"Okay, all I gotta do is relive this day by defeating that damn kaiju, right?" Rex muttered to himself, pushing open the door. The sunlight hit his face, making him squint. Everything looked so normal: the blue sky, the quiet streets, birds chirping, and yet… nothing felt normal to him anymore. Not after what he'd just learned. Not after he realized he had powers and a literal Titan of Time talking in his head.
"Seriously, a kaiju. How hard could that be?" Rex said, rolling his eyes as he stepped onto the sidewalk. His backpack hung loosely from one shoulder, and his sneakers made soft thuds against the pavement as he walked. "It's just a giant monster that could crush me with one toe. No biggie."
The streets were quiet at this hour. Too quiet. He usually hated walking to school because of the traffic noise and the hustle of people. Now, the silence felt eerie, like the calm before a storm. Rex glanced around, half expecting to see some ominous sign that a massive kaiju would appear any second. Maybe a ripple in the air, or the ground shaking beneath his feet.
But no. Everything looked exactly the same. Except… for him.
Rex looked down at his hands. Just yesterday, no, today earlier, technically he was a powerless, normal kid. But now? Now he had the ability to control time, to bend Aether, and a system that made him feel like he was in some RPG.
His reflection appeared in a storefront window as he passed. Without thinking, he activated God's eyes
Rex Xander
Harbinger of Time
Level 1 - Human
Strength: 10
Agility: 12
Endurance: 12
Intelligence: 10
Aether: 10/10
"Yep, still a level-one noob," he muttered. "Fantastic."
Rex shoved his hands into his pockets, letting out a heavy sigh. "Okay, let's think. Giant kaiju destroyed the city in that vision. I died. Cronus rewinds time, gives me a second chance… Now I've got to stop this thing from wiping me out. I've seen enough movies to know this doesn't usually end well for the guy wearing sneakers." He looked down at his shoes and sighed again. "Yup, definitely underdressed for a monster fight."
As he walked past a couple of kids playing in their front yard, he couldn't help but smile at how oblivious they were to the disaster that could unfold today. It was surreal, this knowledge that at any moment, things could go sideways.
He glanced at them, half wondering what God's Eyes would show. Maybe something cool like "Future Kaiju Hunter" or "Genius Kid." He focused on one of the kids and blinked.
Name: Timmy
Race: Human
Age: 6
Occupation: Thrower of Rocks
Status: Picking nose, considering lunch.
Strength: 2
Agility: 2
Endurance: 2
Intelligence: 1
Skill: (Unawakened)
Rex chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and assume he's not saving the world anytime soon. "If these are his thoughts now, then humanity is doomed as we wouldn't be expecting future heroes to save the world from monsters"
He glanced over at the other kid, who was currently trying to eat a leaf.
Name: Jake
Race: Human
Age: 6
Occupation: Amateur Leaf Critic
Status: Chewing, contemplating life choices.
Strength: 3
Agility: 1 (Leaf-stuck-to-foot penalty applied)
Endurance: 5 (Leaf ingestion active)
Intelligence: …Pending.
Rex shook his head. "Yeah, we're definitely doomed.
"Um...Cronus, What if I decide to change today by staying in school even after I fail the awakening, will it alter the timeline cause I'm thinking of visiting the dodgeball stadium after class?
"A little thing like that can never alter the timeline, only take heed, young one for the path ahead would be rough"
" Relax, I bet kaiju's not going to attack me during dodgeball sessions, right?"
Silence.
"Oh crap," Rex muttered. "It's not, right?"
No response.
"Oh, come on, Cronus, this isn't funny."
Still no answer.
Rex groaned and rubbed his face. "Great. I'm gonna get eaten by a kaiju in the middle of dodgeball, aren't I? That's going to be my legacy. 'Here lies Rex Xander, crushed by a kaiju while trying to dodge a rubber ball.'"
The school came into view in the distance, and Rex felt his stomach flip with nervousness. He had one day to figure this out, one day to prevent his death and the destruction of everything around him. No pressure or anything.
But at least he wasn't completely alone.
Rex glanced up at the sky, squinting as the sun beamed down on him. Somewhere, in some cosmic prison or timeless dimension, Cronus was watching. He could feel the weight of the Titan's expectations.
"Okay, Rex," he muttered to himself as he crossed the street, narrowly dodging a car that honked angrily at him. "This is it. You've got powers now. You're not gonna die today. Probably. Just… get through school, find the kaiju, and kick its ass."
He paused in front of the school gates, took a deep breath, and nodded. "Yeah, easy."
Then, under his breath, he added, "Maybe I should've grabbed a snack first."
Walking into the courtyard, the familiar scene hit him like déjà vu, except it wasn't déjà vu because he had actually lived this before. Or technically today. Or yesterday? "Damn! This timeline thing is messing with my skull," Rex groaned, giving his head a light smack as if that would straighten out time travel logic.
"Morning, Miss Layla! Morning, General," Rex greeted, slipping into his spot amongst the students. They stood like statues, waiting for the usual ceremony to begin. A few whispers floated through the crowd, just like before.
"Why are we the only ones in the courtyard?" someone whispered.
"It's because one of us hasn't awakened yet," another replied.
"Oh, that boy, right? Yeah."
Rex could only roll his eyes. "Wow, everything's playing out exactly like it did yester—oh, right. It wasn't yesterday. Ugh." He facepalmed, starting to feel the headache of reliving this day.
"That's the kid, right?" General Silas asked, pointing directly at Rex.
"Yes, sir," Miss Layla replied.
The general squinted at Rex, eyeing him up and down. "Hmm, for a 16-year-old, he has quite the physique!" General Silas remarked, scratching his chin in exaggerated thought. "Let's just hope his ability isn't something like… I don't know, super-speed knitting."
"Okay, Kid! I heard you failed the previous awakening" General Silas called out to Rex
"No sir, the awakening stone was faulty!" Rex replied in the exact way he had done before his death. Then, he decided to check something out....
Name: Silas Claud
Race: Human
Occupation: General-rank Military officer
Class: Tier two advanced Ability user
Status: Perpetually Annoyed
Hobby: Yelling at teenagers, pretending not to notice his baldness
Ability: Telekinesis
Strength: ???
Speed: ???
Endurance: ???
Intelligence ???
Rex stifled a laugh. "Well, at least the stats are accurate," he mumbled under his breath, trying not to let the General see the smirk forming on his face.
"What was that, kid?" Silas barked.
"Uh, nothing, sir! Just admiring the… clarity of your authority," Rex replied, fighting back laughter.
Then he turned to Miss Layla
Name: Layla Brooks
Race: Human
Occupation: High School Teacher
Class: Tier one intermediate ability user(Skill: Passive Charm Aura, completely unnoticed by her, Expert in Giving "I'm Fine" Smiles)
Status: Single and Pretending She Doesn't Care
Strength: 50 (But can lift your spirits)
Agility: 45 (Only when dodging awkward dates)
Endurance: 50 (Especially during parent-teacher conferences)
Intelligence: 60 (Reads romance novels like they're war strategies)
Ability: (Awakened) Ice element
Rex nearly choked. "Single and pretending she doesn't care? This system's savage," he whispered, trying to keep a straight face.
Miss Layla, noticing Rex's odd grin, raised an eyebrow. "Something funny, Rex?"
"No, ma'am!" Rex said quickly. "Just, uh... admiring your...." he hesitated, "dedication to the job!"
She smiled politely, but there was a glimmer of suspicion in her eyes. Rex quickly shifted his attention back to the awakening, making a mental note not to use God's Eyes so recklessly in the future.
"Whatever, I've brought a new awakening stone," General Silas said as he held out the obsidian stone in front of Rex. He released it and as usual, it suspended in the air.
"Now, walk forward and place your hand on it!" General Silas ordered.
Rex took a deep breath and thought, "Alright, here we go again... Let's see if the rock has any surprises this time."
"It's not like I care about doing this same thing again" Rex sighed as he placed his hands on the awakening stone, it was hard and cold as usual.
The stone began to emit a light and the light grew brighter and brighter until it was almost unbearable.
The light around the stone flickered and then there was nothing. The light faded as fast as it came and the stone was again cold and dark as it had been before. The courtyard was quiet, the tension dissipating.
Rex blinked, his hand still on the stone. "Wow, that was fast" He thought and then turned to Silas and Layla
Miss Layla looked at General Silas and the two exchanged a worried look. "Perhaps the stone was not flawed at all," she whispered. 'It could be something else entirely.'
General Silas scowled, his face creasing with concern. "This is unprecedented," he grumbled. 'The stone responded but no energy emerged, it is like there is something that is preventing it.'
Miss Layla moved closer to Rex and put her hand on his shoulder, 'It's okay,' she said softly. "Do not despair, Rex," she said softly. 'It is not as simple as that, there is more to this than what we can see, we will find a way.'
"Wow, she smells nice," Rex thought as she spoke to him.
"Can I go now?" Rex asked after she was done with her words of consolation
"Uh-" Layla was shocked. Just what was wrong with this student, he failed his awakening and yet he was acting so calm and composed like he knew that all of this would happen "Um...Yes, you can go" Layla replied awkwardly
With that, Rex turned around and started walking away, his hands in his pocket as he thought "Why couldn't I see General Silas' physical stats?"
Suddenly, Cronus spoke up "That's because he is far above your league, you could see Layla because she is just a weak ability user but for Silas, you can't except you've reached the appropriate threshold. All will be revealed in time
Rex froze in his tracks, his heart skipping a beat. Wait, can you... hear my thoughts?! he mentally screamed, his face turning pale.
"Yes," Cronus replied, completely unfazed by Rex's panic. "Thou art under my divine guidance. I can hear thy musings."
Rex's eyes widened, and he looked around as if someone was physically next to him. Dude, that's so creepy! You just... what? Live in my brain now?
"I am a Titan. Such trivialities are beneath my concern," Cronus said calmly. "Focus on the task at hand, Harbinger."
Rex groaned, rubbing his temples. "Oh, great. Now I have zero privacy. Even my thoughts aren't safe."
"Thou hast never been safer," Cronus added, which didn't really help at all.
A/N: Please drop a comment if you've loved what you've been reading so far and if you're feeling extra heroic, please leave a review so Rex can know if he'll do better or just keep going at his current pace