March, Saturday 10, 2003 - Morning 10:00 AM
Middle of nowhere
The sun beamed down from a cloudless sky, filling the world with warmth. The light breeze carried a sense of serenity, painting the morning as perfect and peaceful. It was a day most would call flawless. However, Paradox, a being far beyond human comprehension, walked down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, utterly unimpressed.
In his [Half-Omnipotent] form black lines all over his body, Paradox strolled lazily along the path, munching on a bag of Takis, a snack that, by all logical accounts, shouldn't even exist yet. It was 2003 after all, and yet, here they were. Where did they come from? Why were they here? Who knows? Only Paradox—and he couldn't care less.
A bored expression marred his face as he wandered aimlessly, his mind drifting.
“Hm, what should I do today?” he muttered, voice laced with apathy. “Not much excitement lately... Well, except for my last run-in with Death. I'll have to make sure to beat her next time.”
His voice was nonchalant as if defeating Death was just another item on a to-do list. Paradox was the very embodiment of unpredictability—cocky, spontaneous, and thoroughly uninterested in the mundanity of this world.
As he continued walking, he mused aloud, as though the sky itself were his audience. “This world’s different from what I expected... I thought it’d just be some reverse Earth. Less water, more land, but it’s got its own fantasy vibes. Like something straight out of a game.”
Curiosity piqued, Paradox activated his [Omnipotent Senses], expanding his awareness across the area. His lips twisted into a smirk as something tugged at his attention.
“Well, well, what do we have here? Five big ugly things coming right at me from underground, and they seem pretty eager to kill. How quaint.”
He stopped in place, waiting, completely unfazed. The creatures were close, but Paradox, with all his power, merely tapped his foot lightly against the ground. Instantly, the earth within a hundred meters erupted outward, sending the creatures flying into the air.
"Hissssss..."
Five enormous serpentine creatures landed on the ground, their red and yellow scales shimmering in the sunlight. Each had a single horn protruding from their heads, their bodies lined with sharp spikes, and their eyes gleamed a sinister purple.
Paradox raised an eyebrow. “Oh, it’s just snakes. How disappointing.”
His tone was dripping with disdain. He’d hoped for something more… dangerous, something that might at least make him try. But no, all he got was a bunch of oversized, glorified reptiles.
The snakes, seemingly insulted by his remark, launched themselves at him with blinding speed, jaws open wide, fangs dripping with venom. But Paradox didn’t flinch. If anything, he yawned.
“You lowly beasts... Sit down.”
With a snap of his fingers, he conjured an immense gravitational force, slamming the snakes into the ground with bone-crushing power. The ground quivered as the weight pressed into them, their hisses now filled with pain.
“Pathetic creatures like you think you can challenge me?” Paradox sneered, his crimson eyes flashing with irritation.
Two of the snakes, though pinned, managed to struggle just enough to open their mouths. One spewed a torrent of acidic bile, while the other unleashed a cloud of deadly poison, both aimed directly at him. The air itself seemed to sizzle as the attacks hurtled toward Paradox.
But he remained calm, unbothered.
“Too slow, far too slow,” he said, and as the attacks were about to strike him, he casually turned intangible, letting the acid and poison pass harmlessly through his body.
With another flick of his fingers, one of the snakes' heads exploded in a violent spray of blood and viscera, painting the ground around it. The other four recoiled in horror, their bodies trembling, hissing wildly. Panicked, they dove underground, trying to escape their fate.
“Leaving already?” Paradox asked, his tone almost mocking. He waved his hand, forming a diamond cage around the fleeing creatures, trapping them.
But to his surprise, the snakes bit through the diamonds as though they were made of glass, vanishing into the earth.
“Huh,” he muttered, scratching his head. “I’ll give them credit for that, I guess. Still… what a waste of time.”
He sighed and resumed his walk, his mood sinking back into boredom. Nothing in this world seemed capable of entertaining him for more than a few minutes. The brief encounter barely made a dent in his infinite restlessness.
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Two Hours Later
After hours of wandering aimlessly, Paradox found himself as bored as ever.
“Ugh, I’m getting tired. Haven’t I been awake for like… two days now?” he wondered aloud, finally realizing just how long it had been. “Guess I’ll take a nap.”
Without another thought, he leaped into a nearby tree and stretched out on a branch. It didn’t take long for him to drift into a light sleep, the peaceful rustle of leaves around him the only sound.
That peace, however, didn’t last long.
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Sometime later…
Paradox’s slumber was rudely interrupted by a loud, blood-curdling scream. He stirred, opening one eye lazily.
“What’s with all the screaming? Can’t a guy get some rest around here?”
Annoyed, he leaped from branch to branch toward the sound. When he reached the source, he perched himself on a high branch, looking down at the scene below. A young girl, no older than sixteen, was sprinting for her life, her face twisted in terror.
And behind her? The same snakes from earlier, the ones who thought they could escape him. Now they had set their sights on her, their new prey.
“Well, well, would you look at that?” Paradox said with an amused chuckle. “Those weaklings couldn’t beat me, so now they’re chasing down something even weaker.”
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He watched with mild interest as the girl ran, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her body pushed past its limits, adrenaline pumping through her veins, but her legs were faltering. She wasn’t going to last much longer.
“Someone please help me!” the girl screamed, her voice thick with desperation. “I don’t want to be snake food!”
Paradox sighed, watching her struggle. "Humans... always finding themselves in these situations."
The girl’s fate seemed inevitable. She was cornered, the snakes closing in from all sides. Her legs buckled, her energy drained, and the crushing realization set in—she was going to die here. Alone, in the forest. Forgotten.
“Is this really the end? Will I really be killed right here, in this forsaken place?” she whispered, her voice trembling as tears welled in her eyes.
Her hands clasped together as she muttered a prayer, hoping against hope for a miracle.
“Five seconds,” Paradox mused from above, watching the scene with detached amusement. "That's all she has left."
The snakes lunged forward.
Four seconds.
The girl’s tears fell freely now, her eyes losing hope, her body trembling. She had no more strength to fight.
Three seconds.
The creatures loomed over her, their acidic saliva dripping onto the ground, melting the earth beneath them.
Two seconds.
Their jaws snapped open, ready to tear into her flesh, eager for the taste of blood.
One second.
Blood sprayed everywhere as the snakes bit down, but something was off. Instead of flesh and bone, their teeth sank into... rubber? Their fangs recoiled, confusion overtaking them.
Zero.
Paradox descended, landing gracefully beside the girl, his hand lazily resting in his pocket. “That was cutting it close,” he said, his voice casual, as though nothing had happened. “If I’d waited a second longer, you would’ve been a goner.”
The girl, her eyes still shut tight, felt warmth—different from the cold terror of the snakes. She felt comfort, safety, and the presence of someone else.
‘What’s happening? Am I still alive? How?’
A voice cut through her thoughts, light, and mocking. “Hey, sleepyhead, how was your near-death experience?”
Her eyes fluttered open, meeting his intense, crimson gaze. “Did you… save me?” she asked, her voice trembling with disbelief.
“Save you?” Paradox smirked. “Let’s not get carried away. I just happened to kill the snakes. You surviving was a side effect.” He pointed down at the dismembered bodies of the snakes, now nothing more than chunks of flesh scattered around.
As the girl stood up from Paradox's arms, she felt a mix of gratitude and confusion. Her mind raced, trying to process everything that had happened. She had never been so close to death before, and yet here she was, alive and standing on a tree branch with a man who seemed utterly indifferent to her.
“Thank you for saving me,” she said earnestly, bowing slightly as she spoke. “I will always be in your debt. I don’t know if I can ever repay you.”
“You can’t,” Paradox responded flatly, not even sparing her a glance. The words cut through the air with an air of dismissiveness that sank her spirits.
“A mere human like you can’t offer me anything,” he added nonchalantly, his tone making it clear how little he thought of the situation.
For a moment, the girl hesitated, unsure of how to respond. She glanced down, wracking her brain for something, anything, that could make her stand out. “If there’s nothing to offer, then how about my bo—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Paradox cut her off, his voice laced with annoyance. “This is also going to be a no,” he said abruptly, leaving no room for interpretation. “I didn’t save you for your thanks or your body. It was pure coincidence.”
She blinked, taken aback by his bluntness. “Wha— what do you mean?”
“I killed one of those snakes earlier,” Paradox explained casually, as if it were the most mundane thing in the world. “The rest escaped. This was just me cleaning up loose ends. Nothing more, nothing less. Got it?”
The girl’s mouth opened, but no words came. Her eyes twitched, frustration welling up inside her, but eventually, she swallowed her pride. “Y-yeah, I got it.”
“Good,” Paradox said as he leapt down from the tree with her in his arms, landing effortlessly on the ground below. He set her down, already moving as though the entire encounter had been nothing but a momentary distraction. “Now, I’ve got things to do.”
“Wait!” The girl called after him, her voice carrying a note of desperation. “Will we ever meet again?”
Paradox paused for a brief moment, glancing back over his shoulder. “Who knows,” he said with a smirk, tossing her a silver charm shaped like a rabbit’s foot. “If there’s a will, there’ll be a way.”
She caught the charm, clutching it tightly to her chest as she watched him walk away. The figure of her hero grew smaller in the distance, and with it, the sense of certainty that had filled her moments earlier. She had never even learned his name. “I’m sure we’ll meet again,” she whispered to herself, her resolve hardening. “My hero…”
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Four Years Later – June 14, 2007
San Francisco, California
The sound of heels clicked against the sleek floor of a modern laboratory. The once frightened girl had now grown into a confident young woman. The girl now in her early twenties, stood tall, her dark brown hair falling in soft waves just below her shoulders. Her striking blue eyes, still filled with determination, glinted behind the glasses she wore. Her white lab coat bore a badge
with the name "Charlotte" emblazoned across it, and beneath it, she wore tailored trousers and a blouse, giving her an air of professionalism.
“It’s been four years since that moment,” she mused aloud as she worked, recalling the day she had been saved by the mysterious man she now thought of as her hero. “Since then, I’ve dedicated my life to helping others. From studying animals and their traits to finding ways to implement those traits into people.”
She moved across the lab, organizing vials filled with various serums, each one designed to enhance human capabilities—strength, reflexes, even senses from different animals. Charlotte had become a specialist in her field, working with an organization that she didn’t fully understand, but which shared her vision of creating a better world.
“My goal,” she continued, her voice unwavering, “is to make a world where everyone can live in peace—no war, no death, no hunger. Thanks to that man, I’ve found my purpose. He was right… As just a human, I can’t do much, but I’ll do whatever I can.”
As she prepared the vials for shipment, Charlotte stumbled slightly, nearly dropping the entire container. With reflexes honed from years of study and practice, she managed to catch the container, but one vial slipped free, soaring into the air before landing directly on her head. The glass shattered, and its contents spilled across her hair and skin.
“Ugh, of course something had to go wrong,” she muttered, wiping the liquid off herself. She didn’t give it much thought, quickly cleaning up and completing her assignment before heading out for the day.
What she didn’t notice, however, was the faint glow of the silver charm around her neck. Beneath her clothes, it pulsed softly for a brief moment before fading as quickly as it had appeared.
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Later that evening, under the light of a full moon, Charlotte walked home along the quiet streets, the weight of a long day pressing down on her shoulders.
“Finally, I can get some rest,” she sighed, eager to put the day behind her. But as she neared her home, something strange began to happen. Her body felt… different. She stopped in her tracks as her muscles seemed to shift and change, becoming leaner and more powerful. White fur began to sprout across her skin, covering her body except for her face, hands, and feet. Her blue eyes glowed faintly in the dark, and long, soft bunny ears sprouted from the top of her head, while a fluffy white tail emerged from her lower back.
Her transformation was swift, seamless, and entirely unnoticed by her. By the time she reached her apartment, she had fully transformed, but she was none the wiser. She simply collapsed onto her bed, her mind still on the hero from four years ago, and quickly drifted into sleep.
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With Paradox…
Far away, Paradox sat in a vast, empty space, his expression unchanged as he lounged comfortably in midair. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
“What was that?” he muttered, blinking as a strange sensation washed over him. He paused for a moment, contemplating the odd feeling, before shrugging it off. “Whatever. Not my problem.”
And with that, he returned to his usual antics, unaware that somewhere in the world, the girl he had saved was about to embark on a path that would once again cross with his own.