Noa led me upstairs to her room.
As soon as we stepped inside, I quietly closed the door behind us.
The room was neat, with a study desk by the window, a bookshelf filled with novels, and a bed tucked against the wall.
Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, giving the room a calm, peaceful atmosphere.
I looked toward Noa.
“Noa,” I said softly.
She looked at me.
“Hmm?”
“Can you check outside?” I asked.
“Just for a second.
See if anyone’s coming.”
Her expression immediately became serious—not frightened, just focused.
“Got it.”
She opened the bedroom door carefully and stepped into the hallway.
After looking to the left and then to the right, she listened for a few moments.
The house was quiet.
A few seconds later, she stepped back into the room and closed the door behind her.
Then she locked it.
She noticed me looking at her and smiled faintly.
“If someone walks in and sees two of you,” she said, “I think they’ll have a heart attack.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
“Good point,” I admitted.
“No one,” she said.
“The hallway’s empty.
Mom’s downstairs.
No one is coming up.”
I let out a slow breath.
“Good.”
She tilted her head with a faint smile.
“And no creepy robots.”
“That’s also good.”
She laughed softly before walking back toward me, stopping a short distance away to give me enough space.
That was my cue.
I reached into my pocket and took out the pen—the one that had belonged to Noa.
My fingers tightened around it.
“…Stay here,” I said.
Noa nodded.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I focused.
The pen grew warm in my hand.
Then it began to change.
The metal softened.
Fine lines spread across its surface before its shape dissolved into countless strands of light that gathered quietly beside me.
For a brief moment, the air itself seemed to grow heavier.
Then—
She appeared.
Clone No.
3 stood beside me.
Her eyes were already open.
Already aware.
She looked at Noa first.
Then at me.
Her expression immediately sharpened.
“You’re early,” she said.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Four days.”
Her gaze briefly swept across the room.
“She’s safe?”
“For now.”
Clone No.
3 slowly let out a breath.
“Then we still have time.”
Noa stared at her for a moment.
Then she smiled.
“…Okay.”
“That never stops being weird.”
Clone No.
3 glanced at her.
“You’re calmer than last time.”
Noa shrugged.
“I’ve had a strange life.”
Despite everything, I felt a small sense of balance return.
Noa walked over and stood beside us.
Three of us were together now.
One carried the knowledge of the future.
One was determined to change it.
And one stood between us, trying to treat the impossible as though it were perfectly normal.
For the first time since the reset—
I felt ready for what came next.
I slowly turned toward Clone No.
3.
She stood quietly near the window, her expression calm.
Not distant.
Not confused.
Focused.
Her eyes were fixed on something only she could remember.
A strange feeling settled in my chest.
The memories she carried weren’t guesses.
They were things she had actually witnessed.
“…What happened to Noa?” I asked softly.
The room fell silent.
Even the ticking of the clock on the wall suddenly felt louder.
Across from me, Noa straightened slightly on the couch.
She tried to act relaxed, crossing one leg over the other as if this were just another conversation.
But I knew her too well.
The smile on her face wasn’t real.
Her fingers had stopped fidgeting.
Her foot, which had been gently swinging moments ago, became completely still.
She was nervous.
She just didn’t want either of us to notice.
Clone No.
3 remained silent.
She lowered her eyes for a moment, as if searching through memories she wished she didn’t have to remember.
Several seconds passed.
Finally, she spoke.
“Four days from now…”
Her voice was quiet.
Steady.
“Noa leaves school alone.”
My breathing unconsciously slowed.
“She takes her usual route home,” Clone No.
3 continued.
“She isn’t paying attention to anything around her.”
“She’s simply walking.”
“Tired after class.”
“Thinking about nothing important.”
Noa rubbed the back of her head and forced a small laugh.
“Hey…”
“That actually sounds exactly like me.”
Normally, I would have smiled.
This time…
I couldn’t.
“…Then what happens?” I asked.
Clone No.
“She enters a narrow street.”
“There aren’t many people nearby.”
“The surroundings become quiet.”
She paused.
Then…
“An electric net is deployed.”
My heartbeat skipped.
“…From where?” I asked.
“Behind her.”
“No warning.”
“No footsteps.”
“No sound.”
“It appears almost instantly.”
Noa’s smile disappeared.
Clone No.
3 continued.
“The moment the net touches her…”
“The electricity spreads through her entire body.”
Noa instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.
“…That doesn’t sound pleasant.”
“It isn’t,” Clone No.
3 replied.
“You don’t even have time to react.”
“Your body immediately loses strength.”
“You collapse before you can understand what happened.”
The room became unbearably quiet.
“…Do I…” Noa hesitated.
“…Do I die?”
Clone No.
3 slowly shook her head.
“No.”
“You’re alive.”
“But completely unconscious.”
“You can’t move.”
“You can’t fight.”
“You can’t even open your eyes.”
I slowly clenched my fists.
My nails dug into my palms without me realizing it.
“…And then?” I asked.
Clone No.
3 looked directly at me.
“The android arrives.”
Her voice remained calm.
Almost emotionless.
“It doesn’t run.”
“It doesn’t rush.”
“It simply walks toward Noa.”
“Like it already knows the outcome.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“It stops beside her.”
Then…
“It kneels.”
Noa stared at Clone No.
3 without saying a word.
“It doesn’t check whether you’re alive.”
“It doesn’t hesitate.”
“It calmly begins searching your school uniform pocket.”
“Slowly.”
“Carefully.”
“As though it already knows exactly what it’s looking for.”
Noa instinctively looked down at the pocket where she always carried the small gun.
“It reaches inside.”
Clone No.
3’s voice became even quieter.
“And removes the small gun.”
Silence.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
The air itself felt heavy.
“…Then what?” I whispered.
Clone No.
3 answered immediately.
“It stands.”
“It turns around.”
“And leaves.”
“…That’s all?” Noa asked quietly.
Clone No.
3 nodded once.
“It doesn’t attack you again.”
“It doesn’t speak.”
“It simply walks away.”
“You remain where you fell.”
“Alive.”
“Unconscious.”
“And without the small gun.”
Noa slowly lowered her eyes.
For the first time since this conversation had begun…
She looked frightened.
Not panicked.
Not crying.
Just…
Quiet.
I finally understood.
“…So…”
“It was never trying to kill Noa.”
Clone No.
3 met my gaze.
“No.”
“It wasn’t an assassination.”
“It was preparation.”
The words echoed through the room.
Preparation.
Not revenge.
Not murder.
Preparation.
Whatever happened afterward…
Everything had started with that moment.
Suddenly—
“No.”
Noa stood up.
Her voice wasn’t loud.
But it was firm.
Her hands were shaking slightly.
Even so…
She smiled.
A small smile.
Determined.
“If that’s what happens…”
“Then we simply don’t let it happen.”
I looked at her.
She was scared.
Anyone would be.
Yet somehow… New chapters come out on g.com first.
She still managed to stand.
She still managed to smile.
“I don’t care how smart that thing is,” she continued.
“It doesn’t get to decide how this story ends.”
A small breath escaped my lips.
Without realizing it…
I smiled.
Clone No.
3 watched both of us quietly.
“This,” she said,
“is the earliest point we’ve ever reached.”
“If we change what happens four days from now…”
“The future after that will also change.”
I slowly nodded.
“Then we’ll change it.”
I slipped my hand into my pocket.
My fingers wrapped around the pen resting inside.
Cold.
Solid.
Familiar.
A reminder that I still had the power to fight.
“This time…”
I looked at Noa.
“No one walks home alone.”
For a moment…
Neither of us spoke.
Then Noa laughed softly.
Not her usual carefree laugh.
Something warmer.
Braver.
“Good.”
She smiled at me.
“Because…”
“I’ve always hated walking home alone anyway.”
The room grew quiet once again.
Outside, the evening wind gently brushed against the window.
Four days.
That was all we had.
The future had shown us its hand.
Now…
It was our turn to make the next move.
I looked at Clone No.
3.
She stood quietly beside me, her expression calm but determined.
The room was silent.
None of us needed to repeat what we had just learned.
Four days.
That was all the time we had.
I met her eyes.
“…Are you ready?”
She gave a small nod.
“Yes.”
Her voice was steady.
“If we change that moment…”
“The future will change with it.”
I nodded slowly.
“…That’s enough.”
There was nothing more to discuss.
We already knew what had to be done.
I reached into my pocket and took out the pen.
Clone No.
3’s eyes followed the movement.
“You’re choosing now,” she said.
“Yes.”
She smiled faintly.
“Then don’t hesitate.”
I tightened my grip around the pen.
“…Convert.”
The air shimmered.
Soft light gathered around Clone No.
3.
Without hesitation, she stepped forward.
Her body dissolved into countless particles of light.
The light flowed toward the pen in my hand.
The familiar metallic sound echoed through the room.
The pen unfolded.
The barrel extended.
The grip formed.
Within seconds…
The gun rested firmly in my hand.
I looked down at it.
It felt different.
Not stronger.
Not heavier.
Just…
More complete.
The connection between us felt clearer than before.
Steadier.
More precise.
Inside the weapon, I felt Clone No.
3’s calm presence.
I’ll watch over Noa.
When that day comes…
I’ll be ready.
A small smile appeared on my face.
“…Thank you.”
I lowered the gun.
“…Convert.”
The metal folded inward once again.
In only a few seconds, the weapon returned to its familiar form.
A simple black pen.
I slipped it back into my pocket.
Noa looked between me and the pen before letting out a small sigh.
“So…”
She smiled awkwardly.
“We’re officially changing the future now?”
“Yes.”
She folded her arms and grinned.
“Good.”
“Because I don’t plan on losing.”
I couldn’t help smiling.
Neither did I.
We no longer had to wait for fate to make the first move.
This time…
We would be waiting for it.
Hello everyone!
First of all, I’m sorry for the one-day delay in uploading this chapter.
Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.
It encourages me to continue writing and improving every chapter.
The good news is that another new chapter will be released tomorrow, so I hope you’ll look forward to it!
I’d also love to ask everyone a question: What’s your favorite novel or web novel?
I’m always interested in discovering great stories!
See you in the next chapter!