Leo stared at the glowing screen.
Incoming call: Adam
And couldn't help the wave of past memories that washed over him.
Adam Hayes.
His first real friend in Evergreen High School.
Back then, in their first year of High School, Leo had been lively, social, happy. He had a circle of friends, jokes to tell, dreams to chase. And Adam, his seatmate, had become a part of that life almost instantly. They studied together, got scolded together, copied homework together. It was easy, effortless, the kind of friendship that simply… happened.
But everything changed when his parents died.
The accident broke him. For a month, Leo couldn't speak properly, couldn't think straight. When he finally recovered enough to attend school again, he had changed. He stopped talking as much, stopped hanging out, stopped laughing. He buried himself in books, not because he loved them, but because he felt he had to.
Adam stayed by him, talking every day even when Leo only nodded. Bit by bit, Leo let him in again. Slowly, painfully, they rebuilt that bond. Adam became the only real friend he had left.
They even chose the same university later… shared the same hostel room in their first year.
But then came the night that ruined everything.
In their second year, Adam fell hard for a girl, someone he thought was perfect. They dated, and Leo genuinely felt happy for him. But at a party one evening, when everyone was drunk and dancing, the girl pulled Leo to a corner. She hit on him, tried flirting, then suddenly leaned in and kissed him without warning.
Adam walked in at that exact moment.
And everything went to hell.
The girl first saw Adam and immediately pretended she was being forced, acting like Leo had cornered her. Seeing that scene, his girlfriend struggling, his best friend inches away, Adam didn't think. He swung.
Leo never even got a chance to explain.
What followed was a messy fight, bruises on both sides, and silence. Adam didn't file a complaint, and the girl didn't want to escalate either, but the damage was already done.
Adam changed hostels. Stopped talking. Stopped acknowledging each other.
Leo tried, several times, to explain the truth. But Adam refused every attempt.
And in their third year, when Leo was away on an internship, he heard the news: Adam caught the same girlfriend cheating with another guy.
After that, Adam broke. His grades slipped, his motivation died, and he graduated with a job far below his potential, stuck in a second-tier city, wasting away the brightest years of his life.
Now, holding the phone and remembering everything, Leo felt no hatred. No anger.
Only regret.
If he had walked away from the party sooner… If he had dragged the girl back to Adam immediately… If he had shouted louder when trying to explain…
It might have all been different.
Adam was a good friend. Too good-hearted for his own good. And honestly? If Leo had walked in on the same scene, he might've reacted exactly the same.
But this life… this second chance…
He wasn't going to let history repeat itself.
With a slow breath, he answered the call.
"Hello."
Adam's voice burst through the speaker, loud and excited. "Leo! Bro, what's up?! What did you score? What's your rank?!"
Leo couldn't help smiling at the familiar energy.
"I got 927. Rank 1,542."
There was a dramatic gasp. "Hell nah! I lost by four points?! Ughhh, I knew I should've studied more. This sucks!"
Leo burst out laughing. It felt good, warm, natural.
"Hahaha! Bro, you're never beating me in academics. Not in this lifetime."
Adam clicked his tongue. "Man, you study like a bull. But hey, I was close this time!"
Leo leaned back on his bed. "So? What's your rank?"
Adam sighed. "1,903."
Leo whistled. "Damn, bro. Just four marks and we're nearly four hundred ranks apart."
"That's because millions take the exam," Adam groaned. "There must be like a hundred people sharing every score."
"True."
Adam hesitated a moment before asking, "So… what are you doing today?"
Leo didn't even need to think. "Going out for dinner with Emily."
"Same here!" Adam sounded cheerful again. "Family dinner today."
In the background, a woman's voice called out, clearly Adam's mother.
Adam groaned dramatically. "There they go again. I bet the neighbors came to compare my scores with their daughter's. I swear, Leo, I'm going to lose my mind."
Leo chuckled. "Good luck with that. Talk later?"
"Yeah, yeah, before they drag me away. Bye!"
"Bye."
The call ended, and the room grew quiet again.
Leo set his phone down gently, his expression firming.
This time would be different. He wasn't going to let that girl get anywhere near Adam. Not in this life.
He owed his friend better.
With that resolve simmering inside him, he picked up his phone again. Not to dwell on the past, but to take a step toward the future he had always wanted.
His dream. The dream of becoming an Influencer.
In this world, there were two major video platforms: Fastgram and MeTube. Fastgram dominated short-form content, trends, aesthetics, quick edits, while MeTube was the giant for both long and short videos. MeTube even had a short-video section, but Fastgram was where the youth and creativity truly thrived.
Leo planned to be on both eventually.
But he knew himself. He needed to start small. Start smart.
Short videos took less time, required fewer resources, and offered faster feedback. They would let him learn editing, pacing, and audience behavior at a manageable speed. Once he found his rhythm, he would move to long-form videos on MeTube, where he could truly express himself, vlogs, travel, lifestyle, everything he dreamed of.
So, he went to the app store.
Fastgram. Download.
Till now he had never made an account. He feared social media would distract him from studying. But now? His vision was different. His life was different.
Once the app finished installing, he opened it and clicked Sign Up.
Time to create his identity.
He typed:
leo_archer
Taken.
Of course. There were millions of users.
He tried again:
the_leo_archer
Accepted.
He didn't want a fancy username. He didn't want a stage name. He wasn't trying to sound mysterious or edgy.
He wanted people to know him—Leo Archer.
If he was going to do this, he would build a brand around himself. His real name. His real story. No masks. No gimmicks.
His obsession with perfection in his past life, yes, it had cost him peace. But it also gave him drive. If he was going to be an influencer now, he wasn't going to be some average creator posting half-hearted videos.
He was going to be the best. A real name people remembered. A creator people talked about.
Something Mira Lane had taught him, even without ever meeting him, was that to become a famous influencer, you had to let the world know you existed. People needed a face. A name. Someone to attach feelings and memories to.
He wanted that.
He filled in the remaining details:
Age: 18 Birthdate: 25/07/2062 Gender: Male
When it asked for a profile picture, he chose a photo Emily had taken days ago, a candid shot where he had been laughing about something stupid Adam said. His ice-blonde hair fell in soft waves, tied in a messy ponytail with two strands framing his face. The contrast of his black hoodie against his pale skin and white hair gave the picture a clean, aesthetic look.
Perfect.
He clicked Save.
The account was created, set as a creator account. It looked like any normal profile, just with access to analytics and insights. Out of curiosity, he tapped Insights.
Empty.
Obviously. He hadn't posted anything yet.
He returned to the home screen where suggested accounts appeared from his contacts.
Emily's profile: emily_cross_90. Private. He sent a request.
Adam's profile, the_real_adam.
Public. Just two posts.
Leo followed him without hesitation.
With that done, he set the phone aside and let out a slow breath.
Now came the real question.
What kind of videos was he going to make?
Travel? Lifestyle? Daily routines? Skills? Music?
Ideas tangled together in his head as he thought about angles, moods, and stories. For a moment, he even considered buying a proper camera, something professional.
Then reality pulled him back.
He didn't have that kind of money. Not yet.
So he looked at the phone in his hand, and smiled faintly.
For now, this would be enough.
After all, every journey had to start somewhere.
Right then,
Ding.
Leo frowned and checked his phone.
Nothing.
A second chime floated through the room, soft, metallic, almost eerie.
He sat up straighter.
"What the…?"
His eyes darted around, scanning the room for any device that could've made that sound. Nothing looked out of place. No notifications. No calls. No alarms.
Then, the air in front of him shimmered.
Literally shimmered.
A narrow silver line appeared midair, splitting open like a silent tear in space. It expanded smoothly, forming the shape of a floating rectangular screen, translucent black with thin streaks of silver pulsing at the edges.
Leo's entire body froze.
A cold rush shot through his spine.
"What… is this…?"
The screen flickered to life.
[INITIALIZING…]
Leo flinched backward, gripping the edge of his bed.
This wasn't a prank. Wasn't a hallucination. Wasn't anything normal.
[SYSTEM BOOT SEQUENCE ENGAGED.]
The room vibrated faintly, like the air was humming.
[NEURAL LINK: ATTEMPTING CONNECTION…]
A light tingling brushed against the back of his head. Not painful, just unfamiliar, invasive.
Leo clenched his jaw.
"Hey, stop. What are you?"
But the text continued forming.
[TEMPORAL ANOMALY CONFIRMED.]
[USER IDENTITY: LEO ARCHER.]
[USER STATUS: REGRESSED]
His breath hitched.
It knew who he was… It knew he had regressed… How?
His mind reeled.
Was this a side effect of dying? A dream? Some kind of mental breakdown?
Leo swallowed hard, throat dry.
"What the hell is going on…?"
[QUALIFICATION VERIFIED.]
[CORE SYSTEM READY.]
The silver pulses slowed, stabilizing into a soft glow.
Then the screen wiped clean and displayed a single message:
[WELCOME, USER.]
[A SYSTEM IS AVAILABLE FOR CONNECTION.]
[DETAILS UNDISCLOSED UNTIL SYNCHRONIZATION.]
That was it.
No explanation. No purpose. No promise.
Just a silent offer.
The screen brightened slightly, revealing two options, simple, clean, terrifying:
[Would you like to connect to the system?]
[ YES ] [ NO ]
The hologram floated silently in front of him, waiting for his decision.
Leo stared at the glowing options, heartbeat steady but heavy in his chest.