Ryan's eyes snapped open.
For a brief moment, he didn't move.
His lungs filled with the scent of warm printer paper and cheap office coffee. The faint hum of fluorescent lights buzzed above him. Somewhere nearby, a printer coughed out another sheet of freshly printed documents.
Ryan slowly lifted his head.
The desk in front of him was buried beneath scattered folders, financial reports, and loose papers covered in numbers.
His computer monitor glowed softly in the dim office light.
Accounting software.
Still open.
Still running.
Ryan stared at it.
His fingers trembled slightly.
"This…"
His voice came out as little more than a breath.
"This can't be real."
He turned his head slowly, scanning the cramped office around him.
The same gray walls.
The same crooked calendar hanging beside the filing cabinet.
The same cracked coffee mug sitting beside his keyboard.
Seven years.
He had worked in this office for seven years.
Ryan shot to his feet so abruptly that his chair slammed into the wall behind him.
His heart was racing.
His legs moved before his mind could catch up.
The office door burst open as he stepped into the hallway.
Rows of cubicles stretched across the floor, employees typing away at their desks or quietly discussing spreadsheets. The familiar hum of everyday office life surrounded him.
Normal.
Ordinary.
Alive.
Ryan's breathing grew heavier.
His eyes locked onto the office across the hall.
The door was open.
It had always been open.
He crossed the hallway in three long strides and pushed inside.
Behind the desk sat a woman.
Her desk was spotless — every file neatly stacked, every pen perfectly aligned.
She looked up.
Dark brown eyes met his.
Her black hair was tucked neatly behind her ears, and the soft afternoon light from the window framed her face.
"Alice…"
The name slipped from his lips like a fragile memory.
She blinked.
Concern immediately appeared in her expression.
"Ryan?"
Her voice was gentle.
"What's wrong?"
Ryan couldn't answer.
He simply stared.
It had been so long.
Too long.
Have I really… come back?
His chest tightened as relief flooded through him. That familiar pair of eyes… the one face he had searched for even after the world had already ended.
She was alive.
She was really alive.
Something warm stirred in his chest — something he hadn't felt in decades.
Before he even realized it, Ryan was smiling.
A real smile.
Bright.
Unrestrained.
Alice blinked again, clearly confused.
Ryan rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Don't worry about it," he said casually.
"I actually forgot what I came here to say."
It was the excuse he had used countless times before.
Alice studied him for a moment.
Then a slow smile spread across her face.
"You know…" she said.
"You're starting to act like an old man."
Ryan laughed.
"You do realize you're insulting yourself with that statement, right?"
He leaned against the doorframe with a grin.
"You're four years older than me."
Alice's smile vanished instantly.
The ruler on her desk launched toward his head before he even finished the sentence.
Ryan barely managed to dodge it as it whistled past his ear.
Laughter erupted from him as he quickly backed out of the office.
"Violence in the workplace!" he called out.
"I should report this!"
Alice pointed another ruler at him like a weapon.
"Get back to work, idiot!"
Ryan retreated down the hallway, still laughing.
But the moment he stepped back into his office…
The smile disappeared.
His expression hardened instantly.
Ryan sat down and looked at his monitor.
The date glowed quietly in the corner of the screen.
30 September 2036 — 1:31 PM
Ryan's eyes narrowed.
Exactly two days.
Two days before the world collapsed.
Two days before humanity discovered that it was no longer alone.
"I don't have much time."
Ryan leaned back in his chair.
His mind was already racing.
Weapons wouldn't help.
That had been one of humanity's earliest mistakes.
When the Awakening began, armies around the world had deployed tanks, missiles, and aircraft.
None of it mattered.
Steel and gunpowder were meaningless against creatures born from raw energy.
But preparation still mattered.
Ryan had knowledge.
Experience.
One hundred years of it.
And he still had some money saved up.
Enough to prepare.
A shadow suddenly fell across his desk.
Ryan slowly looked up.
And instantly, ice flooded his veins.
Charl.
The smug bastard stood there with his usual arrogant grin.
Just seeing his face made Ryan's fists tighten around the pen in his hand.
"I see your desk is as messy as ever," Charl said casually.
Ryan felt something dark twist inside his chest.
"That would be because I actually work," Ryan replied coldly.
"Unlike some people who get paid to kiss ass."
Charl's smile stiffened slightly.
Ryan forced himself to stay seated.
It took every ounce of control he had not to leap across the desk and beat the man into the floor.
Charl had been transferred to their office months ago.
Officially, he was Alice's assistant.
Unofficially…
He was her stepfather's watchdog.
In the previous timeline…
Charl had been the first person Ryan ever saw awaken a combat skill.
He still remembered that day.
The sudden power.
The madness in Charl's eyes.
The brutal beating that left Ryan barely breathing.
And then—
Alice.
Ryan's grip on the pen tightened.
Charl had assaulted her.
Killed her.
And walked away laughing.
Ryan had spent nearly a decade hunting for him after that.
Only to discover that Charl had already died years earlier.
But now…
Now fate had delivered him directly back into Ryan's hands.
A slow grin spread across Ryan's face.
"By the way," Ryan said casually.
"How's Mr. Park doing?"
Charl's expression froze.
"What?"
Ryan shrugged lightly.
"I figured you might know."
His grin widened.
"Since you send him daily updates about Alice."
Charl's blue eyes flashed with anger.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Ryan simply leaned back in his chair.
Charl held his gaze for several seconds.
Then turned and walked away.
Ryan watched him leave.
His grin never faded.
Images of Charl screaming in pain flashed through his mind.
He had imagined killing this man thousands of times.
But now…
He had patience.
Charl's death would come.
Soon enough.
Ryan stood up.
He didn't even bother shutting down his computer.
Without a word, he walked out of the office.
There was work to do.
***
Ryan returned home late that night.
His small apartment looked completely different now.
Boxes filled the living room.
Stacks of canned food lined the walls.
Bottled water was piled in the kitchen.
His car outside was packed with supplies.
Fuel tanks.
Medical kits.
Emergency tools.
Ryan had spent every cent he had saved over the last five years.
But it was worth it.
Because in forty-eight hours…
The world would change forever.
Humanity would call it The Awakening.
No one ever discovered why it happened.
One moment the world was normal.
The next…
The entire planet was flooded with a strange, invisible energy.
Some humans awakened abilities.
Skills.
Magic.
Others couldn't withstand the transformation.
Their bodies twisted and warped until they became monsters.
Grotesque creatures that had once been human.
But Ryan knew the truth.
Monsters weren't humanity's greatest enemy.
Humans were.
Ryan walked to the window and stared into the night.
It hadn't been monsters that killed his parents.
It hadn't been monsters that destroyed the world he knew.
And it certainly hadn't been monsters that murdered Alice.
No.
Humans had done all of that.
Ryan's reflection stared back at him from the glass.
Cold.
Focused.
"This time…"
His voice was quiet.
"I will kill anyone who even thinks about hurting the people I care about."
A memory suddenly forced its way into his mind.
Charl.
Covered in blood.
Walking toward Alice's broken body while Ryan lay helpless on the floor.
Ryan's vision had been fading.
But he had still seen it.
He had still heard her scream.
Ryan's hand slowly clenched into a fist.
"And he…"
His eyes darkened.
"Will be the first to die."