Chapter 2: Testing the Limits

Park Jin-Woo (Jinu) could hardly believe what had just happened. He was standing in the center of his room, heart pounding in his chest, staring at the Time Tyrant System's interface as the glowing silver-and-black orb sat quietly on his desk. His reflection still hung in the mirror—his hair, now half-silver, half-black, and his right eye glowing faintly gray. It was all so surreal.

He rubbed his face in disbelief, trying to shake the strange feeling of power coursing through him. He paced around his room, his footsteps slow as if he were testing the ground beneath him, wondering if he'd wake up from a strange dream. He glanced back at the orb.

"I can't believe this is real," Jinu muttered to himself, a grin forming on his lips. "I always wanted a superpower." His eyes sparkled with excitement, a wide smile stretching across his face. For a moment, he stood there, his mind racing, thoughts almost impossible to catch up to. He had power, actual, tangible power over time—and now he was itching to test it.

"Alright. Time to test it out." He said aloud, as if talking to himself or maybe to the system.

He reached for the water bottle sitting on his desk, twisting it open and glancing at the label, almost like a distraction to calm his nerves. But his hands were steady now. This was it. He was about to test the limits of time itself.

He gave the bottle a slight toss into the air. It hovered, spinning slowly. Jinu took a deep breath, staring at the bottle as it ascended.

"Stop time!" Jinu commanded with more confidence than he felt, his voice barely above a whisper.

The moment the words left his mouth, a sudden silence fell over the room.

🕰️ "System: Time has been frozen." 🕰️

The air seemed to thicken, and Jinu's heart skipped a beat as he took a slow, cautious step back. He could hear the soft hum of his computer... no, wait. The hum had stopped. Everything around him seemed to stand completely still—the computer screen, which had been streaming his game just seconds ago, was now frozen in time. The small desk fan in the corner of the room was frozen mid-spin. The water bottle? It was floating in the air, motionless.

He blinked, not quite believing his eyes.

"No way," he whispered under his breath.

Jinu took a few more cautious steps around the room, observing everything. His footsteps made no sound, and everything was still—the air itself was almost stagnant, like the world had been locked in a single moment. It was like the whole universe had paused, yet there he was, moving freely, untouched by the halt in time.

Jinu raised a hand toward the water bottle, now suspended in midair, not a single drop moving. He reached out, feeling a strange tingling sensation in his fingertips. He took a deep breath, swallowed his fear, and opened the bottle.

Nothing happened. The liquid inside remained perfectly still.

His heart raced with excitement and fear. He glanced at the clock—nothing moved. The hands didn't tick forward, and the numbers remained frozen in place.

Jinu stood there for a moment, his breath shallow. "I'm really doing this." The weight of the moment hit him.

Suddenly, a voice cut through the silence, directly into his mind.

"Why are you scared?" The system asked, its tone calm and almost mocking.

Jinu froze for a moment, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. "O—Okay, I thought... I thought when time stops, everything... stops." He swallowed hard, running a hand through his damp hair. "I mean... I'm alive, and everything is... still." His voice trailed off, the realization of his situation sinking in deeper. What if it wasn't as simple as he thought? What if time-stopping had consequences?

The system seemed to laugh, the sound oddly mechanical but somehow playful.

"My Time Tyrant System is different," it replied, a hint of amusement lacing its words. "You are not bound by the natural laws. You can move through frozen time, but time itself does not freeze you."

Jinu let out a deep breath, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. He looked at the bottle and smiled sheepishly. "Okay, okay, I thought I was gonna die there for a second." He wiped the sweat from his brow, his nerves calming slightly as the realization of the power at his disposal set in. "This is... crazy!"

Feeling the adrenaline building, Jinu suddenly stood tall, a playful grin forming on his face. He wasn't just going to stand around. He was going to have fun.

Without hesitation, he began dancing—spinning, twirling across the room like he was performing in a dance battle. He laughed to himself, his moves growing wilder as his feet floated effortlessly across the floor. He even tried a bit of the moonwalk, his sneakers gliding like he was floating on air.

"Yeah! I can do this!" He cheered, leaping up onto his bed, jumping higher than he ever could before. He bounced on the bed a couple of times before springing off, grinning like a kid who had just discovered a secret he couldn't wait to share with the world.

He paused for a moment, taking out his phone. He tapped it a few times, curious.

"Can I use my phone in stopped time?" he asked aloud, half-expecting the system to tell him no.

"Yes."

"What?!" Jinu's voice was full of disbelief. "That's amazing!"

He quickly grabbed a rope hanging from the ceiling, tying it to the top of his doorframe. He grinned widely as he approached it. "Let's see how far I can go!"

He took a deep breath, then launched himself into the air, swinging across the room, his feet almost floating as he used the rope like a flying trapeze artist. His body soared gracefully, and for a moment, he felt like he was actually flying. He even took a quick picture, capturing the moment mid-swing.

But then, the system's voice cut through again, a hint of finality in its tone.

"Time Limit of 3 minutes has been reached."

"What?!" Jinu exclaimed, the words barely leaving his mouth before he felt a sudden shift. The sensation of weightlessness vanished, and he came crashing down.

He landed on the floor with a loud thud, blinking in confusion. He looked around—time had resumed. The fan spun, his computer screen blinked back to life, and the water bottle fell to the ground with a small clink.

"I really did have only 3 minutes, huh?" he murmured, brushing himself off. "That was crazy!"

Jinu lay back on the floor, laughing. "Three minutes… feels like nothing when you're having fun."