Captive of Time

Chapter 2: The Fantasy Lover

What would you do if one day the entire world was left with just you?

Energy would never deplete, messages sent would never receive replies, and you would lose contact with the entire world, with your time forever frozen at that one moment.

None of the neighbors in the building would respond to knocks at the door; food deliveries would never be acknowledged, and the emergency hotline was unreachable. There were no birds in the sky, no fish in the sea, and even the bothersome mosquitoes of everyday life had vanished without a trace. The trees stood still, swaying only when Speedy shook their trunks.

When Speedy realized something was amiss, he wandered restlessly for what felt like an eternity, seeing no one along the way. Dawn never arrived. He walked from the east to the west of the city, but there were no signs of life —an entire city, devoid of anyone.

It had become a desolate city with only him in it.

At first, when he discovered the truth, Speedy felt panic, unease, and despair. He ran through the eternally dark city, prying open cars on the side of the street to speed through the empty expanse, only to crash into a telephone pole, finding himself, the car, and the pole completely unharmed.

He tried every possible way to escape this stillness that felt more terrifying than death. He drove away from Red Moon City, heading to his parents' home, only to find it was in vain.

The whole world was like this. Television programs had no signal but could play pre-recorded shows. He posted for help on all the well-known public platforms, both domestic and international, but the displayed date was always December 31st, and no one ever replied. He could browse through all the "past" messages or content, but not a hint of the future was visible.

Ultimately, he returned to the apartment left by his grandfather, where this distortion had begun. He felt that the chance for change had to be here.

His phone and game console would never run out of battery. Speedy sat on his bed, indulging in video games. When he grew tired, he wrapped himself in blankets and fell asleep. When he was thirsty or hungry, he quickly grabbed some food from the nearby convenience store, knowing that it wouldn’t spoil.

He had long realized that he was the only variable in this world. Only he could move and change, and he alone could bring any change to the frozen outside world. Thus, he immersed himself in the hope of forgetting the helpless and hopeless reality.

He lost track of time in this routine until one day, half-asleep, he felt something kissing and caressing his body, yet he couldn’t see who it was.

Initially, he was terrified, even breaking into a cold sweat, but soon a wave of joy and comfort washed over him, after all, even if it was a ghost or spirit, it was better than being utterly alone in this half-dead existence.

He asked for the stranger's name. There was a pause, but no answer came, just the continued warmth of the embrace.

Speedy hesitantly reciprocated.

He even suspected that the other person might not exist at all, merely a figment of his imagination. The vividness of this imagined figure felt like a product of his madness, born from the loneliness of this empty world.

Yet even so, these interactions and the intimacy were enough to bring him to tears. Even if this companion was imagined, he couldn’t bear the thought of them leaving.

He responded tenderly, as if they were the last couple on earth, fearing that his companion would vanish like a beautiful dream. The sound of their breath intoxicated him.

Speedy lost track of when he fell asleep again, but when he woke up, there was a small note beside his bed that read “Timer.”

Speedy stared at the note, still incredulous about the existence of this companion.

Rationally, he believed he must be losing his mind, and that “this person” was merely a partner he had conjured due to his overwhelming loneliness. Perhaps he had even split into a second personality, which left the note in different handwriting to make everything feel more real.

Timer, perhaps that was the name he had given to his imaginary companion.

After that, his fantasy partner began to appear from time to time.

At first, they would only indulge in passionate encounters, but gradually, they would sit together reading books, watching shows, playing games, and even feeding him bread. Aside from being invisible and voiceless, their actions were indistinguishable from those of a real person.

All signs reinforced Speedy's belief that this was just a partner fabricated from his mental unraveling. If this being were a legendary ghost, spirit, or some other creature not known to the world, then it should not be the only one of its kind. Why wouldn’t they be with others like them? Instead, they had conveniently appeared solely to accompany him.

Even if he entertained the notion that the being was a unique consciousness, it made little sense that it would do nothing but suddenly show up to engage in romantic acts, spending day after day doing things that lovers would do together.

They were like a perfect lover created just for him, caring for him, nurturing him, communicating only through notes. Given his bizarre situation, it was the most logical explanation that this being was his imagined fantasy lover.

After several tests to confirm this, he felt increasingly sure of his guess.

Speedy cherished the love and closeness he shared with this being, fearing the day he might return to normalcy and face this endless, lonely world alone.

He thought it was perfectly normal to feel “crazy” in such circumstances, a self-protective mechanism. After all, living normally in an abnormal world was an incredibly challenging and cruel task.

Speedy continued this relationship with his partner, all while rationally and strategically searching for a way to escape this world and restore normality.

He spent time in the school library, utilizing the campus internet to research various materials. Initially, he looked into psychology and related subjects, as there were examples of “fantasy lovers.” Given the surreal nature of his world, he began to wonder if he might be experiencing a mental breakdown, trapped in a distorted world of his own making. If that were the case, he just needed to find a way to cure the real version of himself.

However, after extensively studying relevant knowledge, he ruled out this possibility.

Time had forever frozen at 11:59 PM on December 31st, which, theoretically, fell under the realm of physics.

So, Speedy started to delve into physics from high school level, progressively deepening his understanding. He poured significant energy into this pursuit, even suspecting that he might have been on the brink of winning a Nobel Prize in the real world. Yet the unsolved mysteries surrounding time and space proved too numerous, and ultimately, he couldn’t resolve his predicament. Instead, in the process of continuous learning, he found inner peace, caring less about his difficult circumstances due to the nourishment of knowledge and exploration.

Speedy began to study various branches of modern science broadly and systematically. He explored the mysticism and metaphysics of various civilizations, even suspecting that he might have been punished for his laziness and procrastination.

He became more diligent than he had been before getting stuck in this situation.

From this predicament, he saw precious wealth and endless opportunities, his time had been frozen, equating to endless time at his disposal; he was the only person in the world, meaning he possessed all the resources available. He had already tested that he wouldn’t die, allowing him to experiment freely and explore without excessive concern for risks.

As long as he kept learning and exploring, he would eventually find a way to restore the normal world and set time in motion again.

During this period, he lived what appeared to be a stable and normal life.

In a sense, it might even be slightly better than before. Previously, he sat alone in the library with his books while couples showed affection all around him. Now, he had a partner-someone who brought him meals at regular intervals and accompanied him home each day. Timer would sit beside him, patiently peeling various fruits and feeding them to him, sometimes even holding Speedy in their embrace while feeding him.

They were undoubtedly the most enviable couple on campus, but alas, no one could witness their affection. Even Speedy could not see his partner, only feeling their presence.

Speedy firmly believed that Timer was his imagined lover. As he enjoyed their care, he couldn’t help but inwardly reflect, wondering if he had always secretly longed for this kind of affection，sitting on someone’s lap in the library while being fed snacks. Was he the one sitting on his lover’s lap, rather than holding his lover while they sat on his?

No wonder he felt divided; could it be that deep down, his inner self was too uncivilized and disharmonious? These desires seemed inconsistent with his usual demeanor.