Den was in his room, sitting in front of the computer. The space was plain, just like any average young Japanese man's room — someone who had just finished school and started working. His expression was tired, as if the routine had already begun to wear him down.

  He was exceptionally intelligent, serious, and preferred solitude. He kept to himself, avoided attention, and lived inside his own world.

  That night, he was reading articles about horror stories — old cases, urban legends, strange reports.

  — This doesn't scare me anymore...

  When he fell asleep, he had a dream. Or rather, a nightmare.

  He found himself walking through a dark forest — the same location described in the legend he had read just hours earlier. The ground was covered in damp leaves, and the air felt heavy, almost suffocating. With each step, the feeling of being watched grew stronger.

  Ahead, he saw something. Bodies were scattered between the trees. And among them, an entity — a creature with an incomprehensible shape — was devouring the remains with grotesque movements.

  Den froze. Fear took complete hold of him. Then, as if the entity had sensed his presence, it stopped and stared directly at him.

  Panic set in.

  But before anything could happen, the world spun. Time rewound. Exactly twenty seconds before the encounter.

  He didn't hesitate. He ran in the opposite direction.

  He woke up suddenly, breathless, heart pounding.

  — What was that...? That nightmare felt so real. I thought I was going to die for real. But... wait. I went back in time in that dream? Must've just been a dream... I'm getting paranoid...

  Hours had passed since the strange dream. Den was now at work, as usual, glued to the computer, working through spreadsheets with a focused look on his face — partly from concentration, partly to avoid catching his manager’s side-eye.

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  At one random moment, his gaze drifted towards the entrance of the toilet. There, he caught sight of something — a shadow. But not just any shadow… it was black and red. That didn’t make sense. How could a shadow have colour?

  He thought of checking it out. As he stood from his chair, he was suddenly back in it. As if he had never moved.

  — What...? I just stood up. What the hell?

  — No way… Did I just rewind time again, just a few seconds? This power... was real?

  He headed to the toilet, scanning every corner — the mirrors, behind the cleaning supplies, even inside the toilet bowl. Nothing. No sign of anything unusual. He returned to his desk.

  Mara, one of his colleagues, approached him. It was the first time she ever spoke to him.

  “I’m not much of a talker either,” she said, “but you... You’ve been here for a while and never speak to anyone. I know Japanese people aren’t the most sociable bunch, but haha — you’re on another level.”

  He gave her a genuine side-smile.

  “And is that a problem? Haha.”

  She chuckled.

  “Not really. Just curious. Still got a lot left on that project?”

  “Not much,” he replied calmly.

  She nodded and went back to her own tasks. He sat in silence, a thought running through his mind:

  'First time someone’s actually tried to interact with me... even though I always keep to myself.'

  On the way home, something else happened.

  His car’s stereo turned on by itself. A song began playing — but it was backwards. Clearly disturbed, he tried to turn it off. Nothing worked.

  Staying calm, Den took out his phone and started recording the strange audio. He drove all the way home with that warped melody filling the car.

  At home, he made instant noodles and left them on the table. He went for a shower, but once again — another anomaly.

  The tap opened, but no water came out.

  Now it was becoming obvious.

  'This is something else... something not normal. Something supernatural.'

  Still, Den acted as if he didn’t believe. He thought If they know that I know... things could get worse.

  He finished his meal and sat down to play the recording backwards. The distorted voice said:

  "I don’t smile, but I used to.

  You don’t know what it means to smile,

  and maybe you’ll never know again.

  I know things you’ve already smiled at.

  Don’t find me... or you won’t find anything anymore."

  A cold chill ran down his spine.

  'What the hell is this? What does it have to do with me? With... this power?'

  He didn’t have answers. And worse — the power wasn’t under his control. It happened at random. No trigger. No command.

  Still rattled, Den lay on his bed with his laptop, searching online for anything that could explain what was happening to him. Something about time-related powers, supernatural anomalies — anything.

  But he found nothing.

  Eventually, he fell asleep. And once again... a dream. Or maybe...

  ...another nightmare.