...
Time is a curious construct.
For some, it crawls like a river of honey in the dead of winter. For others, it shoots forth like an arrow loosed by skillful hands.
And for Theo Sagan, time was something he was coming to see as a good friend.
So slow for the irrelevant moments, and so fast for the most important ones.
And now, here he was, in a body that was not his, in a world that was not his, living a life he had made his own.
Two weeks had passed since the incident with Shin Jonghak. Two weeks since the Veritas Class room was reduced to rubble. Two weeks since the heir to the "Jinsung Corp" group was suspended indefinitely from Cube.
Two weeks of relative peace.
But peace, as Theo well knew, was merely the interval between storms.
As he watched the light rain falling outside the coffee shop, Theo allowed himself a rare moment of introspection. His mind wandered through the events that had brought him here, from the moment he had awakened in this body, in this world, with all the experiences, skills, and powers of Anos Voldigoad.
It was a shock of happiness, initially. Not because of the displacement, he had already dreamed of such a possibility, but because of the specificity of the situation.
This was not just any world; it was a world he knew intimately from the pages of a novel he had read in his previous life. "The Novel's Extra," the story of Kim Hajin, the extra character inserted into his own creation.
And now, by some whim of a cosmic design, Theo was here, not as a reader, but as an active participant.
His arrival was not a quiet one.
In the very first days, he met Chae Nayun, the female protagonist of the original novel. A young woman with an explosive temperament and impressive skills, marked by a tragic past and a future predestined for great deeds.
In the original story, she and Kim Hajin would eventually develop feelings for each other, after a long road of misunderstandings and mutual growth.
Theo, however, was not Kim Hajin. With his slightly different approach, it culminated in them skipping steps that would normally be necessary in any relationship.
In a matter of days, not months, not years, but days, he won Chae Nayun's heart.
Not with manipulation or artifice, but with a brutal honesty and a promise of help that deeply touched Chae Nayun.
Their first kiss happened on the very day they met. Both let themselves get carried away by the moment. It was the beginning of something that not even Theo, with all his prior knowledge of the narrative, could have fully predicted.
Shortly after, the Anti-Monster Combat Test came. Only he and Hazuki (a charming Japanese girl) formed a team and participated in that practical exam. It was there that Theo and Hazuki formed a bond of friendship, something rare and valuable for the girl who had always struggled with conversation. Theo demonstrated skills that left instructors speechless and fellow cadets somewhere between awe and envy.
It was like placing a god among mortals and asking him to pretend to be just another one of them.
But Theo never thought about holding back. Not completely, at least.
Not long after, the incident at the National Weapons Museum occurred. A terrorist attack that, in the original timeline, would have been a crucial turning point in the development of several characters.
Theo, knowing the events in advance, altered the course of history. He not only neutralized the threat of the monsters outside the Museum but also saved lives that, in the original narrative, would have been lost.
And let's not forget him stealing the spotlight that day, with the awakening of Chae Nayun's Gift. She was the one who killed the Djinn, instead of Kim Suho.
Soon after that event, there was also Chae Nayun's older brother in a coma, who in the original story would have been infected by a "Devil's Seed," a parasitic entity that would gradually take over his body...
Theo not only prevented the attack at the National Weapons Museum but also removed the seed from her brother a day later.
And then, there was Kim Hajin, the true protagonist of the story Theo had read, the "extra" inserted into his own creation, who suffered some losses.
After these changes, the co-author, not satisfied with the direction things were taking, went offline...
Thus taking away almost all of Kim Hajin's ploys.
The encounter between Theo and Hajin was complicated. Hajin, already suspicious by nature, immediately realized that there was something fundamentally wrong with Theo Sagan.
Not wrong in a moral sense, but wrong in the sense that he didn't fit the expected pattern, the narrative that Hajin knew so well.
The revelation that the co-author, the mysterious entity who inserted Hajin into the story, had temporarily abandoned him was a devastating blow to the young man. His already precarious existence now seemed to hang by an even thinner thread.
It was then that Theo found him in that moment of despair, offering not empty condolences, but real ways to deal with the dangers that were to come.
There was also Yoo Yeonha, the calculating heiress, the brilliant strategist whose ambition was surpassed only by her intelligence and her misunderstandings.
In the original narrative, she would have been a minor antagonist, eventually redeemed, who would only later become truly central.
Under Theo's influence, however, she began to walk a different path.
Their initial interaction was complicated. She tried to assert her authority over him, only to be immediately thwarted. At first, there weren't many interactions between them... But after many exchanged words and flirtations, Yoo Yeonha began to see him in a new light without realizing it.
And that led to one of the most surprising conversations Theo had had since his arrival in this world.
Between him and Nayun.
Where he made it clear that he intended to have a harem... And after a few melancholic moments between the two, where even the story of Theo's life was revealed, Nayun finally accepted.
A few days later, there was a small party to celebrate the return of Nayun's brother to a normal life. It was an intimate but significant event, where Theo got to know more of her family and circle of friends. And although discreet, the event further strengthened the bond between the two.
For Nayun, that was more than heroism. It was definitive proof that Theo was someone she could trust completely, someone who would protect not only her but all those she loved.
There was also Jonghak's suspension, for trying to assault two of his fellow cadets. His indefinite suspension was just the beginning. In the days that followed, rumors about his mental condition began to circulate.
Some said he was undergoing intensive psychiatric treatment. Others, that his family had sent him abroad, far from prying eyes and malicious whispers. The truth, as always, probably lay somewhere in between.
But for Theo, Jonghak was never a major problem.
And now, two weeks later, here he was, sitting in a quiet coffee shop on the outskirts of the Cube campus, watching the light rain fall outside, waiting for someone.
The Lumière-Cube coffee shop was not the most popular establishment among the cadets. Situated a few blocks from the main campus, on a tree-lined side street, it offered a more sophisticated and discreet atmosphere than the options on and around the Campus. The slightly higher prices and the ambiance that leaned more toward elegant than casual kept most of the students away, who preferred more accessible and boisterous places.
"Steps..."
The soft sound of elegant steps on the wooden floor announced her arrival before Theo even needed to look up. The subtle perfume, notes of jasmine, amber, and something indefinable that was uniquely hers, reached him seconds before the sound of elegant heels on the wooden floor.
"Good morning! Theo, happy to see your dear princess?"
Amidst many other minor events that had occurred from the middle of last month until now, Theo stood up to greet his beloved and dear future queen of Seoul.
"Of course. How could I not be happy to see my girlfriend, after these past few days."
...