The rain swallowed his scream as Rei's body plunged into the black current. The knife's wound burned, his limbs heavy, his lungs starved of air.
So this is how it ends…
The thought clawed through his fading mind. All his years of emptiness, of watching the world move forward without him, ended in the same river his broom once swept clean. Forgotten. Alone.
But then,
It came.
A crushing force, not from the water, but from within. His chest ignited, like his heart was tearing itself apart. His vision split into shards of light and memory, his mother's laugh, his father's stern voice, Mira's smile.
The pain peaked, and then the world broke.
The river dissolved. The knife wound vanished. His body no longer drowned, it stood.
Rei gasped, clutching his chest. Sunlight warmed his skin.
He staggered back, squinting at his surroundings. The cracked cobblestone, the half-collapsed stalls, the choking smog gone. In its place was a street alive with color. Market vendors shouting cheerfully. Fresh bread baking. Children laughing as they chased each other past stone fountains that actually worked.
And then
"Rei!"
He froze. His blood turned to ice.
Running toward him, hair bouncing in the sun, clutching her schoolbooks to her chest, was Mira.
His sister.
Alive.
Rei's knees nearly buckled. He rubbed his eyes, half-expecting the vision to vanish, but she didn't fade. She stopped in front of him, frowning at his pale face.
"Why are you standing here like a statue? You'll be late again," she scolded, though her lips twitched with a laugh.
Her voice. Gods, her voice.
Rei's throat closed up. His trembling hand rose, almost reaching for her cheek. But he stopped halfway, terrified that touching her would shatter this fragile illusion.
"M-Mira…" The name broke out of him like a sob.
She blinked. "Of course it's me. Who else?" She tilted her head, her smile softening. "You're acting weird today."
Tears blurred Rei's vision. He turned away, pressing a shaking hand against his mouth. His sister. Alive. The world restored.
But… how?
That night, Rei stepped into their modest home, and the smell of stew nearly broke him. At the table sat his father, Elias Ashborne, sharp-eyed but weary from teaching, and his mother, Liora, her warm smile softening the edges of the room.
For one impossible hour, Rei sat between them all, his sister, his parents, listening to Mira complain about her classmates, watching Elias sigh at her antics, hearing Liora laugh. He barely touched his food. He just stared. Committing every detail to memory.
"Eat, Rei," Elias said, frowning. "You'll collapse if you keep living on air."
Liora patted his hand. "We're proud of you. Always."
The words stabbed him deeper than any knife. Rei dropped his spoon, his shoulders shaking. Mira tilted her head.
"Are you crying?"
He forced a laugh through the tears. "I'm… just happy. That's all."
Later that night,
Mira leaned on his doorway, arms crossed. "Okay, Rei. What's going on with you today? You've been spacing out since morning. First crying at dinner, now staring at the moon like some tragic poet."
Rei turned from the window. His lips twitched. His eyes glistened, but not with sadness this time, something brighter, sharper.
"Mira… I finally get it."
"Get what?" she asked, raising a brow.
"That I'm not unlucky. I'm chosen." His grin spread wide, his tone oddly dramatic. "The world threw me five years into the past, right before everything began! It's like hitting the jackpot, Mira. The universe gave me a second try!"
Mira blinked. "...Did you hit your head?"
Rei suddenly leaned forward, hands on his knees, and let out a loud, booming laugh.
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Finally! My time has come! Hahaha!"
Mira nearly dropped her book. "What are you doing?!"
He pointed at her like a mad genius revealing a master plan. "Don't you see? With my knowledge of the future, I can prepare, I can outwit, I can save everyone! The villains won't know what hit them!"
"You sound like a villain yourself," Mira muttered, half-annoyed, half-concerned.
Rei dramatically flicked his hair back and put on a smug face. "Nonsense. I'm the hero who laughs in the face of destiny!"
"More like the lunatic who laughs alone in his room." Mira sighed, shaking her head. But despite herself, she smiled faintly. It had been so long since she'd seen her brother's eyes shine like that.
Rei ignored her jab and stood tall, fists clenched, laughter bubbling again, this time not broken or hollow, but absurdly, ridiculously full of life.
"Wahahahaha! Five years! Five whole years! Just you wait, Mira. I'm going to rewrite everything!"
Mira watched him, exasperated but quietly relieved. Whatever had gotten into her brother, at least… he seemed alive again.
The calendar on his wall gleamed in the moonlight. Next month, 15th The Awakening Ceremony.
And two weeks before that, Mira's unexpected, impossible awakening at age fourteen. The beginning of everything.
Rei's eyes narrowed. His nails dug into his palms until blood welled.
This time, he would be ready.
This time, fate would break.