"W-what the hell just happened...?" I muttered to myself, my heart racing like it was trying to break free from my chest. This whole thing—whatever the hell it was—was freaking me out. One minute, I was sweeping the floor, then bam, I was at the dinner table.
Was this some aftereffect of the omni-state? But no... that didn't make sense. When I woke up from it before, I was fine—well, relatively fine. This? This was different.
I took a deep breath and tried to center myself. My head felt like it was spinning. Calm down. Focus. Just think this through.
I rushed to the desk, pulled out my notebook, and grabbed the quill. I had to figure this out. I had to get some answers, even if I wasn't sure I could handle them.
Okay, okay... Just breathe. I can do this. I took another deep breath, willing my brain to slow down so I could actually think straight.
I flipped open the notebook and stared at the first blank page. Omni-state. Three abilities. I wrote it down in sloppy, rushed handwriting, my thoughts spilling onto the paper.
Omniscience. Omnipotence. Omnipresence.
"AGGHH! I don't fucking understand!" I hissed, slamming the quill back onto the table in frustration.
I shoved my hands into my hair, rubbing my scalp in agitation. This wasn't working. I couldn't think straight. It was like my mind was bouncing around, unable to land on anything solid.
Calm down. Calm down. Yes, calm down. I SAID FUCKING CALM DOWN!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
_____𖤍_____
I breathed in deep, focusing on slowing my thoughts. One thing at a time. Focus.
Omniscience... That one was easy. It made me know everything. At least, that's what I thought it was. It wasn't exactly knowing everything, but maybe it was more like... being able to understand everything? I didn't know yet, but I'd figure that out.
Omnipotence. That one was clearer. Infinitely powerful, right? So that meant... I could do anything. Anything at all. But what did that even mean for me? I wasn't sure I could process how much power that even was.
Omnipresence... That one was weird. It made me exist everywhere. I was everywhere—past, present, future... Wait. Wait. I stopped writing for a second, my mind racing.
The words just clicked in my head all at once, like pieces falling into place.
If omniscience means I know everything... and omnipotence means I'm infinitely powerful... then omnipresence? That meant... I existed in the past, present, and future. All at once.
Wait, no. No way. That's way too overpowered. I almost laughed at myself for even thinking it was possible. But then... What if it was true?
I stood up abruptly and started pacing, muttering to myself as I tried to piece it all together.
If I could exist in all three tenses—past, present, future—then maybe what had happened when I was cleaning... When I transferred to the dinner table like that? Could that have been me jumping between time? It made sense. But it was... insane. Was this actually how it worked?
My hand shook slightly as I wrote down the idea in the notebook, my handwriting becoming more and more illegible as I scribbled faster and faster. I couldn't even read it myself.
But the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced it had to be true. That moment... when I was standing there, cleaning, then suddenly I was at dinner, sitting at the table. I wasn't here. I was... there. Was I pulled out of time? No, maybe my consciousness... maybe I wasn't in my body at all during that time.
I stared at the notebook in front of me, trying to focus. I needed to test this.
Dinnertime. Dinnertime. Dinnertime. I repeated the word to myself, like a mantra, hoping for some kind of result. My thoughts sped up, but I kept the word at the forefront of my mind.
And then, like a snap, it happened.
I felt it. A shift. A sudden change in perspective. My body—it was there, but it wasn't. Something inside me clicked, and then...
"What's wrong, Rynan?"
I froze. That was my mom's voice. And not just that—holy shit—it was dinnertime. It was dinnertime. I looked around, my heart skipping a beat as I processed the scene.
I was back at the dinner table. I was sitting there, right in front of the plate of food, surrounded by my family—Mom, Dad, and Andrea, all staring at me like they were waiting for something. My stomach churned, and for a moment, I was so overwhelmed that I didn't know whether to laugh or scream.
I couldn't help it. I stood up abruptly, practically yelling, "HAHA! I CAN TRAVEL TO THE PAST AND FUTURE!"
The words were out before I could stop them. The room went dead silent.
Mom's eyes widened. Dad just blinked a couple of times, looking more confused than anything. Andrea was still, staring at me like I was a freak.
Oh shit. I felt my face heat up. What the hell had I just said?
Fuck. I messed up.
My stomach turned, and the awkward silence between us felt like it was dragging on for an eternity. What had I even done? I thought this was supposed to be something cool. A discovery, right? But instead, I just sounded like a lunatic.
I collapsed back into my seat, running a hand over my face, trying to save some face—if there was any left. This was not how I planned to reveal this. My brilliant discovery. My grand breakthrough. I had it all figured out. And yet, here I was, floundering like a fish on dry land, just trying not to completely embarrass myself.
Aha! Yeah, I can go back to the past and correct my mistakes! The thought hit me like a lightning bolt, and for a second, I almost felt like I was finally on top of things. I could fix everything, right? All the things I should've done, the things I shouldn't have done. Hell, I could even prevent the things that haven't happened yet.
It was too much. The possibilities, the weight of it all.
Focus, Rynan. Focus.
I pushed the thought aside for a second, forcing myself to breathe. One thing at a time. I could barely keep my head above water with what I was dealing with right now, let alone juggling timelines.
Then, it clicked.
Dinnertime.
Without hesitation, I repeated it in my head. Dinnertime. Dinnertime. Dinnertime. I just needed to say it. I just needed to make it happen. The energy hummed in my bones, and before I could even process what was happening, the world around me shifted. It wasn't the same kind of shift I'd felt before, but it was enough to make my stomach flip.
"..!"
For a split second, it was like I wasn't even in my body. Like I was floating, untethered from everything—untethered from time itself. And then, with a soft thud, I was back. My feet were planted solidly on the ground. The kitchen table. The familiar scents of dinner.
"What's wrong, Rynan?"
It was Mom's voice. It was her. Mom. I blinked, dazed for a moment. There they were—Mom, Dad, Andrea. Same as always. Nothing had changed.
Holy crap, it worked.
I could feel the relief flooding through me. My heart slammed against my ribs. For a brief second, I just wanted to jump out of my seat and shout at the top of my lungs. But that'd make me look even crazier than I already did, and I wasn't about to throw a temper tantrum like some kind of freak.
I let out a breath, trying to play it cool, but it came out shaky. My voice was probably too loud, too high-pitched. But it was the best I could do.
"Oh, uhh, nothing!" I said quickly, my words stumbling over each other. I had to steer this ship back on course before it crashed and burned. "Let's eat! I'm very hungry!"
They smiled. It was that warm, familiar smile. I felt a twinge of embarrassment crawl up my neck. Yeah, I probably looked like a child, but I couldn't help it. I was a child.
Dinner went by faster than I could process, and I found myself sinking further into the role I had to play. The polite nods, the occasional grin, the laughs that I could've done without. But it was fine. I was in control now. I had the power to make things better.
_____𖤍_____
When the meal finally ended, Mom and Dad stood to head off to their room.
"Goodnight, Ryn!" Mom said, cheerfully, like nothing had changed. Like I hadn't just altered the very fabric of time itself.
"Goodnight, Mom!" I replied, a grin plastered across my face. It was fake. The grin. Not the words. But it was fine. It was working.
They left the room, and I let out a long breath.
The second their door clicked shut, I slammed my own door and flopped onto the bed with the kind of dramatic exhaustion that only comes from pulling off a major move. I buried my face in the pillow, muffling my frustrated groan.
"Haah..."
The sound escaped me as if it were the last bit of air in my lungs. I let the weight of it all sink in—everything I had learned, everything that had happened, everything that could happen. I didn't even know where to start.
With everything I had discovered today, I finally had the power to protect them. To protect Mom. To protect Dad. To protect Andrea. The people I care about. The people I almost lost.
This time, I wouldn't let myself screw it up. I wouldn't let them slip through my fingers.
But as the euphoria started to fade, a thought nagged at the back of my mind.
If I could use omnipresence without relying on omni-state… then what exactly is the point of omni-state?
Wait—I'm a freaking idiot.
Omni-state. It lets me use all three omnis—omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence—at the same time. That's the whole point. But if I can use them separately, it means I can minimize the drain.
Wait. No, that's perfect.
If I don't have to rely on omni-state all the time, I can avoid draining Eons constantly. I can use them one by one, switching between powers without frying my system.
I can control the flow. I can space out the power.
Yeah, now I'm smart.
I sat up, grabbing the notebook I had left on the bedside table. My hands moved quickly, writing down everything that had just clicked into place. One step at a time. Focus.
What's next? Could I go back even further? If I can use omnipresence to bend time like that, how much farther can I push it? Could I undo the mistakes from the last battle? Could I undo the mistakes I'll make tomorrow? Hell, could I just undo the whole damn thing—
Rynan, focus.
I slammed the notebook shut. This wasn't the time to go wild with possibilities. I had to stay grounded. I had to make sure I didn't lose myself again, like I did last time. One step at a time.
I flopped back down onto the bed, the weight of everything I'd just unlocked weighing down on me. The idea that I had the power to fix things—really fix things—was terrifying. The pressure, the responsibility… It was almost too much to handle.
But I couldn't let it break me. Not this time. Not again.
"Haah…"
I let out another long breath, a mix of relief and exhaustion.
Yeah, I'm tired.