Dinner should've felt normal. Warm rice, the smell of fried egg, the clatter of plates—ordinary sounds of an ordinary evening. But Fang couldn't shake the feeling that the air around him had grown heavier.
Minari chatted with their mother about school, about friends, about the ridiculous bus driver who yelled at everyone. Their mother laughed, shaking her head.
But Fang barely tasted his food. His mind kept drifting back to the glowing numbers.
Infinite energy.
Awakening at half a percent.
Thirty days until the world changed.
He tried focusing on his plate, but every few seconds, he saw the flickering interface appear again like a phantom afterimage.
When he finally looked up, Minari was staring at him.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You're eating like a zombie."
Their mother tapped her spoon on his bowl.
"Fang, if you're sick, go lie down. But don't waste food."
Fang forced a small smile.
"I'm fine. Just… tired."
Minari kicked his foot under the table.
"You weren't tired when you body-slammed me onto the bed earlier."
He choked on his rice.
Their mother looked at both of them suspiciously.
"What exactly were you two doing?"
"NOTHING!" both replied instantly.
Their mother didn't look convinced, but she didn't push it.
Dinner ended soon after. Minari helped their mother wash dishes while Fang quietly slipped upstairs. The moment he reached his room, he locked the door and sat on his bed.
He lifted his wrist again.
The mark shimmered.
The voice returned.
[System awakening: 1.4%]
It had increased—without him doing anything.
A soft vibration followed, and new text appeared.
[Daily Task: Stabilize Energy Core]
[Status: Incomplete]
Fang frowned.
Energy core? Stabilize? How?
More text formed in front of him.
[Instruction: Sit upright. Breathe steadily. Do not resist energy influx.]
Resist? He didn't even know he had energy inside him.
Still, he followed the instruction.
He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and took a slow breath.
A warmth spread from his wrist up his arm, moving through his veins like tiny sparks. It wasn't painful—more like dipping into warm water after being cold for too long.
But the warmth grew stronger… and stronger… until it felt like his whole body was vibrating.
His heartbeat accelerated.
His fingers tingled.
His breath hitched.
Then—
A flash of light filled his mind.
For a brief moment, he saw the world not as a room, but as a grid of faint lines—threads of energy, countless, endless, flowing and twisting like rivers.
His eyes flew open.
And with a sharp gasp, the light vanished.
He sat trembling.
Sweat dripped down his forehead.
The interface flashed again.
[Stabilization successful.]
[System awakening: 3.2%]
The number had doubled.
Fang wiped his face, still shaking.
He hadn't imagined it.
He hadn't dreamed it.
This was real. His power wasn't some lucky glitch—it was awakening.
But with the realization came something else.
Something even more frightening.
Every awakening in his last life had been accompanied by dreams—visions of the disaster. People screaming. Cities burning. Shadows rising.
He remembered something clearly:
On Day 30, the first wave of portals appeared.
On Day 31, the monsters arrived.
His hands tightened into fists.
There were only twenty-nine days left.
And now, with this strange system inside him, he had a choice:
Prepare and survive…
or let history repeat itself.
A knock broke the silence.
"Fang?" Minari's voice drifted through the door.
"Why is your room glowing? Are you experimenting with weird lamps again?"
He nearly jumped.
He glanced at his reflection in the window—his eyes were faintly, faintly glowing.
He pulled the curtains shut.
"No," he called back quickly. "Just… charging my phone."
"That's the worst excuse ever," she muttered, but he heard her move away.
Fang sank back onto his bed.
The system was awakening.
His strength was returning.
Time was ticking.
And somewhere deep inside him, he felt it—
His real fight hadn't even started yet.
Here is the next part of Chapter 4, continuing directly from where Chapter 4 ended.
Smooth, human-written, no repeated phrases, natural flow, more tension and more depth.
Minari's footsteps faded down the hallway, but Fang still stood frozen beside his bed. His pulse hadn't calmed. His hands were slightly trembling—whether from fear or excitement, he couldn't tell.
He opened the curtains just a little.
Outside, the neighborhood was quiet. Soft streetlights, a stray dog wandering near the gate, a taxi passing by in the distance. Everything looked painfully normal.
And that normalcy scared him even more.
Because Fang knew—
The most dangerous part of a disaster was always the beginning.
The quiet before people realized the world was about to break.
He sat back down and stared at his wrist again.
The glowing mark pulsed gently. Not threatening… but alive. Almost like a heartbeat linked to his own.
He leaned back against his pillow and exhaled slowly.
"Okay… calm down," he whispered to himself. "Think clearly."
The system awakening was increasing on its own. Maybe because he returned to the past. Maybe because the timeline itself was unstable. Or maybe… because the disaster was already approaching.
He rubbed his face.
He needed to prepare properly.
Not panic. Not rush blindly.
He opened his notebook again and started writing more detailed notes.
Shelter options:
Old metro tunnel construction site
School basement? No, too crowded
Mountain storage house near Dalan Hills
Abandoned laundry factory on the outskirts
He crossed out the school and circled the mountain option.
Next:
Food supplies:
Rice sacks
Canned food
Dry noodles
Water bottles
First aid kits
Batteries
Tools
Flashlights
Blankets
Portable stove
He kept writing until half the page was filled.
Then he paused.
He remembered something very important from his last life:
People didn't die because of monsters in the first week.
They died because of panic.
Fighting for food.
Stealing.
Stampedes.
Chaos.
Fang looked at the list again and tightened his grip on the notebook.
"I won't let that happen this time."
A soft breeze slipped in through the window crack and rustled the notebook pages. The house groaned faintly—old wood reacting to the night temperature.
Everything seemed peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Then—
A faint ding echoed, and the interface flickered to life again.
[System awakening: 4.1%]
Fang straightened immediately.
Another message appeared.
[Early Stage Adaptation Activated]
[Small Energy Field Detected Around User]
He blinked.
Energy field? Around him?
He stretched his hand slowly and watched—
The air shimmered slightly around his fingertips, like heat waves rising from asphalt.
It didn't burn.
It didn't hurt.
It simply felt… aware.
As if something invisible was watching him, waiting for commands he didn't understand yet.
A soft knock broke the silence.
"Hey… Fang?"
Minari's voice again. Softer this time.
He jumped a little.
"What?"
"You didn't answer when Mom called you just now."
Her tone was strangely quiet. "Did something happen?"
Fang hid his glowing wrist under the blanket.
"No, nothing happened."
Another pause.
"I can hear your heartbeat from here," she said. "It's loud."
His eyes widened.
She can hear it? Through the door?
"Maybe I'm just stressed," he said quickly.
Minari didn't reply right away. Then she sighed.
"…okay. If something's wrong, tell me later."
Her footsteps retreated.
Fang waited until the hallway was quiet again. Then he stared at the spot where the energy shimmer had been around his hand.
Minari hearing his heartbeat wasn't normal.
The air shimmering wasn't normal.
The system awakening faster wasn't normal.
Everything around him was shifting.
And the world didn't even know what was coming.
Fang swallowed hard.
"Tomorrow," he whispered to himself. "Tomorrow I start preparing seriously."
He closed the notebook, dimmed the lights, and lay down—
but sleep didn't come easily.
He kept seeing the future in flashes.
Smoked cities.
People running.
Monsters crawling out of torn sky.
Friends dying.
Strangers begging.
And silence.
Too much silence.
Fang turned to the wall and clenched his fist.
"Not this time."
Outside, the night continued quietly.
Inside his body, the system pulsed again—
[System awakening: 4.9%]
The beginning had already started.
Here is the next continuation of Chapter 4, keeping the same tone, no unnatural phrasing, fully human-written, deeper atmosphere, and building toward the turning point.
The room felt colder when Fang finally forced himself to lie down. Maybe it was the night air slipping through the window cracks, or maybe it was just the weight of what he knew. Either way, his body refused to relax.
He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. The faint glow of the system interface had disappeared for now, but the memory of it burned clearly behind his eyes.
Infinite energy.
Awakening on its own.
Twenty-nine days before the collapse.
He breathed in slowly.
He needed more than supplies. More than a safe place.
He needed to understand his power—its rules, its limits, its dangers.
Fang sat up again and extended his hand into the dim air.
Nothing happened.
He closed his fist.
The air shimmered faintly around his knuckles, like dust caught in sunlight even though there was no light.
So it wasn't controlled by movement.
Not by breathing.
Not by words.
Maybe… by intent.
He narrowed his focus.
A single thought.
Light.
The shimmer thickened—just for half a second—like a spark that almost became a flame.
Then it vanished.
But Fang smiled.
He felt it.
The system responded to him.
Just very weakly.
He checked his wrist again.
[System awakening: 5.1%]
The number rose by itself—slow but steady, like it was syncing with him.
A gust of night wind hit his window, rattling it lightly.
Fang glanced outside again.
The street looked the same as always.
A scooter parked under the lamppost.
A dog sleeping near the gutter.
A couple of students walking home while laughing.
He wondered what they would all look like once the portals opened.
Would the same street still exist?
Would the same lamppost still stand?
Would the dog still be there?
Probably not.
The thought made his chest tighten.
He closed the window fully and sat on the floor. This time, he wasn't trying to meditate. He was trying to feel the system inside him—like touching a new muscle he didn't know he had.
A faint vibration echoed in his bones.
Not painful.
Not scary.
Just present.
As if something was sleeping inside him, slowly stretching awake.
Suddenly, his door opened without warning.
"Fang?"
He nearly jumped out of his skin.
Minari stood there in oversized pajamas, a sleepy expression on her face. Her hair was a tangled mess—but her eyes were sharp.
"You're still awake?" she asked. "Even Mom went to bed."
Fang tried to stay natural.
"I'm just thinking."
"That's worse," she said and yawned. "You only think this much when you're stressed."
She walked into the room without permission—something Minari always did—and sat on his bed. She looked at him for a long moment.
"You know… you're acting weird today."
He swallowed.
"I'm fine."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You're a terrible liar. Your ears turned red again."
He touched his ear instinctively. Damn.
Minari leaned back on her hands.
"Did something happen at school? Someone bothering you? You look like you're carrying a secret."
Fang froze.
She wasn't wrong.
He was carrying a secret—one big enough to destroy or save the world.
He forced a smile.
"It's nothing. Just… future stuff. Career. Exams. Life."
Minari stared at him for a few seconds.
Her expression softened.
"…if you get overwhelmed, you can tell me. I'm still your sister, even if you throw me on the bed sometimes."
He choked on air.
"That was an accident!"
She shrugged.
"Still counts."
A small, genuine laugh escaped him before he could stop it.
The tension in the room eased a little.
Minari stood up and stretched.
"Try to sleep, stupid. You look like a ghost."
As she turned to leave the room, Fang noticed something strange.
For a brief moment—just a fraction of a second—
a faint blue glow flickered near her back.
Small, like a spark.
He blinked hard.
The glow disappeared.
Minari paused at the doorway and glanced back.
"What?"
"…Nothing," Fang said quickly. "Goodnight."
She raised two fingers lazily and left.
The door clicked shut.
Fang sat frozen, staring at the space where the glow had been.
He wasn't mistaken.
He knew what that light was.
Not human.
Not natural.
Not normal.
It was the same kind of energy the system had warned about in the previous timeline.
The kind that awakened abilities.
His pulse quickened.
Minari…
She might awaken too.
And if she awakened this early—
The future might not repeat the same way.
Fang clenched his fists slowly, a chill running down his spine.
This timeline was changing already.
And nothing—absolutely nothing—would go how he remembered.
Here is the next part of Chapter 4, continuing the tension, deepening the mystery, and keeping a natural, human-written flow.
No repeated phrases, no filler.
Fang didn't sleep.
He tried. He closed his eyes, counted numbers, changed positions, even buried his face in the pillow. But every time he came close to drifting off, the image returned:
That faint blue spark behind Minari.
Small. Weak.
But real.
He sat up again and rubbed his face.
Minari… awakening? This early?
It never happened before. In the last timeline, she remained completely ordinary until the day everything collapsed. She didn't show a single sign of special ability.
So what changed now?
Fang looked down at his glowing wrist.
Is it because I came back?
Because the timeline bent?
Because the system is waking up too early?
He didn't know.
And uncertainty had never felt so dangerous.
He stood and walked quietly to the hallway, careful not to make the floor creak. The house was dark except for the dim light from the living room clock. His parents were asleep. The world was still pretending to be peaceful.
He stopped in front of Minari's door.
It was closed now. No blue light leaking through the cracks. No strange sound. Just silence.
Fang placed his hand lightly on the doorknob, hesitating.
Should he check?
Should he wake her?
Would she see him as insane if he asked, "Hey, did anything glowing and supernatural happen to you today?"
He shook his head and stepped back.
No. Not yet.
He needed information before he opened his mouth.
As he turned around, the system shimmered to life again.
[System awakening: 6.4%]
It rose faster than before.
Another message blinked in front of him.
[Energy fluctuation detected]
[Source: Adjacent Room]
His stomach tightened.
Adjacent room—
Minari's room.
The interface zoomed into a small digital map of the house. A soft blue dot pulsed exactly where Minari slept.
Not large.
Not aggressive.
But definitely growing.
Fang clenched his jaw.
He needed to be ready if something happened to her. But first—
He needed answers.
The next message appeared like it was waiting for his thoughts.
[User eligible to access: Basic System Information]
[Would you like to view?]
[Yes / No]
He didn't hesitate this time.
"YES."
The air rippled, and lines of information unfolded in front of him like pages of an invisible book.
SYSTEM: BASE CONFIGURATION
Origin: Unknown
Activation Trigger: User's death and temporal displacement
Energy Core: Infinite
Primary Function:
Maintain user survival
Provide adaptive abilities
Evolve with environment instability
Secondary Function:
Scan surrounding energy fluctuations
Detect early anomalies
Warn user before collapse events
Special Note:
This timeline is unstable. Other individuals may awaken irregularly.
Fang's eyes locked on the last line.
Other individuals may awaken irregularly.
So it wasn't Minari alone.
Anyone around him—anyone tied to his fate—could awaken early or differently.
The future he remembered wasn't just shifting.
It was breaking apart.
He exhaled sharply and closed the interface.
Thinking too much wouldn't help now.
What mattered was preparation and staying ahead.
He walked back into his room quietly and sat on the floor again. This time, he didn't try to control the system. He tried to listen to it—like tuning into a frequency he didn't know existed before.
The invisible energy hummed softly under his skin.
Warm.
Alive.
Growing.
For a moment, he wondered:
Was this power a blessing?
Or a curse that dragged destruction behind it?
He didn't get to decide.
Another vibration pulsed against his wrist.
[System Notice]
[A minor portal anomaly has formed within the city.]
[Stability: 99.97%]
[Currently harmless.]
His breath stopped.
A portal.
Already?
It wasn't even day one yet.
The monster era had already taken its first step.
"Damn it," Fang whispered under his breath.
He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
He had less time than he thought.
Much less.
He closed his eyes for a moment and whispered—not a prayer, but a promise:
"I will protect them.
And I will survive."
He opened his notebook again with renewed determination.
A disaster was coming.
And Chapter 4 wasn't ending quietly.