which theory about the cycles is overall more sensible and better?

(Saint spoilers)

timeline shenanigans (whenever u die you wake up in a timeline at the beginning of the cycle before you died but are still dead in the previous one),

or,

you wake up in the same timeline, just on the next cycle, which makes a bit less sense because of creature rep and other stuff not being saved from before you died, but fits better with the cycles being described as death and reincarnation and that any interactions you had with an >!Iterator!< remain after your death; even >!ascending!< them as >!Saint.!<