Seven Runs​​

To change my boyfriend’s fate, to stop him from dying so young, I was reborn seven times. But every single time, he died saving me. Just as I was sinking into despair, the text appeared on my screen. A live feed of comments, scrolling across my vision. [This Player is on another level, lmao. Needs cash, so he runs the Nora route, fakes his death as soon as he wins, and cashes out. He’s just using her as a farming spot.] [Nora is the most tragic NPC ever. She probably has no idea Asher Vance is about to get married in the real world. She’s sitting here thinking she got him killed.] [This run was too smooth, though. The payout was only a tenth of the usual. That’s not gonna last him long. He’ll probably start a new run soon…] The next second, the world bled to gray, and a profound silence fell. When I opened my eyes again, an eighteen-year-old Asher Vance was smiling down at me, his eyes curved into crescents. "Excuse me? Can I get your number?" 1 "Hey, miss?" When I didn't respond, a blush crept up his neck. "Can I… get your number?" he repeated, his voice barely a whisper. "I don't mean any harm, I just… I'd like to be your friend." I stared at him, my mind a complete blank. It wasn't until he shyly averted his gaze that reality crashed back in. It was real. I was back. Again. Reborn on the exact day I first met Asher Vance. And right now, in the space before my eyes, translucent text was scrolling, refreshing with new comments. [Seriously? Not this opening again. It's so old.] [Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Nora falls for it every single time. This move is gold!] [Seven times with the same opening line. I'm bored even if the NPC isn't. Can't Asher try a different strategy for once? Stop recycling the same playthrough.] [You don't get it. Asher's only here for the money. The faster he completes the mission, the better.] My fingers clenched, my mind reeling. I stared at the word that kept appearing over and over again. Strategy. Route. Playthrough. In an instant, my memories came rushing back. 2 This was my seventh rebirth. Each time, I returned with all my memories from the previous life. And with a single, desperate mission. My first love, Asher, had died saving me. I was reborn to avert that tragedy, to prevent his death, to marry him and grow old with him. But every single time, I failed. The first time, he shoved me out of the raging surf and onto the beach, only to be swept away by a rogue wave. The second time, he carried my unconscious body from a burning building. He went back for the engagement ring he’d planned to give me and died of smoke inhalation. The third time, he held me up with the last of his strength from beneath a collapsed ruin, bleeding out before the rescue team could arrive. The fourth time, the fifth, the sixth… The accidents were always different. The outcome was always the same. I was helpless, broken, consumed by a rage against a cruel fate that always tore us apart. But now… These lines of text scrolling before my eyes told a different story. The love I thought was eternal, the life-and-death stakes that shattered my heart, the endless cycle of losing Asher… It was all just a game. Asher was the Player, following a script. And I… I was just an NPC, waiting to be conquered. 3 It was too absurd. I couldn't accept it. It was impossible. Asher and I had fallen in love seven times. He gave everything for me. He loved me more than he loved himself, more than life itself. How could he be a Player? I blinked hard, trying to will the ridiculous text away, but it was no use. The feed kept scrolling, faster than before. [What's with Nora this time? She's not biting. Asher's getting antsy.] [See? Even the classics need an update. Even a sweet, naive NPC like Nora can glitch out sometimes.] [Okay, place your bets. If Nora doesn't give him her number, what's Asher's next move?] [Is that even a question? In this situation, he’ll obviously play the victim.] [“I’m sorry, I was being too forward today.”] [“This is the first time I’ve ever worked up the courage to ask for a girl’s number…”] After those comments, a wave of "LMAO" and "HAHAHAHA" flooded the screen. It took a while for a new discussion to appear. [I guess everyone remembers the first NPC Asher ever conquered?] [She was nothing like Nora. Not nearly as sweet or easy to fool. Asher had to pull out all the stops to win her over. So when he found an easy target like Nora, he latched on. It’s like farming a boss. He’s just run the same route over and over.] [This is the seventh time, right?] 4 The seventh time. A cold sweat prickled my back. The seed of doubt had been planted, and it was beginning to sprout. How could they know these details? "Nora…" Asher's eyes were red-rimmed as he looked at me, his expression wounded. He took a step forward, reaching for my sleeve, but I flinched away. "We don't know each other. Don't touch me." He froze for a second, then gave a bitter, wounded smile. "I'm sorry. I was being too forward today. I just… I wanted to be your friend. I've always been pretty shy, not very popular with girls. This is the first time I've ever felt this way about someone, the first time I've ever worked up the courage to ask for a number…" "I'm sorry if I bothered you." He turned away, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Just before he left, he glanced back at me, a single, crystalline tear tracing a path down his cheek. Honestly, one look at Asher’s face was enough to make anyone’s heart skip a beat. The first time we met, I was completely mesmerized. Every time our eyes met after that, my cheeks would flush and my pulse would race. But now… Looking at him, I felt none of that girlish flutter. He was playing the victim, just as the comments had predicted. Every word out of his mouth was an exact match to the text on my screen. They not only knew the intimate details of our past lives but could also predict his every move with chilling accuracy. I had no choice but to believe it. Maybe everything the comments were saying… was true. 5 Back in my dorm room, I collapsed onto my bed, exhausted. I replayed my seven lives with Asher, the memories flickering through my mind like an old film. Only now did I realize that the signs had been there all along. The meeting, the confession, the first kiss, the proposal, the accident. Five distinct points in a timeline I had repeated with Asher six times. The same opening line. The same surprise proposal. The only thing that changed was the duration. Each cycle grew shorter. From three years the first time, down to just six months the last. I’d had a fleeting thought once that our relationship felt like a game, with Asher as the player, speeding through the same story faster each time. But I had dismissed it, attributing it to our deepening connection. Because we had loved before, falling in love again would naturally be faster. So, even though each rebirth cost me a portion of my own lifespan, even though our time together might be shorter each time… I would have done anything for even the slimmest chance of keeping him alive. It was only after Asher died for the sixth time that the on-screen text appeared, and the truth was laid bare. The pain was so sharp it was hard to breathe. A tear escaped and rolled down my cheek. The next second, the comments returned. [What's going on? Why is Nora crying?] [This isn't part of the script. Nora's character profile is 'sweet and naive.' She's not supposed to reject Asher.] [It's about time something changed. The first playthrough in a parallel world doesn't affect the NPC, but Asher has no scruples. The rewards he gets from conquering Nora are literally converted from her own life force. That's why her health is getting worse, her grades are slipping from a top-tier university to a state college, her family situation is deteriorating, and she’s already lost thirty years off her lifespan…] [Asher is probably raging right now, lmao!] [TBH, I wonder what would happen if Nora saw Asher when he's throwing a tantrum?] 6 For some reason, after that last comment, a new window opened in my vision. It was a live feed of Asher. He was in an empty room, pacing and muttering to himself. "Fucking bitch. Thinks I don't know her type? All I have to do is crook my finger and she comes crawling. Who the hell is she trying to fool with this act?" "Look at her. If it wasn't for the mission, you think I'd even glance her way?" "System! When this run is over, I want triple the rewards! You hear me?" "Of course I know it'll drain her life force and lifespan! But there are countless trash NPCs like her. Who cares if one of them dies? Being my target is an honor, you got it?" ... A bone-deep chill washed over me. I shot up in bed, my body trembling uncontrollably. So this was the real Asher. All that tenderness, all that affection… it was all a carefully constructed lie. The real him was cruel, vile, and utterly despicable. In the feed, Asher was still cursing. I listened to his filth, my jaw clenched so tight it ached. My heart felt like a stone, plummeting into a bottomless abyss. Then, his expression suddenly changed to one of panic. "System! System! Why did Nora's Love Meter for me just drop by ten points?!" With that, the feed vanished. In its place, the comments started scrolling frantically. [Whoa, whoa, whoa, what was that?] [If I remember correctly, Nora's Love Meter for Asher starts at 60%, right? A ten-point drop right off the bat?] [Asher was so confident about this run. He set the mission timer for only one month! The mods told him to change it, but he said a naive girl like Nora would be a one-week job, max. A month was overkill. And now he’s down ten points on day one. LOL. Serves him right.] [LMAOOOOOOO!] [But they changed the rules a few days ago! If a Player fails their conquest, they have to swap lives with the NPC! The Player becomes the NPC, and the NPC enters the real world and inherits all of the Player’s assets…] [Swap lives? Now that's interesting. Asher's bought a mansion and a fleet of luxury cars with his winnings over the years. But Nora is just a poor student right now. I wonder how he'll handle that kind of life.] Those last few comments flashed by quickly, unnoticed by the others. I grabbed a notebook from my nightstand and wrote down that single, crucial sentence. Staring at the words "swap lives," I fell deep into thought.

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