"In every step of our lives, there's a moment that could change everything. For me, that moment was when I looked at her for the first time."
– From Kain's Thoughts
"Haaah…"
I stood frozen for a few minutes, staring at the screen in front of me.
Finally… I have a system! I have a cheat in this world!
I looked at Bella, who frowned and said:
"What are you doing? Come on, we'll be late for the first class!"
"Ah, alright, I'm coming."
I headed to school for the first time since arriving in Forks a week ago. The atmosphere was ordinary, as if it were a carbon copy of any high school in this country. Students entered classrooms, chatting with each other, life moving on as usual.
But I wasn't ordinary. Something inside me told me I didn't belong in this world.
I went to the reception desk to get my schedule, and it turned out my first class was Mathematics.
I asked Bella:
"What's your first class?"
She replied with a frown:
"Physics."
I joked:
"Physics is super easy, all you need is a little effort."
She replied sarcastically:
"Of course, genius of your generation, everything is easy for you. And what about you? What's your first class?"
I couldn't tell her I had studied physics a hundred times. My doctoral thesis was about a revolutionary invention for transmitting electricity over long distances wirelessly, with high voltage and low cost.
Of course, high school physics would be like eating a piece of cake.
"I have Math, then History… What about you?"
She answered without enthusiasm:
"Physics, then Chemistry… doesn't sound like a promising day."
"Don't worry, I'll meet you at lunch break, and I'll bring us some ice cream, no matter the weather."
She laughed:
"Ice cream in this weather? Crazy as always."
"Me? Crazy? God forbid."
I left her and went to Math class.
As I entered the classroom, dozens of eyes turned to me for a moment, then went back to their conversations or books.
I walked toward the back seats, but someone stopped me with a mocking tone:
"Well, well, the new guy wants to join the kings' row right from the start?"
I looked at him. A young man with blond hair and blue eyes, sitting confidently in the second row from the back, surrounded by his group of friends.
I didn't answer, just smiled and kept walking, then sat at the very back by the window.
"Well, looks like he's mute."
His friends laughed, so I said calmly without looking at him:
"I'm just wondering… how many teeth can I knock out of you before you cry and beg for mercy."
Silence fell.
Then a muffled laugh came from one of the students, followed by someone whispering:
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
The teacher entered. Silence returned, and he began teaching. I opened my notebook, thinking about how to complete the tasks. You can complete the daily task after school. Now is the only chance to do a mission related to the Cullens… but how will I get the opportunity to talk to them?!
As Mr. Jack approached my seat, he seemed completely confident, speaking in a strong voice:
"Mr. Kain… won't you share the solution with us?"
I raised my head. The teacher was looking at me. I glanced at the board. A simple system of two linear equations.
"The second equation is wrong. The sum gives 14, not 16, and the variable x should be 5, not 6, while y is 4. May I write the solution on the board?"
The teacher paused for a moment, then nodded.
I stood up and explained the problem with simplified steps, writing the rule and the method as in textbooks. Once I finished, I returned to my seat.
The teacher said:
"Excellent… looks like we have a mathematician among us."
Then continued his lesson.
The first four classes passed in boredom, though there was some excitement in embarrassing the teachers—it was quite entertaining.
Now came lunch break, and it was time for the first encounter with the Cullens.
I headed to the cafeteria. As I approached the door, I saw Bella sitting at a table with Angela Weber and Jessica Stanley, joined by Eric Yorkie—just like in the original series. But this time, there was a seat reserved beside Bella, as if she had saved it for me.
I walked over, pulled the chair, and sat down.
I looked at them all with a smile before saying quietly:
"Hi… Thanks for the seat, Bella."
Bella raised her head toward me and gave me her usual small smile.
She said: "Oh, of course, I wanted you to join us today. You don't mind, do you, Jessica?"
Jessica waved her hand quickly and said: "Not at all! Welcome to the group. I'm Jessica Stanley, by the way. In case you didn't know."
Angela chuckled softly as she pushed her glasses slightly up her nose.
"And I'm Angela Weber. Nice that you decided to sit with us."
Before I could respond, a cheerful voice from the opposite seat interrupted.
"Eric Yorkie, unofficial news anchor of this school, and expert in awkward moments!"
He said it, raising his eyebrows theatrically, making Bella smile and lower her gaze shyly.
Then he added, pointing at me as if reading from a card:
"And you've got the face of someone hiding a story… or at least a name we don't know."
I smiled lightly at Eric's amusing remark, then said in a calm yet confident voice:
"My name is Kain… Kain Swan."
A short silence followed before astonishment appeared on their faces, as Jessica exclaimed:
"Wait… Swan? Are you…?"
I nodded with a faint smile.
"Yes, Bella's brother."
Angela commented in her quiet tone:
"You never mentioned having a brother, Bella."
Bella only shrugged.
"Things were complicated… but he's here now, and that's what matters."
Eric smiled, waving his hand toward me:
"So we've got the mysterious brother in the picture at last! Kain, awesome! We've got a new member of the gang. Just don't be like some of the brooding outsiders in this school."
He said it while glancing toward the Cullens.
Angela chuckled gently:
"Don't worry, he seems friendly enough."
I smiled again and said:
"I promise, I won't be mysterious… at least not all the time."
They all laughed, and as we exchanged brief looks, I felt that this place, despite its mysteries, might just hold a new beginning for me.
At that moment, my eyes shifted toward Edward's table. Beside him sat a figure I didn't recognize—someone not present in the original story. Had the butterfly effect already begun because of my presence, or was this the system's interference? She drew attention with her quietness, yet there was something strangely different about her. Her eyes were focused on her book, but the speed at which she turned the pages carried a kind of tense concentration, as if trying to escape something—or find an answer not yet written.
Her long black hair fell neatly down her back, with a few strands resting softly across her forehead, catching the light in a way that reflected a subtle mystery. She wore simple clothes, but there was something in her manner that suggested she wasn't trying to be part of the crowd. Her gaze lacked clear expression, yet there was something invisible in her calm that drew Kain's attention, holding it longer than it should have.
It was only a fleeting moment. Though there was no direct or extraordinary connection, something in her presence made him feel like she was part of an equation he hadn't yet uncovered.
Beside her sat Emmett with his massive build, and to his right, Rosalie, with Alice seated next to her.
Alice looked slightly different from the others. Her short black hair framed her face softly, with some stray strands falling across her forehead, making her look more practical—as if simplicity suited her personality. She sat silently, Jasper by her side. Kain knew they were a couple, which made him feel this moment wasn't mere coincidence. Though surrounded by noise, Alice seemed part of another world, a quiet one untouched by anyone.
There was no interaction between them then, but her blank yet subtle gaze and her calm presence kept his attention on her a moment longer than necessary. A strange sense of curiosity washed over him, though for now it remained only a fleeting spark in his mind.
Just as they noticed my glance toward them, a system notification rang in my mind.
[Ding!]
[Psychic link detected with the Strait]
[Due to risk of system exposure, link has been blocked]
At that moment, I remembered Edward's ability to read thoughts. I silently thanked the system and quickly turned my gaze away.
Edward and the unknown figure both seemed surprised and curious, their eyes soon shifting toward Bella, their interest in her growing even more.
Lunch ended, but something in the air felt different… as if time no longer ticked with the same monotony. I sensed it before I saw her—that aura that preceded her, as though time itself slowed in respect to her presence.
I entered English class half a minute late. The seats were almost full, but at the very back, as if she knew, Alice sat alone, the chair beside her empty… waiting for me.
She wasn't looking at me, but at the window, where leaves fell from a tree though not a single breeze stirred outside.
I sat without saying anything, then whispered, as if afraid my voice would spoil the scene:
"Is this seat taken, or am I intruding on a moment of eternal reflection?"
She replied without turning, her voice soft, as if the wind itself spoke through her:
"Sometimes a stranger sits in exactly the right place… without knowing why."
(Kain's inner thoughts)
Her words are always wrapped in riddles. Alice Cullen… even though I know who she is and what she is, her presence still carries a strangeness I can't get used to. Was she always like this? Or am I beginning to notice what was never written in the story?
I looked at her, torn between laughter and unease.
"Do you read mysterious books or spirits?"
She finally turned to me, her shining eyes glimmering with a light unlike the sun.
"Sometimes, I only read eyes. And they never lie."
I asked as I leaned slightly toward her:
"And what did you read in mine?"
She smiled, the kind of smile that felt like a puzzle unsolved:
"That you think I'm with someone else."
I raised my eyebrows in genuine surprise.
"Wait… are you talking about Jasper?"
She laughed lightly, but in her laugh lingered shadows I couldn't yet understand.
"Jasper is with someone who resembles him… with Aliana, Edward's sister. Don't you see how well they fit together?"
(Kain's inner thoughts)
What did she just say? Jasper with Aliana?
Aliana… that can't just be a random name. Did the system add a new character? Or am I really in an alternate version of everything? This world isn't what I thought it was. It breathes, changes… and reacts to me. Dangerous, but… also an opportunity.
But… no! That can't be right, not as I knew it. In the original story, he was always with Alice, always by her side, inseparable. This was the first spark breaking from the script, the first crack in the surface of reality.
My knowledge of the future had been my only weapon. And now? Now it was in doubt. What else would change? Who's next? Bella? Edward? Can I trust anything anymore?
But another thought unsettled me even more in that moment, disturbing my calm. Aliana—she called her "Edward's sister." But why exactly did she say that? Could she really be Edward's biological sister? Or was there something else behind it? Questions flashed before me, chaotic and tangled.
I felt something strange in my chest, like a window opening I hadn't known was there.
"I thought you two were… I mean, that's what I was told."
"People say many things, Kain… but the truth only whispers to those who listen."
Silence fell between us, but it wasn't ordinary silence… It was silence heavy with possibilities.
The teacher entered, his voice beginning the lesson, but we weren't paying attention.
I looked at her again, and she was still staring at me, as if she saw more than I said—or more than I even knew about myself.
She whispered as she opened her book without looking at it:
"Don't worry, time will tell you the rest… if you dare to know."
At that moment, the system notification appeared:
[Mission completed!]
[Congratulations, Host. You have earned 10 XP and 2 SP]
[Level Up]
[Shop unlocked!!]
At that moment, I felt intense pain, my whole body burning. Alice noticed it immediately. I had to ask to go to the bathroom, but without waiting for a response, I rushed out.
Kain: "Haaah… What's happening to my body? System, show me the status screen!"
✦ Host's Basic Status
Name: Kain Swan
Race: Human
Level: 1
[ Strength ]: 9
[ Agility ]: 8
[ Intelligence ]: 11
[ Vitality ]: 9
[ Defense ]: 7
[ Stamina ]: 8/8
Available FP: 0
Available SP: 2
Current XP: 0/15
🌀[End of Chapter Three]
✦ Next Chapter: "New Secrets… and Future Training"