The house slept. The world held its breath.
Rei lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling. His heartbeat matched the ticking of the wall clock: steady, deliberate, merciless.
Six minutes until it happens.
He could already feel the hum in the air, the faint, invisible vibration that always came before an Awakening. In his memories, it had been faint, almost gentle, like the world sighing as another soul was rewritten.
But tonight… it felt heavier.
The air pressed down on his lungs like an unseen weight. Static crawled across his skin. The lights in the hallway flickered once, then again.
He sat up. The clock read 2:59 A.M.
One minute.
He could hear Mira's slow, even breathing through the thin wall separating their rooms. She was sleeping soundly, unaware that in moments, the universe would choose her and never be the same again.
Rei's throat tightened. You deserve peace, he thought. Not this. Not what comes after.
The second hand reached twelve.
3:00 A.M.
At first, nothing happened.
Then, the air snapped.
A sound like a thunderclap, muffled and distant, reverberated through the house. Every light bulb flared white before bursting with a pop. The windows trembled in their frames.
Rei was on his feet before he realized he'd moved.
"Mira!"
He threw open her door,
and stopped.
She floated half a foot above her bed, hair streaming upward as if caught in invisible wind. Her eyes were closed, but light leaked from the corners like molten gold. Energy pulsed around her in slow, deliberate waves, bending reality itself.
The walls vibrated. The ceiling light exploded.
"Mira!" Rei shouted again, shielding his face from the fragments.
Her body arched suddenly, then gasped. The sound wasn't human. It was the world inhaling through her lungs.
Then came the resonance.
The floorboards groaned under the force of it, a deep hum that seemed to echo through his bones. The air rippled like disturbed water. And beneath it all, Rei could feel it, her power, raw and wild, clawing its way into existence.
In his previous life, he'd only felt it once, from a distance. Now, standing in the same room, it was overwhelming.
"Mira, you need to breathe!" he yelled.
She couldn't hear him. The light intensified, pure white now, flooding every corner.
Rei reached for her arm, terrified and trembling, and the instant his fingers brushed her skin,
The world stilled.
No sound. No movement. Only light and the sensation of falling inward, as if space had folded around them.
Then, just as suddenly, It was gone.
Mira collapsed into his arms, limp and breathing hard. The light faded from her eyes. The hum died.
Rei's own knees buckled, and they fell together onto the bed.
Silence.
Then, the distant creak of the house returning to stillness.
Liora burst through the doorway, her robe half-tied, eyes wide. "Mira! Rei! Are you both alright?"
Elias followed seconds later, weapon in hand, scanning the room. "What happened?!"
"She, she awakened," Rei managed, voice hoarse.
His mother knelt beside them, checking Mira's pulse, her temperature, her breathing. After a few tense seconds, relief softened her expression. "She's fine. Her vitals are strong."
Elias exhaled slowly. "It's done then."
Rei stared down at his sister. The glow was gone, but faint motes of gold still clung to her hair and lashes, fading like sparks after a fire.
"Let's move her to bed," Liora said gently.
They tucked Mira in under fresh sheets. She didn't wake, just shifted and murmured something incoherent, dreaming, maybe.
Rei lingered a little longer at her bedside, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest.
3:00 A.M. exactly.
Except, when he looked at the clock again, it wasn't.
2:55 A.M.
His breath caught.No. That's wrong. It's five minutes early.
He glanced at his phone, same result. 2:55 A.M.
The Awakening had begun before the destined time.
The timeline had changed.
442 A.R. – 5:03 A.M.
Rei sat at the kitchen table, wide awake. The house was quiet again, his parents asleep, Mira resting peacefully, unaware of what her power meant.
He couldn't shake it. Five minutes shouldn't mean anything. But to Rei, it meant everything.
If this small event had shifted… what else could?
He pressed his palms together until his knuckles turned white. His heart wouldn't slow down. He needed to do something. Anything.
In his last life, when the panic got unbearable, he cooked. It was stupid, but it worked. Chopping, mixing, measuring, it gave chaos shape.
So he stood.
By 5:30 A.M., the kitchen smelled of sizzling herbs and warm butter. Eggs, bread, chopped greens, a hint of spice. He moved quietly, methodically, as if the rhythm could drown out the fear clawing at his thoughts.
For a while, it worked.
Then,
"Rei?"
He nearly dropped the pan. His mother stood at the doorway, hair tousled, rubbing her eyes.
"Why are you" she blinked at the stove "cooking?"
"I couldn't sleep," he said, a little too quickly.
She tilted her head. "You never cook."
"I do sometimes."
Her lips twitched. "Instant noodles don't count."
He sighed. "Just… sit down, Mom."
Before she could protest, footsteps echoed from the hall. Mira stumbled in, still wrapped in a blanket, her hair a glowing mess.
"Something smells way too good," she mumbled. "Who" Her eyes widened. "No. No way. Rei? You?"
He flipped an omelet onto a plate. "Breakfast."
"You cooked?" She blinked. "Last time you cooked something, even the toaster went on strike."
"That was an accident."
"You tried to 'season' the toaster with butter."
"It made sense at the time!" Rei protested.
Mira snorted, grinning now. "Right. I'll take my chances with starvation."
Their mother sat down, hiding a smile. "Don't listen to her, sweetheart. I'm sure it's wonderful."
Rei set a plate in front of her with quiet dignity. Mira stared suspiciously at her own, poked it with a fork, then took a bite.
Her eyes went wide. "…Wait. This is actually good."
Rei folded his arms. "Apology accepted."
Mira chewed thoughtfully. "Okay, okay, maybe you didn't burn the house down this time. Still… who are you and what have you done with my brother?"
He smirked faintly. "Improved version."
Their father entered mid-banter, drawn by the smell, muttering, "Smells like a miracle," before taking a seat. Within minutes, the table was full, food, laughter, warmth.
For a moment, it almost felt like peace.
Rei caught Mira's eye as she laughed at one of their father's dry jokes. Her awakening glow had faded, but something lingered behind her smile, potential, danger, destiny.
He memorized the sight.
Five minutes early. That's all it took to prove the future wasn't fixed.
Five minutes that changed everything.
And as sunlight filled the kitchen, Rei decided he would use every second that difference had bought him.