Tomorrow's Yesterday.

The hinges creaked.

A sound so soft, so ordinary—yet it cleaved through the silence like a scream.

Regulus froze. The girl in his arms trembled. Her eyes widened in terror, and for a moment, neither of them breathed.

The door opened slowly.

From behind the jagged sliver of light, a shadow peeled forward—a shape that did not belong in any sane world. A silhouette familiar enough to be human, yet wrong enough to turn Regulus's stomach.

A face emerged.

His face.

The fake brother.

Regulus's pulse screamed in his veins. Memories surged—of pain, betrayal, the blade splitting his flesh, the laughter echoing inside his skull.

The girl whimpered, clutching his shirt.

The fake brother stepped into the room, casual, confident. In one hand, the same cursed book writhed with symbols. In the other, the glowing blade pulsed with crimson hunger.

He didn't speak.

Yet words slithered into Regulus's skull.

"So you're the transmigrator."

Regulus flinched.

"How the hell do you know that?" he hissed, tightening his grip on the girl.

No lips moved. Only thought.

"Do I have to tell you? Hahahaha... you walked here yourself. You fed me the truth with your own hands. And now... I can feed my lovely pet."

Laughter echoed inside his mind. It wasn't sound—it was pressure. Scraping and violent. Like bone dragged across glass.

Regulus clenched his jaw. Rage boiled inside him, but so did fear. He wanted to hit him—to crush that mocking grin—but his feet were anchored to the ground.

"You crazy motherfucker... How many did you kill? How many innocent people did you butcher just to play god with your damn rituals?!"

The man didn't respond.

He raised the book.

He began to chant.

Low. Broken. The syllables were wrong, like someone twisting the alphabet into knots. The room pulsed with an unseen rhythm. Blood on the walls began to shimmer.

"No. Not again."

Regulus turned—looked left, then right—searching. There had to be a way out.

Nothing. No window. No door but the one blocked by that monster in human skin.

Behind him, the corpses groaned.

He grabbed the girl tighter.

"I've got one shot. Let's pray I can shatter this wall without breaking every bone in my body."

He took three steps back—then charged. A scream ripped from his throat.

His shoulder slammed into the wall.

Stone cracked. Dust exploded. The wall shattered like dried bark.

They burst into the open street.

The fake brother's eyes widened—then narrowed. He didn't scream. He didn't curse.

He only smiled.

And gave the command.

"Hunt."

The ritual room behind them exploded.

A roar. A howl. A noise stitched from hundreds of broken voices.

The monster emerged.

A mass of limbs and torsos, sewn with pain. Bones jutted from flesh like jagged armor. Eyes blinked in places where there shouldn't be skin. Dozens of mouths opened across its spine, each moaning a different prayer.

It launched itself after them.

Regulus sprinted through the fog-choked ruins. Buildings leaned like gravestones. The sky pulsed with rot.

"I have to get her somewhere safe—anywhere—"

He dodged left as a massive hand smashed the earth beside him. Stone cracked. The impact lifted him into the air.

He landed, rolled, kept running.

The monster screamed.

Not one voice. Many.

"YOU—SHOULD—BE—DEAD!"

He didn't look back.

The girl clung to him, whispering prayers. Her voice was broken. Weak. Alive.

"Don't die, please don't die, don't let it catch us, please..."

Another blow.

A claw missed him by inches.

Regulus leapt over a corpse—then another. His eyes stung.

"It's eating them. Dead or alive—it doesn't care."

The creature grabbed a beggar from the street. The man screamed—then vanished into the writhing mass. The monster grew. Larger. Faster. Stronger.

Regulus gritted his teeth.

"How do I kill it?! I can't—not like this!"

He glanced back. The monster's eyes found him.

"Wait—before I died, I had no strength like this. I was just... human. Average. But now... I'm running like the wind. Could it be...?

Do I get stronger every time I die...?"

He veered left, climbed rubble in three bounds, and hurled himself through the third floor of a shattered home.

"Stay down," he whispered to the girl, setting her in the corner.

Then he leapt.

Down to the street. Toward the brother.

The fake brother stood unmoving, book open again. His hand danced over symbols that bled light.

Regulus landed ten feet from him.

"I'm ending this. Right now."

He scooped dirt from the ground. Gravel. Sand.

He ran.

Fast. Blinding. Screaming.

The brother didn't flinch. He closed the book and drew the blade.

Crimson light burst from the edge.

In a flash, he moved.

Steel hissed through the air.

Regulus ducked—barely. The blade kissed his cheek. A line of fire bloomed across his skin.

He twisted, stepped inside the arc, went for the gut.

The brother's foot lashed out—fast, precise. It caught Regulus in the ribs and launched him back into the street.

Pain lanced through his side.

But Regulus rolled to his feet.

His mind raced.

Fast. Too fast. No wasted movement. He's not just strong—he's trained. The blade's an extension of his will. A damn snake.

The brother advanced. Blade ready. No expression. Just eyes that glowed like slow-burning embers.

Another strike—horizontal. Regulus ducked, kicked upward.

The brother jumped over it. Midair, he slashed downward.

Regulus raised both arms. Blocked.

Pain exploded in his forearms. Blood trickled. But he endured.

He retaliated—a flurry of punches. Chest. Throat. Side.

The brother leaned back, dodging effortlessly. Countered with a spinning slash.

Regulus sprang back, just missing the arc—but his jacket split. A shallow cut painted his shoulder red.

His breath came fast.

He's toying with me. Testing me. He knows he's stronger.

The brother lunged again.

Regulus dropped low—rolled forward under the slash. Came up behind him.

Punched.

Missed.

He read me again.

The brother spun, blade flashing.

Regulus jerked left. Too slow.

The edge grazed his ribs.

Dammit—he's a monster.

His mind whirled.

I can't beat him head-on. But maybe...

He scooped another handful of sand from the ground—kept it hidden.

The brother's blade danced in the dark. Fluid. Unrelenting.

Regulus blocked. Dodged. Slipped. Every attack grazed him. Every counter missed by inches.

He's reading every muscle. Every breath. But he's cocky. Overconfident. Arrogant.

Then, a fake stumble.

Regulus fell to one knee.

The brother moved in for the kill.

That's when Regulus struck.

He flung the dust into his eyes.

The man flinched. Cursed.

Regulus unleashed his fury.

Punch. Stomach. Punch. Ribs. Punch. Jaw. Punch. Eye.

"This is for the girl!"

He hit again.

"This is for the corpses!"

Again.

"This is for me!"

The final blow launched the brother backward into a building. Brick exploded. Dust rained.

Regulus stood panting.

Then his stomach dropped.

The dust cleared.

The fake brother stood. Unharmed. Not a scratch.

He smiled.

"Cute."

Regulus stepped back. Fear surged. His hands were still curled into fists, but now they shook.

But then—he caught something.

The monster. Its torso—where I hit him. A hole. Torn flesh. The same spot I landed the punch.

His eyes widened.

He's passing his wounds to the beast. Transferring his damage... that's how he stays untouched.

The monster was behind him now.

The air shuddered with its breathing.

"You've done well, offering. But this isn't your tale to write."

Regulus turned, eyes wide.

The beast was bigger. Its head split into three. Its limbs coiled like serpents. A child's face wept from its torso.

"No. No no no—"

It rushed him.

He barely had time to grab the girl.

He ran.

Fog swallowed them.

The creature roared.

Hands clawed at their feet.

A building exploded as the monster crashed through it, pulverizing stone and wood like paper.

They darted through alleys, Regulus jumping over crates, dodging swipes, leaping rooftops with inhuman grace.

But the monster followed.

So Regulus turned.

He jumped into its body.

He landed on its mass—a web of bone and flesh and screaming mouths. The monster twisted, swiping with one massive arm.

Regulus ducked, sprinted across its back.

A mouth lunged up to bite—he leapt over it, kicking off a jagged shoulder.

The monster howled.

It clawed at itself, trying to catch him.

Too slow. Too big. I can use this.

He ran faster—dodging grasping hands, weaving through torsos.

He leapt off its back—landed on a rooftop—and launched himself to another.

The city blurred around him.

The monster crashed through everything. Buildings collapsed. Fire spread. Rubble flew.

He turned, eyes narrowed.

That damage... he's not just feeding the beast pain. He's feeding it power. The stronger I hit him, the bigger it grows.

He gritted his teeth.

So I need to kill them both at once. Or not at all.

The girl sobbed into his chest.

"I don't want to die again... please... I don't want to die again."

Regulus didn't answer. Couldn't.

His breath came in shudders. His heart pounded so fast it felt like it would burst.

"If I stop... if I stop for even a second..."

The wind howled with the monster's voice:

"RUN... TRANSMIGRATOR..."

And the fake brother's voice followed—calm. Cruel.

"Run. While you still dream you have a choice."

Regulus didn't look back.

He ran.

And behind him—

Hell followed.