"Uh… Zeph."
"Hm?"
"When you said we were gonna skip school, I thought we'd… y'know, hit on some girls. Not stand outside Chris' house."
Chrono and Xander stood side by side on the front porch. Xander nudged Chrono's shoulder with his elbow, shifting on his feet. Sweat beaded at his hairline—Chrono, meanwhile, was the picture of calm, hands stuffed in his pockets.
Chrono cocked an eyebrow. "Y'know, you could've said no."
He leaned his elbow onto Xander's shoulder, smirking sideways at him.
"Besides, I don't wanna be seen going to a guy's house alone," he added, his grin mocking.
Before Xander could retort, the door swung open. An elderly woman peeked out—gray hair, cyan eyes that crinkled at the corners when she saw them.
"Oh! Xander, Zeph! Long time no see."
Her voice was warm, her smile bright and familiar.
"Hey Mrs. Johnson, you're as lively as ever," Xander said, trying to hide his nerves behind a friendly grin as he patted her lightly on the shoulder. Chrono gave a small wave behind him, lips curved in a soft smile.
"Oh, spare me the flattery." She waved a dismissive hand, but the affection stayed in her eyes. "So, what brings you boys here?" She tilted her head, curious.
"We're here to see Christopher," Chrono spoke up, calm as ever, slipping his hands deeper into his pockets.
Mrs. Johnson's smile stayed, but her brows pinched slightly. "Oh, he's up in his room…" Then she paused, eyes narrowing a bit. "Hold on just a second—shouldn't you boys be at school?"
Her tone had that sudden motherly snap to it, like she was scolding her grandkid in the middle of the supermarket.
How'd Chris manage to convince his grandma to let him stay home…?
Chrono scoffed inwardly.
"Uh, well… you see…" Xander stammered, shooting Chrono a sideways plea for help.
Chrono's eyes flicked to the floor, then back up—
This'll reset anyway.
He cleared his throat.
"We asked our teachers if we could check on him since he didn't show up. They gave us permission."
Mrs. Johnson squinted, suspicious but amused. "Hm. That's odd."
Chrono blinked. "What is?"
She crossed her arms lightly. "You boys are always glued to those phones—wouldn't it be easier to call him? I haven't been contacted either."
Damn. Good point.
Chrono clicked his tongue in his head.
Xander coughed, fumbling. Chrono slipped in with a smoother lie.
"We did try to call—he doesn't pick up when he's gaming. We asked our teachers if we could use the office phone to contact his house directly, but they just told us to come check on him in person."
Mrs. Johnson's eyes softened, a chuckle slipping out. "That boy and his games… Alright then." She stepped aside, opening the door wider. "Go on in."
Chrono gave her a grateful nod as they stepped past her into the house. Xander flashed her a small thumbs up behind Chrono's back.
"Oh, by the way, Mrs. Johnson," Chrono called as he paused at the foot of the stairs, not bothering to turn around.
"Hm? What is it, Zeph?" she replied warmly.
"Does Chris usually answer when you knock?"
Mrs. Johnson let out a small, triumphant laugh, lifting her chin proudly. "Of course! There's no way he could ignore an old lady like myself."
Chrono's mouth curved in a subtle smirk as he turned his head halfway toward her. "Then, I'd like you to knock for us. I doubt he'd answer if we did."
"Oh, alright then." She gave a cheerful nod, oblivious to any hidden motive, and started up the stairs with the boys trailing after her.
They stopped at Chris' door. Mrs. Johnson stood straight, gave them both a little wink, then knocked sharply.
"Heeyyy, Christopher! I need something from your room—open up!" she called, her voice suddenly sharper, carrying the tone of a request you don't ignore.
A muffled voice came back flatly through the door. "It's open."
"Alright, I'm coming in."
She pushed the door open, stepping aside so Chrono and Xander could slip in behind her.
Inside, the only light came from the flickering glow of dual monitors. Chris sat cross-legged in his squeaky desk chair, eyes glued to the screen, fingers tapping his keyboard rhythmically with one hand, and moving his mouse rapidly with the other. The floor was a minefield of clothes—clean, dirty, maybe both—scattered between empty bottles, half-crushed cans, chip bags, and the occasional controller that looked like it hadn't moved in weeks.
Somehow, despite the disaster, there wasn't a whiff of anything foul in the air—maybe the energy drinks were acting as air fresheners.
"Ew, dude. Clean your room," Xander muttered, looking around like he'd stepped into a biohazard zone. Chrono had the same look on his face but bit back the comment.
Chris didn't even glance at them, eyes fixed on his game.
"Huh? Why are you guys here? Shouldn't you be at school?"
Chrono crossed his arms, flicking a brow up. "Right back at you."
"Whatever." Chris's answer was flat as he clacked at the keyboard.
Mrs. Johnson clapped her hands together, cutting through the awkward vibe. "Well, if you boys need anything, I'll be in the living room."
"Okay, Mrs. Johnson," Xander said quickly, giving her a grateful wave as she backed out, shutting the door behind her.
A sigh came from Chris. "Ahhh, damn it. I lost."
His voice was so dull it was like losing barely scratched his mood—no dramatic rage, no slamming the desk. Just a shrug and a spin of his chair until he faced them, half-lidded cyan eyes sweeping them up and down.
"So… what brings you both to my humble, filthy abode?" he asked dryly, dragging his heel on the floor to stop the spin.
Chrono ignored the question, gesturing vaguely at the mess. "Y'know, you're gonna die young."
Chris blinked, unimpressed. "Huh? What makes you think that?"
Chrono tapped a boot against a crushed can on the floor. "Look at this place, man. Breathing this room has to shave at least two years off your lifespan."
Chris just shrugged. "What's the point of cleaning? No girls come over anyway."
"You don't clean your room for girls, idiot," Chrono sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying not to get riled up.
Chris snorted, leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head as he spun around in his chair. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question. Why are you both here?"
Xander pointed his thumb at Chrono. "I'm just following Zeph. Apparently he didn't want to be seen going to a guy's house alone."
Chrono crossed his arms and gestured dismissively to the side. "You're making it sound like you didn't have a choice."
Xander clicked his tongue. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to stare at the wall, clearly embarrassed. "'Cuz… I thought we were gonna do something fun."
Chrono scoffed. "Try not to assume so much next time. Ask questions."
Xander raised a brow, turning back to him, a little annoyed. "Dude, you know if I ask you anything you'll just shut down and ignore me."
Chrono raised his hands in mock surrender — he knew Xander was right. He'd always had a habit of zoning people out if they pressed him too much. Xander knew that better than anyone.
Chris finally stopped spinning in his chair and turned to face them. "You still haven't told me why you're here, Zeph," he said, his tone casual but clearly expecting an answer.
Chrono pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it over. "You're good at unscrambling stuff. I want you to do this for me."
Chris' eyes flicked down at the text, then up at Chrono without lifting his head. "Are you a moron? You could just use AI for this," he said, mocking him, his tone more alive than usual.
Chrono scoffed. "If I came all the way here myself, obviously I want something only you can do."
Chris shook his head and stood up, stretching lazily. "I'm pretty sure AI could do it too, but whatever."
He handed the phone back to Chrono. "Hold onto this for now," he said with a sly smirk, then walked over to the window and cracked the blinds open.
"Ahhh, the light." Chris recoiled, squinting like a vampire stepping into the sun. Chrono and Xander chuckled as they watched him hiss at the daylight.
"Maybe we should bring garlic next time."
"You're not funny."
Xander burst out laughing while Chris just shook his head, cringing at the lame joke.
"Anyway," Chris said, straightening up like nothing happened, "before I help you unscramble that, you're gonna help me clean my room."
Chrono twitched. "No way, man. Clean it yourself," he shot back, defensive.
"Oh, then I guess I just won't unscramble it."
"Ha! I should kill you."
Chrono glared at him, grinning angrily through his teeth while Chris just laughed lazily in his chair.
Chrono sighed. "Fine. We'll help. You need this more than we do anyway," he said, voice dripping with fake sympathy as he elbowed Xander.
Xander raised an eyebrow. "I'm not part of this. Leave me out of it," he protested, adjusting his glasses as he crossed his arms.
Chris shrugged like it was obvious. "You're already here. The more the merrier, right?"
Xander fumed but didn't argue.
An hour later, the room was spotless. Chrono and Xander collapsed onto the bed, while Chris dropped into his chair.
"I'm genuinely surprised you don't have roaches or rats in here," Xander said, wiping sweat from his forehead, breathing hard.
"I'm an anomaly."
"We know."
Chris replied, short of breath, while Chrono shot back flatly, also panting.
When they'd finally cooled off, they gathered around the table in the middle of the room. Chrono and Chris sat across from each other, Xander slouched to Chrono's left and Chris' right. Chrono slid the phone over to Chris again, watching as he studied the screen.
Chris let out a yawn — not from fatigue, but pure boredom.
"Alright, let's go through this step by step. Since you're so slow," Chris said, his tone flat, as if he hadn't just insulted Chrono directly.
Chrono's eyes twitched.
"We'll tackle this three words at a time, all the way to the end. Cool?"
Chrono nodded. Xander leaned in, looking genuinely curious.
Chris cleared his throat. "So the whole thing reads…" He pointed at Chrono's phone.
"ehcmue anmhu oewlyu aevb eendm deewro yhtrwo fro eth ilrat fo eth wnoknnu ehclnaor venseodlf ormF siht yad nda eht txen xis syad dsowran ouy llwi eb gnipoo lgohset syad tub ni odrer ot esgrop s ot eht txen yad uyo sumt etpocelm a eeglcalhn ot evom no luafier ot etpocelm siht egnellahc lliw tesrul ni ruoy esidem rof eht tsrif pool rouy egnellahc si ot encvocni eno dnasuoht elpoep hatt eryou oiplgn if yhet od ton evebile ouy yhet lliw ton pool htiw oyu fi uyo cceivonn meht er'ouy gnipool ythe lliw osla trats gnipo olhtwi eht yad htiw oyu litnu uyo etelpomc eht egnellahc ro ide fi oyu lfia tsum eb etedelpcom ni ytnewt eerht spool."
He scrolled back up and tapped the first chunk.
"The first three words: 'ehcmue anmhu oewlyu.'" He glanced at Chrono to check he wasn't zoning out — though he knew he wouldn't be.
Chris raised a finger. "There are three checks when I unscramble. One: do these letters make a real word?"
He lifted a second finger. "Two: does that word make sense?"
Then a third. "Three: does it fit in the context of the given passage?"
He dropped his hand back to the table, eyes flicking to the phone. "So — 'ehcmue.' Can those letters spell an actual word?"
There was silence until Xander finally spoke up.
"Well… nothing really pops up," he admitted, scratching his head.
"Alright, next — 'anmhu.'"
Xander's eyes lit up. "Easy! That's 'human.'"
Chris nodded. "Good. So we have one real word. Now, 'oewlyu'? Anything?"
Xander crossed his arms and shook his head slightly. "Nothing."
Chris snapped his fingers. "So, so far only 'human' passes the first two checks. The others don't even hit check one."
He leaned back a bit. "So what we can get from this is that in order to make an actual word we have to look at the letters in word one and three."
"Why's that?" Xander asked.
Chris shrugged slightly. "It's likely the letters that form an actual word are scattered across both words. So, if you take some letters from word one and replace it with letters in word three, you'll get an actual word, vise versa."
"Oh, gotcha." Xander nodded, pushing up his glasses.
Chris cleared his throat again. "So — word one has 'ehcmue,' word three has 'oewlyu.'"
He raised his finger again. "Clearly neither spells a word by itself, so we break it down further — look for smaller words inside."
Xander tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
Chris gestured at the screen. "Let's use 'oewlyu' as an example. In this form it's nonsense. But, if we look at some of the letters in the word, and put them together, they form an actual word. In this case the, the word would be 'you.'"
Xander perked up. "Oh — so if that's 'you,' what's left?"
"Letters E, W, and L," Chris said, counting on his fingers. "So now you fuse those leftovers with the letters in 'ehcmue.' That gives us: E-H-C-M-U-E plus E-W-L."
Chris rested his hand on his jaw, staring at the screen through half-lidded eyes.
"If we shuffle these letters around, the closest match is 'Welcme.' That leaves us with U, H, and E." Chris yawned.
Xander tilted his head and folded his arms. "How can you be so sure? There's a missing O — so maybe it's not 'Welcome.'"
Chris scoffed. "I'd agree with you if I was an idiot. The letters are scrambled, Xander — odds are the missing O is hidden in another word. Best we can do now is assume the word is 'Welcome,' and when we find the O later, it'll confirm it."
"Is it really dumb to question that though?"
Chrono cut in, and Chris raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, there's a chance whoever scrambled this wants you to think like that — if it's close enough, you assume it's that word."
Chris crossed his arms. "There's a low chance that's true."
"It's low — but not impossible." Chrono shrugged.
"For all we know, the words you've unscrambled could just be scrambled letters from other words entirely."
A beat of silence passed. Chris watched Chrono, amused but clearly unconvinced.
"You're saying this simple unscramble is secretly layered?" Chris tilted his head, looking at Chrono like he was absurd.
"It's smart to consider all possibilities," Chrono said, leaning in.
Chris scoffed. "Why consider all possibilities when there's obviously just one?"
Chrono raised an eyebrow.
"Look at the words we've got: 'Welcome human you.' You're saying that doesn't make sense? That these words just happen to unscramble neatly by accident?" Chris asked, his tone still flat but edged with a flicker of frustration.
"Like I said — I'm not ruling anything out," Chrono said with another shrug.
Chris shook his head. "No, you're not considering all possibilities — you're overthinking."
Chrono narrowed his eyes. "Huh? And what makes you think that?"
Chris scoffed. "Because you're acting like something so simple is secretly complicated. If you just look at the first few words, it's clear — this is a straightforward unscramble."
Chrono sighed, folding his arms. "And that's why you think I'm overthinking — because it looks simple?"
Chris's lips tugged into a smirk. "Exactly. In fact — I can prove this whole thing is just a plain unscramble. Nothing layered, nothing clever."
Chrono's eyes flickered with interest. "And how exactly are you gonna do that?"
"I'll just tell you the whole thing unscrambled, right now. I already figured it out anyway." Chris yawned, a lazy grin creeping across his face.
Xander's eyes went wide. Chrono leaned back, arms tight across his chest.
"…But…" Chris's voice dropped low.
A pause. He snapped his fingers and pointed at Chrono, smirking.
"That's what you want, isn't it, Zeph?"
Chrono's eyes widened.
"I don't know why yet, but you're in a hurry. You wanted this unscrambled fast." Chris scratched the back of his head, eyes narrowing.
"You got tense the second I decided to go step-by-step instead of just solving it outright. So you baited me into a debate — so I'd just blurt it out."
Chris took a short breath, tilting his head back slightly. "It's not like I could disagree either, we made a deal that if you helped me clean my room, I'd help you unscramble this. So I can't just say no, that'd be breaking the deal."
He tapped the table lightly, leaning in. "But that doesn't add up either…"
Chrono raised an eyebrow.
"For a guy that considers all possibilities, this one doesn't really make sense."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Chris's eyes narrowed. "There's a hundred ways you could've unscrambled this. And you, of all people, would never use such an upfront method."
He paused.
"You'd just use AI or just do it yourself."
Chrono's eyes widened slightly.
Chris's stare sharpened. "It doesn't add up. Why come to me when you could do it yourself?" He leaned closer, his tone deadly calm.
"No… you did do it yourself. So why? Why come here? What's your game, Zeph?"
For once, Chris's lazy mask slipped — his eyes locked on Chrono, sharp and searching.
Chrono raised his arms in surrender. "You're right. I wouldn't use such an upfront method if all I wanted was to unscramble words."
He paused, letting that hang in the air.
"Remember what I said earlier?" Chrono asked.
Chris narrowed his eyes, quoting him back. "'If I came all the way here myself, obviously I want something only you can do.'"
Chrono smirked. "Exactly."
Chris raised an eyebrow, his annoyance starting to simmer. "That still doesn't answer my question — it just makes more of them, if I'm being real." His tone edged sharper.
"You want me to do something that AI can't — so it's something personal. But you still haven't told me what."
"I'm getting to that, you impatient prick."
Chris's eyes narrowed.
Then suddenly —
Clap.
It was Xander, cutting the tension with an awkward grin. "You two can keep playing 4D chess. I'm gonna go outside, get some fresh air." He clasped his hands together with a bright smile, absurdly out of place in the heavy air.
Chrono blinked. "Huh? Alright."
Xander gave a lazy salute and slipped out, shutting the door behind him.
Chris didn't even look. "Don't act surprised, Zeph. I know you set that up."
Chrono chuckled, a nervous edge in his throat. "It's scary how well you see through me, man."
Chris scoffed. "I just know you too damn well, that's all." He leaned forward, elbows on the table, fingers steepled under his chin. His voice dropped. "Xander's gone now. So talk."
Silence. Then Chrono drew a slow breath.
"Do you remember what you unscrambled?" Chrono asked, locking eyes with him, his tone suddenly grave.
"Yeah — something like: 'Welcome human, you have been deemed worthy for the trial of the unknown. The Chronal: Sevenfold. From this day and the next six days onwards you'll be looping those days. To progress to the next day, you must complete a challenge. Fail, and you die. For the first loop, your challenge is to convince one thousand people that you're looping. If they don't believe you, they won't loop with you. If they do, they'll loop the day too until you finish or die. If you fail, it resets in twenty-three loops.'"
He rattled it off like it was nothing — then leaned back, scoffing.
"That's weird as hell, man. A challenge? Looping? That's some sci-fi nonsense. Where'd you dig this crap up?" Chris let out a dry laugh.
But Chrono's face didn't crack. He just stared.
"Believe it or not — it's real."
Chris's grin faltered. "What?"
"What's gotten into you, Zeph? This is clearly nonsense. Nobody can loop a day. That's not how reality works."
Chrono's palm pressed against his chest. His voice was low, even. "I'm right here. I am the proof. I'm in a loop right now."
Chris let out a bark of a laugh. "You can't be serious."
Chrono didn't flinch. "This is my second loop — my third time living this day."
"Are you high?" Chris asked, an incredulous smirk tugging at his lips.
"There's no way you really think—"
Chrono slammed his hands on the table. Thud.
"I am trapped, Chris!" His voice was low but seething with frustration. "Don't you get it? You think I'd go through all this for nothing? Think about what you just unscrambled. Think, for once!"
Chris leaned back, watching him — half amused, half cautious.
"So you're saying — you're stuck repeating the week, you have to clear challenges, and the first is telling a thousand people you're looping."
"Yes!" Chrono snapped, throwing his arms out wide.
Chris snapped his fingers, pointing at him like he'd cracked a riddle. "So your plan was to get me to unscramble this — so you could use it as proof you're looping. So I'd start looping too."
Chrono nodded. "Yeah. One of the conditions is that they have to fully believe I'm looping. You haven't been outside — I couldn't prove it any other way."
Chris scoffed. "You could've just given me lottery numbers. Or predicted the weather. That would've made more sense."
Chrono exhaled sharply. "That's not the point."
Chris tilted his head, studying him. "Then what is the point?"
Chrono locked eyes with him, his tone like iron. "I want you to help me get the other nine hundred and ninety-nine."
Chris's eyes widened a fraction.
"You want me to help you convince nine hundred and ninety-nine people you're looping?" His voice was dry, but his mind was obviously spinning.
Chrono nodded, dead serious. "Your brain's an asset I can't waste. You'd see angles I'd miss. I need you in this, Chris."
Chris leaned back in his chair, hand drumming on the table, gaze narrowed — calculating.
He didn't laugh this time.
"...still, I don't have a reason to believe you're looping, Zeph."
Chrono sighed. "The unscramble is proof. I planned for it to be this way. Not only would you grasp the situation at hand, but it'd be proof I'm looping."
"No, not really," Chris chimed in.
"It proves you're in a situation, but not that you're looping."
Chrono slammed the desk again. "Yeah, it proves I'm in a situation that involves looping, so I'm proving I'm in a loop by making you unscramble it."
Chris shrugged. "Either way, whether or not that person loops with you solely depends on if they believe you're looping or not."
Chrono raised a brow. "...what are you getting at?"
"I'm saying that as long as I do not believe you're looping, then I won't loop with you."
Chrono gritted his teeth. "So you're saying, you don't believe I'm looping."
Chris nodded. "Right on the money."
"You just don't have concrete enough evidence for me to believe you're looping."
Chrono scoffed. "Don't give me that crap. I could tell you if it'd rain or give you the correct lottery numbers, and you'd still boil it down to just being a coincidence."
"So even if I apparently had concrete evidence I'm looping, you'd not believe it."
Chris raised a brow. "Then knowing that, why did you even try to convince me? Knowing that whatever you tried, I wouldn't believe you."
Chrono sighed. "Maybe it was a little hope. Maybe that if my plan was just enough, maybe, just maybe you'd believe me."
Chrono exhaled. "But… I guess I was just wrong. Wrong to think I could convince someone that a supernatural occurrence is happening to me."
There was a pause, until Chris spoke up.
"So, what are you planning to do now, Zeph?" Chris asked.
There was another pause before Chrono spoke up.
"Guess I'll just have to go through with plan B," Chrono said, standing up and stretching slightly.
"Well, good luck with that."
"Yeah."
Chrono walked over to his bed to pick up his bag. He swung it across his shoulder before walking to the door and opening it slightly. He paused.
"One thing before I go."
"Hm?"
"I am looping, Chris."
With that, Chrono walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Chrono made his way toward the front door, pausing before opening it.
Should I tell Mrs. Johnson I'm leaving?
…Nah, what's the point.
He opened the door to see Xander outside, sitting on the porch.
Xander turned around, his eyes lighting up.
"Oh Zeph, did you get what you wanted?"
Chrono softly shook his head. "He's being stubborn as always," Chrono said, his tone defeated.
But for some reason, I respect his decision…
Xander slapped Chrono on the shoulder as they began to walk.
"Cheer up, dude. Let's go grab some food!"
"Are you insane? During school hours!?"
Xander laughed brazenly as Chrono shook his head in disbelief.
I didn't really want to go through with plan B, but I don't really have another choice.
Chrono sighed, placing a hand under his chin.
Did I really mess up though, or is he just playing hard to get? If my plan was faulty or not, he still wouldn't believe I'm looping. Some people are just like that, and unfortunately he's one of them.
Should I try again next loop? I could give proper evidence I'm looping next time.
…No. That'd just be taking a step backwards.
Chrono sighed again, moving his hand from his chin and into his pocket.
There's something I want to do though, before going through with plan B…
---
A few hours passed, and Chrono was standing outside an all-too-familiar library — only this time, he wasn't in his uniform, but in more casual clothes: a white t-shirt, black jeans, and a black sweater over his shirt.
This is around the same time I arrived in the previous loop.
Chrono stared at the entrance, nervous. His heart pounded in his chest, sweat beading down his cheeks.
I have to confirm if May still exists.
If her existence only gets wiped in one loop or all of them.
He slowly made his way to the library entrance, pushing the door open. There was the familiar librarian near the entrance.
He looked further down, to the spot where May had been sitting in the previous loop.
His eyes widened.
His breath hitched.
His body started shaking, his heart pounding rhythmically in his chest.
An area that was once filled with blood looked normal — spotless.
And she was there.
Reading a book, swaying her head slightly, as if nothing had happened.