Friday, 4:00 AM
Liam could be seen lying in his bed, unable to sleep. His mind had been racing through everything since his regression, thinking about his next move.
He stared at the ceiling, the faint pre-dawn light beginning to creep through the windows.
Things have been progressing smoothly. The only barrier is time.
Of course, I could speed things up. After all, from the looks of things, Mason is already starting to think differently of me. I could probably make him my school son now—after all, he's probably already trying to approach me on that matter. But doing that might do more than just speed things up. It could create another variable.
Currently, things are still moving along the original timeline. But if a major change happens, it might set things off track, and my advantage as a regressor might be lost. It's probably better to have things move at their natural pace but still work within my control than to have it fast but outside my control and knowledge.
Liam rolled over in his bed. All this thinking was killing him. It was like watching a suspense movie, but this time it was reality.
It's really funny. Before regressing, I really wanted this. But now that I'm here, I still want more. To be honest, what do I really want?
According to the god, he said I had too much regret—that it was affecting the flow of time itself. Something about contradicting the fact that everything heals with time. He said that after looking into my future, I still had eternal regrets, and because of that, I needed to prevent the regrets I had before.
So what's the next regret?
Come to think of it, the sports competition will soon begin. There's an itch I need to scratch there. Today is the last day of exams, so training would start this evening.
Liam tried closing his eyes. He still needed to get some sleep. But then he could only think about what he could be thinking.
Oliver Mason… both in the original timeline and this one, you're still on my mind. What have you done to me? You've got me chasing after you.
Meanwhile, back in Ashford Hostel, someone else was still having sleepless nights.
Mason lay in his bunk, staring at the wooden slats above him.
What are these images of Senior Liam in my mind? Why am I having these thoughts of him, and what do they mean?
I hear voices in my head—voices that sound so perfect. I have memories… no, it's a feeling of happiness. Was there ever a time like that?
I have a feeling that maybe he might know about it as well, since his attitude toward me is different.
Mason turned onto his side, clutching his blanket.
Or am I just imagining things? And what did he mean by "time steals nothing from us but leaves us longing"? Is there something missing?
Just as Mason was lost in thought, his bunkmate, whose name was Saint, woke up and called Mason's name softly to wake him for them to go take their bath.
"Mason!" Saint said softly, tapping the upper bunk.
"I'm awake!" Mason replied, jumping down from his bunk and going straight to his locker.
"Why didn't you wake me since you were awake? The time is 5:00. Let's bathe fast so that we can read before morning dining!" Saint said as they both got their bathing kits and left the main hostel to avoid waking any seniors who might want to send them on an errand.
At the bathroom, Mason and Saint could be seen taking their baths when Mason brought up a question.
"What do you think of Senior Liam?" Mason asked.
Saint was confused about the sudden question.
"Why are you asking? Well, I don't really know. I haven't given it much thought, but he's a good senior. Maybe my best Class 4 in our hostel. Again, why are you asking?" Saint asked, curious as to what made him ask that question.
"I don't know. I'm still confused myself!" Mason said.
Saint paused what he was doing to look at Mason.
"Confused about what? Oh, I see. Because your brother will soon leave, and you need somebody to protect you, so you're thinking of whether you should beg him to become your school father? Well, I'm still thinking of something like that. In fact, I've already got a school father—Senior Victor in Cedarhill Hostel."
For a while, Mason pondered whether that might actually be the case—why he was suddenly thinking of Senior Liam. But he dismissed the thought. Looking for a school father had never really crossed his mind. Not to mention, it didn't explain the images and voices.
"That's not it. It's something else. Maybe with time, I'll understand," Mason said quietly, more to himself than to Saint.
Saint shrugged, going back to his bath. But Mason remained lost in thought, the water running over him as the voices and images continued to echo faintly in his mind.