Chapter 24: When the Impossible Began
It started with a scream.
Not in Sujin, not even in the country — but on the news. The 4K television, dusty and flickering, suddenly flashed a red banner: "BREAKING NEWS: Supernatural Event in Progress."
Yue was munching sweet beans when her dad nearly knocked the bowl out of her hand.
"W-What did that reporter just say?" he gasped.
The screen showed blurry footage — a woman floating mid-air over a collapsed train in France, surrounded by blue light. Trains had crashed, yes, but no one was injured. The woman, eyes glowing like the moon, had said in a trembling voice:
> "I didn't mean to… I just wanted to stop time…"
Then — she vanished. In front of the world.
Gasps. Panic. Cheers. No one knew how to react.
The footage switched. A home video from Brazil — a toddler giggling, her feet glowing — then bam, she was across the room, teleporting over and over like a bouncing marble. The parents were weeping and screaming in awe.
Another clip — a teenage girl in Korea got angry when her mom took her phone. The lights shattered. Walls cracked. And then… her shadow moved on its own and wrapped around her mother protectively.
> "Are these miracles? Mutations? Or something else entirely?" the reporter stammered.
The room in Sujin fell deathly silent.
Everyone's eyes turned toward the sky.
---
Over the next few hours, the chaos only grew.
A grandma in Brazil teleported from her village to a mall in London, landing in a fountain with shopping bags full of jollof rice and screaming, "I don't even know where I am!"
A baby in Canada sneezed and froze the living room. The family dog is now a block of ice — perfectly preserved, still wagging its tail somehow.
A couple in Japan, caught in a steamy moment, accidentally teleported together onto a live concert stage. Half-naked, while the man morn, when they saw the crowd he hide in shame behind her, sweaty, and shocked, they stood blinking in the lights while the crowd screamed in confusion — and approval.
> "This world is changing," Yue's mom said, arms folded.
Her voice was calm. But her eyes held something Yue had never seen before: fear.
---
The final straw came with the global emergency broadcast.
> "Citizens of Zeraphis, this is a United Planetwide Alert. Reports are confirmed of unexplained phenomena, awakenings of unnatural abilities, and spontaneous transformations. Remain indoors when possible. We are assembling international researchers to identify what has caused this... surge."
Suddenly, the world wasn't just modern.
It was magical. Dangerous. Alive.
---
Back in Sujin village, panic had started to settle into quiet urgency.
The villagers turned off the TV.
And began training.
Boys, many of them round-faced and soft-bodied, were pushed by their parents to run laps. Most cried. A few passed out. But they got up. They had to.
Men started lifting baskets of stones. Cooking classes were paused as they tried pushups for the first time. Grunts and complaints echoed through the village square.
Girls swung wooden swords, sweat dripping from their brows. Some trained with their mothers. Others challenged their brothers to foot races.
> "I think…" Yue whispered to her mom that night, "I think men should prepare mentally. Like the old grandma said. Maybe they'll awaken different powers."
Her mom raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Yue stared at the moon.
> "What if men awaken things like healing… illusions… talking to animals… I don't think they're meant to fight like us. But maybe they're meant to support. We should teach them to meditate. Read more. Diet even. Some of the dads are too round to teleport."
Her mom snorted. "Support, huh? That's smart, Yue."
Yue grinned. "We're Alpha, right? We lead. But even Alpha need good Omega who can survive the chaos."
Her dad sneezed from behind the door, eavesdropping with a tissue in his hand and a half-eaten cookie in his lap.
---
The world had changed overnight.
But Sujin was not going to be left behind.
And Yue…
She could feel it.
Something inside her — not the system, not yet — but her instincts were waking up.
The countdown had begun.