The Extra Who Shouldn’t Exist

The world around Alex was silent.

White.

Endless.

There was no sky, no ground, no horizon—only an infinite expanse that felt less like a place and more like an idea forced into shape.

Alex struggled.

His body felt impossibly heavy, as though gravity itself had decided to personally oppress him. His vision swam as he forced his head upward, muscles screaming in protest.

A silhouette stood before him.

Tall.

Still.

Unmoving.

Alex squinted, his eyes burning.

'…I can't even see his face properly.'

His throat was dry as he spoke.

"Who… who are you…?"

The figure's eyes ignited.

Not with light.

But with stillness.

An eternal, suffocating calm that felt like the absence of movement itself.

"I am Chronos."

The voice was loud.

Not because it echoed—but because reality itself carried it.

"I govern time."

"Now tell me… do you know who I am?"

Alex gritted his teeth.

Slowly—painfully—he pushed himself upright.

His knees trembled. His balance wavered. But he stood.

And finally—

He saw him clearly.

Chronos looked… ordinary.

Too ordinary.

He appeared to be a man in his early thirties, tall, lean, with sharp but gentle features. His hair was neatly kept, dark with faint silver strands at the edges. His face was handsome in an understated way—the kind that wouldn't turn heads, but would linger in memory.

He wore plain clothes.

A casual shirt.

Simple trousers.

Shoes one might see on a university campus.

He looked like a boring professor—someone who lectured about deadlines and attendance policies.

And yet—

Divinity poured from him.

It wasn't flashy.

It wasn't explosive.

It was absolute.

It felt as if everything that existed—past, present, and future—acknowledged him instinctively.

From the moment Alex's gaze landed on him, understanding struck like a blade.

'If I fight him…'

'I die.'

'Not a battle.'

'Not a struggle.'

'An instant.'

'Like a bug being crushed without thought.'

Chronos tilted his head slightly.

"Hello?" he said flatly. "Earth to you, spoiled brat."

Alex blinked.

Then sighed.

"Sorry," Alex said casually. "I'm not signing up for any remedial classes."

Chronos paused.

Alex continued, completely serious.

"My academic record is already quite good. I attend my classes regularly without missing a single day."

He gestured vaguely.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask my teacher. He'll tell you how dedicated I am."

He turned his body away.

"So yeah… I'm not taking whatever course you're selling."

"Goodbye."

And then—

Alex started walking.

Straight into the endless white.

No direction.

No destination.

Just walking.

As if late for something.

Chronos stared.

For a full second—

He was genuinely baffled.

Then—

A vein popped on his forehead.

He raised a finger.

And flicked it.

Reality snapped.

Alex's body seized mid-step.

Every muscle betrayed him.

Control vanished.

"…What the—"

The world shattered.

Suddenly—

Alex was sitting.

Strapped in.

Metal bars pressed against his chest.

Wind howled past his ears.

His stomach dropped.

His eyes widened in horror.

"No."

No no no no—

He was on a roller coaster.

The same one.

The one he rode with Evelyn at the amusement park.

The memories slammed into him.

Endless loops.

Violent drops.

Nonstop screaming.

Puking until his throat burned.

A headache that lasted an entire day.

The cart lurched forward.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me—!"

The coaster plunged.

His body shook violently as the track twisted and spiraled.

"This isn't real…!" Alex shouted. "This isn't real!"

Chronos's voice echoed calmly from everywhere.

"I'll return in five hours."

"Until then… enjoy."

"And relive this moment of your life."

Alex's face went pale.

"I remember!" he screamed. "I remember now—sir! You're the great god of time, Chro—!"

Gone.

Chronos vanished mid-sentence.

The coaster screamed.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Minutes blurred.

Then hours.

Alex screamed until his voice broke.

He puked.

Passed out.

Snapped back to consciousness mid-loop.

Again.

And again.

Time meant nothing.

Pain repeated endlessly.

Fear reset.

Memory remained.

Five hours passed like an eternity.

Then—

The coaster vanished.

Alex collapsed onto the white ground, trembling, pale, barely conscious.

A shadow fell over him.

Chronos stood there once more.

Hands in pockets.

Looking mildly annoyed.

"Feeling refreshed?" he asked calmly.

"Are you enjoying the ride?"

Chronos's calm voice echoed through existence.

Alex was hanging upside down.

Again.

The roller coaster screamed as it plunged, twisted, looped—defying sanity, physics, and mercy.

"STOP IT—!" Alex shouted, face pale, voice cracking. "PLEASE—!"

The cart rattled violently.

Chronos replied casually, "Only if you buy all the courses I'm selling."

A pause.

"Oh, and by the way," he added, almost cheerfully, "I know you didn't attend your classes at all."

Alex gagged.

"I'M SORRY!" he yelled. "I'm sorry for not identifying you! I'm sorry for not showing proper respect! I'm sorry for breathing wrong—just make it stop!"

The coaster dove again.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm REALLY sorry!"

Silence.

Then—

The cart vanished.

Alex dropped forward.

He slammed onto solid ground right in front of Chronos, the endless white stretching behind him. The restraints were gone. The track was gone.

Alex immediately leaned to the side.

"BLEGH—!"

He puked.

Once.

Twice.

Chronos watched with visible amusement.

A small smile curved his lips.

"Now," he said pleasantly, "we can talk, right?"

Alex wiped his mouth weakly and forced a grin.

"When did I say I wouldn't?" he croaked. "I'll even go on a time heist for you if that's what it takes."

Chronos's smile widened.

"Now that's the spirit."

Alex narrowed his eyes slightly.

'I will remember this…'

Chronos glanced at him.

"Are you thinking something rude?"

Alex stiffened.

"Of course not."

The world shifted.

Suddenly—

Alex found himself sitting in an office.

A normal office.

Bookshelves lined the walls. A desk sat in the center. Papers were neatly stacked. Timepieces of every kind decorated the room—hourglasses, clocks, devices that hummed with impossible mechanics.

Chronos sat behind the desk.

His casual demeanor was gone.

His expression was serious.

Alex sat across from him, back straight, instinctively tense.

Chronos folded his hands.

"So," he said calmly, "do you realize what you have done?"

Alex opened his mouth.

"In my defense—"

"Shut your mouth."

Alex snapped it shut.

Chronos leaned forward.

"You broke multiple laws of causality."

"You reversed time for hours."

"You resurrected the dead."

"You restored events that had already been recorded."

"And worse—"

"You interfered with the Akashic Records."

His eyes sharpened.

"People who were meant to die… are now alive."

"History has been overwritten."

"Fate has been confused."

"Probability has become unstable."

He straightened.

"You have made a mess so large that even gods are watching you now."

Alex swallowed.

"Many of them," Chronos continued, "do not look upon you favorably."

"The universe itself now clearly identifies you as an error."

"Something that should not exist."

Alex felt a chill crawl up his spine.

"You are a mortal," Chronos said coldly. "Yet your strength defies norms."

"You can no longer be overlooked."

"You are dangerous."

The word echoed.

Chronos exhaled.

"There is only one solution left."

Anpause came as chronos said.

"Become my avatar."

Alex mouth twitched as he heard that.

Just then—

The air changed.

A second divine presence pressed down upon the room.

Heavier.

Older.

A voice echoed, calm but absolute.

"Not so fast, Chronos."