When Kai opened his eyes, he already knew something was wrong.
It wasn't the light filtering through the cheap curtains. It wasn't the stiff pillow that hadn't yet molded to the shape of his neck. It wasn't even the faint thrum of city noise outside—tires slapping over cobblestone and the occasional dog bark echoing from a nearby park.
It was the feeling.
The kind that sat in your chest like the moment after a bad dream, or the second before an earthquake. A discrepancy, like reality itself had slipped out of alignment.
Kai blinked up at the ceiling.
It was familiar. Too familiar.
White, speckled, with the faint outline of water damage above the corner near the closet.
He shot upright, eyes wide. The sudden motion made the mattress creak under him. He scanned the room like someone who hadn't seen it in years—and he hadn't.
Because this wasn't his apartment anymore.
Or at least… it shouldn't be.
The desk. The battered office chair. The clunky laptop with the peeling corner of a League of Legends sticker. The IKEA bookshelf with manga volumes still stacked sideways instead of upright.
Everything was exactly how it had been when he was 21.
Which didn't make sense.
Because he'd just died. He was sure of it.
He hadn't died heroically, or in some violent, traumatic fashion. It was just one of those stupid endings—an accident, a lapse, a blink—and the next thing he remembered was… this.
Back here.
Back then.
Back when he still had a chance.
His heart was starting to pound now, confusion and disbelief crashing into him all at once. He reached for his phone automatically, more to ground himself than anything.
The cracked screen lit up.
Tuesday, May 4th08:06 AM2021
No missed calls. No messages. Just the same alarm notification he used to ignore every weekday morning. Except this time, he didn't feel groggy.
He felt wide awake.
Before he could even begin to process the time loop—or miracle—or whatever this was, something else happened.
A faint digital chime echoed in his ears.
Not from his phone. Not from outside.
From nowhere.
A glowing interface materialized in his vision. Translucent, sharp-edged, hovering like it belonged there. Like it had always been part of his world.
[SAVE & LOAD SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
Welcome, Kai.
🎮 You now possess the ability to SAVE moments in your life and LOAD them at will.
You may create and overwrite up to 3 Save Slots
Saves can be made at any conscious moment
Death will automatically load your last active slot
You retain full memory across all loads
Time progresses naturally unless a Load is initiated
Use this gift wisely. Play your life how you want.
[Create Save Slot 1?]
Kai stared.
He didn't move. Didn't breathe.
Then a laugh broke out of him—sharp, startled, almost insane.
He put a hand to his mouth and bit down on a knuckle to stifle it, but it was too late. He was already grinning. Already lightheaded.
This wasn't a dream.
This was a second chance.
And whoever—whatever—gave it to him?
They gave it to the right person.
He accepted the system with a thought.
✅ [Save Slot 1 Created – 08:07 AM]
The interface flickered, then faded from view—though he somehow knew it would return the moment he willed it.
His fingers trembled, not from fear, but from opportunity.
He sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on knees, and stared down at his calloused hands. Twenty-one again. Seven years younger. No back pain. No debts. No looming deadlines.
Just freedom.
Unlimited retries.
Three save slots.
And all the time in the world.
🕹️ Load Test
He spent the entire day pushing the limits.
He saved mid-sentence. Reloaded conversations. Practiced arguments. Memorized a scratch card's result, loaded, and picked the winning number. Walked into a casino and walked out five minutes later when he saw the roulette outcome. Went back in again after loading and dropped five euros on black. Win. Reload. Try again.
It was thrilling.
Terrifying.
Addictive.
By midnight, he'd used the first day of his new life like a sandbox tutorial.
And he learned two very important things:
He couldn't save while asleep or unconscious.
He couldn't fake decisions. He had to be the one acting. No autopilot.
Which meant he had to plan his saves carefully.
He could retry a hundred times. But he could also get stuck if he saved at the wrong moment.
So before he went to bed, he created a second slot.
✅ [Save Slot 2 Created – 01:14 AM]
He labeled it in his head: "Active Timeline."
Slot 1 would remain untouched. A checkpoint at the dawn of his new game.
Slot 2 was where he'd play.
💸 The Grind Begins
Kai wasn't the type to rush.
The idea of waking up rich, or speedrunning success, didn't appeal to him nearly as much as the process.
He wanted to get it right.
So he started small.
€970 in the bank. Knowledge of which coins would skyrocket. Awareness of which side hustles weren't scams. Predictions of online virality, retail stock surges, and NFT trends before they even had names.
Every gamble? A reload.Every win? Locked in.
By the end of the first week, Kai had €6,000.
By the end of the first month, he had €28,000 and rising.
No get-rich-quick schemes. No lottery wins. Just methodical, relentless optimization.
He bought a better laptop. Cleared out old clothes. Subscribed to data tools. Set up a home workspace in the corner of the apartment with new lighting.
He didn't flaunt it. Didn't post about it. Didn't even tell anyone yet.
Because this wasn't about proving anything.
This was about building something that would last.
📺 Kaijo is Born
The dream was always the same.
He wanted to stream.
Not to be famous. Not to be viral.
But because playing games, making people laugh, and creating something real had always made him feel alive.
Back in his last life, he didn't have the confidence. Or the time. Or the money.
Now?
He had all three.
He chose the name Kaijo—a mix of Kai and Joseph, his middle name. Simple. Personal. Clean.
He created accounts. Set up overlays. Designed branding from scratch. Practiced speaking into a mic for hours until he sounded effortless.
Then he saved before his first real stream.
✅ [Save Slot 3 Created – 22:00 PM]
"Let's go," he whispered, cracking his knuckles. "Take one."
He wasn't aiming to go viral on day one. He just wanted to show up.
One perfect playthrough at a time.
🌐 Old Ghosts, Future Dreams
Late at night, Kai would sit on his balcony, laptop in his lap, drink in hand, and scroll through old usernames on forgotten Discord servers.
He knew them by heart.
People from across the world. Friends who laughed with him more than anyone he ever saw in person. Gamers, artists, grinders—people who dreamed big but never quite got their shot.
They'd talked once about getting a place together. Starting a channel. Building something real.
Life got in the way.
But the bond never faded. Not for him.
He'd find them again. Not now. Not yet.
But someday.
When he had something worth showing.
When he could say:
"I made it. You can too. Let's do this together."
And he'd mean every word.
✅ Slot 1 (May 4, 2021 – "Day Zero")
✅ Slot 2 (Ongoing Timeline – "Progress")
✅ Slot 3 (Streaming Debut – "Kaijo Begins")
His story had officially started.
And this time, there was no rush.
He could try, fail, rewind, and try again—until the life he always dreamed of was finally his.
SUPPORT (Early Chapters): patreon.com/KyJo_
YT GAMING: https://www.youtube.com/@KyJoGaming
DISCORD: https://discord.gg/v2uSTygMgb