Chapter 3: Time Fracture

Chapter 3: Time Fracture

Everyone on the road, in the streets — everyone in the surroundings — noticed him shouting.

A small kid holding his mother's hand, licking an ice cream cone, pointed with a giggle.

"Mom, that beggar-looking uncle is going crazy."

Nearby, a group of high schoolers burst into laughter.

"Bro thinks he's in a fantasy novel!"

"He must've just watched a thousand episodes of anime in one night!"

"Go back to your Isekai, man!"

Some people chuckled and walked on.

Others simply stared with pity or amusement, then ignored him entirely.

Raizen rubbed the back of his head and exhaled sharply.

"Man… this is embarrassing. I look like a lunatic."

His worn clothes, bruised face, and wild eyes weren't helping.

But then—

Everything stopped.

Cars froze in the middle of the road.

A pigeon flapping overhead was stuck in midair.

Even the laughter, the wind, the honking — gone.

A plane hung motionless above the skyline.

Pedestrians were statues, mid-step, mid-sentence, mid-breath.

Silence.

Stillness.

A fracture in time itself.

Raizen blinked, his body tense.

> "What the hell? Did… time just stop?"

He reached out toward a frozen leaf suspended in midair. It didn't move, didn't react. Even the wind had vanished.

His heartbeat pounded in the silence.

> "This… isn't magic. It's something else entirely."

Then came the soft buzz of static, followed by a flicker of blue light.

A translucent screen appeared before him.

---

[SYSTEM]:

"Can't you be a bit more patient?"

---

He instinctively straightened up, a cold sweat forming on his back. His gut screamed at him:

> Say the wrong thing, and something terrible might happen.

He'd seen enough stories to know this was no ordinary system. If it could stop time on a whim, it wasn't bound by the world's rules. It might not even be bound by morality.

> "Better not piss it off…" he thought.

The system interface glitched, shimmered, and updated.

---

[SYSTEM RULES]:

You must not reveal my existence to others.

---

> "That's it? Just one rule? But it said rules, plural..."

Raizen gulped.

> "Let's not press it. This thing already paused time just to scold me."

"Okay…" he muttered cautiously.

---

[SYSTEM]:

"I'll let it go this time, since I didn't explain earlier."

---

And just like that—

Time snapped back.

The pigeon flapped and flew off.

A horn blared as a car sped past the alley's opening.

Raizen was back in the same spot — slumped in the shadows of the dark alley, body aching, and heart pounding.

> "Did… did it just turn back time?"

He clenched his fists.

This time, he didn't shout. He didn't move.

He just sat, breathing deeply, trying to process the madness.

---

[SYSTEM]:

"The memories of your new body will now be transferred."

---

Then it hit him like a crashing wave.

A rush of thoughts, feelings, images — foreign, yet familiar.

A stabbing pain erupted behind his eyes. His knees buckled. It felt like someone had opened his skull and poured a stranger's entire life into it — raw and unresolved.

Emotions bled into him: shame, fear, loneliness, anger.

His head throbbed as the mental flood poured in.

---

> "Kang Minjae. That's the name of this body."

"Eighteen years old. Same age as me."

"His father, Kang Daejin — some cold, ruthless CEO. His mother, Yoon Haejin, comes from an old-money family… but neither gives a damn about him."

"No allowance. No support. No love. They believe suffering builds character. Or maybe they just don't care."

"This kid got bullied. Badly. School gang extorted him every week."

"He had no strength, no friends… just silence and pain."

---

The last memory echoed.

Blood on his lips.

A kick to the ribs.

Laughter echoing from the alley entrance.

Raizen opened his eyes, jaw clenched.

---

[SYSTEM]:

"Check your profile."

---

A panel opened.

---

[CHARACTER PROFILE]

Name: Raizen Nocturne (Kang Minjae)

Height: 179 cm

Weight: 60 kg

Species: Human

Title: Chosen by the System

(Benefit: Can access system interface)

Powers: Justice, Copy (Skills & Talent), Energy Manipulation

Skill: Jab [Low-level skill] (Fully mastered. Incomplete boxing.)

Power Level: 1.2 (Mid-range normal human)

---

Raizen raised his arm, squeezing his fist.

> "A bit scrawny… but I kept my powers. That's a relief."

His mind was still hazy, but the situation was clearer now.

> "I want answers, but right now… I need control. I need to start somewhere small."

He stepped out of the alley cautiously, blinking at the world outside.

> "Kang Minjae got beat up by the local gang again. No one helped. He was just... background noise to this city."

He passed a mirror-like window and paused.

A bruised, unfamiliar face stared back.

Still, beneath it, Raizen smiled faintly.

> "A classic school-gang setup in a cold urban world. Yep… and judging by the language, signs, and faces — this is Korea."

Seoul, maybe? The dense skyline, flickering LED ads, and endless noise made it feel like a capital.

A cold, busy place where no one noticed a bruised boy bleeding in an alley.

---

A new screen flashed before him, bright and bold.

---

[MAIN QUEST 1]:

Objective: Reach Multiversal Level

Time Limit: ??:??:??

---

> "Multiversal… Level?"

He tilted his head.

> "What's with the question marks in the time limit? Does that mean… unlimited time?"

---

[SYSTEM]:

"No. The question marks are there because the quest may evolve. From Multiversal… to something far beyond."

"I also cannot calculate the exact time it will take. It could be a second. It could be billions of years. No one can predict the cosmos."

---

Raizen's eyes widened.

He laughed under his breath, both amazed and horrified.

> "…What kind of monster goal is this? I was expecting a dungeon or something, not this cosmic bullshit."

His fingers trembled — not from fear, but anticipation.

He glanced back toward the alley, then forward toward the rising skyline.

> "Alright then. Let's climb the infinite."

---

CHAPTER 3 — END

[Author's Note:

Hello everyone! I’ve updated this chapter with some improvements and added more details to make the story more immersive. I'm still learning and improving my writing, so your support means a lot to me. If you enjoy the story or have any feedback, feel free to leave a comment — it really help. Thank you for reading and joining me on this journey. Much more is coming soon.]

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