Darkness slowly loosened its grip.
Before his eyes opened, the thoughts returned.
Heavy. Relentless.
How could he stop it?
That question kept circling through his mind like a trapped animal.
Even if he knew the future… what power did he really have?
He was sixteen.
Sixteen.
Just a student in Korea with no money, no influence, no authority.
In his previous life, everything had come later.
The awards.
The recognition.
The wealth.
The access.
Only after all of that did the doors open.
Only after he became famous did Washington begin to listen to him.
Only then did the most secret facilities in the United States allow him inside.
Only then did they show him the object.
Jim Mu's breathing slowed as he lay there, still half lost in his thoughts.
How could someone like him reach that place now?
He did not know the location of the facility.
He did not know which agency controlled the technology.
He did not know how long it had been hidden.
Forty five years had only been an estimate.
A guess based on something the operation leader once mentioned casually during a briefing.
For all he knew, they might have possessed it even longer.
The alien device.
The thing that changed everything.
He knew only one fact.
It existed.
Somewhere.
Hidden behind layers of security that even powerful governments could barely penetrate.
How could a sixteen year old boy possibly reach it?
His mind kept spinning.
What if someone else discovered it?
What if someone else solved it?
What if the war still happened?
What if nothing he did mattered?
What if...
What if...
What if...
The questions stacked endlessly until they blurred together.
Then warmth touched his forehead.
His eyes opened slowly.
A hand holding a folded handkerchief rested gently against his head.
A girl sat beside the bed.
She looked about nineteen. Young, with clear skin and bright eyes that curved slightly when she smiled. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and there was a calm kindness in the way she looked at him.
Jim Mu recognized her immediately.
His uncle's girlfriend.
She leaned forward slightly when she saw his eyes open.
"Oh good," she said softly. "You're awake."
Her voice was gentle, almost musical.
"How are you feeling now?" she asked.
Jim Mu blinked once and looked around the room.
His uncle had moved him to the bed.
The scattered books were still everywhere.
The board still covered in symbols.
His head felt heavy but clear.
"I'm fine," he said quietly.
She gave him a slightly skeptical look.
"Fine?" she repeated. "You collapsed."
She shook her head lightly and smiled again.
"You shouldn't push yourself this hard."
She adjusted the handkerchief on his forehead.
"Studying all day like this is not healthy."
Then her expression brightened as if she had just remembered something amusing.
"You know," she said, pointing lightly at herself, "when I was preparing for my university entrance exam, I thought my brain was going to explode."
She laughed softly.
"It was terrible. I barely slept. My parents kept telling me to take breaks but I wouldn't listen."
She puffed her cheeks slightly in mock pride.
"But in the end I passed really well."
"My parents were so happy."
She leaned a little closer to Jim Mu with a playful smile.
"So if you want a role model, you can follow my example."
Then she raised a finger.
"But not the crazy part where you study until you faint."
Jim Mu looked at her.
For the first time in days, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Not because of what she said.
But because of what he remembered.
Once, in another lifetime, the world had called him something extraordinary.
The Second Einstein.
The title had followed him everywhere.
News channels.
Scientific conferences.
International magazines.
A mind that reshaped mathematics and physics.
A genius who changed the limits of human knowledge.
And that was before QTR.
Before the discovery that made his name eclipse even Einstein's.
QTR was not merely a machine.
It was a bridge.
A device capable of crossing space instantly.
One moment in Tokyo.
The next moment in New York.
Distance erased.
Transportation rewritten.
His dream had been simple.
Humanity expanding beyond Earth.
Faster exploration.
New worlds.
But power like that never remained peaceful for long.
Governments saw weapons.
Military leaders saw domination.
And he had allowed it.
That single miscalculation opened the door to catastrophe.
Footsteps sounded at the doorway.
His uncle walked in.
He looked young enough to still be a university student himself. Tall, slightly messy hair, wearing a loose shirt and jeans.
He stopped beside the bed and crossed his arms.
"You finally woke up," he said.
Then he looked around the room.
Books everywhere.
Notes covering the walls.
He sighed.
"You're pushing yourself too hard."
Jim Mu sat up slowly.
"I'm okay," he said.
His uncle shook his head.
"You say that, but you haven't even gone to school for a week."
Jim Mu paused.
"I'm studying for an exam," he replied.
His uncle raised an eyebrow.
"At least you should have called the school," he said. "They sent messages asking where you were."
Jim Mu nodded slightly.
"I'll go tomorrow."
His uncle studied him for a moment, then sighed again.
"Good."
"Just don't collapse again."
The girl beside the bed smiled in agreement.
The tension in the room slowly faded.
For a brief moment, everything felt almost normal.
But in the back of Jim Mu's mind, the future still waited.
Unchanged.
Watching.
And somewhere in the world, hidden behind layers of secrecy, the alien technology still existed.