Chapter 1: The Pink Cat and The Red Icon
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The relentless sound of my alarm clock pierced through the morning silence, a harsh reminder that another meaningless day had begun. I laid there staring at the ceiling, the familiar weight of dread settling on my chest.
"Anis! Breakfast is ready! You'll be late for school!" my mother's voice called out from downstairs, muffled by the walls.
I let out a long, heavy sigh. I really didn't have the energy for this. Not today. Not any day. Reaching out, I slammed my hand onto the snooze button, silencing the noise. I dragged myself out of bed, changed into my dull school uniform, grabbed my backpack, and headed down to the living room.
I grabbed a quick bite, not really tasting the food. "I'm leaving, Mom," I muttered, heading for the door.
"Take care of yourself, sweetie!" she replied, her voice carrying a warmth I felt I no longer deserved.
Stepping outside, I was greeted by a surprisingly beautiful morning. The sun was shining brightly, and a few white clouds drifted lazily across the blue sky. It was the kind of weather that made people smile. I just kept my head down, walking my usual route to school.
That was when I saw it.
I stopped in my tracks. A little girl, no older than seven, wearing a bright red dress, was walking a few paces ahead of me. But it wasn't the girl that made me freeze—it was what she was following.
A cat.
But this wasn't an ordinary alley cat. Its fur was an unnatural, vibrant shade of pink. As if sensing my gaze, the creature stopped and slowly turned its head to look at me. A chill ran down my spine. Its eyes... they had no color, no pupils, no whites. They were just pitch-black voids, staring right through me.
Before I could even process what I was looking at, the screeching of tires shattered the morning peace. A car was speeding down the street, swerving uncontrollably, heading straight for the little girl in the red dress.
My body moved before my brain could register the danger. I didn't think; I just sprinted.
I threw myself forward, shoving the little girl out of the vehicle's path. In the next fraction of a second, something hard clipped the side of my head. The world spun in a blur of colors, a dull pain flared in my skull, and then—absolute darkness.
* * *
"Hey. Wake up."
I blinked, my vision blurry. A gentle hand was shaking my shoulder. As my eyes focused, I expected to see a crowd of panicked bystanders or paramedics. Instead, I saw the little girl in the red dress.
I sat up slowly, waiting for the agonizing pain of broken bones, but... nothing. I rubbed the side of my head where the car had hit me. There wasn't even a bump.
I looked at the girl. She wasn't crying. She wasn't trembling. There was no fear in her eyes, just a strange, calm expression that didn't belong on a child's face.
"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice slightly raspy. I didn't question her odd behavior at the moment; my brain was still foggy. I just offered her a weak smile.
She nodded silently.
"Let's get you home," I said, standing up and dusting myself off.
I walked her to a nearby alleyway. She stopped, turning to face me. "I can go alone from here. My house is close." Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the alley. The pink cat was nowhere to be seen.
I stood there for a moment, looking down at my clothes. They were completely spotless. No dirt, no blood, no torn fabric. I moved my arms and legs. Not a single ache. It was as if the accident had never happened.
Shaking my head, I decided to just keep moving. I couldn't afford to be late.
* * *
School was exactly as I left it: a prison.
I arrived early, taking my usual seat at the back of the classroom. I pulled out a random novel from my bag and buried my face in it as the other students started trickling in. I didn't talk to anyone, and no one talked to me. I preferred it that way.
But peace was a luxury I wasn't allowed to have.
When the final bell rang, signaling the end of the day, I packed my bag quickly. I wasn't quick enough. A heavy hand slammed onto my desk.
"Where do you think you're going, loser?"
It was Mark. Behind him stood two of his mindless friends, grinning like hyenas.
What followed was the usual routine. They dragged me behind the gym building. The shoves, the insults, the sharp kicks to my stomach. I just curled up on the ground, protecting my head. I didn't fight back. I didn't even cry out. The physical pain was nothing compared to the numbness inside me. It had become a routine, a twisted part of my daily schedule. When they finally got bored and left, I slowly picked myself up, dusted off my uniform, and began the long walk home.
* * *
The sun was setting by the time I opened the front door, casting long, orange shadows across the hallway.
"Anis? My god, what happened to your clothes?" my mother gasped, rushing toward me with wide, worried eyes.
"It's nothing, Mom. I just tripped and fell," I lied smoothly, forcing a reassuring smile.
In the living room, my father was glued to the evening news on the TV. "Good evening, Dad," I muttered. He gave a half-hearted nod without taking his eyes off the screen.
I headed straight to my room, locking the door behind me. I booted up my laptop, opened a blank document, and started typing. It was my webnovel, though it was more of a diary disguised as fiction. I poured all my frustrations, my pain, and the day's events into the story. In this world, I was the author. I had control.
A knock on the door interrupted my typing. "Dinner's ready!" Mom called.
I went back down. The dining table was quiet. Sitting across from me was Marwa, my fourteen-year-old sister. I caught her looking at me. Her eyes held a deep sadness that broke my heart.
We used to be so close. I used to be the energetic, funny older brother who always played games with her. But ever since Dad got transferred and we moved to this city, everything changed. I entered this new high school, became the prime target for Mark and his gang, and slowly withdrew into my shell. The whole school feared Mark, so they naturally avoided me like a plague. I had become an outcast.
I looked at Marwa and managed to give her a small, genuine smile. Her eyes softened, and the corners of her lips curled up just a little bit. It was a fleeting moment, but it meant everything.
After dinner, I washed up, brushed my teeth, and went back to my room. I finished the chapter I was writing, shut down the laptop, and threw myself onto my bed. I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through Haysbook, watching people live lives I could only dream of.
An hour passed. It was almost midnight.
I put my phone on the nightstand, leaving the bedside lamp on, and closed my eyes.
What's the point of all this? I thought to myself. How much longer can I keep living like this?
Suddenly, a bright red glow pierced through my closed eyelids.
I frowned, keeping my eyes shut. In the top right corner of my vision, there was a small, glowing red icon. It looked like a digital button.
I snapped my eyes open, staring at the ceiling. The icon vanished.
My heart started to race. I closed my eyes again. There it was. The red icon. I opened them. It was gone.
"What the..." I whispered, sitting up straight. My chest was heaving. Was I hallucinating? Was it the head trauma from the car accident finally kicking in?
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. I kept my eyes wide open and focused on the top right corner of my room. Slowly, faintly, the red icon began to materialize in my field of vision, hovering in thin air.
Trembling, I slowly reached my hand out. My finger hovered over the glowing red button. I swallowed hard and pressed it.
Ding!
A crisp, mechanical sound echoed in my mind. The red icon expanded, unfolding into a large, semi-transparent blue holographic screen right in front of my face.
[System Initialization Complete]
[Host Profile]
* Name: Anis
* Age: 17
* Hobbies: Writing, Reading
* Status: Healthy
I couldn't breathe. A system? Like in the novels I read?
My eyes darted across the screen and caught a blinking yellow notification bell in the corner. I pressed it.
[Notification: 'Time Stop' ability is now available. Would you like to claim it?]
My finger slammed onto the 'Yes' button before I even realized what I was doing.
The screen shifted, opening a massive, endless directory. Thousands of abilities were listed, stretching as far as the eye could see. Almost all of them had question marks for names, heavy padlocks over their icons, and a list of obscure requirements to unlock them beneath.
But at the very top of the list, one ability glowed brightly. Its icon was a red hourglass.
[Ability Unlocked: Time Stop]
* Level: 1
* Duration: 5 Seconds
* Usage Limit: 1 time per day.
I sat there, frozen, reading the description over and over again. Five seconds. Once a day. I could stop time itself.
I spent the rest of the night exploring the empty, locked menus, trying to understand what this was and why I had it. By the time I checked the clock, it was 3:00 AM.
I pressed the red icon again, and the blue screen vanished. However, the small red button remained quietly resting in the corner of my vision.
I lay back down, pulling the covers up to my chin. My mind was racing, a chaotic mix of terror and absolute exhilaration. Tomorrow, I had to face Mark again. But this time, I wasn't a helpless outcast.
I had five seconds. And I was going to make them count.