"In every step of our lives, there is a moment that might change everything. For me, that moment was when I looked at her for the first time."
– From Kain's reflections
"Haaaah..."
I stood stunned for a few minutes, staring at the screen in front of me.
Finally... I have a system! I have a cheat in this world!
I looked at Bella, who furrowed her brows and said,
"What are you doing? Come on, we'll be late for the first class!"
"Ah, alright, I'm coming."
It was my first time going to school since I arrived in Forks a week ago. The atmosphere there was ordinary, like a copy-paste of any high school in this country. Students going to their classes, chatting, and life moving as usual.
But I wasn't ordinary. Something inside me told me I didn't belong in this world.
I went to the reception to get my schedule, and it turned out my first class was math.
I asked Bella,
"What's your first class?"
She replied with a frown,
"Physics."
I joked,
"Physics is super easy. All you need is a bit of effort."
She responded sarcastically,
"Of course, O genius of our generation. Everything's easy for you. And what about you? What's your first class?"
I couldn't tell her I'd studied physics a hundred times. My doctoral thesis was on a revolutionary invention to transfer electricity wirelessly over long distances, with high voltage and low cost.
Of course, high school physics felt like eating a piece of cake.
"I've got math, then English… What about you?"
She replied with no excitement,
"Physics, then chemistry… Doesn't sound like a promising day."
"Don't worry, I'll meet you at lunch break, and I'll bring us some ice cream—no matter the weather."
She laughed,
"Ice cream in this weather? You're as crazy as ever."
"Me? Crazy? God forbid."
I left her and headed to math class.
I entered the classroom. Dozens of eyes turned toward me for a moment, then everyone went back to their conversations or books.
I walked toward the back seats, but someone stopped me with a mocking tone:
"Hey, new guy. Trying to join the king's court from the start?"
I looked at him. A guy with blond hair and blue eyes, sitting confidently in the second-to-last row, surrounded by his group of friends.
I didn't reply. I just smiled and walked past him, taking a seat at the very back, by the window.
"Alright, looks like he's mute."
His friends laughed, and I said to him calmly without looking his way,
"I'm just thinking… how many teeth I can knock out before you start crying and begging for mercy."
Silence fell.
Then a quiet chuckle came from one student, followed by a whisper from another:
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
The teacher entered. Silence returned, and the lesson began. I opened my notebook, thinking about how to complete the tasks. You can do the daily mission after school, and now is the only chance to talk to the Cullens—but how would I get the opportunity?
As Mr. Jack approached the desk, he seemed full of confidence and spoke loudly:
"Mr. Kain… Won't you share the answer with us?"
I lifted my head. The teacher was looking at me. I glanced at the board. A simple system of two linear equations.
"The second equation is incorrect. The sum equals 14, not 16. The variable x should be 5, not 6, and y is 4. May I write the solution on the board?"
The teacher paused for a moment, then nodded.
I stood up and explained the problem step by step, writing the formula and the solution method just like it appears in textbooks. Once I was done, I returned to my seat.
The teacher said,
"Excellent… Looks like we've got a mathematician among us."
And he continued the lesson.
The first four classes passed with extreme boredom, though there was some excitement in embarrassing the teachers—it was honestly quite fun.
Now it was lunchtime, and the first meeting with the Cullens was approaching.
I headed to the school cafeteria. As I neared the entrance, I spotted Bella sitting at a table with Angela Weber and Jessica Stanley. Eric Yorkie had joined them, just like in the original series—but this time, there was a seat saved next to Bella. Looked like she kept it for me.
I walked toward them, pulled out the chair, and sat down.
I looked at all of them with a smile before calmly saying,
"Hey… thanks for the seat, Bella."
Bella lifted her head toward me and gave her usual small smile.
She said, "Oh, of course. I wanted you to join us today. You didn't mind, did you, Jessica?"
Jessica waved her hand quickly and said, "Not at all! Welcome! I'm Jessica Stanley, by the way… in case you somehow didn't know."
Angela chuckled quietly, adjusting her glasses slightly.
"And I'm Angela Weber. It's nice that you decided to sit with us."
Before I could reply, a cheerful voice came from the opposite seat.
"Eric Yorkie, unofficial news guy of this school and expert in awkward moments!"
He said it while raising his eyebrows theatrically, making Bella smile and lower her eyes shyly.
Then he added, pointing at me like he was reading off a card:
"And you've got the face of someone hiding a story… or at least a name we don't know yet."
I smiled slightly at Eric's humorous comment and said in a calm but confident voice,
"My name is Kain… Kain Swan."
A brief moment of silence followed, then their faces showed surprise as Jessica said in shock,
"Wait… Swan? Are you…?"
I nodded with a slight smile.
"Yeah, Bella's my sister."
Angela commented softly,
"You never mentioned having a brother, Bella."
Bella simply shrugged and replied,
"Things were complicated… but he's here now, and that's what matters."
Eric smiled and waved toward me,
"So the mysterious brother finally joins the picture! Kain, awesome! We've got a new member in the gang. Just please don't be like some of the broody weirdos in this school."
He said this while glancing toward the Cullens.
Angela giggled gently,
"Don't worry, he seems friendly enough."
I smiled again and said,
"I promise, I won't be the mysterious type… at least not all the time."
They all laughed, and in those exchanged glances, I felt like maybe—just maybe—this place, despite its mystery, could be the start of something new.
At that moment, I looked over at Edward's table. He was sitting beside a character I didn't recognize—someone who wasn't in the original story.
Was the butterfly effect already beginning because of my presence, or was it interference from the system?
She quietly caught his attention, but she seemed strangely different. Her eyes were focused on her book, but the way she quickly flipped through the pages carried a kind of tense focus, as if she was trying to escape something… or searching for an unwritten answer.
Her long black hair fell neatly down her back, with a few strands gently resting on her forehead, catching the light in a way that reflected quiet mystery. She wore simple clothes, but something about her style suggested she didn't want to be part of the crowd.
Her expression was blank, but there was something invisible in her calm that held Kain's attention—a quiet force that made him watch her a bit longer than he should have.
It was just a fleeting moment, and although there was no direct or extraordinary connection, something about her presence made him feel like she was part of an equation he hadn't yet understood.
Next to her sat Emmett with his massive muscular frame, and to his right was Rosalie. On her right was Alice.
Alice looked slightly different from the others. Her short black hair framed her face gently, with some stray strands falling across her forehead, making her look more practical—like simplicity suited her personality.
She sat there silently. Beside her was Jasper, and Kain knew they were together, which made him feel this moment wasn't just a coincidence.
Even surrounded by noise, Alice seemed like she belonged to another world—a quiet world no one dared disturb.
He didn't interact with her at that moment, but her expressionless gaze and calm presence held his attention longer than it should have. A strange curiosity swept over him, but at that moment, it remained a fleeting trace in his mind.
When they noticed me watching them, the system notification sounded in my head.
[Ding!]
[Mental link to the strait detected]
[Due to potential system exposure, the link has been blocked]
At that moment, I remembered Edward's ability to read minds. I silently thanked the system and averted my gaze.
Both Edward and the unknown girl looked surprised and curious. Then they turned their attention to Bella, and their curiosity only grew.
Lunch break ended, but something in the air felt different… like time was no longer ticking with the same rhythm.
I felt her before I saw her—that aura that precedes her, as if time slowed down in respect.
I entered English class half a minute late. Most seats were taken, but in the back row, as if she knew, Alice sat alone—her seat beside her empty… waiting for me.
She wasn't looking at me, but at the window, where leaves were falling from a tree untouched by any breeze.
I sat down without saying a word, then whispered as if afraid my voice would ruin the moment:
"Is this seat taken, or am I intruding on a timeless moment of reflection?"
She answered without turning, her voice soft like the wind speaking through her:
"Sometimes, a stranger sits in exactly the right place… without knowing why."
(Inner monologue – Kain)
Her words are always wrapped in riddles. Alice Cullen… even though I knew who she was and what she was, her presence still felt strangely unfamiliar. Was she always like this? Or am I starting to notice what was never mentioned in the story?
I looked at her, torn between laughing and being wary. "Do you read ghost stories or… spirits?"
She finally turned to me, her shining eyes glowing with a light unlike sunlight.
"Sometimes, I only read eyes. And they never lie."
I asked, leaning slightly toward her, "And what did you read in mine?"
She smiled—that kind of smile that feels like an unsolved riddle:
"That you think I'm with someone else."
I raised my brows in genuine surprise. "Wait… are you talking about Jasper?"
She laughed softly, but there was a shadow in her laughter I didn't understand yet.
"Jasper's with someone who suits him… with Eliana, Edward's sister. Don't they look good together?"
(Inner monologue – Kain)
What did she just say? Jasper with Eliana?
Eliana… that can't just be a throwaway name. Did the system add a new character? Or am I really in an alternate version of everything?
This world was no longer what I thought. It was breathing, changing… reacting to me. Dangerous, but… also an opportunity.
But… no! That's not right, not how I knew it. In the original story, he was with Alice from the start, always by her side. This is the first spark deviating from the script—the first crack in the surface of reality.
Has my mere presence started altering relationships? Events? Can I trust anything anymore?
But another thought was bothering him at that moment—something unsettling disturbing his calm. Eliana… she said she was "Edward's sister." But why say that specifically? Could she really be his biological sister? Or was there something more?
Questions danced before his mind, like tangled chaos.
I felt something strange in my chest, like a window opened I never knew existed.
"I thought you two were… I mean, that's what I heard."
"People say a lot of things, Kain… but the truth only whispers to those who listen."
Silence fell between us, but it wasn't ordinary… it was filled with possibility.
The teacher entered and started teaching, but we didn't pay attention.
I looked at her again. She was still staring at me, as if seeing more than I was saying, or more than I even knew about myself.
She whispered while opening her book without looking at it:
"Don't worry, time will tell you the rest… if you dare to know it."
At that moment, a system notification appeared:
[Mission Complete!]
[Congratulations to the host: 10 XP and 2 SP earned]
[Level Up!]
[Store Unlocked!!]
Suddenly, I felt intense pain, as if my whole body was burning. Alice noticed immediately. I had to ask for permission to go to the bathroom—but I didn't wait for a reply and ran straight out.
Kain: "Haaa… What's happening to my body… System, show me the status screen!"
✦ Host Basic Status
Name: Kain Swan
Race: Human
Level: 1
[Strength]: 9
[Agility]: 8
[Intelligence]: 11
[Vitality]: 9
[Defense]: 7
[Stamina]: 8/8
Available FP Points: 0
Available SP Points: 2
Current XP: 0/15
🌀[End of Chapter Three]
✦ Next Chapter: "New Secrets… and Future Training"