GTAG Chapter 40: Death
Of course, this was true death—not the kind Cage experienced when he endlessly died and revived.
Besides Cage, who endured inhumane training, wounds, mutilation, and even being beaten to death by Rita, there were two other beings suffering as well.
One was Omega, the source of the time resets.
Though Omega could rewind time, that power was not limitless. Each activation consumed a portion of its energy.
After Cage's repeated cycles, Omega finally noticed something was wrong.
The war hadn't truly begun, Alpha's position was secure, so how had the conditions for a reset already been met?
After much thought, Omega realized the truth.
It must have mistaken some non-Alpha individual as an Alpha due to certain circumstances.
To flush out the intruder, Omega transmitted a set of coordinates to all "Alpha" units. Naturally, Cage received this information too.
And the message was thorough.
The other one, of course, was Godzilla.
He had arrived only hours before the war was set to fully erupt.
Had he come any earlier, his suffering would have multiplied several times over.
But to Godzilla, such torment was trivial.
Nothing could move him anymore.
So what if time reset again and again?
It couldn't harm him. But if he ever found an opening, he would show Omega the true meaning of cruelty.
············
After countless resets, Cage woke once again, this time with visions flickering through his mind.
It felt as though someone was forcing his eyes open, shoving his head toward an old film reel, and he could not look away.
The sensation was unbearable.
Even after dying countless times, his mind reeled from the flood of information forced inside.
"!!!"
Cage bolted upright from the pile of gear, startling the sergeant who had come to wake him.
"Could this be Omega's location?"
That was his first thought.
He rushed to find Rita and explained the situation.
After confirming it herself, Rita immediately took Cage to Dr. Carter.
On the way, Cage unconsciously walked ahead of Rita—he knew this path far better than she did.
Once they found Carter, the two spoke over each other in rapid succession, leaving the scientist no chance to interject.
Learning Omega's location left Carter dumbfounded.
For all his knowledge, he was still just a scientist without combat ability. Advice he could give, but solutions? None.
And now he had none to offer anyway.
The problem was distance. Omega's position was far from them, and without transport it was nearly impossible to reach quickly.
Worse still, the assault on the alien forces was about to begin. At such a time, no soldier could slip away from camp.
Unless they wanted to be branded a deserter.
The only option was to wait for the battlefield, then sneak off amidst the chaos.
But another question loomed—would that monstrous beast from earlier resets appear again?
If it did, perhaps there was no need to panic.
With so many humans, two insignificant figures like Cage and Rita were hardly worth a giant's notice.
And yet Cage's heart was uneasy.
So many resets had sharpened his instincts for danger.
Still, with the chance to end this war finally before him, he could not back down.
Most importantly, with the time reset as his safety net, he had the courage to face anything.
············
When Godzilla saw land again, there was no joy in his expression.
He had seen this shoreline countless times through endless resets.
But how many times had he actually set foot on it?
Once. Only once.
This time, he doubted it would happen again.
But as time passed, he realized—no reset came.
When Godzilla's massive feet crushed the beach, weathering a storm of fire from both humans and aliens, he nearly wept.
How many times had he been dragged back to the beginning?
He had long since stopped counting.
With experience, Godzilla already knew how to find Cage.
First—look for someone moving differently than the rest. That was likely Cage.
Second—if the man wasn't wearing a helmet, the odds increased greatly.
Third—and if a woman was with him, then who else could it be?
Before long, Godzilla spotted two figures slipping toward the edge of the battlefield.
To those around them, nothing seemed unusual.
But from above, Godzilla saw their intent at once.
It was them.
Ignoring all others, he strode directly toward them.
In just a few steps, the titan loomed before the pair.
When Godzilla lowered his gaze, Cage and Rita happened to turn as well.
"!!!"
Both of their hearts froze.
Seeing the giant's curious eyes upon them, they knew at once—they had been marked.
Realizing this, Rita reacted instantly. She drew her pistol, aiming at Cage to reset the loop.
"Wait! Stop!"
Cage threw up his hands to halt her.
"What are you doing? Shouldn't we go back, regroup, and plan a strategy?"
Perhaps because she too had once held the reset power, Rita's instinct in the face of danger was to die first, then work out a solution later.
If one death wasn't enough, then two, three, or more—eventually the problem could be overcome.
And truthfully, it worked.
But Cage shook his head. "No. I feel like this monster came here for me. I have to know why. Just give me… a little time…"
He hadn't finished speaking before a colossal claw slammed down from above, crushing the ground where Rita stood.
"..."
Cage's mouth opened, but no words came out.
The one who had stood beside him through endless deaths, his support in the darkest hours, was gone before his eyes.
The pain was sharper than his own death.
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