"..."
The room was quiet, save for the soft hum of Cal's PC tower. A faint smell of instant ramen clung to the air, mixing with the scent of dust and stale energy drink. Outside, the world carried on as always. Inside, Cal stared at the strange, floating interface before him, wondering if he was dreaming… or losing his mind.
It looked like a game overlay. Transparent panels hovered in the air, crisp text glowing faintly blue in the dark.
[Welcome, Host.]
[You have been selected as a Streamer of Timeline 2010-A.]
[This is an alternate, accessible timeline that mirrors Earth's year 2010.]
[You may livestream content from your current reality to viewers in that past timeline.]
[Points may be earned via Viewer Donations, System Missions, and Milestone Achievements.]
[Points may be exchanged for Cash or System Benefits.]
[Streaming Permission: Unlimited within 4-hour daily limit.]
[First-Time Mission: Perform your first livestream to Timeline 2010-A.]
Cal rubbed his eyes, blinking hard. He even slapped his own cheek. It stung.
Not a dream, then.
He glanced at his keyboard. The OBS software he'd closed moments ago was open again. And there, in the top right corner, a new toggle glowed:
[Broadcast to 2010-A]
"This… this is nuts," he muttered.
It was like something straight out of a web novel. A streaming system? A parallel past timeline? He didn't know what to believe—but the part of him that had always wished for something more, the hopeless otaku part, was practically giddy.
"What's the worst that could happen?" he murmured. "No one's watching anyway."
He clicked the toggle.
The interface shifted instantly. New stats appeared—currently all zero: viewers, likes, donations. A green bar labeled "Connection Stability" pulsed full. The time read: 11:22 PM.
[Connected to Timeline 2010-A.]
[Broadcast initialized.]
A small window popped up in the corner of his screen. A strange chat log—empty for now. Maybe no one would watch. Maybe he'd be talking to the void again. But this time… something felt different.
He grabbed his headset and flicked on the mic.
"Hey, uh, this is Cal," he said. "I don't really know how this works, but… welcome to the stream?"
Silence.
"Anyway," he continued, "I was gonna watch some anime tonight. Figured I'd put on an episode. Something you guys definitely haven't seen yet."
He pulled up his collection and selected the first episode of Attack on Titan—remastered in 4K.
The system chimed.
[Unauthorized future content selected. Confirm special stream license use?]
[Cost: 10 System Points]
[First-Time Bonus: License use granted for free.]
"Yeah, confirm," Cal said.
The episode loaded instantly. A crystal-clear, ultra-HD version of the 2013 anime began playing—completely unknown to anyone in 2010. He settled back and let the opening roll. "Guren no Yumiya" thundered through his headset as he watched the stats.
0 viewers.
1 viewer.
His heart skipped.
Somewhere, in a version of 2010, four different users stumbled onto a strange new stream in the early days of live video. The site looked like an early YouTube Live mashed with primitive Twitch—clunky UI, low bandwidth. Yet his stream was flawless.
Chat messages popped up.
[guest91]: what the heck is this quality??
[OGanimefan]: this isn't fansubbed, this is pro studio level
[jin2002]: bro what anime is this???
[Retro_Neko]: titan anime?? never heard of it
Cal's eyes widened.
They were real. They were reacting.
He unmuted again.
"This anime is called Attack on Titan. It's… from the future, I guess. You're the first people to ever see it."
The chat flickered with replies.
[guest91]: future? lol what kind of gimmick stream is this
[jin2002]: idk man this animation is INSANE
[Retro_Neko]: can you show more? please??
For the first time in six months, someone was actually asking him to keep going.
By the time the episode ended, the viewer count had climbed to 28. Not viral, not huge—but ten times more than he'd ever had before. And they weren't just watching—they were talking, laughing, spamming emojis, begging for more.
The system pinged.
[First-Time Mission Complete.]
[+50 System Points]
[+10 Bonus for Viewer Retention]
[Unlocked: Point Exchange Tab, Archive Upload Permission]
[New Feature: Stream Clipping & Automatic YouTube Upload Enabled.]
"Wait… automatic YouTube upload?" Cal muttered, clicking through.
A new panel—Clip Vault—was already populated. A highlight reel captured his intro, viewer reactions, and standout anime scenes, cut together like a pro YouTube video. The autogenerated title read:
Unknown Streamer Shows Never-Before-Seen Anime in Unbelievable Quality
Cal watched, cringing slightly at his own excited tone, then hit "Upload."
[Upload to Timeline-A YouTube confirmed.]
[Expected Discovery Window: 3 days]
[Expected Viral Probability: 72%]
He leaned back, finally letting the reality sink in.
This wasn't a joke.
He had just streamed a 2013 anime to people living in 2010—and they'd loved it.
The next morning, Cal barely slept. His mind buzzed with ideas. The stream interface was still there, as if daring him to try again.
"Okay," he whispered. "If this is real… what can I do with it?"
Anime, sports events, unreleased manga chapters, future game footage—he could become a legend in that world. Like a one-man oracle of entertainment.
But he didn't want to burn out chasing hype. This time, he'd do it slowly, the way he'd always wanted.
He checked the new Point Exchange tab.
[Current Points: 60]
[Exchange Options:]
$1 USD = 10 Points
Stream Perks (ad-free feed, visual effects)
Content Licenses (early access to future media)
Viewer Boosts
Mystery Box (Costs 100 Points)
"Sixty points… six bucks," he chuckled. "I've streamed for months and made nothing. Now I get paid for showing anime from the future."
Insane. But comforting.
A new mission appeared.
[Mission Unlocked: "Make a Daily Stream Habit"]
[Objective: Stream once daily for 7 days straight]
[Reward: 100 Points + Equipment Upgrade Token]
"A habit, huh?" Cal smirked.
He could do that. Chill streams, stuff he loved—anime, games, maybe some sports. Let it grow naturally.
The chat pinged.
[jin2002]: yo are you streaming again today?
[Retro_Neko]: plz do more titan!!
[OGanimefan]: you're my new favorite channel ngl
Cal reached for his headset.
"Yeah," he said softly, to himself. "Let's stream again."
He clicked the toggle.
[Connected to Timeline 2010-A.]
[Stream Initialized.]
[Welcome back, Host.]
The slow life had begun.
***