I was still sitting on the school steps like a half-fried potato, letting everything crash in my head at once.
Heroes were real. Monsters were real. Portals could open in your kitchen sink and spawn a goddamn tentacle ogre.
But as I stared at the schoolyard where kids were still reeling from the chaos, my mind drifted somewhere else. Somewhere worse.
A memory.
My Long forgotten love… although I never forget about her. Not even once.
Ava.
Her name slammed into my brain like a hammer.
Ava Lynn.
My first and only real heartbreak. The girl I spent years trying to forget—and failed miserably at.
In my original timeline, we met again in university. Me, Lex, and Ava ended up at the same college by pure luck. She had changed a little—more mature, more distant—but still the same in all the ways that mattered.
Then she transferred out after the fourth semester.
No warning. No goodbyes.
Gone.
No social media. No messages. Like she'd vanished.
And I…
"I never saw her again."
I hated how pathetic I was about it. Years had passed, but not a single day went by when I didn't think of her. Not one fucking day.
"If this is a different world… what if she doesn't exist here?"
Or worse—
"What if she's already dead?"
My gut twisted.
I didn't want to ask. Didn't want to break whatever fragile hope was still holding me together.
But I had to.
"Hey, Lex."
"Yeah?"
I hesitated.
This was a dumb question. This was the kind of question that'd raise red flags.
But I asked anyway.
"Ava. Do you remember her?"
Lex tilted his head at me like I'd asked him if the sun still existed.
"Uh, yeah? Of course I remember Ava."
I held my breath.
"Why wouldn't I? She transferred into our class in the second half of first year, remember? You were glued to her face the whole semester."
"Shut up."
He smirked. "You were so down bad. Dude, you even tried writing her a song once."
"SHUT UP."
Lex laughed, kicking dust at the air. "Anyway, she's still around. She awakened early. Got picked up fast. She's a ranked hero now—last I heard, she was stationed in the West Zone under Captain Reeve's command."
"She's alive…?"
"Yeah. Duh."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
She was alive. Not just that—she was a hero now.
Same Ava Lynn. Just… more powerful. Still out of my reach.
I stared at the sky, blinking hard.
"So she's already awakened?"
"Long ago. Like a year back."
That lined up.
In this timeline, she must've awakened before graduation.
Just like Lex said, this world ran on awakenings. People got picked up and trained early. Ava always was ahead of the curve.
"She's alive…"
And I get to meet her again.
I didn't know when, or how, or even if she remembered me the same way I remembered her…
But this time?
"I'm not letting her slip through my fingers again."
Not in this world.
Not in this life.
Well, let's put all that aside for now.
Although I wanted to see her badly… there was someone I needed to meet more.
My family.
If this world was truly different… then my father would be alive. And—
Honestly?
I didn't even want to think about it.
Didn't want to have hope.
Hope was a dangerous thing.
Still… I wanted it to be true.
"Hey Lexi."
"It's Lex."
"Where do I live?"
Lex paused. Looked at me with a concerned face for the first time.
He'd been throwing snark and comments all day, but this time… he was genuinely worried.
"Hey… what's wrong with you?"
"I…"
What was I supposed to say in a situation like this?
That I'm from another world? Another timeline? That I died and saw hell? But that turned out to be another world of past.
"I think…" I looked into his eyes. "I think I… I awakened."
"What?!" Lex exclaimed.
In this world, people randomly awakened. So ould this esper system I have is something related to the awakening?
"That's cool, bro! What's your power? Did you figure it out?"
"I can… teleport about five meters…"
"Uhh…" Lex looked really excited before, but after learning of my power, he looked at me with pity.
His eyes were clearly telling me that I was better off without it.
Lex and I then left the school and he dropped me home on his bike.
I was surprised that this motherfucker had a bike, but what surprised me more was that I… my home was the same as it was in the other timeline.
The old rundown small and messy apartment.
I already had a bad feeling about it.
We went bankrupt because of a bad deal and father committed suicide. What happened in this world?
Mother died when I started my university life. I was nineteen around that time, but she has been sick for years before that.
And my little sister. She died in an accident, or so the reports had said. I never found out the truth.
And now… I was standing in front of the same apartment hat was filled with more sad memories than And now…
I stood in front of the same door that held more sadness than any place I'd ever been.
I gathered my courage and opened it.
The smell hit me right away. That nostalgic yet unpleasant scent of cheap detergent, damp walls, and lingering kitchen oil.
Small apartment. One cramped bedroom.
But we managed.
You could stand in the doorway and see the whole place.
"...Mom?"
No answer.
I stepped deeper inside, my fingers twitching.
Each breath felt heavier.
My heartbeat was so loud that I could hear it louder than my footsteps.
"Ian?"
"....!"
My eyes were filled with tears even before I realized.
It was her voice.
A voice I hadn't heard in a decade.
A voice filled with love and care.
"Mom…"
Mother was in the kitchen. I could haer her chopping vegetables.
I quickly wiped my tears and composed myself.
"How was the graduation day, Ian?" she asked without looking at me.
I turned to her and replied, "It was fine."
Unable to contain myself, I rushed to her and hugged her.
And without asking any questions. She hugged me back like it was the most normal thing to do.