Rayan Malik was done with life. Not in the dramatic way, but in the exhausted, slow-burn, "one more failure and I'm checking out emotionally" kind of way.
He had failed twenty-two job interviews in the last four months.
Twenty-two rejections.
Twenty-two polite emails saying, "We regret to inform you…"
And now he was on his way to his last chance: an interview he had begged for, because if this one didn't work, he genuinely had nothing left lined up.
He ran down the street, tie half-on, hair a mess, stomach empty except for cold coffee. Missing the bus meant missing the interview. Missing the interview meant… well, probably depression part two.
But destiny apparently hated him.
The bus he needed was already pulling away.
"Wait! WAIT!" he yelled.
No use.
It was gone.
He stopped running, hands on his knees, ready to scream into the void.
Then he heard shouting.
The bus hadn't gone far.
It had stopped in the middle of the road.
People were standing, panicked. A masked man shoved the driver aside. Another robber yelled orders while pointing a gun.
Rayan felt his chest tighten.
He wasn't supposed to be here.
He was supposed to be on that bus or far away from it.
But life had already messed him up so much that he didn't even care anymore.
When one of the robbers hit a passenger, something inside him snapped.
He didn't think.
He just reacted.
He climbed into the bus from the back door, ducked behind a seat, grabbed a fallen fire extinguisher, and smashed one hijacker in the head. Another came at him, and Rayan dodged by panic alone, elbowing him hard in the ribs. Someone screamed. Someone prayed. Rayan fought like a cornered animal, terrified and desperate.
Somehow, unbelievably, he managed to knock all three robbers out.
When the passengers stared at him in shock, he only said, "Please don't tell me I'm going to miss my interview."
He stepped outside, heart pounding, trying to breathe.
That's when the air split open behind him.
A perfect silver circle spun into existence like a portal from a sci-fi movie.
Two figures walked out:
A tall woman in a black uniform with sharp eyes.
A man with glowing lines across his arms and a badge that pulsed with blue light.
Both badges read:
TIME CORPS – UNIT A1-32
Before Rayan could run, the woman grabbed him by the shirt.
"You are NOT supposed to be here," she said.
"You have interfered with a fixed timeline event."
The man opened the portal wider with a gesture.
"We're bringing him in."
Rayan barely had time to shout before they dragged him through.
The portal spat them out into a colossal hall made of floating glass platforms and swirling clocks.
Rows of floating judges, each wearing shimmering robes, watched him from above.
A metallic voice echoed:
"TIME COURT SESSION OPEN."
Rayan blinked. "Bro, what is happening?"
A massive chair turned, revealing a tall, silver-haired officer with black markings under his eyes. His badge read:
HIGH OFFICER K-01
He stared directly at Rayan.
"You disrupted Event 492-A," the High Officer said.
"That bus was not meant to be saved. Three passengers were supposed to die. Your interference has altered twenty-seven micro timelines."
Rayan felt sick.
"I just… helped someone."
"Exactly," the High Officer replied. "And that is the problem."
A hologram opened beside him, showing Rayan tackling the hijacker.
"You have two choices," the High Officer continued, voice cold.
"Choice one: erasure from the timeline. You cease to exist."
Rayan swallowed hard.
"Choice two: you work for us. You train as a Time Detective under the Time Corps. You will fix the anomalies you caused… and the ones we assign to you."
The hall went silent.
Rayan stared at the floor. His previous life wasn't exactly worth protecting.
No job. No success. No meaning.
And now, somehow, these time-travel freaks wanted him.
"...I'll take the job," he said quietly.
The High Officer nodded once.
"Then welcome, Rayan Malik.
Your new life begins now."
The portals around him flared.
Time shifted.
Reality bent.
And the most ordinary man alive stepped into a world built on impossible rules, where every second could kill, save, or destroy everything.