London, 2025.
Day two of reliving the same time. Or… the second version of day one? Aion still had no idea what to call it. What he did know was that he'd just experienced something impossible.
In his physics lecture, he sat staring at Professor Morgan scribbling formulas on the board.
"If this is a dream, why does it feel so real?" he muttered under his breath.
Lisa, sitting next to him, dropped her pen again—exactly like yesterday. Behind them, a coffee cup spilled, followed by the same annoyed shout.
Everything replayed perfectly. Like a broken record.
This time, Aion decided to test what he had only felt yesterday.
He closed his eyes. In his mind, he focused on a moment five minutes earlier—Professor Morgan opening his book and saying, "Today we'll discuss special relativity." He pictured the moment in vivid detail, even the professor's tone.
Thump!
When he opened his eyes, Professor Morgan was just saying those words.
"It… worked?!" Aion almost shouted. Lisa shot him a weird look, but he didn't care. His heart pounded. His theory was right: the power activated when he shut his eyes and focused on a moment he had already lived. The future remained locked tight.
But the effect wasn't free.
Right after rewinding, his head throbbed. His body felt weak. Cold sweat soaked his back. Like he'd just run a marathon without warming up.
"Why do I feel like I'm going to pass out?" he muttered, slumping slightly. The dizziness faded after a few minutes, but one thing was clear—there was a price.
After class, he went straight to the café where he worked part-time.
Instead of focusing on customers, his head buzzed with one reckless idea: find his limits.
First experiment: he deliberately spilled a tray holding two lattes.
"Oops!" he shouted as one nearly splashed on a customer.
He squeezed his eyes shut, took a breath, focused on five seconds earlier.
When he opened them—the tray was back in his hands. The lattes hadn't spilled.
"Holy crap… that's insane," Aion whispered, grinning.
Second experiment: he rewound ten minutes. It worked, but the dizziness was worse. His head throbbed like a hammer was pounding inside.
Third experiment: one hour. This time his hands shook violently; he had to sit in the kitchen for several minutes just to recover.
That night in his room, Aion got even more daring. He tried rewinding two whole days.
It worked… but he collapsed. Out cold for a few minutes, waking up with his head spinning and his stomach churning.
"If I push further… I might actually die," he whispered pale-faced.
From his small experiments, Aion figured out the pattern:
The farther he rewound, the worse the side effects.
The absolute limit was one week. Any attempt beyond that and his head felt like it would split open.
The limitation was terrifying… but also thrilling. He didn't know why he had this power, but one thing was certain: it was his golden ticket.
The following days, Aion learned to use it smartly.
At first, it was just small stuff: avoiding embarrassing mistakes, fixing wrong answers on pop quizzes, preventing spills at the café.
But soon, he realized the potential was so much bigger.
He knew every answer to every test. His grades skyrocketed.
He knew which customer would tip big.
He knew when a professor would spring a surprise quiz.
He even joined harmless bets with friends: guessing soccer scores, quiz answers, even the contents of the mystery lunchbox at the cafeteria. If he guessed wrong? Rewind and change the answer. Aion always won.
At first, his friends thought he was just lucky. But his luck never ran out.
Yesterday, he was invisible. Today, everyone noticed him.
Perfect grades.
Confident answers in class.
Lisa, who used to ignore him, now asked him to study together.
His classmates admired him, and girls suddenly knew his name.
And the most shocking change? Money.
Using his "luck," he gradually built up savings.
It started small, then grew. He moved to a nicer apartment, bought a new laptop, and even upgraded his wardrobe. From the broke kid eating expired instant noodles, Aion now had the life he always dreamed of.
But success didn't come without shadows.
The more he rewound, the more exhausted he became. Sometimes his hands trembled. Sometimes he threw up after using it too often.
Once, he even passed out in the bathroom after rewinding twice in one day.
"If I keep abusing this… can my body even handle it?" he muttered at his reflection.
His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. The dark circles wouldn't go away.
And yet… he still smiled. The thrill overshadowed the fear.
Deep down though, he knew: there's no power without a price. He just didn't know what the real price was yet.
One night, Aion sat on the balcony of his new apartment.
Cold night air brushed against his face, carrying the smell of rain and exhaust. London's city lights twinkled in the distance.
He smiled faintly, staring at the cheap watch on his wrist—the same watch that had witnessed his life turn upside down.
"If someone gave me this power, thanks… but why me?"
No answer.
Just the ticking of the clock and the faint hum of the city below.
That night, Aion officially changed.
No longer just another ordinary student.
Now, he was the most popular guy on campus, rich, successful—the kind of student everyone admired.
But deep inside, there was a fear he couldn't ignore.
"Am I ready for the consequences?"