi hesitated before asking—
Asahi: "So… you're trapped here… forever?"
FA's expression darkened.
FA: "No."
FA stepped closer.
FA: "If you can save everyone… if you can save yourself…"
FA's lips curled into a small smirk.
FA: "Then I can go back to the future."
Asahi's fists clenched.
Asahi: "But what am I supposed to do now?"
His voice wavered.
Asahi: "If I stay with my mom, my father dies. If I go to school, my mother dies."
A suffocating silence filled the void.
FA remained still, his gaze unreadable.
FA: "I can't help with that."
His voice was flat, devoid of sympathy.
FA: "The only thing I can do… is adjust the timeline. Find the perfect moment for you."
Asahi exhaled sharply.
Asahi: "What if I just tell them?"
FA's expression flickered—just for a second.
Asahi: "What if I tell my parents the truth? That I can loop time. That I'm a time traveler."
A beat of silence.
Then—
FA let out a small, amused breath.
FA: "Mmm… That's an interesting idea."
For the first time, he seemed to genuinely consider it.
But then—his tone dropped.
FA: "But it won't work."
A chill ran down Asahi's spine.
Asahi: "Why not?"
FA: "If you tell them the truth…"
FA's voice darkened.
FA: "The connection between your dream and this dimension will be severed."
A heavy silence.
Then, in an almost emotionless tone, FA continued.
FA: "I will die—permanently."
FA: "And you…"
FA's piercing gaze locked onto Asahi's.
FA: "You will never be able to loop again."
Asahi's breath caught.
Asahi: "(What...?)"
His body tensed. He felt like the air had been knocked out of him.
FA had been trapped in this void, alone. If the connection was broken, he wouldn't just disappear—
He would be erased.
Asahi's breathing turned uneven.
His voice dropped into a deep whisper.
Asahi: "So… it's all in my hands now, isn't it?"
FA nodded.
FA: "Yes."
Silence.
Then—
Asahi: "How do you know that?"
FA's body suddenly tensed. His fingers twitched.
A sharp pain shot through him.
FA: "Agh…!"
His knees buckled slightly as his breath hitched.
Asahi: "FA—?! What's wrong?!"
FA clutched his head, his jaw clenched in agony.
FA: "I… don't know… It's like…"
His fingers dug into his temple, eyes narrowing.
FA: "Like I've experienced this before…"
The pain slowly subsided. His breathing steadied.
Then, FA looked up at Asahi, a faint, knowing smile tugging at his lips.
FA: "I know you'll save everyone."
Asahi took a step back.
Asahi: "(What… the hell is happening to him…?)"
Then—
FA's expression darkened again.
FA: "There's something else."
FA's voice was firm. There was no hesitation. No doubt.
FA: "There's a disadvantage to looping time."
Asahi stiffened.
The way FA said it… It wasn't a warning. It was a fact. A truth already set in stone.
Asahi: "Huh?" (listens carefully)
FA met his eyes, the dim glow of the endless void reflecting in them.
FA: "Whenever you sleep…"
His voice dropped lower, heavier.
FA: "You will always return here."
Asahi's breath hitched. His pulse quickened.
The weight of those words—
No matter what.No matter when.
He would always wake up in this void.
A cold dread slithered up his spine.
FA's expression turned grim.
FA: "And there's more."
Asahi glanced up. The atmosphere shifted. It felt like the very air around them had thickened.
FA: "You can't sleep whenever you want."
A pause.
FA: "You can't sleep at night. You can't sleep out of exhaustion."
FA's gaze locked onto Asahi's. A silent message lay behind those words—one that made Asahi's stomach twist.
FA: "The only time you can sleep… is to loop time."
Asahi's body froze.
It took him a second—maybe more—to process it.
Asahi: "Wait… then when I'm asleep…"
FA: "You're awake here."
A suffocating silence followed.
Asahi's fingers twitched. His mind replayed those words over and over again.
He looked up. His voice barely came out.
Asahi: "…So basically, I'm not sleeping at all?"
FA nodded, his face blank.
FA: "Yes. You can't sleep."
Asahi's breathing grew heavier.
Asahi: "What if I try to sleep like I normally do?"
FA's response was immediate.
FA: "Once you sleep… you must loop."
A sharp, white-hot frustration burned in Asahi's chest.
(So I can never rest?!)
His heart pounded wildly.
Asahi: "That's…"
His hands ran through his hair, gripping it in frustration.
Asahi: "Tch! This is so—!!"
FA sighed. A long, tired exhale.
FA: "I know. It's fucked up."
His voice… it wasn't just tired. It was worn out. Like someone who had come to terms with a truth too cruel to fight.
FA: "That's the only thing I can tell you."
Another long breath.
The white void felt even emptier.
Asahi exhaled sharply.
Okay.Okay, okay. Calm down.
Asahi: "I can do this."
A second passed.
Then—
A grin spread across his face.
Asahi: "Yeah."
His back straightened. His stance grew firmer.
Asahi: "Yeah…!"
In one swift motion, he struck a stance—a fist clenched at his chest, his eyes burning with newfound fire.
Asahi: "I am Asahi Rentaro."
His voice rang through the white void.
Asahi: "The man who's gonna save everyone!"
His eyes locked onto FA's.
Asahi: "The Time Traveler."
His voice softened—but his resolve burned brighter.
Asahi: "Even if I have to sell my soul…"
A pause.
Asahi: "I WILL SAVE EVERYONE."
His breathing steadied. His determination solidified.
Asahi: "Including you."
FA's eyes widened slightly.
Then, for the first time—
FA smiled.
A small, almost imperceptible smile.
FA: "Good luck."
And then—
The white void swallowed everything.
—
Asahi's eyes snapped open.
The familiar ceiling of his room. The warmth of his bed. The faint morning light spilling through the curtains.
He was back.
His gaze flicked toward the clock.
8:30 AM.
A heavy breath escaped his lips.
Asahi: "…I looped again."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
His mind was still catching up, still processing everything that had just happened. But then—
A realization struck him.
His stomach sank.
Asahi: "So basically… I was awake this whole time."
His hands clenched the bedsheet beneath him.
Asahi: "This can cause a problem…"
His heartbeat quickened.
He wasn't just seeing it as a dream anymore.
Asahi: "I wasn't dreaming… It was real."
A real dream.
His throat felt dry.
Asahi: "It is a real dream."
His breathing grew uneven.
Asahi: "It was like I was awake… in another dimension."
Then—
A sickening thought crawled into his mind.
A terrifying, unbearable thought.
Asahi: "If I don't get enough sleep… if I keep looping over and over… over and over…"
His fingers trembled. His mind spiraled.
Asahi: "I'll go insane."
His lips parted. The reality hit him hard.
A sharp, ice-cold panic spread through his chest.
Asahi: "I'LL GO INSANE."
The horror of it sank in. The weight. The crushing reality.
Then—
A sudden jolt of realization.
Asahi: "NO SLEEP?!" (HUH?!)
His voice cracked. His entire body tensed.
His own words echoed inside his head.
Like a death sentence.
