Chapter 204: Finding Her
Nobody stood outside the pastry shop, still breathing heavily from his run. His hands rested on his knees as he tried to calm himself down. "Aiden is fifteen..."
He slowly straightened himself. "The coffee shop is under construction. Nathan Industries barely looks the same. Everyone is acting like I’m some random stranger..."
Nobody looked toward the sky. "...And the System decides to disappear at the exact moment I need it most." He waited for a response. Nobody took a breath. "System, are you there?"
For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then suddenly, a familiar blue window appeared in front of him.
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[Update completed]
[The user can now use skills during morning hours.]
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Nobody stared at the notification. "..." Then his expression immediately brightened. "System!" He pointed at the window. "You’re finally on!"
Nobody almost laughed from relief. "I thought you abandoned me! Do you know how creepy it is when you’re completely silent?" His eyes returned to the notification. "Wait." His smile disappeared. "Morning?"
The System remained floating calmly in front of him.
Nobody leaned closer. "Morning what?"
A second notification appeared.
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[Yes, user heard correctly.]
[The user can now use skills during morning hours.]
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Nobody stared at it. Then his face slowly lit up. "WHAT?!"
Several people nearby turned toward him.
Nobody immediately lowered his voice. "Wait, wait, wait. I can use my skills during the morning now?"
[Affirmative.]
Nobody’s eyes sparkled. "So you’re telling me that I can finally use my abilities whenever I want?"
[More accurately, the previous restriction preventing morning skill usage has been removed.]
Nobody grinned. "That’s actually pretty cool." He looked at his hands. "Finally! Morning Nobody gets to experience the fun stuff too." He paused. "...Although I’m not sure why I needed an update for something that should’ve been available from the beginning."
[System functionality is subject to progression.]
Nobody stared at the window. "Of course. Because apparently my powers need software updates."
The System disappeared for a moment.
Nobody sighed. "But now we have a much greater issue in hand."
The System returned.
[Please elaborate.]
Nobody pointed toward the surrounding buildings. "How the hell did I time travel to the past?"
The System immediately responded.
[Correction.]
Nobody blinked. "What?"
[The user has not traveled to the past.]
Nobody frowned. "Then what am I looking at?"
[The world itself has shifted to a previous timeline.]
Nobody stared at the System. "The world..." He pointed at himself. "Didn’t move?"
[Correct.]
He pointed toward the surrounding buildings. "The world moved?"
[Correct.]
Nobody stared at the notification for several seconds. "Damn it!" He rubbed his forehead. "I don’t even get your hard English."
[The System’s explanation was extremely simple.]
"That’s the problem! You somehow make simple things sound complicated."
The System disappeared.
Nobody sighed. "Whatever." He looked around again. "If this world really shifted backward..." His thoughts immediately went toward one person. "Toma." His expression changed. "Let’s see if Toma is in her old house."
The System appeared again.
[Searching available historical environmental data.]
Nobody raised an eyebrow. "Historical environmental data?"
[The System is attempting to determine the location of Toma based on the current timeline.]
Nobody nodded. "Okay."
A small map appeared. A location was marked.
"There." Nobody immediately looked toward the road. "I need a taxi."
........
A few minutes later, Nobody climbed into a taxi. "Where to?" the driver asked.
Nobody gave him the address. "Take me there."
The taxi pulled away from the curb.
Nobody stared through the window as Alkon City passed by. The more he looked, the stranger everything became.
Some buildings were smaller than he remembered. Several stores that existed in his current timeline weren’t there yet, the roads looked older, and familiar locations had completely different businesses.
Nobody slowly leaned against the window. "So it really happened..."
The System appeared beside him.
[Affirmative.]
Nobody looked at it. "You could’ve told me that earlier."
[The user was busy running away.]
Nobody raised an eyebrow. "...You saw that?"
[The System observes the user continuously.]
Nobody looked away. "That’s creepy."
The System disappeared.
Nobody sighed. He continued watching the city.
A group of schoolchildren crossed the road. A bus stopped at a familiar intersection. People walked along the sidewalks, completely unaware that the world around them was no longer the world Nobody remembered.
Nobody looked toward the System. "Hey."
[Yes, user.]
"Does this mean everyone else has their memories changed too?"
The System paused.
[Current information is insufficient.]
Nobody frowned. "So you don’t know?"
[The System has detected environmental timeline displacement, but the extent of memory alteration among individuals remains unclear.]
Nobody leaned back. "Great. So basically, I know nothing."
[That assessment is accurate.]
Nobody stared at the System. "...You’re becoming more sarcastic."
[The System has always been this way.]
Nobody smiled slightly. "Fair."
The taxi continued toward Toma’s old neighborhood.
As they moved farther away from the city center, the surroundings became increasingly familiar. Nobody recognized the streets. He remembered seeing them before, but not recently.
These were places from an earlier period of his life.
Nobody suddenly sat upright. "We’re getting close."
The driver nodded. "About five minutes."
Nobody’s heart started beating faster.
He didn’t know what he would find.
Would Toma be there?
Would she remember him?
Would she even know who he was?
And what about Aiden? If Aiden was fifteen, then Toma had to be younger too.
Nobody suddenly realized something. "Wait."
The System appeared.
[Yes, user.]
"If Aiden is fifteen..." Nobody swallowed. "...how old is Toma?"
The System remained silent for a moment.
Then a notification appeared.
[The System recommends that the user remain calm.]
Nobody’s eyes widened. "That’s not an answer."
[The System is aware.]
"Tell me bich!"
Another notification appeared.
[Toma’s current age is significantly younger than the user remembers.]
Nobody stared at the window. "...Oh." He slowly leaned back. "So this really is the past."
[The System already explained that the world shifted to a past timeline.]
"I know!" Nobody rubbed his face. "I was just hoping you were somehow wrong."
The taxi slowed down. The driver looked through the mirror. "We’re here."
Nobody looked outside.
The neighborhood was quiet. Old houses lined the street, and several children were playing near a small park. The buildings looked exactly like memories Nobody hadn’t realized he still carried.
Nobody slowly opened the taxi door. He stepped outside and paid the driver. The taxi drove away.
Nobody remained standing on the sidewalk. His eyes moved across the street. Then he saw it.
A house. He recognized it immediately. Toma’s old house.
Nobody’s breathing slowed.
The System appeared beside him.
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[Target location confirmed.]
[Toma is currently inside.]
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Nobody’s eyes widened. "She’s really here..."
He took one step forward. Then stopped. His hand slowly lowered. He didn’t know what he expected to do.
Walk up to the house?
Knock on the door?
Tell her who he was?
None of those options made sense. Not in this timeline. Nobody moved farther away from the house instead. He found a position behind a tree across the street where he could see the entrance without being noticed.
"I’ll just look."
The System appeared.
[Observation only?]
Nobody nodded. "Yeah." He looked toward the house. "I don’t know what changed this world. I don’t know why I’m the only one who remembers. And I definitely don’t know what happens if I start interfering."
He crossed his arms. "So for now, I watch."
The front door suddenly opened.
Nobody immediately stopped talking.
A young girl stepped outside. She looked very much younger than the Toma he knew.
Nobody froze. His eyes widened. Even from this distance, there was no mistaking her.
Toma.
She walked down the small path outside her house, carrying a school bag. She looked completely ordinary, completely unaware of the man watching her from across the street.
Nobody didn’t move. He simply stared. This wasn’t the Toma he knew. This was Toma from years earlier. A version of her who had no idea who Nobody was.
Toma stopped near the gate and looked toward the street. For one brief moment, her eyes moved in Nobody’s direction.
Nobody immediately stepped farther behind the tree.
Toma didn’t notice him. She looked away and continued walking.
Nobody watched her disappear around the corner. His expression became complicated. "So she really exists here..." He looked down. "She’s alive. She’s safe."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"That’s enough."
The System appeared beside him.
[The user will not approach her?]
Nobody shook his head. "Not yet." He looked toward the direction Toma had disappeared. "I don’t know what this timeline is. I don’t know what caused it. Until I figure that out, I’m not going to mess with her life."
The System remained silent.
Nobody took one last look at the old house. "I’ll find out what happened first."
He turned away from the house.
Then he stopped. "...And System?"
[Yes, user.]
"Don’t ever call this time travel again."
[The System makes no promises.]
Nobody sighed. "Of course you don’t."
He started walking down the street, leaving Toma’s old house behind. He had finally found someone he desperately wanted to see. Yet he had chosen not to approach her. Because somewhere deep inside, Nobody understood something important.
This wasn’t simply the past. It was the same world that shifted to past world. And if he wanted to bring his world back... He first needed to understand why it had changed.
Far above the city, another faint distortion appeared in the sky. Nobody didn’t notice it.
But the System did.
For several seconds, the blue window remained hidden.
Then a single message appeared.
[Timeline instability continues.]
The notification disappeared before Nobody could see it.