Seven days
1318 Words
October 27th, 3422.
Seven days.
That was all Kairo had left.
He stood in front of the mirror in his bedroom, staring at the person he had become.
Almost every visible part of his body was covered in tattoos.
Egyptian symbols crossed his shoulders.
Greek figures covered portions of his chest.
Buddhist characters ran along his ribs.
Norse runes covered his arms.
Animals, weapons, ancient words, and symbols from civilizations separated by thousands of years covered the rest.
It was exactly what he had wanted.
Or at least, what he believed he needed.
Kairo turned sideways.
His body had changed too.
The training had worked.
His shoulders were broader.
His arms were stronger.
His breathing was steadier.
His endurance had improved dramatically.
He wasn't some superhuman warrior yet.
But he was no longer the same person who had died in the previous timeline.
He clenched his fist.
“Seven days.”
He whispered the words.
Seven days until midnight.
Seven days until the Awakening.
Seven days until the world he knew disappeared.
Kairo walked downstairs.
His house looked completely different from the one he remembered.
Solar panels covered the roof.
Large batteries were secured inside.
Water tanks had been installed.
Food filled the storage room.
The windows had additional reinforcement.
Security cameras watched the surroundings.
His living room had become a training area.
His bedroom had become a sleeping area and emergency shelter.
Everything had a purpose.
He had spent almost all of the money he had obtained.
He didn't regret it.
Money had value because society gave it value.
When society disappeared, money would become almost meaningless.
Food would matter.
Water would matter.
Power would matter.
Strength would matter.
Knowledge would matter.
And tattoos would matter most of all.
Kairo entered his gym.
He started training.
Push-ups.
Squats.
Pull-ups.
Weights.
Running.
He repeated every exercise carefully.
His body protested.
He ignored it.
He wasn't training because he enjoyed it.
He was training because he remembered what happened to weak people after the Awakening.
A tattoo could give a person power.
But if the body couldn't withstand that power, the result could be horrifying.
The first signs usually appeared within minutes.
The person's tattoo would glow.
Their body would shake.
Their muscles would distort.
Their eyes would change.
Then their mind would disappear.
Hollows.
That was what they became.
And once someone became a Hollow, they were no longer human.
Kairo lowered himself for another push-up.
“One hundred.”
He pushed himself upward.
“One hundred and one.”
Another.
“One hundred and two.”
His arms trembled.
He continued.
---
That afternoon, Kairo went outside.
He needed one final thing.
Information.
In his previous life, the government had tried to hide the signs before the Awakening.
They had failed.
But there were always rumors.
Strange reports.
Unexplained animal behavior.
People claiming their tattoos were itching.
Children waking up from nightmares.
Animals disappearing.
Plants growing unusually fast.
Kairo wanted to know if those things were happening again.
He walked through the neighborhood.
At first, everything seemed normal.
People were shopping.
Cars moved through the streets.
A group of children played football.
A woman sold fruit beside the road.
Then Kairo noticed the dog.
It stood beside a house, staring directly at him.
Its owner called its name.
The dog didn't move.
Its eyes remained fixed on Kairo.
Kairo stopped.
The dog growled.
Not loudly.
Deeply.
Its owner frowned.
“What's wrong with you?”
The dog suddenly turned and ran into the house.
Kairo watched it disappear.
His expression became serious.
In his previous life, strange animal behavior had started only three days before the Awakening.
He checked his phone.
Seven days remained.
That's early.
He continued walking.
At a small roadside garden, he noticed another strange thing.
A plant had grown through a crack in the concrete.
That wasn't unusual.
What was unusual was its size.
The plant was almost as tall as him.
Its leaves were enormous.
Kairo crouched beside it.
He touched one.
The leaf moved.
Kairo immediately pulled his hand away.
The wind wasn't blowing.
He stared at it.
The leaf moved again.
Slowly.
Almost like it was breathing.
Kairo stood.
His instincts screamed at him to leave.
He did.
---
That evening, Naya called him.
“You haven't come today.”
“I've been busy.”
“Busy?”
“Yes.”
She laughed.
“You've been coming almost every day for weeks. I thought you finally gave up.”
“Never.”
There was silence.
Then she asked:
“When are you coming back?”
“Tomorrow.”
“You still want more tattoos?”
“Of course.”
“Kairo…”
“Hmm?”
“I've been thinking.”
“About what?”
“Your tattoos.”
Kairo became quiet.
“What about them?”
“I don't know how to explain it.”
“Try.”
“They look different.”
Kairo frowned.
“Different how?”
“I don't know.”
She hesitated.
“Some of them look… deeper.”
“Deeper?”
“Forget it.”
Kairo didn't respond.
Naya continued.
“Just come tomorrow.”
“I will.”
The call ended.
Kairo stared at his phone.
Deeper?
He looked at the tattoo on his arm.
It looked normal.
Just ink.
Nothing more.
He shook his head.
He was probably imagining things.
---
Later that night, Kairo sat alone in his living room.
The lights were off.
Only the glow from the city outside entered through the window.
He opened an old notebook.
Inside were names.
Hundreds of names.
People who had become powerful after the Awakening.
People who had become famous.
People who had died.
People who had become villains.
People who had become leaders.
Kairo had written down everything he remembered.
Rahem — Eye of Horus.
Victor — Ares.
Maya — Phoenix.
Daniel — Thor Rune.
Amara — Serpent.
Leon — Dragon.
He had memorized their tattoos.
Their abilities.
Their locations.
Their stories.
But something bothered him.
Some names on his list didn't exist yet.
Others were already alive.
And some people he remembered as ordinary had started acting strangely.
Kairo closed the notebook.
Maybe his return had changed things.
Maybe the timeline wasn't exactly the same anymore.
He couldn't depend completely on his memories.
That realization frightened him more than he wanted to admit.
Suddenly—
BANG!
Kairo jumped to his feet.
The sound had come from outside.
He rushed toward the window.
A car had crashed into a streetlight.
People were gathering around it.
Kairo stared.
Then he noticed something.
The driver was covered in tattoos.
His body was shaking violently.
People tried opening the door.
“Help him!”
“Call an ambulance!”
“What's wrong with him?”
Kairo's blood ran cold.
The driver suddenly lifted his head.
His eyes were completely red.
The tattoos across his neck began glowing faintly.
Kairo stepped away from the window.
“No.”
He remembered this.
Not seven days before.
Not in his previous timeline.
This had happened three days before the Awakening.
But this was October 27th.
Seven days remained.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The driver screamed.
The crowd scattered.
Kairo stood frozen.
He knew the Awakening hadn't happened yet.
So why was someone's tattoo reacting?
He looked down at his own tattoo-covered arms.
For the first time since returning from death, Kairo felt genuine uncertainty.
Maybe the future wasn't following the same path.
Maybe something had already changed.
And if the timeline had changed…
then everything he remembered about November 3rd might be wrong.
Kairo slowly clenched his fists.
Seven days remained.
But suddenly, seven days didn't feel like enough.
Outside, the tattooed man screamed again.
And somewhere in the distance, dogs began barking.
One after another.
Then all at once.
Kairo looked toward the dark sky.
“The Awakening…”
He whispered.
“It's coming early.”
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