NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: 004
"Alright, let's try this again," Yuto muttered, clenching his fists with renewed determination.
He was in the same clearing in the forest where he had been the day before, that secluded place that had become his training ground. Tall trees surrounded him, and the wind made the leaves whisper around him. It was the perfect spot to train.
He took a plastic watch out of his pocket, the one he had "borrowed" from the orphanage. Well, "borrowed" was a kind way to put it. He had grabbed it without thinking while one of the caretakers was washing his hands in the bathroom.
"I'll return it... someday," he murmured to himself, as if that would ease his conscience.
He looked at the watch and held it up in front of his face. The hands showed 4:13 p.m. He didn't want to lose track of time. The idea was simple: try to jump forward about 5 minutes and see if the watch reflected the change. He placed the watch on the ground and stepped back a few paces.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to feel that familiar pull that had yanked him the last time. He remembered how the jump had felt: like the world compressed around him, only to stretch suddenly and drop him in another moment.
"Focus," he whispered to himself. He couldn't force it, couldn't make it happen just by wishing. It wasn't magic, it didn't work that way. What he needed was that spark of momentum, that deep desire to move something inside him, something that would connect him to the moment and push him forward.
And then, like a sudden gust, the pull came. Yuto's body distorted for a second before disappearing, and reappeared in the same spot.
When he opened his eyes, the forest was the same. He looked down at the ground and saw the watch. He picked it up. Everything was in its place... the only change he saw was the watch. The hands now read 4:25 p.m.
"I did it!" he exclaimed, surprised and excited at the same time. Though it wasn't the exact time he had planned, he had managed to jump forward. He had made progress. It wasn't perfect yet, but for the first time, he felt like he had real control over his power.
Here's the translation into English with adjustments for clarity when translating back into Spanish:
Yuto, with the excitement of his first success, felt more confident. Maybe he just needed a little more practice. Without wasting any time, he got ready to try again. This time, he wanted to jump forward 10 minutes.
He placed the watch on the ground and stepped back a few more paces. The wind brushed against his face, and the stillness of the forest surrounded him. With a sigh, he closed his eyes, focusing on that unique sensation he felt when time began to bend around him.
And then, once again, the pull came. His body distorted slightly, as if the air itself was squeezing him, and in a blink, he disappeared, only to reappear in the same clearing. When he looked, he saw that the hands of the watch showed 4:29 p.m.
Yuto frowned. He had moved less than he wanted. He sat down on the ground, the watch in his hands, staring at the hands that read 4:29 p.m. This was frustrating. He repeated the process three more times, each time with a growing sense of control, but the results remained unpredictable. In one attempt, the watch showed 4:41 p.m., in another it was 5:10 p.m., and in another, it was 5:30 p.m. Every time he looked at the watch, the hands varied, and Yuto couldn't help but wonder why he couldn't move the time exactly as he wanted.
"Well... I guess it's something," he murmured, looking at the watch with a mix of frustration and satisfaction. At least he was making progress, even if it wasn't exactly what he had planned.
With a sigh, Yuto forced himself to change focus. This time, he would try to go backward, but he wasn't sure if he should. The last time he tried, he almost caused a temporal collapse or something like that. Or at least, that's what he understood from the movies he'd watched. If his past self met his future self, wouldn't there be some kind of paradox that could undo the universe? Or at least, that's what he thought.
But, as always, the desire to explore his power was stronger than the fear. After all, he couldn't spend his life avoiding it. He took a deep breath, focusing his mind.
Yuto knew he had two ways of traveling to the past. The first was to physically move to a point in time where he would coexist with a younger version of himself, creating two simultaneous existences. The second, the method that had brought him here, was different: his consciousness would return to the past, but without creating a new version of himself. In this form, it wasn't like he was physically going back; his mind traveled back in time, occupying the place of his former self without altering the timeline.
It was this last method that interested him the most. If he could move his consciousness to the past, he would retain all the memories and experiences of the future, giving him the chance to correct mistakes or make different decisions. However, there was something he didn't fully understand. What exactly happened to the consciousness of his past self? Did he replace it, erasing it in the process? Or did he simply integrate the future memories into his past mind?
Here's the translation into English, with adjustments to ensure clarity when translating back into Spanish:
Yuto decided not to think too much about the details. To keep his peace of mind, he preferred to believe that he would simply be himself, as he had always been, but with the knowledge and experience he carried with him from the future. That explanation, though simple, was enough for him.
He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. The sun was beginning to set, casting a golden hue over the clearing. This time, he wouldn't try to move forward. His goal was to return to the past, to that specific morning. He remembered the details from the start of the day: the sound of the alarm clock, the warm sheets against his skin, the smell of the coffee one of the caretakers was making in the orphanage kitchen.
The pull began, stronger than before, like an invisible current. He felt a sudden dizziness, his heart racing, and then... emptiness. The world faded to white.
When he opened his eyes, he was in his room. The familiar ceiling, with small damp spots, stared down at him. He blinked, confused. His body was still under the sheets, and the murmur of voices came from the hallway. He looked at the clock by his bed: it read 7:03 a.m.
He had done it.
With his success achieved, Yuto decided to try again. Without thinking too much, he focused again, feeling the pull once more. The familiar sensation of compression and stretching enveloped him, and when he blinked, he found himself in a completely different place.
He looked to his left and right, trying to understand where he was. He was sitting with other children from the orphanage in the dining room. The sound of laughter and conversations filled the air as the caretakers served plates of food.
Yuto grimaced in disgust as he looked at the plate in front of him. He recognized the food immediately; it was the same as the day before. Or rather, today. The rice was clumpy and yellowish, the vegetables were tough and undercooked, and the grayish meat had no shape or taste. In his opinion, it wasn't even edible.
"No thanks," he murmured, pushing the plate aside with disdain.
Without thinking further, he activated his power again, and in a blink, the dining room vanished around him. The noise turned to silence, and the scene completely changed. Now, he was back in the forest where he had started his time travels.
Yuto looked down at the clock at his feet, which read 5:30 p.m. He smiled with satisfaction. "Yes, this is definitely a big step forward." The accuracy of his jumps had greatly improved, and although he still didn't fully understand how his power worked, at least now he could better control the direction and exact moment he wanted to arrive at.
"Alright, what now?" Yuto thought aloud, observing the peaceful surroundings of the forest. Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face as an idea crossed his mind.
...
...
Here's the translation into English, carefully adjusted for clarity and meaning:
In the orphanage yard, Akira and his group of friends, or rather, his group of followers, were lying on the ground, absorbed in their game. Hero action figures were scattered all around, as the children argued over which character each of them would play.
"I'll be All Might!" Akira exclaimed enthusiastically, holding up his action figure like a trophy.
"You were All Might yesterday," one of the kids complained, a tone of reproach in his voice.
"Do you have a problem with that?" Akira stuck out his tongue, knowing that, as always, no one would dare question him.
Just then, a shadow loomed over them. The child who had spoken frowned and looked up, where a familiar face appeared. It was Yuto, with a wide smile on his face, approaching with an expression that Akira couldn't quite read.
"What do you want, loser?" Akira let out a mocking laugh, not moving from his spot. His disdainful tone made it clear how little he thought of Yuto.
Before Akira could do anything else, the blow came like a gust of wind. A punch straight to his face knocked him to the ground.
"Shit, that really felt good!" Yuto thought as he shook his hand, still with a slight smile on his face.
Akira, stunned and with the sting of his cheek after the impact, stayed on the ground for a moment, processing what had just happened. The group of kids around him was also stunned, as if they couldn't understand that someone had dared challenge their leader.
Here's the translation into English, keeping it clear for a proper re-translation into Spanish:
But Akira's anger didn't take long to show. He quickly got up, his face red with rage, and pointed at Yuto with a trembling finger. "Him!" he ordered, his voice full of fury. The kids started to move, rising up in an attempt to surround him, the tension in the air palpable.
Yuto remained unfazed. With a mischievous smile, he watched as Akira's followers approached. He couldn't help it, he was enjoying every second of the moment. But when one of the kids was just inches from touching him, Yuto, with a single movement, activated his power.
The scene changed in the blink of an eye. The world around him distorted, as if everything had vanished in a flash, and he appeared standing in the middle of the orphanage yard. The sound of voices and chatter returned to its place, but now, Yuto observed Akira from a different distance, completely unaware of what had just happened.
In the distance, he saw Akira, once again surrounded by his group of followers. His hand held the All Might figure, and out loud, he repeated what he had said before: "I'll be All Might," Yuto heard again, as if nothing had happened. Because, indeed, nothing had.
A small laugh escaped Yuto's lips, and he allowed himself a satisfied smile, savoring the feeling of power that washed over him. "I like this. I'll do this more often," he murmured to himself, enjoying the control he felt growing within him.
"The future is in my hands..." he thought, then paused. "Wait, that sounds way too 'Chunibyo'," he mentally corrected himself as he began to walk. He moved away from Akira's group, leaving them trapped in their game, oblivious to what had just occurred.