Main Beta hu : Stuck in Time Loop

Chapter - 8 The Battle: Part-1

Arjun's world spun as he tried to comprehend the impossible truth before him. Who was this version of himself? What had he done to attract the wrath of Emma and the Temporal Guard? And most importantly, what did this mean for the ordinary, "Beta" life he thought he had resigned himself to?

One thing was certain: Arjun's life would never be the same.

Rocky leaned back against the wall, his grin both charming and infuriating. Despite his injuries, he carried himself with an unshakable confidence that Arjun couldn't help but envy. Rocky raised a hand, signaling Arjun to calm down as his barrage of questions poured out.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, champ," Rocky said, his voice dripping with wit. "I get it. You're confused, you're scared, and—let me guess—you're wondering if you've gone completely insane. I'd probably feel the same way if I were... well, me."

Arjun, still shaken, couldn't hold back. "What the hell is going on? Who are you? Why do you look like me? What's this nonsense about time travel? And why is someone trying to arrest me?"

Rocky chuckled, brushing some dirt off his ripped sleeve. "Okay, okay. Let's start with the basics, shall we? First of all, yes, I look like you because I am you. Sort of. I'm Arjun... from the future. A version of you that decided to break a few rules, have some fun, and, uh, let's just say, rewrite the script of life a little."

Arjun's mouth hung open, his brain struggling to keep up. "Rewrite? What does that even mean?"

Rocky smirked. "Let me put it this way. You know that whole 'Beta' thing you've been wallowing in? That whole sob story about being invisible, overlooked, and stuck in the background while the 'Alpha males' steal the spotlight? Yeah, I lived that too buddy. But one day, this day, I decided I'd had enough. I wasn't going to accept being a 'Beta' anymore. So, I made a choice—an outrageous, insane, life-changing choice."

Arjun frowned, his curiosity piqued despite his fear. "What choice?"

Rocky stepped forward, his tone growing serious. "I stole a piece of technology. A little something that let me travel through time. And with it, I rewrote my life. I changed events, seized opportunities, and built the kind of life we've always dreamed of. I became the guy everyone notices. The guy people look up to. The Alpha."

Rocky leaned against the wall, his face a mix of nostalgia and weariness as he began recounting the story, his voice steady and deliberate.

"Arjun," he said, "185 years ago, I was standing right where you are now—confused, scared, and with a thousand questions running through my mind. My life up until that point had been almost exactly like yours: full of disappointments, rejections, and feeling invisible. And then, out of nowhere, my future self walked into my life, just like I'm standing here in front of you today."

Arjun blinked, his confusion deepening. "So... what you're saying is that this has all happened before? You've been me, and someone else was you?"

Rocky nodded, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Exactly. My future self—let's call him the First Rocky—looked just like me but older, more battle-worn. He calmed me down, just like I'm calming you down now, and he told me the story, just like I'm telling it to you. And then, he said the words that changed everything: 'I'm passing on the Temporal Key to you.'"

Arjun's eyes widened. "The... Temporal Key? You mean the watch? Why would he do that?"

Rocky's expression grew somber. "Because his time had come. He told me that he'd lived for 205 years—205 years of being an Alpha, living like a king, bending the rules of time, and running from the Temporal Guard. But he knew his luck had run out. He told me the Temporal Guard was closing in, and this time, there would be no escape. He accepted it, Arjun. He accepted that he would die that day. And because he knew his end was near, he wanted to pass the watch to me—to give me the same chance he had, to rewrite my story."