It was a weird feeling. As if something was pulling him away from reality. As if something was trying to get a hold of him.

Quez stared at the white space in front of him. Everything was white. He was lying on a white floor. The room was empty.

Time was passing. With a ding sound, a screen appeared. He looked above at the screen. On the screen appeared a man who looked just like him but slightly older. He was dressed simply and in all black.

Curiosity burned inside him. The man on the screen said, "Hello, 01072037. You are free now."

The number puzzled Quez. Before he can question, he was sent somewhere else.

In the middle of nowhere, he stopped in front of the abandoned factory. He didn't have a moment to understand the surrounding when he heard noises. A few men were arguing as they made their way somewhere when they met him so.

Quez stood in awkwardness. The men stared at him. They asked, "Ya lost, kiddo?"

"Well..."

He thought for a moment. "Kinda..."

The big men exchanged looks before asking sceptically, "How did you get here?"

He opened his mouth to say something but no word came out. A few options appeared in front of him.

I don't know.
Why do you care?
From the entrance.

These were what he was thinking. He paused. What was the meaning of all this? He tried to talk again but couldn't.

He stared hard at the first option in confusion when suddenly he spoke to his surprise, "I don't know."

*

*

*

He couldn't talk freely. Whenever he needed to talk, what he was thinking appeared as options. In the beginning, he couldn't understand how it worked. But as time passed, he was able to grasp it. He needed to stare at the option he wanted to pick.

Once again he was in space but this time, everything was black. Instead of a screen, the man directly appeared in front of him.

"01072037, you will be gone on a mission."

He said like a robot.

"Who are you?"

Quez raised to his feet as he asked the mysterious man.

Instead of answering him, the robot-like man spoke as he wished, "You will be viewing seven men solving a mystery. Rate their performance without a flaw."

"Are you deaf or what? Answer me first! What do you want?"

He was ignored once again. As if he was on autopilot.

"You will be directed there in a few seconds."

Saying so, he disappeared.

A countdown appeared in front of Quez before he got teleported somewhere.

It was in the middle of a field. The grass was reaching up to his knees. He didn't want to stay any longer there. Some people were talking somewhere. He went to the source of the sound.

He sighed. His life was going just fine. He found a big screen in the corner with a seat for him.

The screen was black until he was there. It showed three guys in a dimly lit room. There were two bunk beds. A boy about 18 was in the top bunk. A man around 24 slept in the lower bunk with an eye mask on. Another man was sitting on top of the bed with a phone.

A scary creature appeared in the corner of the room. It was thin like a leaf, with yellowish skin and long dark hair. His sharp set of teeth was out and gazed at the sleeping man with his unnaturally large eyes.

Though it was dark, he could see that creature clearly because of how he was slightly glowing.

The youngest among the three men shrieked in fear, attracting the attention of the other two. The creature disappeared in thin air.

*

*

*

"You failed to submit your report again, 01072037."

This time he was in a black-red room. It seemed like the place was in a fire. The mysterious man was holding a clipboard in his hand.

Quez said, "I can't understand."

For the first time, the man replied to him, "What can't you understand?"

He shifted in his seat and said, "Why am I here?"

"You will understand soon." The man looked at him with a blank face.

"Are you a robot?" he asked.

"No," he said indifferently. He then added, "You failed your mission."

He turned his face away and explained, "Well, I didn't understand a shit about that."

"Listen to me, if you keep going like this, you will learn nothing. You are not even trying to finish them."

Quez groaned. He was no less than a robot. He spoke gibberish.

Quez asked, "What am I supposed to learn?"

The man said, "Something that can change your life." He got a pen out of his pocket and crossed something off the list in his hand.

He started with the missions again, "Your next task will be saving a girl. If you pass this, you will be free. If you fail, then no condolences. You ruined your life once again."

"Once again?" he wondered out loud. A door appeared and the weird man left.

Quez couldn't understand how was he supposed to protect a girl. He scratched his head and grumbled under his breath.

He complained, "Seriously? What does he take me as?"

He was on a building's roof. Someone was coming up. Their footsteps were clear as they ascended the stairs.

Quez waited. It was the person he was supposed to protect. The girl that the robotic man mentioned. She paused seeing him on the roof. She wasn't expecting anyone to be here when no one was usually.

*

*

*

"01072037," the emotionless man looked at him in disappointment. His voice was heavy. He glared at him, "You failed."

"What?.." Quez was taken by surprise. He did everything he could. Nothing was wrong. He was sure of it.

"You failed," he repeated. He was floating in the air. He clicked the pen. "You did worse this period."

He disappeared. Quez woke up in his bed. He sweated even in the cold temperature.

"I..."

He was able to talk freely again.

*

*

*

Years later, Quez was all grown up. He found out about everything. That man was none other than him.

01072037...

First July...

That was the date he began and finished his project.

2037...

That was the year he failed all of his missions.

It didn't make sense. Why was he creating a device to torture himself? He worked days and nights on the machine. It was his obligation.

He should have saved that girl. He should had rate those guys in his first mission. He should had bring that cat behind the school he was unable to. He should had finish all his missions.

The man he saw in 2037, who was also him, did the best in all the attempts. That Quez was able to finish all the missions except the last one. And he did the worst yet. He was able to do none.

The machine was prepared. The butterfly effect was something for real. Who knows how it all began? But maybe it arose from guilt. But now he was obligated to do it as long he didn't succeed. Saving the girl was the main one.

"Hello, 01072037. You must free yourself."

Free himself from the shackles that bound him.

The Quez he was instructing was not able to do it as well but he didn't do as bad him.

It was a neverending cycle. A vicious one.