Everything Except You!

The year was 2031.

Humanity had conquered diseases that once terrified entire civilizations. Machines could construct cities in weeks. People traveled between continents in minutes, and the boundaries between science and miracles had become increasingly difficult to distinguish.

The world had never been richer.

And Rivan Draven had never been lonelier.

He stood in the local park near his house, looking up at the star-filled sky.

Thirty years old.

Financial struggles since childhood.

A man who believed he had achieved nothing in life, financially broke and emotionally exhausted.

At every turn, he felt he had failed.

In friendship, family, and love.

Today was Rivan Draven's thirtieth birthday, yet he had no one to celebrate it with.

He felt as though he had nothing left to live for. He had no close friends, and his family rarely called. After years of disappointment and loneliness, he had reached a point where he could no longer imagine a better future.

He made a terrible decision.

He climbed to the rooftop of a nearby building and stood near the edge, staring up at the sky. He wondered what he had done to deserve such a painful life.

"God, why? WHY?"

His voice trembled as he cried out.

"What did I do to deserve this life?

Why can't I be happy like everyone else?

What did I do wrong?"

He stared at the sky for a while, hoping for an answer that never came.

Then, in a moment of despair, he jumped.

As he fell, he closed his eyes and whispered his final wish.

"If I could start over, I'd do things differently."

And then, everything went dark.

But this was not the end.

Rivan didn't know that someone—or something—had been watching his life and listening to his final wish from somewhere far beyond his understanding.

A strange but gentle voice broke the silence.

"Wake up, Rivan."

Rivan opened his eyes.

He found himself in a dark space. Everything around him was completely black, and he couldn't see anything.

Confusion washed over him. He remembered what he had done. He remembered falling.

Where am I?

Why can't I see anything? Is this the afterlife?

His eyes filled with tears.

"Just like my life... there's nothing here either."

A strange voice answered from somewhere behind him.

"No, my boy. This isn't the afterlife."

Rivan turned toward the voice, although he could see nothing.

"Who are you?"

"That isn't important."

A brief silence followed.

"I have seen your entire life."

Rivan froze.

The voice continued.

"I know about your struggles. I know how people left you when you needed them most. I know about the betrayals, the disappointments, and the loneliness you've carried for so long."

Rivan swallowed hard.

"Are you God?"

"No. I'm not what you humans call God."

"Then what are you?"

"As I said, who I am isn't important."

The voice paused.

"But I heard what you said while you were falling."

Rivan frowned.

"What I said?"

"About starting over."

Rivan's heart seemed to stop.

"Yes," the voice continued. "I'm here to grant you that wish."

"What?"

Rivan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was this some kind of trick? Who—or whatever—was speaking to him? And why would it offer him another chance?

"Yes," the voice replied calmly.

"But why?" Rivan asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Because you asked for it."

Rivan hesitated before asking the question that troubled him most.

"Why only me? Everyone wants a second chance. Why choose me?"

"Because you didn't deserve everything you went through."

Rivan fell silent, struggling to control his tears.

The voice spoke again.

"Like I told you, I've watched your entire life."

Rivan didn't know what to say. His mind was filled with questions, but one thought stood above all the others.

He had learned, through painful experience, that people often wanted something from him.

"What do you want in return?" he finally asked.

"For now, nothing. But when you're ready, I'll want some answers."

"Answers? What kind of answers?"

"I can't tell you that yet."

The voice sounded almost amused.

"For now, let's grant your wish. And perhaps give you a few nice gifts along the way."

"Gifts?"

"Time to go, boy!"

Suddenly, the darkness began to brighten. An intense light filled the space, overwhelming Rivan's senses.

He lost consciousness.

---

Rivan woke to the sound of an alarm clock.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

He groaned and reached for it.

His hand missed.

He opened his eyes.

A ceiling fan turned lazily above him. Sunlight slipped through pale curtains. Somewhere outside, a scooter passed, followed by the familiar call of a street vendor.

For several seconds, he simply stared.

This wasn't his house.

He sat upright.

The bed was too small. The room was simple. A wooden desk stood beside a stack of textbooks, and a schoolbag rested against the wall.

His heart began to race.

"No."

He looked at his hands.

Small fingers. Smooth skin. No scars. No sign of the life he remembered.

He scrambled out of bed and rushed toward the mirror.

A boy stared back at him.

Black hair.

Rounder cheeks.

A face he had not seen in years.

Rivan touched his reflection.

The boy did the same.

He knew that face.

He had seen it in old family photographs, buried among memories he rarely revisited.

It was his own face at twelve years old.

He stumbled backward.

"What the hell...?"

His gaze snapped toward the calendar on the wall.

The date was unmistakable.

He knew the year.

He knew the month.

He knew the day.

He had returned to his seventh-grade self.

For a long moment, Rivan could do nothing but stare at the calendar.

Then he laughed.

It began as a quiet, disbelieving sound. Within seconds, it became something closer to a sob.

He covered his mouth, struggling to comprehend what had happened.

He was twelve again.

He had been given another chance.

Then, a strange window suddenly appeared before him.

Rivan jumped in surprise.

"What is this? Where did that thing come from?"

He stared at the floating window. It displayed information about him, including his height, weight, age, and other personal details.

But one option immediately caught his attention.

GIFTS

Rivan focused on it.

The window changed, revealing three extraordinary gifts.

Gift 1: Creation Without Limits

The ability to create money, objects, buildings, technologies, living environments, and even entirely new worlds.

The user can also alter his appearance, heal himself, and reshape physical reality according to his will.

Rivan stared at the description in disbelief.

Gift 2: Infinite Knowledge

The ability to access extraordinary knowledge of science, history, economics, and the future remembered from his previous life.

The user can understand almost any subject. However, knowing facts does not automatically reveal what another person feels or what they will choose.

Rivan's eyes widened further.

Then he reached the third gift.

Gift 3: Mind Sovereignty

Mind Reading

Rivan can read another person's thoughts, memories, intentions, and emotions. He can focus on a particular person or expand his awareness to multiple minds.

Mind Control

Rivan can influence or directly control another person's thoughts, decisions, perceptions, and actions. He can use this ability to stop an attacker, escape danger, or prevent someone from harming an innocent person.

Selective Activation

These abilities activate only when Rivan chooses to use them. He isn't constantly exposed to everyone's thoughts, allowing him to live a relatively normal life.

Rivan stared at the words.

For a moment, he forgot to breathe.

At the bottom of the window was a single option.

[ ACCEPT GIFTS ]

Rivan looked at it, then back at the descriptions.

"What is this?"

He rubbed his eyes.

"Is this really happening?"

His thoughts raced.

"If I really get these powers, I could become like God!"

He looked around the room.

"Am I dreaming?"

He pinched his cheek as hard as he could.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

He stared at the window again.

"All right. Let's see if these powers are real."

He took a deep breath and focused on the option.

"Accept Gifts!"

Rivan pressed the button.

The moment he did, his body began to glow.

He felt something awaken inside him—not a surge of physical strength, but an impossible awareness of existence itself.

He understood the structure of matter.

The movement of energy.

The secrets of the universe.

The countless principles underlying reality.

Knowledge flooded his mind, vast enough to shatter an ordinary human consciousness, yet somehow perfectly clear.

And beyond that knowledge lay something greater.

Authority.

He could feel it.

The power to create.

To transform.

To erase.

To begin again.

The glow slowly faded.

Rivan stood motionless, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

He knew.

These weren't merely promises written on a mysterious window.

He had truly received the gifts.

He possessed the power to reshape reality itself.

For the first time in his life, he felt that the future was no longer something he had to fear.

Then the mysterious voice returned.

"Don't regret this time, Rivan Draven."

Rivan looked around, searching for the source of the voice.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Yeah. Thank you very much, Mysterious."

The voice offered no reply.

Rivan looked down at his hands, then toward the sunlight streaming through the window.

He had been given a second chance.

A new life.

Powers beyond anything he could have imagined.

But he knew that possessing such extraordinary abilities came with a responsibility.

He made a promise to himself.

I won't regret this life.

I won't become ignorant just because I possess these powers.

And I won't abuse them simply because I can.

He also decided to establish personal rules for his third gift, Mind Sovereignty.

He would use mind reading only when he had a genuine reason to look into someone's thoughts. He would never use mind control for petty advantages, personal entertainment, or to manipulate someone into doing what he wanted merely because it benefited him.

He would use these abilities when necessary, especially when protecting himself or someone else from serious harm.

He understood that having the power to control another person did not automatically give him the right to do so.

This time, he would think before he acted. He would learn from his past instead of repeating it. He would use his gifts wisely and take responsibility for the choices he made.

He didn't know what the future held.

He didn't know why the mysterious being had chosen him or what answers it would eventually demand.

But he knew one thing.

He would live this life differently.

And whatever happened next, he would face it on his own terms.

End of Chapter One.