It was Sunday — quiet, slow, the city lulled into a rare calm.

  Kai sat alone at a corner table in a small café tucked between two towering buildings. The sun filtered lazily through the windows, glinting off the polished surface.

  Around him, people spoke in hushed tones — soft laughter, the clink of cups, the faint buzz of life happening.

  And yet… his mind was elsewhere.

  He stared into the dark liquid, swirling it slowly as thoughts circled like vultures. Everyone was growing… That fact clung to him like a shadow. Daren, Marcus — even the two who had once been liabilities — had started to change. Picking up skills, instincts, awareness… becoming useful. Becoming assets.

  That’s good, Kai thought. They’ll need it… sooner or later.

  But despite the progress, his mind remained fixated on something else — the knowledge he’d uncovered. The words his father left behind, scrawled carefully into the margins of that hidden book:

  “You don’t need the candles anymore. You don’t need the dark. All you need… is the memory of the feeling. The rest will follow.”

  Kai sipped his coffee, letting the warmth coat his throat. He had time today — no meetings, no watchers, no orders to give. A rare moment of freedom.

  So why not use it?

  The café around him blurred slightly as he focused — his fingers tightening around the cup. Slowly, Kai closed his eyes.

  Focus on the feeling… His father’s voice echoed again. The moment you leave yourself… the pull, the weightlessness…

  He found it. That thread of memory, delicate and cold — the sensation of slipping free from the body. His breathing slowed.

  Seconds passed.

  Twenty.

  Thirty.

  And then… that twisting pull.

  Like his mind was spiraling in a tornado — the world bending, snapping.

  Then — silence.

  Kai opened his eyes — only they weren’t his anymore. He stood… watching himself.

  Seated. Coffee still steaming on the table.

  Around him, the world crawled. Movements slow, almost like the air was thick with syrup. A couple mid-laugh — their faces frozen in a perfect still. A spoon clinked against porcelain but never quite landed.

  Kai looked down at his hands — pale, translucent, yet there. A thin smoky veil hung in the air — shifting, swirling.

  Time… slowed.

  For a moment, he just stood there — marveling at how natural it felt now. Like breathing.

  And then — the experiment.

  Kai glanced toward the server — a young woman balancing a tray, weaving between tables.

  Let’s see…

  He pictured it — simple, small. The girl approaching him, offering a passing comment… something harmless. Maybe they’d laugh. Nothing dramatic. Just… natural.

  Satisfied, Kai felt the pull — the tether that led him back.

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  Return.

  And like that — the world snapped into place.

  He blinked, back in his seat — coffee warm beneath his palm. Around him, the café buzzed again — like nothing had happened.

  His eyes drifted lazily, watching the people — couples, students, lone workers. All locked in their tiny worlds.

  Kai exhaled… just as the server turned, tray now empty.

  He felt it before it happened — that tug of inevitability.

  The girl approached, a small polite smile tugging at her lips.

  “Hey, sorry to bother,” she said, voice soft. “Weird question — do you come here often? I feel like I’ve seen you around.”

  Kai blinked — almost laughed.

  “First time,” he replied, playing it cool.

  “Oh.” She chuckled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Guess I’m just imagining things. It’s… uh, kinda boring today, huh?”

  Kai gave a faint smirk. “Guess it depends where you’re looking.”

  That earned a real laugh — small, genuine.

  “Right. Anyway… just wanted to check if you needed anything else?”

  Kai shook his head. “No… I’m good.”

  “Alright.” She gave him a small wave, turning away. “Enjoy your day, then.”

  As she walked off, Kai sat back — a smile creeping up, slow and rare.

  It worked… again.

  No flash. No spectacle.

  Just… the world shifting — naturally, effortlessly — to fit the thread he’d laid out.

  Kai stared at the steam rising from his cup, his heart strangely calm.

  I’ll never get used to this, he thought.

  The power wasn’t about control… not really. It was about understanding — nudging reality, setting the stage… and letting the world do the rest.

  Kai exhaled, eyes sharp now — focused.

  I need to test this more… push the limits. There’s so much more I can do.

  And with that — he sat still, a king unseen among his people, quietly plotting his next move.

  The day was still young.

  And Kai… had all the time he needed.

  Kai leaned back, the leather seat creaking faintly beneath him. A slow, rare smile crept across his face — he could still feel the residual pull of being outside himself.

  It’s… easier now, he thought. Too easy.

  He scanned the café lazily — eyes landing on two strangers.

  A man hunched over a laptop, fingers flying across the keys, earbuds tucked in. Face pale, the glow of the screen reflected in his glasses — the kind of man lost in his own world.

  Across the room, a woman sat by the window — staring blankly through the glass, chin resting on her palm. She was absent, detached, lost in thoughts no one else could see.

  Perfect.

  Kai’s eyes narrowed.

  Let’s try again.

  This time, he didn’t even need to close his eyes — just leaned into the sensation, the memory of the smoky place and the pull of detachment.

  The world twisted.

  The air felt heavier, the café sounds stretched thin — laughter slowed, spoons paused mid-air. And there he was… standing, watching himself again — just a ghost with a plan.

  Kai’s gaze drifted to the man and woman.

  Alright… something simple.

  He didn’t imagine a sudden spark or forced encounter — no. He pictured something mundane, forgettable… accidental.

  That was it. Small. Harmless.

  Kai exhaled slowly — feeling the moment lock into place.

  Done.

  And just like that — he was back.

  The world snapped forward — coffee steam rising, chairs scraping.

  Kai sipped from his cup — watching, waiting.

  For a while… nothing. Just the usual — people lost in their own little universes. The man kept typing, the woman kept staring out the window.

  And then — movement.

  The woman blinked, suddenly snapping out of her daze. She grabbed her purse, stood — adjusting her coat. Her expression unreadable.

  Kai’s gaze sharpened — heart steady.

  She walked — slowly, casually — heading toward the exit.

  And just as she passed the man’s table, it happened.

  Her heel caught the laptop charger cord, twisted around it. A faint gasp escaped her lips as she stumbled forward, barely catching herself against the edge of his table.

  The man jerked — startled, pulling off one earbud.

  For a heartbeat, they stared at each other — awkward… then laughing.

  Kai couldn’t hear the words, but he watched their mouths move — the man gesturing to the charger, sheepish grin. The woman waving him off, smiling.

  For a minute… it looked natural. Too natural.

  They exchanged a few more words — the woman nodding, laughing once more before brushing her hair behind her ear. She said something that made the man scratch his neck, smiling wider now.

  For them — it was a moment.

  For Kai — it was proof.

  He sat there, unmoving, like a movie director watching his scene unfold exactly as scripted… without anyone knowing they were playing parts.

  Kai’s lips twitched — a rare, almost dangerous grin.

  This… this is insane.

  And yet, no one noticed. No one felt the hand guiding the moment.

  Not the man. Not the woman.

  Just… life — happening.

  Exactly as Kai imagined.

  He leaned back, exhaling slowly.

  What next?

  The world was wide open now.

  And he had all the time in the world to shape it.

  Kai stayed still — the café fading around him, conversations turning to background noise.

  The thought hit him — sharp, unsettling… yet fascinating.

  It’s not that I’m changing the world…

  I’m… creating memories.

  His lips parted slightly, breath caught halfway as the realization rooted deep.

  That’s why it feels so real. Because it is. I’m not forcing events… I’m writing the memory of seeing them. Like… planting it in the timeline — not changing the present, but making sure when the moment comes… I’ll remember it happening that way.

  He leaned back, eyes distant — mind racing.

  We remember things because they happened. A fight. A conversation. A kiss. A mistake. The past feels real because it’s stored — filed away in our heads as truth.

  But what if… what if the future is just… unwritten memory?

  Kai blinked, a slow smile creeping across his face — half awe, half fear.

  That’s what this is. When I imagine it… it becomes something I will remember.

  I don’t control the moment like a puppet master pulling strings. No… I leave a thread — a faint trace — like graffiti sprayed on the wall of time. By the time I get there, it’s already dry.

  He took another sip of his coffee — bitter, grounding.

  That’s why it feels natural. Why no one notices. I’m not changing their will… I’m just… nudging fate… turning a maybe… into a memory I’m destined to see.

  Kai’s hand trembled slightly as the weight of it sank in.

  I don’t change the world… I change what I’ll remember about it.

  He laughed once — dry, soft — the sound barely audible.

  It’s terrifying…

  And beautiful.

  His mind spiraled — thinking back to every memory he’d ever had. The good. The bad. The ones that haunted him in the dead of night.

  I could plant those now… create moments that feel as real as anything else I’ve lived. And one day, I’ll look back and think… yes, that happened.

  Kai rubbed his face, breath shaky.

  So what am I, then? A boy… or a goddamn author of his own life?

  His eyes lifted, staring out the café window — watching people pass by, oblivious.

  No… not a god. Just… someone who finally understands how the game is played.

  He smiled then — a real smile, full of something sharp and endless.

  The past… the future… they’re the same. Both just… memories.

  And for the first time — Kai felt it.

  The weight of possibility.

  What else can I write?

  And when does it stop feeling like power… and start feeling like fate?

  He finished his coffee slowly — staring at the world like it was the most interesting book he’d ever read.

  And he was the one holding the pen.

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