July 11, 447 A.R. – 11:47 PM (Past Timeline)
Rei sat on the edge of his bed, still wearing his ceremony clothes, staring at his hands.
They weren't shaking. They should have been, after everything that had happened today, but they were steady. Unnaturally so.
I broke an Order instructor's barrier. In front of everyone. In front of the Count. In front of,
He closed his eyes, but the memory replayed anyway.
The crowd's roar. Mira's scream of joy. The shocked silence that had preceded both. And through it all, the weight of hundreds of eyes, assessing, judging, recording him.
Agent Castor Vey's pale gray stare from the observation booth.
Count Aldric Varen's startled expression as he leaned forward in his seat.
Lucien's poorly concealed fury.
And Elise,
Something about her was different.
Rei had caught her eye just once after the trial ended, as Order officials had swarmed him with questions about his "manifestation." She'd been staring at him with an expression he couldn't quite parse.
Not shock, like everyone else. Not admiration or fear.
Something more complicated. Something that made his gut twist with an instinct he didn't fully understand.
Recognition.
But that was impossible. They'd barely spoken. One awkward collision in a crowd, a handful of exchanged pleasantries. She shouldn't look at him like she knew him.
Unless,
No. That was paranoid thinking. He was seeing patterns where none existed because he was exhausted, overwhelmed, and his mind was spinning from too many variables.
He forced himself to breathe, to focus on what he could control.
The ceremony was over. He'd successfully faked an awakening, sort of. The plasma blade had been convincing enough that the Order's detection systems had flagged him as "Destiny Alteration Potential," which was both perfect and terrifying.
Perfect because it explained his sudden competence without revealing time travel.
Terrifying because "Destiny Alteration" was exactly the kind of classification that would draw attention.
Castor's already watching. The Order's already flagged Mira for early awakening. And now I've painted a target on myself by showing off.
He should feel victorious. He'd protected Mira through the trials, established himself as "awakened" to avoid powerless stigma, and even made an impression on the Count, potential groundwork for his long-term plans.
But instead, he felt... exposed.
Like he'd stepped onto a stage without knowing all his lines, and the audience was waiting for him to make a mistake.
His phone buzzed. A message from Mira:
"BEST. DAY. EVER. You were AMAZING. Dad's still talking about it. Mom cried (happy tears). I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!"
Despite everything, Rei smiled slightly. At least someone was unambiguously happy.
He typed back: "Thanks. Get some sleep. Big day tomorrow too."
Her response was immediate: "You mean big day TODAY. It's almost midnight, bro. Sleep is for people without superpowers."
"Sleep is for people who don't want to collapse during training."
"Fiiiiine. Goodnight, Destiny Alteration Boy. That's your new nickname btw."
"Absolutely not."
"Too late. Already decided."
Rei set the phone down, shaking his head. Mira's boundless energy was both exhausting and grounding. She kept him tethered to now when his mind wanted to spiral into future consequences.
But the spiral was already starting.
What if showing off the blade was a mistake? What if I've changed too much too fast? What if the Order decides I'm valuable enough to dissect?
What if Elise noticed something she shouldn't have?
That last thought stuck. He couldn't shake the image of her face, that strange, complicated expression that looked too much like someone piecing together a puzzle.
I'm overthinking. She's a noble daughter. Probably just surprised a commoner could fight. That's all.
But his instincts, honed by death and time travel and three weeks of paranoid planning, disagreed.
Something's different about her.
He pulled out his notebook, the one hidden beneath the floorboards with all his plans, predictions, and stolen future knowledge.
Flipped to a blank page.
ELISE VAREN – ANOMALY ASSESSMENT
Original timeline memory: We never spoke. She existed in background of ceremony reports. Married to King Thorne. Dead within a year.
Current timeline: Direct collision. Extended conversation. Present at ceremony. Watching me specifically during final trial.
Expression: Not shock. Not curiosity. Recognition? Impossible unless,
He stopped writing.
Unless what? Unless she's also,
No. That's insane. Time travel isn't contagious. The Rift or whatever brought me back can't just arbitrarily affect other people. Can it?
But then again, five-minute differences. Card games where replaced players didn't change outcomes. Mira awakening early when she shouldn't have.
The timeline was already behaving strangely. Bending in ways that suggested the rules weren't as fixed as he'd assumed.
What if my presence is creating ripples? What if being here, existing when I shouldn't, is affecting others in ways I can't predict?
What if Elise is a ripple?
Rei stared at the half-written note, then made a decision.
I need to test this. I need to know if changes in the past actually affect the future I visit when I sleep, or if the timelines are somehow separate.