Novel 2-The end of the World?

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/Tap tap tap…/

"... Aaaand… Please work… !!"

[Compiled]

"AHAAAA… Ahem. Finally."

/Tap tap tap…/

"... Save… That's all for now. I'm done with this. Always hated programming… Maybe I should've gone with Mechanical instead of Electronic… Sign."

A young man in his mid-twenties looked at his reflection as he turned off his monitor screen, seeing the reflection of a tired man with black circles as it went dark.

'Graduating hasn't done me any favors… I need to fix my sleeping schedule.'

"But until I finish that darned game… Argg…"

He stretched his back as he got up from his chair, complaining to himself as he went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of cold water.

/Pour…/

"It's been three years since I graduated and almost five since I began working in this company." He said to himself as he stared through the window

'I'm almost twenty-six. Time sure flies…'

"At this rate… Once I get thirty, I should get a strong position in the company and a decent salary… Yeah, director Joseph. Yearly salary: Over 6 digits…"

"Ha, a man can dream."

'My gamble paid off. At this rate, It'll become impossible to fire me.'

To maintain his position, Joseph learned everything he could about the company and its essential systems.

He could do everything that was essential and no one else knew, from operating the printer to setting up the old system.

Firing him would mean losing one of the few people able to solve most operating Systems in the Company, which was a blessing in this day and age.

By using the excuse that his presence alone made the company tens of thousands by preventing unnecessary fees from contacting professionals and the like, Joseph steadily increased his salary once every year or so ever since he graduated.

"Once I get myself a stable position, I can focus on gathering some money and essentially retiring."

Joseph was a simple man… And also a sole child. So were his parents.

This meant the generational wealth of four grandparents and two parents flowed down to him.

Multiple apartments and more! Not that he wanted them to pass away…

Still, time moved on, and his grandparents passed. Leaving him and his parents behind.

And a lot of money.

"Once I can get these stocks to a suitable state, I'll be able to live solely from them, I can then focus on my hobby for some side cash."

"Until then…"

/Shake…/

Suddenly, his house shook a little, stopping him in his tracks.

"... It stopped… But what was that? An earthquake???"

While something like this may be familiar to some, to Joseph, it was the most alien thing… Because…

'My region doesn't have earthquakes! If it has, it's so overwhelmingly weak that it's not even worth mentioning.'

"Wait… Is my apartment about to fall off?..."

Joseph lived in a small apartment that he bought when its owner decided to move cities, so he bought it for cheap.

A quiet neighborhood and it was close to his work and the subway station was only a few city blocks away, it was the dream in many ways.

The only downside was that he didn't have a view of the city, or anything…

"I thought I could have some peace now that I finished that crap but... I should… Leave for now."

'Just what is happening? If this building was to fall, it wouldn't shake like that.'

'Sigh, so much to think and do…'

"If only I could warp time and space so I could sleep some more…"

Concerned for his safety, Joseph left his home and went to buy some groceries.

/Shine…/

Unbeknownst to him, a small spark of light slowly fell from the window onto the back of his head, dissolving as it touched his skin…

…

/Around an hour later…/

"... This is crazy."

Joseph sat down before his computer screen, reading an article online.

"The biggest earthquake ever recorded? The entire world felt it? An impossibility for modern science?... What the heck did I just experience?"

'... So that shaking was one earthquake; it only last a few seconds, but the entire world felt it, some parts more than others.'

'This is ridiculous. They're now trying to figure out its source, but it's clearly not anything anyone knows about since it goes beyond what the possible limit for an earthquake was meant to be.'

"... Does this mean I can skip work on monday?" He asked himself with a laugh as he rested his head on the chair

He opened his cellphone and checked his company chet, and as expected, there was an announcement there.

"... Oh yeah! Work from home!... Well, I technically already worked from home… The benefits of being essencial to the Company and irreplaceable."

'But people sure are taking this seriously. It must be due to mass hysteria… Anyhow, more time for me to play.'

"Hm… I should pay attention to the stocks though. Something like this could affect them. I'll keep it at the back of my mind." He said as he went to the kitchen again

'I'll fetch something to drink and turn on my game.'

/Shine…/

"Hm?..."

Unfortunately for Joseph, fate had other plans for him.

/Manifest!/

"?!"

/Step back!/

As he walked out of his room and into the bathroom, something extreme odd happened as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

For a moment, he saw a white dot of light above his head, and the moment he saw it, it moved before him, stretching wide and tall until it became akin to a window before him.

The light slowly receded as the window turned translucent, and words formed before him.

But out of shock, he stepped back, almost falling onto his toilet seat, but as he noticed nothing seemed to be happening, he calmed down.

"What's going on?!"

Disregarding everything around him, he fearfully approached the window.

There, the image of an Ampule with sand slowly falling within flashed faintly.

The Ampule was simple but it had a grand aura, as if he was staring at an ancient historical artifact of great significance.

It's sands were dark as obsidian, and its frame was metallic but woodlike at the same time.

"..."

He didn't say anything and instead touched the window, and to his surprise, it was solid, as if he had touched a large glass pane.

'I'm utterly lost now.'

The moment he thought of that, two paragraphs of faint, dark golden words appeared beside each end of the Ampule:

[Time Dilation: Progress -> Progresses the time of an entity by up to a year]

[Time Dilation: Regress -> Regresses the time of an entity by up to a year]

That was all.

"... What am I supposed to make of this?"

In utter confusion, but at the same time awe and excitement, Joseph looked at the mirror and said:

"Progress time."

/Crunk…/

The Ampule began to shift, its sands moving up and down…

/Shaa…/

The mirror slowly degraded, but not by much. Soon enough, it looked a little worse then before, with dust and dirt in a few spots.

"... This… Just happened…"

'It can't be. I'm really losing my mind at this point.' Joseph thought as he took a deep breath 

He opened his eyes after a while, gazing down at the floating window.

"... Can you… Hear me?"

/Silence/

"Answer me? What are you? A System? Magic? AI? Something else?"

/Silence…/

"..."

'What am I even doing?...'

He touched the back of his head.

"It doesn't look like you can respond… What should I make of this situation?"

'Well… I should begin by testing it first. Maybe test to see if others can see it, if it can be recorded…'

Joseph thought of a few things before beginning his tests.

He tried to explore the window, but it had no other functions besides the Ampule.

He could manipulate its size, close and open the window as long as he wished, there was no keyword, only a will to do so.

The window would also follow him whenever he moved. And with a simple test using his phone, he learned that others couldn't record the window, but it didn't mean they couldn't see it in person.

He learned how to move it around and that it was intangible to the surroundings. This meant that the window phased through matter as it moved in the air, reinforcing the idea it was only a visual projection.

After a few more rounds of tests, he stopped in his living room. A grave expression before his eyes.

"..."

'I've learned a few things about it, but much to be uncovered.'

'For now, I think I'll follow the expected path most book characters would do… And that is finding ways to use this ability continuously to strengthen it.'

'I have to explore its uses and figure out its purpose. Was I chosen due to luck or do to a higher goal?'

'The unknown is dangerous, and the something is happening to the world… The Earthquake couldn't have been a coincidence.'

"Sigh, I wonder where the world's going…?"

Joseph crossed his arms and shook his head.

'Anyhow, time to work.'

"I've made a few tests, but it's time to test the limits of this ability."

'It says it'll advance or regress time, but based on what parameters?'

He looked at a small book on the side.

'For example. I have this textbook of mine, it's full of scribbles and dents.'

'If I were to regress it, which I already did, it returned to its perfect condition from when I bought it, although only that.'

'The plastic the book came with did not return, which makes sense.'

'I also confirmed timeline issues as this book is only 9 months old and I was limited to regressing it to those 9 months, this means this book is exactly as good as it was when it was first printed.'

"However… What if I were to do the contrary?" He asked out loud as he held a small notebook on his other hand

'This notebook is my personal agenda for me to mark important dates in. What would happen to it if I were to advance its time?'

'Would it only grow older, or would it show what I would write?'

'Does this mean my ability has a point of reference? If so, how do I change or control it?'

"..."

'Only one way to find out.'

'Progress one year!'

/Shaaa…/

The sands of time began to stir.

/Fall…/

/Crunch…/

"!!!"

Before him, the book began to age.

Its edges were slightly torn, scratches grew around its cover, some of the pages were pulled, coffe marks stained a few areas…

But in the end, a completely filled agenda formed before him.

"... This is… Crazy."

'It's actually written!... Everything's here!'

"... From meetings to some of my personal thoughts and complaints. Just the way I write."

"What's this?... Server problem three weeks from now?... Solved because… A rat bit through one of the cables? Ha! This is incredible…"

'Although there doesn't seem to be any mention of my ability… Is this written under the pretext the future moved forward without my ability ever awakening?'

'Or is this me being careful and not leaving behind any clues about it?'

'I should verify this information first… But what's there to verify about a magical ability like this?'

"Wait… There's a way."

Joseph ran back to his room, coming back with an empty notebook.

He then opened his cell phone and began searching for all Lottery winning numbers since the start of the year, making a long list of them in a very organized manner.

"Will this work? Technically speaking, I have the intention to write a complete list till the end of the year."

"So if I were to advance its time… Wouldn't I be able to know the lottery numbers for the remainder of the year?"

Like before, only one way to find out…

/Shaaa…/

/Fall…/

/Scribble…/

"!!!"

'Oh my God…'

The notebook had been completely filled with words following his style, depicting every game, from the first day of January to the last day of December.

Every game, with their values to the winning numbers and the number of winners in every batch.

"This is crazy… I can just choose one and retire."

'Also, this isn't suspicious at all; people win these every week. As long as I chose a less conspicuous game and go along with it, I can just pass by fine and retire.'

"The next game is actually quite good… Ten Million Dollars and no winners, it'll accumulate to the next week so I may as well claim it for myself."

'This will change the future but is there anyone else besides me who can predict the future? Even if there is, what's the chance of them noticing my actions?'

"Actually… They would probably do the same thing as me. But two people with the ability to predict the future appearing in the same area… Seems unlikely."

'Something is going on, but for now… Gathering some money won't hurt.'

"I can use my ability to keep myself on track of everything that will happen. And although I can't use my ability on the same object more than once, I can just buy more notebooks."

"Now… Before I play the game, there's one last thing I need to test regarding this ability…"

'Does it work on electronic devices? And how exactly does its "regress" feature functions?'

"Here… This is my old cellphone. I dropped it on my sink and ever since then it lost its function. It has been less then a year since it happened so I should be able to fix it."

"And for the sake of testing more things…"

/SLAM!/

Joseph pierced the touchscreen of the phone with a screwdriver, making sure to remove the battery before he did so, placing it aside.

"What will happen if I rewind the cellphone's time? Will the battery just go back to its previous position? Or will a new one pop up in its place?"

"Rewind!"

/Shaaa…/

The Ampule spun, and the sands began ascending upwards…

/Crunch…/

Before his eyes, the cellphone fused together as its screen went back to its previous position, and the battery on the side… Was not affected.

After a few seconds, the cellphone returned to its previous look, albeit a little less dirty then before.

/Open…/

He then opened its back, and to his surprise, there was a new battery there!

"So this is how it works… It really turned back its time, regardless if every one of its pieces is connected to it or not."

"But… Did I just create matter? How does this work?... In any case, I should avoid rewinding the time of objects that have multiple parts, just in case I end up creating duplicates."

"So I imagine that if I break the phone but place its battery next to it, the Ampule will just rewind the time of everything together."

"But… How does the Ampule define what belongs to what I want to rewind or progress? Is it based on my definition?"

'Because a phone has many parts and so does a car… What if I ask it to rewind… Let's say… A house?'

'Will everything inside return to how it was a year before? Would the people inside be affected?'

"What would happen if I aimed it at a street block? Would the cars be flung around as time regressed? Or would just the overall structure of the city be affected?"

"What if I aimed at a mountain?... Heck… The entire world?"

'Would that work?... Better not even try.'

'If I advance the time of the globe, would it just spin faster in the solar system and leave the moon behind? Far too risky for no reason…'

"But it makes me worried… I may not do it, but what about others?"

'If I gained an incredible ability, would others have also?'

"... I need to protect myself."

'There is also the idea of more… Indescribable factors.'

"What if I were to ask it to advance my age? Or better put, regress it?"

"What about individual parts? Can I have it advance only my hair growth? Or regress it so I can get a portion of my hairline back?"

'I haven't lost much of it anyway, but it would be nice to have it ALL back…'

"What about emotions? Can I have it regress an emotion? Or even a memory?"

"If I were to turn back my own time, would it leave my memory untouched?"

'How about the computer program I'm writing? If I advance its time so it may be completed sooner, if I edited it, would I be able to advance its time again?'

'Again and again until hundreds of years pass?... Or I die of old age?'

'If not, what if I copy and paste the archive to another computer? Technically speaking, it would be another code, so would I be able to advance its time again?'

'Even if it would be locked to my own competency, there's nothing holding me back from stealing ideas from others, advancing their time, and seeing for myself how things would be a year later.'

'I just need to set up things in the right way…'

"There is much, much to test… So first… I'll get myself a lottery ticket."

'I'll also use this chance to see if others can also see my ability.'

'Once I'm back home, I'll see if I can find any mentions of people awakening or seeing strange things as well.'

'I don't expect anything on the internet, but given how fast it is and I have the time, I may as well do so.'

'The lottery closes today, and the results will be revealed tomorrow, so I'll get to confirm its veracity tomorrow. But so far, everything seems to check out.'

"This must never be known to anyone… And this includes this." 

'No more monologues.'

'Once I get rich… I can live life as usual as I explore the truth about this ability.'

'There are many ways to make use of such a power. For example, I could open a repair shop and be done for life. Unless someone with an old item comes to have them repaired…'

'But maybe… Maybe I can use my power to do things like advancing my study on a subject… Would that be possible?'

'If so, could I do it multiple times?'

"Even if i could do it once for each subject…"

'Having the equivalent of an entire year of studies on something like programing, albeit small, could be life changing.'

'And on that note, I'll have to check how much "context" can actually affect the future.'

'For example, if i were to have access to many books and the internet 24/7 and incredible disposition, would this affect the results if I were to have it advance my studies of math in comparison to only having the disposition to study once a week?'

'If so, how does the ability define my disposition? Does it take the way I studied prior to the use of the ability, or does it take my innermost disposition?'

'Or does it have its own arbitrary parameters?'

'So much to think about…'

…

/The next day…/

"... Father?"

"Son? How's things? Rare for you to call like that. You usually just send messages."

"Sorry, you know how things are, busy with work and all. But things are great, exceptional even." 

"That's great to hear. Anyhow, what brings you here?"

 "Oh yeah, so… This may come as a little surprising, so I need you to settle down, make sure you aren't doing anything, okay?"

"That's a little ominous son, but alright, I just finished eating breakfast."

"Okay, so… I'll cut the chase, I won the lottery."

"... WHAT?!"

"Calm down father."

"I'm calm!"

"I can see that…"

"H-How much? You know you should…"

"Thirty million Dollars."

"..."

"Father, please, calm down…"

"I'm… Calm."

"... I'll pass by home later today to discuss this better, okay?"

"Yeah… You should… Have you taken the money yet?"

"Of course not, but I planned to go there with a lawyer as soon as possible."

"... Alright I'll… You aren't pranking me, right?"

"I'm not father. I just won that much, probably less after the state taxes it for whatever they want."

"... Okay, I'll be waiting."

"I'll end it here then, see you soon… Also, don't tell mother yet, I want to see her surprise." Joseph said with a smile as he imagined the scene

"Sure… But be quick, I need to see it too… Make sure to keep that ticket close to you! For the love of God…"

"I have it here with me. I'll be there soon."

"Alright."

/Beep…/

"Phew… That's done. Now… I should get this over with."

'Once I have some money, I'll buy a house to experiment with my ability. I may need some land far from the city as well.'

'I'll leave around 10 Million on the bank and invest it to have some passive income, as for the rest… We'll see.'

With that in mind, Joseph left his apartment and went to meet his parents, and without any surprise, his mother almost fainted when she heard the news.

From there, the process was simple, contact a trustworthy lawyer and deal with the rest.

…

/Two weeks later…/

Throughout the first week after the earthquake, Joseph accompanied any news of multiple forums and sites he rarely used, looking for strange occurrences, but in the end, he found nothing.

He tested all of his ideas for his strange power, and eventually, learned how to better use it and grew some ideas for it.

He even managed to confirm that he was indeed able to use his power on living beings by making a small hamster grow to maturity in a second to using his ability to train a rat.

He also used his power to target specific areas, like hair and muscles.

This way, he knew he could influence them not only once, but multiple times as well.

Under the right conditions, some objects could be influenced multiple times, but only in a rather vague way.

Learning a subject could be considered part of the brain, but it was only a part of the whole.

Like how he could regress the time of a small part of a cell phone, but not the whole thing at once.

He felt a little guilty for experimenting with small critters he bought in the pet shops, but after finding them foster homes, he let go of the pain and moved on.

As the week ended, the craze about the earthquake was still on the web being widely discussed.

But the world could not stop spinning, so he resumed his work nine days after on Monday, thinking about what to do with his future.

Should he continue working, or should he retire once and for all?

Then the second week came and people slowly seemed to forget about what happened as scientists came up with "proof" and "reasons" for what had happened.

But Joseph and many others didn't buy their explanations so easily, especially since he had awakened such a strange power.

While the others were only conspiracy theorists, he had a real reason to be worried.

Regardless, as the heat went down, people resumed with their lives, even if some couldn't forget what happened before.

Joseph kept his beliefs to himself, having no reason to reveal his true emotions. 

He kept to himself and lived quietly.

And so, his money was finally deposited.

…

/The day after his money was deposited…/

"... Here are your documents, Mr Park. You're now the proud owner of this land."

"Thank you, Mr Edd. Have a nice afternoon."

"You too."

…

/Drive… Cha cha cha…/

"... It's done."

On the outskirts of the city, Joseph finished buying a house. A somewhat large property by the road.

It was somewhat remote but not quite, there was a community here, it was just that the houses were somewhat far apart. And if he drove a little bit, he would arrive at the city suburbs where most of the community was located.

If he kept driving, he could return to his apartment within an hour, much less if the traffic was good.

"Okay, now I can start working for real."

'In the last two weeks, I've made my preparations for today and now I can begin making some tests.'

'First, I took a vacation from work, and I plan to resign once I'm back. A little scummy, but it's not like they're family or anything, a company would replace me at any moment and deserve little pity.'

'That aside, I have some things ready for today…'

"Starting today, I'll begin mastering as many 'skills' as I can."

'Although my ability states that I can Regress or Progress the time of an entity, it does include other more abstract ideas like studying.'

'I've confirmed this before on small critters by teaching them multiple things individually, so it should work on me.'

'I've also confirmed that regressing my age will not make me lose my memories, and age is not connected to other functions of my body.'

"I'm not sure why that's the case, but it's the conclusion I arrived at."

'With that in mind… It's time to start.'

'First… I'll regress my age.'

/Shaaa…/

/Rise…/

A strange feeling took hold of him.

He felt the world spin faster and faster until it went back to normal, making him quite dizzy.

"Urg…"

'Did… Did it work?'

'Am I a year younger now?'

Joseph checked himself on the mirror, and to his surprise, his hair had indeed changed a little, but that was all.

"My age did change but my bodily proportions remained… And I thought I was going to lose some of my muscle mass…"

'I've been working very hard every day as well for this.'

"Phase one completed. Now it's time for the second part."

'One thing at a time, I have a lot of extra time to work with here.'

Joseph went outside and drove to a nearby, old school gym where he began working out quite hard.

Once he was back, he stretched a little before going for a run, then he stretched again, went to train in the afternoon, stretched a little bit more, did some cardio, and once he was back home at night, he did a few simple exercises before taking a deep breath. Extremely tired.

He made sure to keep himself well fed and hydrated while also taking supplements like Whey in the form of shakes and by eating healthy food.

…

/A few hours later…/

"Huff… Huff… Haa…"

'This isn't the lifestyle for me… But if I were to keep it up, if my body didn't give in, I would become a monster soon enough.'

"With this… I'm ready."

'Hoo… I hope this works…'

'Advance the time of my Physical training by a year!'

/Shaaa…/

/Fall…/

/FLASH!/

A thousand images flashed before Joseph's eyes.

An entire year worth of memories, events, experiences, and more. Of extreme focus and determination.

In the memories, he was a machine, training again and again with zealous conviction.

By the time he was done, he had lived an entire year like that.

/GASP!/

"Huuu… Wh… What happened?..."

Everything fell back in place as Joseph saw himself collapsed on the ground, his head hurting because he hid the side of the couch during the fall.

"Arg… My head…"

His body didn't hurt anymore, in fact, he felt… Big.

/Walk…/

He walked to the bathroom, and there, he looked at himself.

"What the…"

'I'm a fucking monster!'

The body of a Greek God appeared before him.

"These chiseled lines… Damn!"

The memories were still jumbled up inside his mind, so albeit he experienced a year of arduous training, he had never stopped to think about his body.

In fact, during that year, he stopped to think for almost nothing.

"Ha… Hahaha… It works!"

'This is almost a form of future sight! To experience a year of training in a few moments!'

'A year of arduous training with great determination!'

"Woah…"

'If one year did this, what to say two? If not three or more?... Unfortunately, my ability only works once per concept.'

'But maybe I'll have the chance to use it again in the future. For now though… I'll start the third stage of my plan.'

'Now that I have some money, a house, and confirmed my abilities work on me just as they should, it's time to grind… Everything I can.'

'And it's not just for the sake of improving myself but also for the sake of developing this ability. I have no idea if it can improve, but if it can, I have to figure out how and why.'

'I'll start small. My first target is to master all of the basic knowledge from Middle School to High School, I'll then begin my studies on more advanced concepts that can only be found in university.'

'I'll become the master of everything.'

"... Anyhow, that can wait for later… I need some sleep first. And a shower."

For the more excited he was to test his abilities, he knew that balancing things out was necessary.

He didn't know what kind of load he was putting his body and brain under, so it would be beneficial if he gave himself some time to lay down.

Over time, as he grew better at this, he would increase the number of subjects to study per day.

"Ha… I needed this bath."

"So… First on the list." He said as he sat down before his pc

Although he had just bought this home, throughout the day, he had already unloaded most of his stuff from his other apartment, setting a somewhat simple room.

"I prepared an archive for this."

'Making the internet to study is something many others should do as well.'

'Let's start.'

He opened a folder labeled "Simple math".

'Advance the time of my study of this folder by a year!'

/Shaaa…/

/Fall…/

/FLASH!/

The images flashed before his eyes, and another year passed for Joseph.

…

/Two more weeks later…/

/Clang… Clang…/

It had been a month since Joseph awakened his strange ability.

/Clang…/

To most, the earthquake had now been a long distant event, with its aftereffects having already mostly disappeared.

The governments around the globe also did their best to make everyone seemingly forget about it, and the voices of protest and conspiracy were all snuffled out, one by one…

/Clang…/

Throughout these days, Joseph had mastered every single subject from middle school to high school.

It may seem stupid and redundant, given most already passed through those years, but it was a fact most people end up forgetting over 90% of everything they learned after graduation.

With this mastery alone, Joseph could teach any of those subjects, anywhere.

And above all, it was a form of training toward his ability, which was the priority.

To some degree as well, Joseph also perfectly remembered everything he learned, or at the very least, found it hard to forget most of it.

An entire year of extreme dedication to studying a specific folder of documents does that.

Once he finished with those, he began exploring other subjects such as investment, the law, medicine, and even the supernatural.

And in the future, he had plans to learn martial arts too.

If he could learn it, he would.

/CLANG!/

"Huff… It's finished."

/SIZZLE… Bubble…/

And right now, he was practicing smithing. Why?... Because why not?

To practice it, he spent the last two weeks building a workshop.

With so much money and the prospect of making more at any moment, he could spend it literally anywhere he wanted, so he had his backward completely redone.

/Chatter…/

Even now, he could hear the echoes of construction running in the background as the construction workers finished installing his requests.

"... Being rich sure is nice." He said to himself as he finished tempering his blade

He inspected it for a moment before thinking:

'One thing I learned about my ability is that its heavily reliant on interpretation.'

'If I ask it to advance the time of an object with me at its center, it'll take my abilities into consideration.'

'As such, the more skilled I am at something… The better.'

'I could have it finish this sword right now, but the process of making it is valuable experience for me, and although it won't do much in the long run, it'll certainly work itself out eventually.'

One thing Joseph learned after receiving decades worth of memories was patience.

Although he felt no older than he already was, he did possess more knowledge then most could ever dream of acquiring.

'To some degree, selecting small pools of information for me to study within a year is overkill. I'm better off selecting small libraries than having myself repeat the same thing over and over and over again.'

'If I flood my brain with such, I'll end up with a lot of filler inside my mind. In fact, I'm afraid I'll end up reaching my limit at some point.'

'Hopefully nothing bad happens. But I won't work towards making things worse.'

/Growl…/

"I'm getting a little hungry, I'll order some takeout for the day…"

Joseph's life was flowing smoothly and his family was still intact after the lottery winnings, so it was safe to say everything was as great as it could be.

His parents were still thinking about what to do with their lives and his mother thought about retiring and spending the rest of her days traveling. 

His father was still on the fence, but for once, he thought about investing some money on his project and ending his career with a true, jaw-dropping work.

As for his uncles… They were all fine and cool with his wealth. As he expected from such nice people.

He promised to take them to a fancy restaurant on the weakened, it was sure to be nice…

But fate wouldn't allow him to enjoy such peace for long.

Time passed, and people soon left the earthquake behind… 

…

/Three months since he awakened his ability…/

"... It should be about now…"

/Shake…/

/Quake!/

The world began to shake again!

/SHAKE!/

"..."

/Stop…/

"... It lasted a little longer than last time and it was also a little stronger."

The second global earthquake, it had finally arrived after three months.

Given his abilities, Joseph had long been aware of its arrival and had prepared for such for a long time.

Not only had he won a second lottery, keeping it hidden from his parents, he also invested most of his money towards acquiring land and creating a "bunker" just in case shit hit the fan.

He could see up to a year ahead, but even then, he couldn't tell if the world was going to fall.

But building a bunker takes time, so he started early, especially since people would begin to freak out right about now.

'With the second earthquake, people won't hold back anymore, it'll be complete pandemonium for a few days. And until the governments fix everything, society will cease function for a while.'

'That's why I've been preparing. Solar panels, water storages, and other expensive things have been installed throughout my property, and I'll continue to invest in them for as long as I have money.'

'Especially since the third earthquake is right around the corner, once that one hits… The world will turn upside down.'

'Nothing special will happen then, but people will start believing its the end of the world.'

'And I have no intention to be swept up by it. I'll be fine here, in my little corner of the world.'

"I should check on the Greenhouse once I'm done here."

'I had a greenhouse built so I could experiment my abilities on plants. They're a good indicator of what may change in the future and are also great things to care for and distract me a little.'

'I've collected hundreds of plants so far and the results have been great. They've all been growing fabulously.'

'It takes a while to take care of them, but with the help of a sprinkler system and the ventilators inside the greenhouse, my work has been rather simple.'

/Shine…/

"Hm?... What…?"

As he stepped outside his room, his unique window materialized before him.

/Weave…/

Dark golden words were slowed weaved from nothingness before him, spelling out a phrase:

[You've accumulated one hundred years of knowledge and your body has grown strong enough to build a foundation for a better future]

Once those words dissipated, the Mystical Ampule appeared before him, and this time, it was a little different from before.

As he thought about those changes, two strings of words appeared on each of its ends, just like when he first saw it:

[Time Dilation: Progress -> Progresses the time of an entity by up to three years]

[Time Dilation: Regress -> Regresses the time of an entity by up to three years]

"!... It finally changed!"

'To think this would truly happen! I thought it was but a dream, but it happened at the end of the day!'

'And right after the Earthquake… There's definitely a connection.'

'If the conditions were to gather knowledge and strengthen my body, this should've happened yesterday since I have yet to touch my ability at all today.'

"There's definitely something sketchy going on…"

'But that's… Not my problem at all.'

'I'm no Hero, no messiah to guide the people. I'm only here to profit and grow… As such…'

"I have to try this… Would it work?"

'Advance the time of my Physical training by the maximum possible!'

/Shaaa…/

/Fall…/

/FLASH!/

Before him, an even longer stream of events began to play for Joseph.

One year… Two years… Three years of events passed right before his eyes.

Before he knew, he woke up on the ground with his legs crossed, just as he had been before.

/Gasp!/

"Huff… Not two but three?!"

'Could it be that… My ability resets whenever it evolves? This… Changes quite a few things…'

Joseph began making some calculations at the back of his mind, his eyes sharpening as he arrived at a conclusion.

'The last earthquake I'm aware of will happen in 9 months, around a year after the first one.'

'I have to prepare as much as I can since I'm aware the people will riot and many places will essentially fall into martial law once it hits.'

'People won't be able to work under the fear of the world ending, so I must grow self sufficient while the people are still obedient, even if it means spending tens of millions to build a shelter within a few months.'

'It should be possible, I only need to pay more.'

'It would also be wise to run some experiments somewhere else… And even built a second if not a third base.'

'Time to get to work.'

Joseph shook his head as his head cleared from its usual dizziness.

"Man… I'm so damn big now!"

'I'm not a bodybuilder, but I sure look like I came straight out of a martial arts novel.'

'This is peak human musculature… I'm also quite flexible. Nice.'

"I'm a little dizzy from the memories, but overall, I've gotten used to them. Treating them like dreams is the best I can do."

'Anyhow, this experience has taught me quite a bit about my power… I'll have to explore it a little further later, but for now…'

With long strides, he made his way to his computer.

…

/Two days later…/

/Thud!/

"Phew!... I'm finally done making calls and ordering things…"

For the past two days, Joseph spent all his time outside home on interviews, checking land, and contracting different construction agencies to make some schematics for him.

He also tripled the salary of all construction workers on his property just so they could finish things faster and efficiently. So even though most of the country was still in shock, they were here working for him.

"What do I do? Should I play some games?..."

After thinking for a few moments, he went to the greenhouse.

'Might as well spend my power to have all of the plants grow a little more.'

'I also thought about changing my age, but right now, I'm technically twenty five, if I regress my time to twenty two, it'll be too obvious… Well, not super obvious but it'll be there.'

'Aside from my body growing a bit as I exercised, my features didn't change much from when I was 20 to now. Aside from my hair…'

"... I'll have to check some pictures when I have the time."

'But for now, I'll play a little with my plants.'

/Step…/

'Let's see, which one should I start first?...'

He looked around, eventually stopping at a small tree a little smaller than his chest.

'My grafted orange tree, if I advance its time, it should bear some fruits, right?'

'I don't have to worry about people seeing them because the greenhouse's glass is one way through. Besides, the windows are solely in the ceiling and given there's nothing nearby to give someone an angle inside, unless they invade through the door, there's no way inside.'

'I made this place to be as safe as possible even for something as nonsensical as this.'

"Advance." He said in a low tone as he touched the orange tree

/Shaaa…/

/Fall…/

The sands of time began to fall…

/Twist…/

Right before his eyes, the orange tree began to grow…

'After many tests, I've somewhat determined the speed at which my ability works.'

'The overall ratio for an item to change is about that of one year per minute. And while an item is transforming, I can't affect another item.'

'It seems a little strange that I can't, but I won't question that when I can already defy causality.'

/Twist… GROW!/

"?!"

Suddenly, the small orange tree sprung in size, its entire body changing completely as its bark grew smooth and its leaves became smoother and longer.

It grew a little taller as well, but the sudden change was enough to jolt Joseph, almost causing him to fall atop his blueberry bush.

"Wh… What happened?"

'The tree suddenly… Mutated? Around a minute after I used my ability…'

/Sniff…/

"This smell… It's so sweet. What happened to these oranges?" He asked out loud as he looked at them with a raised eyebrow

"Strange… The orange has a unique… Blue tint. Like a weak bluish reflection."

"Can I even call this an orange?..."

'But why did this happen? Did I mess something up in the future? Considering it must've happened within a year or so, the only thing I can imagine changing would be…'

"... If another earthquake happened…"

'No… It can't be… But at the same time, I did gain this strange power…'

"I must confirm this."

His second target was right beside him, he wasted no time advancing the time of his blueberry bush.

/Change…/

"!!"

And as he expected, the blueberry bush underwent a transformation around the same time as the Orange tree did, becoming more lush and spawning more blueberries that seemed to shine in a faint light.

"This is… Quite rad…" He said as he looked at the glowing blueberries

'This isn't radioactive, is it?... Don't tell me there was some sort of nuclear war in the future?...'

"Urg… I can't take this out of my head now… Where's my Geiger Counter?"

'I bought one because… I can. I thought it may be useful so I asked a good friend for some recommendations and bought essentially everything.'

'It was one of my many preparations in case of disaster. Just like how I've been working hard to get some licenses so I can buy some good guns… You know… Just in case.'

'Actually, I've been buying a lot of "recently used" things that I could easily rewind for easy storage, now, my range increased a little bit.'

Joseph went to a basement on the side that was still under construction and grabbed a large suitcase from a wide metal box before going back to the greenhouse.

"Let's see…"

After making sure the machine was working, he placed it directly against the orange.

/… Beep…./

/Beep…/

"... Nothing serious. But this isn't enough."

He made several tests and in the end, came to the conclusion it was safe for him to stand near it.

'Wait… What if it's poisonous!?... Nah, an orange tree wouldn't grow poisonous like that, much less throw toxic air in the environment.'

'Although that doesn't mean it's safe for consumption. I could get a severe stomach ache…'

"Looks like I'll have to bring back the tests on animals…"

'I don't like doing this, but it's for my safety… And mostly curiosity.'

"Anyhow. It seems something extremely significant will happen soon… I have to prepare, even more then before."

'I have around fifty million in my bank account after winning the lottery again and am currently around five million in debt after buying a lot of things here and there.'

'I'm not stupid to spend all of the money at once, instead, I divided it all into massive installments like most people would, it's harder for the bank to complain that way.'

'So, if something massive is going to happen… I'll have to take things a step above what I was previously doing.'

'Before, I was planning for the third wave of earthquakes. Building a safe heaven where I can continue to exercise my abilities while the world recovers from the storm that'll come.'

'But if things will only get worse from there… I have to be ready by then.'

"Everything is on my side, my identity, money, time… I can do anything."

'Still… It'll be easy to mess things up if I don't think.'

"Time to go on a shopping spree… Again."

Joseph already knew the prices of survival products would skyrocket and he had planned ahead for that, however, he only planned for some chaos, not the complete downfall of humanity…

Nevertheless now… He was willing to bet things were going to get quite hectic…

'Worse comes to worse, I'll have to get ready for countries to go to war and cause the destruction of the world… That's chilling…'

'If that happens, maybe I can use my powers to rewind time…'

Shaking his head in a mix of fear and confusion, Joseph left the greenhouse, locking its doors so none would find the mutated trees within.

Focused on his task, he began his investigation into the future, creating his own future diary to refer to as he prepared for the inevitable.

Meanwhile, the world rumbled with revolts and protests as people demanded answers and the "truth", however, no country was able to provide their people with any, and this just led to an even bigger round of chaos.

Even after two weeks, most countries were still under lockdowns. With some almost on the verge of falling into martial law.

His country had already stabilized, but this didn't mean things had gone back to normal.

Only some basic systems were in place to ensure the country ran on life support, but even now, the impact of the shutdown was already evident as people began revolting over the lack of necessities in markets and the like.

They only had themselves to blame, but it's not like the government could say that to them…

They were also at fault for being incapable of handling the situation.

…

/Five months after he awakened his ability…/

It had been two months since the second earthquake hit…

"... The white house says that…"

/Beep…/

"Always the same boring excuses." Joseph said as he finished his daily workout

/Thud!/

He jumped from his machine and fell with his feet on the ground, grabbing a small towel to wipe his face with.

Right now, he was inside a small private gym he built for himself just a week before.

The machines were brand new and meant to be used in extreme bodybuilding and weightlifting, the best of the best, each was horrendously expensive.

The room itself also smelled like paint. But despite how quickly it was built, it was extremely well made.

That's what you get when you contract a well known company and give them the necessary funds to run things.

His base had undergone great changes and even now, it was under heavy construction.

Two layers of walls had been built around his property consisting of a tall and thick concrete wall and an electric fence that wouldn't collapse even if a car slammed into it.

Many buildings were in construction and a few had already been partially completed. Joseph already had plans for what each was meant to be.

"So much to do… How much money do I have left?..."

Joseph checked his banks, and he saw he still had more than what he started with two months ago, albeit mostly in stocks.

He had thoroughly prepared after all, he knew exactly which companies would rise and fall, so with a well placed million, he could easily turn it into two in the span of a week.

The craze the second earthquake caused was no joke.

"Things are going well, it's almost time for me to get my rifle license."

'I've been gathering a lot of licenses, mostly for two reasons:'

'To be able to get some items legally, and also as a background. It may be useful to have many fancy licenses when things collapse. People may take my words more seriously or respect me more if I have them.'

'I have no plans of living like a hermit, so I'll definitely interact with people. That said, I have no interest in being pushed around either.'

'If anything, I'll be the one to push others my way.'

'It's a bit boring to do all of these exams and travel everywhere, but it's for a good cause.'

'The third earthquake will happen in seven months, so I still have a lot of time to get those harder certificates.'

'For once, I was even thinking of entering law and medical school just to reach the minimum requirements to attempt the bar exams and get a certificate.'

'Not that I need them to practice my Skills, I'm well aware of what I know, but because it would make people respect me much more if I could flaunt such certificates.'

'Four years of medical knowledge may be little, but it's four years of study per subject… In total, I would have decades if not centuries of medical knowledge in my head.'

'I'm not so sure how it would compare to someone who focused their entire lives on studying only a single thing, but as long as there's something available on the web, it's only a matter of time until I study it as well.'

"Now… I should get going. It's hard enough that the country is still recovering from the shock and booking classes has been a nightmare. I don't have the time to wait half a month just to book it again."

/Clack!/

Joseph left his home in a hurry, making way to the city in his car.

Since he had the money, he bought a nice car, not a sports car, much less a luxury one, but it was a nice car.

He was planning to buy a few… But not now. Definitely not now…

In fact, the price of most sports cars fell quite substantially now that people were pouring their resources elsewhere… Better for him who had already prepared.

'... Hm…'

Despite how everything flowed, there was still one thing weighing down on his mind.

'I still can't see further ahead. I don't know why the world will change either.'

Although Joseph could experience up to three years in the future, whenever he tried to recall anything over a year in the future, his head would begin to hurt.

He could easily remember what his mind focused on, but things beyond a year were hard to grasp as they began getting confusing and chaotic.

And above all, every single one of his attempts at writing a diary and having information appear on it have failed.

After a certain day, they all simply stop. And in some cases, they're outright destroyed.

And together with how the internet falls around two years after the first earthquake, Joseph arrived at a scary truth:

'It's likely that the internet itself will fall after a while… Maybe the world will truly end up in war.'

'Also, my ability isn't as omniscient as I thought. Whenever I try to make a diary to peer into the future, the information tends to get mushy or worse, unreliable.'

'That's because the future tends to disregard some events from happening, and what I came to realize is that when I use my ability on myself to learn something, the future I peer into isn't exactly the future that will happen.'

'It may be similar, but it's closer to a lifelike simulation than anything. After all, it's hard to say if I would truly act a certain way whenever I used my ability to advance the future of something.'

'There are simply way too many variables that can be created by the thing called "Human consciousness" for me to completely trust my ability's predictions.'

"The only things I can truly rely on are real objects like journals, web articles, and my diaries… The problem is that the internet falls after a while, journals don't work since I would only make them older, and my diary is useless after a while."

'Also, it's a pain to use my ability on the web.'

'Things are constantly being updated on the web, and since I can only use my ability to individually refresh a page, given how many sources of information there are, I can't just keep using my ability left and right in the hopes of getting something.'

'It's like fishing in the middle of the open sea with a wooden rod…'

'Also, if I keep using my ability like that, it could lead to traces being left out on the web. Like copies of these future web pages to circulate throughout the internet, changing the future in unexpected ways.'

'The best way to make use of the internet is to look for remote forums, pull the Ethernet cable and think about putting it back before refreshing the page into the future.'

'This way, a future where I continue to use the page is created, giving me something in response. Even so, it's not a method I use frequently for the same reason as before.'

'I thought about creating a web diary that automatically collects information, I could program a code that does so for me but… I'm still afraid of connecting anything like that to the internet, even if only once.'

'As for the other things, I have a few theories…'

'The first being the world or at least my region is affected by a large-scale disaster and I die in the process. That would explain why my diary burns in some areas but not all. Indicating that in the future, a bomb could end up destroying the region, casting it aflame… With me…'

'The other possibility is that I grow crazy due to some reason and my diary becomes unreliable. Maybe something extreme happens and writing in the diary becomes the least of my priorities, even with the incentive of my ability.'

'This is getting quite upsetting… And to some degree, I'm worried I may be forced to move base.'

'So far, out of my four bases, one of them seems to be set ablaze within the perceivable future, but that's no reason for me to give up on it yet.'

'There's much to uncover yet… And that's what's scary about all of this.'

Joseph sighed out loud as he put a song to play on the radio, enjoying the ride toward his class.

…

/Later that day…/

/S-Squeek!.../

/Thud…/

"... Test number 100… The mouse did not survive eating half a portion of an orange slice." Joseph said in a low tone as he wrote something on a piece of paper

/Close!/

 "Okay! This should be enough for now." 

He looked at the mouse with grief before gently placing its body on a small dark bag, turning around to face a bunch more lightly sleeping inside their cages.

'One hundred tests… They're finally done.'

'With this, I can advance the time on the notebook and gain knowledge over my future self's experiments!'

'Simply put, I fed 100 white mice the oranges I got from the mutant tree, and the results were surprising.'

'First of all, I divided the mice into two groups: Fifty normal mice, and fifty mice which I had their time advanced by three years, just like the orange tree.'

'From the first group, one in five mice died after eating the fruit. One in five mutated and ended up unable to live normally, either dying soon after or forcing me to kill it.'

'There were, however, a few who managed to live after I fed them more oranges, breaking through their mutated physiology with brute force.'

'Two in five remained the same, and one in five perfectly mutated into something else, usually growing bigger, stronger, and overall more ferocious. Although this wasn't the case for all, as the mutations varied.'

'I could not determine why.'

'Now, for the fifty I advanced their time, right of the bet, 20% died.'

'Out of the rest, 60% did not change, but the remainder… Mutated just like the other mice I fed oranges did.'

'Then, to those that survived, I fed them the oranges, and the results were even more surprising.'

'The rate of survival and successful mutations amidst the normal mice was over 80%, several times higher than the normal mice of the present.'

'Meanwhile, 50% of the already mutated mice transformed even further, and some of them grew so ferocious I was forced to take them down with lethal injections and sedatives.'

'What I learned from this is that the oranges aren't themselves dangerous. It's what's contained in them that is.'

"And whatever that is will soon affect all of the world within three years as even these mice transformed."

'To make sure my readings were congruent, before I advanced the time of the mice, I divided them into multiple groups and used my powers on them in different locations of the city.'

'Some mice immediately died, but not because of mutations but something else. My bet is that whatever destroyed my notebooks also affected them, reinforcing the idea that some areas of the city will likely turn to rubble in the near future.'

'I took those mice out of my calculations and used only mice that died out of natural mutations, but I made sure to note their transformations as my power affected them nonetheless.'

"It seems the world will completely change sooner than I could ever imagine…"

'If I can take these mice as a precedent, over 10% if not 20% of all animals will die as the world changes, and a small percentage of them, around 20% if not more, will mutate into these things...'

'Stronger, smarter, and more resilient beasts.'

'And it won't just be them, but plants will change as well, and on the off chance these creatures consume each other… They may grow even stronger.'

'In short. The world will turn to shit.'

"And I need to prepare."

'For that, I made this notebook, it contains the data I've collected over the last few weeks of experiments. I could've done things faster but getting mice is a little hard when I don't exactly have a reason to have them…'

'Once I use my powers on the notebook, knowing full well this area is safe, I should have the continued research of my future self on it!'

'Or at the very least, the research up to the point I die…'

'Anyhow, I plan to do much more than just this!'

'I'm tired of guessing the places that will survive in the future, so here's my idea:'

'I'll go around the city collecting soil samples, I'll then advance the time on them and figure out which areas of the city are more likely to be destroyed and which are more likely to be tainted by this "foreign energy".'

'Note that I have no way to confirm such a thing exists, but a "mysterious energy" is the best place holder until I figure out why these creatures are changing.'

'If both animals and plants changed at the same time, then there has to be something either in the air, soil, or water that is mutating the living organisms.'

'If not, then what else? Radiation? Someone with a mystical power like me?'

'Whatever it may be, I have to figure it out for myself!'

"So without further ado…"

/Fall…/

The ampule turned, and time began to tick.

Within three minutes, a dried and somewhat worn-out diary appeared before him. 

"It's still intact, so I call that a win."

"Now then! Time to read it!"

…

For the first few pages, the diary went as he expected.

Thousands of experiments were conducted over the next few months before the third earthquake.

Throughout this time, Joseph figured out many unique properties of the strange energy and even condensed it through the juices of many plants he artificially "evolved".\

By taking this juice and repeating this process to many plants and animals. Within seven months, he developed a serum that could be injected into other creatures to "awaken" their abilities with a 90% success rate.

He also figured out that most creatures could technically grow naturally by absorbing this mysterious energy directly from the air by turning the energy-rich juices and serums into mist or evaporating them.

After the third earthquake, Joseph began mentioning strange projects and ideas in his diary. He ruled them to be the first signs of the world's changes.

People, just like him, began noticing the transformations of creatures and animals.

This meant there was a possibility this energy was already in the air but was so thin it barely made a difference. Maybe most animals already had a resistance to it.

The source of these mutations was eventually found two and a half years from now, or about three years after the first earthquake, and people dubbed it… Spiritual Energy.

There was a massive period of turmoil and panic over this, but it wasn't like the other years before it were any calmer.

The world was changing, and so far, he was far beyond others.

By following the lead of the International Research Committee, Joseph would eventually stop his research after it was proven redundant two and a half years from now.

However, his research wasn't for nought as thanks to it, he was able to figure something only the rich and powerful will be aware of…

"... Cultivation… Am I reading this right?"

'My diary was mostly focused on the research, but from the little I accumulated…'

"I… Arg! This doesn't matter now! What I need to know is why this research passed through the "threshold?!"."

"I tried writing diaries multiple times but I always end up failing for one reason or another, which leads me to believe I'm somehow 'fated to die' or that this city is cursed…"

'But in this diary I finished all of the research and lived to tell the tale… There's only one solution for this.'

"Exposition."

'By exposing myself to… Spiritual Energy. I accustomed my body to it, leading me to resist "Natural Deviation".'

'Natural Deviation is a medical condition written in the diary that will affect one in seven individuals; it's the culprit behind all of the animals' deaths and mutations.'

'Their bodies can't handle the energy and essentially implode. In Humans, this often appears as brain damage as it's our most sensible organ to this disease.'

'This means a seventh of mankind will die in the next three years, albeit that number will likely be much higher with all the madness that will spread.'

"... It's a lot to process, but I think I know what to do now."

'I need to prevent myself from dying to Natural Deviation and create a body that can resist the future so I can create a diary and go from it.'

'Things are more hectic then I imagined, this is more then the end of the world, it's the birth of a new one atop ours.'

"I'll have to do more research on this, but so far, I guess I can stop my experiments here." He said as he scratched his chin

'It's better this way, but it's also less risky. But it doesn't mean I'll stop raising my plants. In fact, it seems it's beneficial for me to do so.'

'There were entries in the diary about the benefits of Cultivation, and I wouldn't name it Cultivation if I weren't sure of it.'

'The animals are hard to control, but plants are simpler to take care of. I can make a diary only on them and go from there.'

'As for the rest, it'll be a bit of trial and error, but I'll have to figure out a way to start Cultivating. But first, I'll have to learn more about it since the diary is pretty plain.'

/Close…/

"Looks like I have a goal."

'Goal number 1. Or should I say, priority number 1… Avoid my death… And as an addendum, my parents too since they'll likely be unable to adapt as well.'

'Goal number 2, learn more about Cultivation.'

'Goal number 3, find a way to Cultivate.'

'Meanwhile, I can have some side goals too…'

'Side Goal 1, improve my bases so I can live there, I can use them to house friends and relatives as well.'

'Side Goal 2, gather basic resources and above all, information. Once world order falls and what we took for granted falls, having dozens of hard drives of information will definitely be of worth.'

'Especially if I add things like music, movies, programs, games, and other forms of entertainment…'

'The world won't fall that easily, but once major governments shut themselves off to protect their interests and research, I doubt there'll be a lot of freedom for the people.'

'I could add other goals, but they're more like suggestions, so I'll keep them at the back of my head for now.'

"Enough said, time to act."

'I can't delay cultivation for long, but I can't dive into it without proper knowledge.'

'... There's too much to do… I do have money though… Yeah, I can pay some people to run some errands for me and cut me some time.'

'It'll add up over time.'

With a pensive gaze, he left the greenhouse.

Soon after, he began enacting his plans.

…

/Meanwhile…/

In a bright lab… A scientist sat down before a computer screen as he noted down important data on an ipad.

"... Progress?" A man asked as he approached the scientist, startling him

"Hm? Mr Ford! I didn't expect you to be visiting us so soon! Sit down please, there's much to talk…"

"Not today I'm afraid, I came here as I had a little bit of time and wanted to know if there has been some progress. You must know how dire the situation's gotten with the recent earthquake."

"Yes… It's your first visit since then… Has there been some pushback on the project? I'm not as informed since… I've been here all day."

"No, on the contrary even, everyone's been very supportive of our efforts… And this exactly why we must push for progress."

"We're being used as the front and central authority for this matter, but it doesn't mean others won't try to run their own experiments. Hoping to take our place or pull us down."

"We must succeed and show them the future, all the while keeping things… As moral as possible."

"... Has that resurfaced?"

"More then once… They really want to push for Human experimentation."

"..."

"You may speak your mind doctor, there's no one here aside from us."

"I'm aware sir… This kind of thing doesn't affect me anymore. I'm well aware of what I signed up for when I began following this line of work."

"I've seen doctors harvesting patients for organs just because they were considered "unsalvageable"… This much is nothing."

"... Anyhow, progress has been great. We expanded our numbers and created three more divisions to cope with the ever-increasing demand and research opportunities. So instead of lack of progress, I'd say we're having far too much progress."

"What about the vaccines?"

"They're about 20% done… But if you want to use it now, there's about a 35% success rate on mice. We're expected to raise it to 50% within the month and over 95% within the next year."

"Hm… Good, send me some results later. I'll use them to request further funding."

/Turn around…/

"Doctor, remember what we're here for."

"To save humanity, to prevent the loss of life and the decay of our morality."

"No matter how much I wish to stop them, they'll push for human testing soon, so you'll have to be ready for that."

"We can only try to be as ethical as possible. But the better results you show, the less they'll push us and allow us to operate as we've been ever since we began this project."

"People will die no matter what we do, we can only try to make their deaths significant…"

With those words, the man left the lab, leaving the doctor alone with his thoughts.

…

/Seven months later…/

/Tic tac…/

"... It's almost time."

'Within two hours, the third earthquake will hit, and the world will be plunged into chaos.'

'These last few months have been extremely hectic as the people rebelled against their governments for the truth, but in the end, there was nothing to be given, and in the face of the ever-changing world, they had to return to work.'

'At least it seemed they learned their lesson as the governments of most nations at least tried to help their populace calm down, but people are as skeptical as ever.'

'Many have completely bought the idea of the end times and have begun preparing. Most companies related to these areas have skyrocketed in value.'

'Bunkers are being built everywhere, people are stocking on supplies and overall, it's just chaos.'

'Even my father who's more down to earth, has stocked up on some basic necessities like soap and other long-lasting food options.'

'As for me, I made my own preparations…'

'In the last few weeks, I've sold most of my Stocks as I bought even more things to add to my bases.'

'I won the lottery a third time, and since the government was so busy with the chaos, no one came to look after me, so I managed to use the money effectively where it mattered.'

'Millions upon millions were poured into my four bases around the city, but I know more than betting everything on one casket, so I bought land even further away from the city but connected through a main road and began heavy construction there.'

'With my research of Spiritual Qi, I figured out where the most abundant spots surrounding the city would emerge and built my newest base there.'

'That is my biggest base of them all and I'm having it be big exactly because I'm expecting the mayhem that will come post the third earthquake, mostly through the mutation of the wildlife.'

'In the next two years, several major events will shake the world that I should look out for…'

'First, half a year from now, multiple active and dormant volcanoes will all burst and spew their fumes into the atmosphere, bringing the great cold and dark to the world.'

'This period will last about half a month and bring extreme environmental changes, but once it clears out… I can say for certain it'll be the start of the Age of Cultivation!'

'For the rich and powerful… The common folk won't even know what Cultivation is till much later. '

'Two months from now, meteor Gul-X21 and its fragments will fall somewhere in Central America and the rest of the world, with its main fragments scattering throughout the Americas and oceans, sending it all ablaze.'

'The reason why my notebooks all burned was likely because a fragment of Gul-X21 fell on the city… And it was likely quite a big one at that. Or I was very unlucky.'

'However, the meteor isn't solely a disaster… Because it's confirmed later on that the comet is made entirely out of an undiscovered mineral.'

'Stones full of Spirit Qi, the new energy source of the future!'

'Spiritual Stones, the raw currency of the future.'

'That's the main reason why the Great Cold will kickstart the age of Cultivation, it's not because of what it did, but the time it bought.'

'That half a month will be enough for Gul-X21 to react with earth's atmosphere and release Spiritual Qi in droves, everywhere.'

'It's mostly thanks to Gul-X21 and nuclear reactors that earth didn't go into a complete energy crisis during the great cold and dark.'

'This will also mark the start of the tensions between countries, which will then lead to an all out World War during the Great Dark.'

'The countries will go crazy over the Meteor and will do everything they can to secure large chunks of it to further their research, and exactly one month after the Great Dark month ends… The first nuclear warhead will be released.'

'Thankfully though, it'll never descend into a full nuclear war… Because around that time, Spiritual Corrosion will begin affecting all forms of sensitive technology in the world, rendering most Nukes inoperative.'

'Complex machines like phones and computers will stop working and Humanity will be forced to either make sturdier objects that can resist corrosion in every capacity or regress to simpler tech as their research on Spirit Qi deepens.'

'Cars and the like will work for the most part. If they're mechanical.'

'An arms race will begin as people work their way up the tech tree again, but that's much better than Nuclear fallout.'

'It seems this new age wants people to go back to their roots… It'll be annoying, but I'm ready.'

'I used everything in my power to prepare for this, and even if something breaks, I can just turn back it's time to when it was useful.'

'Throughout my four bunkers and extra bases I've gathered an unprecedented amount of resources, and I've even done some crazy things like buying basic chemical reagents, metals in the form of bars, textile materials and the like.'

'Once Cultivation pops up, materials like this will become a commodity, and I plan to use them to get a little bit ahead and prepare for what will come later.'

'Around a year from now and half a year after the Age of Cultivation begins, the "Spiritualization" of Earth will begin.'

'Spiritual Qi will complete it's first cycle in earth's natural ecosystem and the world will truly begin to change.'

'Spiritual minerals will surge, Spiritual Stones will form naturally, Plants and Animals will mutate in droves…'

'Even things like ancient relics and historical artifacts will begin gathering Qi naturally, becoming great weapons, some with national strategic value.'

'My plan is to steal some of the most valuable artifacts in my area, and maybe even beyond before this begins so I can have an even greater advantage.'

"But that's not what matters!"

'Soon enough, the first few "manuals" will begin popping up on the web.'

'Under fake and mysterious aliases, people will drop folders everywhere on the web explaining how to cultivate.'

'No one knows who these people are, but they're partially why the great age of Cultivation began.'

'They'll completely stop posting things around a month after the Meteor falls, but for as long as they're there, they'll be quite supportive of anyone that asks any questions, so here's my plan:'

'I already have most of their known techniques on hand. I've been studying them for months now and even used my abilities to boost my understanding of them… But I don't trust them.'

'Who would post true techniques on the internet? They're good for reference but I need more.'

'I plan to contact these people and see for myself what they have to share, and I've made the preparations to not be traceable.'

'With that, I'll have resources, knowledge, wealth, and materials to begin Cultivation for real.'

'I'll be one of the first Cultivators of this new Era!'

Joseph had grand ambitions, but it was the minimum with such a power.

He had thoroughly prepared after all, but it all worked out partially due to the government's negligence and the speed at which everything was happening.

No one had the time to check how many depths he was acquiring and how odd it was.,.

No one knew he had absolutely no plans of paying for anything.

"It should be happening within an hour… I don't know if my powers will change again, but I doubt it."

'I've been training madly for today, but who knows?'

'Just in case, I've also regressed my age… Again. So now I'm Twenty-two, although in truth, I'm Twenty-six.'

'I don't look much different, which is great.'

'I have no idea how much age affects Cultivation, I know it does from the diaries I gathered, but not how much.'

'This is technology from the future, people won't figure everything out within a few years, it'll take decades.'

'I dream that my ability develops to that point, but hey, anything is better than nothing.'

'At most I can share what I learn online so it hastens Humanity's advancements… But it's risky.'

'I'm better off minding my own business.'

/Bzz…/

"Hm?... I thought I put this on silent. Who is it at this time? My parents?" Joseph asked as he reached for his cellphone

To prepare for the earthquake, he made only a few things priorities on his cellphone, muting everything else.

"!"

'It can't be! I thought they weren't active at this time!'

Around an hour before the earthquake, Joseph received a notification that one of the mysterious individuals had posted something on the internet.

Since he already knew who they were and where they would appear, he tracked them all down and followed them over multiple accounts so he could be up to date on whatever they posted.

Of course, there was no way for him to follow them on websites he didn't know they operated on, or if they changed their profile accounts, but whenever they appeared in the future, he knew.

'This… They posted a technique on the forum… As I thought, it's the basic Leaf Whistle Art.'

'Cultivation is divided into realms where each is then further divided into smaller stages.'

'To cultivate, one needs a Breathing Art and a Cultivation Method.'

'The Breathing Art is in charge of equalizing their body with the Spiritual Qi in the environment, allowing them to resist, absorb, and contain the Qi inside their bodies.'

'While the Cultivation Method is how Cultivators refine that Qi and fuse it onto their bodies.'

'This method of Cultivation is rather straightforward, and usually, individuals of a realm higher are always immeasurably stronger than those of a realm below.'

'It's like a rather inflexible path where the Cultivation Method works as the vehicle through which they tread it.'

'This means it doesn't matter what Breathing Art of Cultivation Method you use. Your strength will always be the same as anyone else in the same realm as you.'

'But that doesn't mean you'll be faster in progressing, nor that you'll be able to advance past a certain stage either…'

'The only way to grow stronger within your realm is through experience, Martial Arts, Mystical Arts, and the like.'

'These are known as Internal and External Arts.'

'And putting this all together, this path is known as the standard cultivation method. Spiritual Cultivation.'

'But it isn't the sole one.'

'There is also the path of Body and Mental Cultivation, following different rules and Systems… But they're definitely not the sole ones.'

'In the future, people would wonder if it's possible for those three paths to be practiced together and the answer is yes, they can.'

'If you have the appropriate techniques that don't interfere with each other and a strong will, you can advance in all three paths at once and somewhat fuse them together.'

'But such a path is arduous. It's much better to choose one path and then tap onto the others just to keep a balance in the "three essences".'

'Body, Mind, and Spirit.'

'Now, back to topic, the Leaf Whistle Art is a rather advanced Breathing Art that will become quite the talk in the future after the internet collapses.'

'It'll make its appearance after the fall of the comet as people begin to realize the worth of the things posted online, and like that, it'll also vanish soon after.'

'Some lucky ones will study it, others will download it. But soon after, the technique will vanish, and even when people try to post it again… They won't be heard off again.'

'The governments will try everything in their power to prevent the spread of such information and will instead try to share their own versions of everything with the people, that is why I focused on them rather than whatever crap the governments will try to give to the people.'

'I can understand their perspective, but I'm unwilling to be sheep in these changing tides.'

'The Leaf Whistle Art is known for causing an audible whistle and someone breathes. However, with enough practice, it can become soundless and smooth… Continuous, like a river.'

'To think it was actually posted so soon… No… Maybe the person who originally posted it in the future was actually someone who realized its true worth!'

'The people in charge of posting these are known for posting and removing things from the internet even if no one watches it, and they're also know for posting everything under the allegation of it being fanfiction or story ideas they need help with.'

'In short, they aren't trying to appear as saviors but are instead putting on a mask so others may not treat them seriously.'

'I wonder why they would do something so redundant, but then again, they likely have their own reasons to be quiet.'

'They own nothing to the world but are willing to help, yet the world isn't so simple, the moment they show themselves, the wolves will pounce…'

'And the sheep can only watch as their saviors are devoured. This is the real world. A cruel place.'

'Even if the wolves end up killing the world, Humans won't actively help each other in these types of scenarios.'

'Humans tend to help each other as its their instinct, but if they aren't being threatened like this? It's a dog eat dog world.'

'When they realize they've eaten their own roots and are about to fall, won't it be too late by then?'

Joseph opened and downloaded the file carefully after inspecting its code. Once he deemed it harmless, he began reading it.

"... Wait a minute… It's different."

He paid attention to some of its details…

'No way… It really is a different one!'

'Some details have been written in a different way, but we follow this line of thought to the end… Then the two techniques will be vastly different from each other!'

'How could this be?...'

'Could it be that one of them… Is fake?'

'If this one was posted earlier, then its just right to believe its the correct one.'

'In that case… The technique everyone would learn about… Is the fake one.'

'This would make the man who posted them a trickster… But why would he do such a thing?'

'He can only be one of three things…'

'An internet troll, someone who got the technique, modified it, and reposted it…'

'Someone who is actually part of this mysterious group but is against them revealing their techniques, or someone like me. Either someone with a unique power, or someone with gargantuan talent.'

'Because to be able to modify this Art within three months… No, less than that… Is utterly ridiculous.'

'In a modern world, how can someone learn a traditional martial art and modify it to make it seem genuine and functional?'

'It could be luck… But he could also be the genuine one.'

'What if these guys are trolls instead? People who want to break their system while making themselves the heroes?'

Joseph had a few more ideas, but he threw them all away…

'... Too much speculation. I won't get nowhere with this…'

'That said. There's an easy way to confirm if this is the real deal or not.'

'Advance time!'

…

/Meanwhile…/

/Tap tap tap…/

In a small room, a woman sat before a computer, working with great focus.

"... I'm finished." She said as she sent a file to the other side of the world before wiping her eyes, tired

"Was this even necessary? Shouldn't we be focusing elsewhere? Like helping the communities around us or better, gathering supplies?" A man behind her asked as he crossed his arms

"We already have and did plenty. Instead of complaining, you should just do as you're told." She replied calmly without turning around

"Yeah yeah, do as the master says, he knows better. I've heard that one before."

He moved to the side, looking at the world map plastered on the wall.

"I just feel this is unnecessary, not only is it wasteful, it's also inefficient… And dangerous."

"What good do we make in directly sharing our techniques like that with the world? And such advanced ones too?"

"Not only are we endangering ourselves, we're also doing little by reaching literally no one. After all, master told us to be discreet and aim for low traffic websites…"

"Yet, doesn't that go against the purpose of sharing them in the first place? The best we do with this is risk one of our enemies sniffing them out and going after the rest of our scriptures."

"The chances of these reaching anybody that takes them seriously is negligible, and the chance of these people taking them seriously is also small. Above all, the chances of them being somewhat capable of understanding and interpreting those arts is even lower."

"And finally, the chance of this individual to sit down and practice the Arts without faltering or succeeding is… Zero."

"The only thing I can make sense of this is that Master is trying to enrich the world, but this method is contradictory. As even though we're bound by restrictions and responsibilities, there are many other ways to move about then… Whatever this is."

"I can't make sense of it, Master is trying to fish by throwing his rod in the middle of the open sea, but he has no bait nor hook."

"... Whatever the Master decides, we follow, that's what we trained for. No matter how his actions may appear, after we gave him our opinions and he still proceeded, we must now respect his choice and move on."

"You should be grateful and follow for Master rarely orders anything from us."

"I'm not being ungrateful! I'm here, aren't I?!"

"I'm just… Questioning this decision… I also want to live and prosper, after all. And the last thing I want is for our enemies to come knocking on our doors with our techniques in hand."

"..."

The woman did not reply this time.

/Din!/

"Hm?... Someone replied."

"It's probably a bot, ever since the world turned upside down, the internet has been almost unusable with scams and bots." The man said with a scoff as he sat down to drink some coffee

"Doesn't seem like it though. Hm… It's a genuine question regarding the post I made."

"Woah, talk about first timers luck… So? What was it? No, where did you post it?"

"On a Homebrew website. I posted the Simplified Leaf Whistle Art. I made it seem like I was making the background for a Monk character."

"If you read it all and understand its essence, you can unlock a password which you can then use to unlock the rest of it. But for that, you would have to download and open the file inside your Pc, which most people don't do since it's risky."

"Another layer of complexity…" The man added as he rolled his eyes

"... Anyhow… This is quite odd…"

"Why?"

"Because his question… Is extremely valid. His question seems to be from the perspective of an ordinary person but it's so specific and on mark that I'm unsure what to take of it."

"What?"

"This is a question only someone who understood and comprehended the entire basic technique can do."

"... How long has it been since you posted it?"

"This one? One hour ago. The event should be happening within another… No, less then one."

"... You're kidding?"

"No."

"Are you sure this isn't someone we know trolling?"

"I am. This isn't a fresh account. It's several months old even, before Master gave us this task."

"... So you're telling me someone talented actually appeared and understood the essence of the technique and is now asking questions? All of that within an hour?"

"It seems to be the case."

"Does that even make sense?" He asked as he frowned

"Do remember this is the simplified version… Still, his question isn't there yet. It's as if an ordinary person understood the technique but is still seeing it merely as a work of fiction."

"So we're dealing with a madman that perfectly interpreted the art despite deeming it fiction? What is he, an english teacher?"

"This isn't the time for jokes, we have to give him a reply…"

"Yeah yeah, Master's rules… Since he answered your post, it's on you."

"... Who said there wouldn't be anyone again?" She asked as she turned to face the screen

"Tche! Don't try to undermine my words! You know how statistically improbable this was!"

"For the very first individual to see and answer your post to be like this… We might as well pull out now while we're profiting. We won't have another chance like this."

"That's up to Master to decide. Now, stop talking, I have to reply to him, and fast before it hits."

/Tap tap tap!/

"If the internet falls or he ends up being pushed away from the computer due to that, I won't be able to sleep well."

/Rolls eyes…/

"You're way too methodical… Well, I'll be sleeping on the side if you need me."

"You shouldn't sleep while on duty."

"As if anything was going to happen… I deem you sucked up all the "luck" of the next few months with this guy."

"Have fun then." He said as he waved his hand, leaving the girl alone in the room

"..."

She did not reply, focusing instead on tapping on her keyboard.

/Tremble…/

And before long, the world began to quake.

...

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Notes