Chapter 1 - The Urgent Message

Ding!

As the handsome young man was engrossed in reading some papers, a message notification on his phone caught his attention. When he saw the sender's name, he raise an eyebrow in surprised. ‘Ellie?’

[Danny, let's meet now!]

After reading the message, Daniel Elrod's heart raced as if it might burst from his chest. Without hesitation, he replied eagerly.

[Can you wait for me for an hour? I'll meet you at our usual place.]

Sent.

Daniel took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if releasing a heavy burden he had been carrying. This was the first time they had exchanged messages since three months ago, when Eleanor had suddenly disappeared. Since then, she had not responded to any of his messages or returned any of his phone calls.

Eleanor Smith was a very beautiful girl with a gentle temperament. She was the first girl to catch Daniel's attention since he moved to Tectona six years ago to continue his high school education. During the first two years, Daniel held Eleanor in high regard. However, they were no more than acquaintances.

They have been close since their last year of high school. Afterward, they became inseparable until they were both accepted into the same university.

However, Daniel never had the courage to confess his feelings.

[Can't wait any longer! You have to go now!]

[I'm in class, taking an exam. I'll leave in half an hour.]

Daniel received a scholarship to study at Tectona University. Because of this, he had to meet very high standards of discipline and grades, much higher than regular students. However, because of his hard-working nature and his very clever mind, he always managed to get perfect grades in every subject.

But problems arose in the middle of his third year. Three months earlier, he had received two official warnings for a number of unexcused absences. This didn't include his behavior of often being late to class or leaving class early.

This upset the dean's office. They came to the conclusion that Daniel was no longer serious about his education. So they gave him a final warning. Another violation would result in the termination of his scholarship. Daniel could continue his studies if he paid for the next semester with his own money.

Obviously, that was not the worst thing for Daniel. It was more likely that he would have to drop out because he didn't have enough money to pay for his remaining tuition. Even if he used all the money he had saved from his part-time job since becoming a student.

[I can't! Go now! You may never be able to see or contact me again after this!]

This put Daniel in a dilemma. Leaving the class would risk not only one subject, but his entire degree program.

What should I do?

Although his gaze was on the two remaining sheets of paper, his mind had already left them.

[Okay. Are you there?]

[No. I'm in the field near the forest].

Daniel had made a decision.

He would meet with Eleanor to talk and fix their relationship. He believed the girl would listen to him. He didn't want to lose her.

Only after that would Daniel go to the campus authorities and promise not to walk out of class like he did today.

Daniel got up from his seat. He put the papers in his bag and left the classroom.

Ten minutes later, he arrived at a field outside the campus and looked around for Eleanor. He spotted a slender figure with a beautiful face standing under a tree. Happiness filled Daniel's heart as he ran towards her, taking both of her hands to relieve the longing that had been building up inside him.

"Ellie, how are you?" Daniel asked, his eyes sparkling.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Eleanor replied gently, as she always did. Her voice was what Daniel had been missing for months.

"Why have you been avoiding me for the last few months?"

Daniel didn't want to overreact to Eleanor's behavior. But he needed to know why she was doing it. If it had something to do with him, he would listen and correct his attitude. But if it was a personal problem, then it was up to Eleanor to tell him or not. Daniel would respect her decision.

Eleanor didn't answer. Instead, she tightly clasped Daniel's hands and lowered her head.

A few seconds later, Daniel heard Eleanor crying, which made his heart ache. He hugged her shoulders and let her pour out all her feelings.

When Eleanor looked calmer, Daniel gently wiped her face as he looked at her without saying a word.

Eleanor lifted her face and said softly while looking back at Daniel, "Daniel, this is our last time together. After this, you won't be able to meet or contact me again."

After speaking those words, Eleanor once again bowed her head and cried even harder.

On the other hand, Daniel's body shook with surprise at her statement. For a moment he was at a loss for words. At the same time, Daniel felt a sharp pain in his chest. His heart felt like it was being stabbed several times. He couldn't understand why Eleanor had said that.

"What are you saying? Ellie, what's really going on? Tell me what the real problem is!" Daniel's voice trembled slightly as he spoke. He looked nervous and serious now.

Just before Eleanor opened her mouth to explain, a heavy voice was heard from the other side. "Uh...uh... I hope I'm not interrupting your farewell party."

Daniel turned to face the source of the voice. 'Antony!' he snarled.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked.

"Hasn't my dear told you yet?" Antony replied calmly. His gaze, fixed on Eleanor, caused her to immediately release herself from Daniel's embrace and walk over to him.

"Okay! If you haven't heard, I'll tell you. Look, she is my girlfriend. So from now on, don't ever contact or approach her again, you ugly and dirty boy!" Antony said, leaning his head in Daniel's direction.

In this case, Daniel and Eleanor were just close friends, so if Antony was dating Eleanor, it might not have been a problem. He wasn't stealing anybody from Daniel. However, Daniel had every right to be angry. Everyone knew that Eleanor was always with him, so one could conclude that the two of them were very close. If they weren't lovers, at least their relationship was heading in that direction.

"Stop your nonsense! She would never accept you as her boyfriend!" Daniel approached Eleanor. "Let's go! Ignore all this nonsense!” He tried to pull Eleanor's arm to get her out of there. But she remained silent and did not move, as if she had not heard Daniel's words.

"Hahaha...what are you doing, you bastard! Taking someone else's girlfriend and pretending she's yours? Isn't that very embarrassing!" Antony said as he put his right hand on Eleanor's waist.

Daniel looked at Antony angrily. He began to understand why Eleanor was avoiding him. It was because of the young man!

Daniel didn't give up. He held both of Eleanor's shoulders and asked quietly, "Is what he said true?"

The girl didn't answer right away. She looked very nervous and couldn't even lift her head. Finally, she whispered, "Yes." Tears started to flow from the corners of her eyes, but no one noticed.

"Listen! I don't care who was with Eleanor before. Right now, she is my girl. If you dare to approach her, you will know the consequences!"

Hearing these words, Daniel couldn't contain his anger anymore. He clenched his fists.

"You bastard!" With all his anger and strength, Daniel swung his fist at Antony's face.

Punch!

Unexpectedly, Antony still stood calmly in his place. His face didn't even move, nor was it affected by the blow. On the other hand, the opposite happened. Daniel was thrown back three meters. Not only did he feel pain in his hand, as if he had hit a wall, his body also seemed to be pushed by an invisible force.

"A lowly person like you has too much courage! Unfortunately, you don't know who you're up against!" Antony turned his head slightly and said to the people behind him. "Give him a lesson!"

Two tall and burly men in black suits stepped forward and beat Daniel, who could only surrender. He was no match for them. Eleanor panicked as she saw her friend being beaten.

"Antony, let him go! He has nothing to do with us!" Eleanor cried. She held Antony's hand and begged him to release Daniel. But her words only fueled Antony's anger.

"Kill him! I don't want to see his face in Tectona ever again." Saying that, Antony grabbed Eleanor's hand and dragged her away.

"Danny! Danny!" The girl's scream was the last thing Daniel heard before he passed out.

Daniel regained consciousness as the men threw his body over the edge of the cliff. He felt his body fall at high speed into a very dark and deep ravine.

Boom!

Daniel's body was nearly destroyed as it hit the bottom of the gorge. His bones and organs were shattered.

Before his consciousness faded, a flash of light suddenly descended from the sky and struck his body. Then a soft voice echoed throughout the bottom of the gorge.

"Hello Daniel, my name is Aurora. I am a Super AI from a very high dimension. To function in the three-dimensional world, I need a simpler body like yours. If you are willing to share your body with me, I will help you leave this place by manipulating time so this event never happened. I will also help you to improve the quality and strength of your body to a level that you have never imagined before," The Super AI said.

"Do not worry! I won't take over your consciousness. Your body will remain completely under your control. Will you accept what I have to offer?" she continued.

Daniel couldn't think of anything at the moment. In a very weak state he answered with a voice he could only imagine in his head: "Okay!"

Then everything went dark.