The sound of glass shattering still echoed in Kelly's ears.
But it wasn't the glass that hurt most.
It was the sight in front of her.
Mike.
Her husband.
And her best friend.
Together.
On their bed.
In the home she had worked so hard to build.
For a second, Kelly couldn't breathe.
Her mind went completely blank.
"…Kelly," Mike stood up quickly, panic flashing across his face. "Listen to me, it's not what you think—"
"Not what I think?" Kelly repeated softly.
Her voice was too calm.
Too quiet.
That scared him more than anger ever could.
She looked at them both, one after the other.
Then she smiled.
A broken, hollow smile.
"How long?"
Neither of them answered.
That silence was enough.
Kelly nodded slowly, as if understanding something she had been refusing to accept.
"Three years…" she whispered. "Three years of marriage… and this is what I was living in?"
Her best friend flinched. "Kelly, I—"
"Don't say my name."
The words came out sharp.
The room went silent again.
Kelly stepped back.
Her chest felt tight, like something inside her was tearing apart piece by piece.
All her life, she had wanted one thing.
A home.
A family.
Someone who would never abandon her.
And now…
She had nothing.
She turned around and walked out.
No screaming.
No crying in front of them.
Only silence.
That night, Kelly didn't go back.
She filed for divorce the next day.
Mike didn't fight it.
He signed everything quickly.
Too quickly.
Like he had been waiting.
Like she was already replaceable.
---
Days passed.
Then weeks.
Kelly moved into a small rented room.
Empty.
Quiet.
Lonely.
The kind of silence that eats people alive.
One night, she sat by the window holding a small wooden box.
Inside it—
A jade pendant.
Her mother's only inheritance.
Kelly ran her fingers over it slowly.
"…Mom," she whispered. "Is this what life was supposed to be?"
No answer came.
Outside, thunder rumbled faintly.
Rain started falling.
Kelly sighed and stood up.
She went to the kitchen and began slicing fruit absentmindedly.
Her mind drifted.
To marriage.
To betrayal.
To everything she had lost.
To the children she would never have.
If I had a child… would I still be this alone?
Her hand slipped.
"Ah!"
The knife cut her finger.
A sharp sting.
Blood dropped onto the jade pendant she had placed on the counter.
For a second—
Nothing happened.
Then—
The jade absorbed the blood.
Silence.
A heartbeat later, a faint green glow appeared.
Kelly froze.
"…What?"
The glow spread slowly.
Cracks of light formed across the jade surface like veins.
The room dimmed.
The air grew heavy.
"Th-this can't be…"
The pendant rose slightly from the table.
Kelly stumbled back.
The glow intensified.
A deep humming sound filled the room.
Like something waking up after a long sleep.
Then—
A voice.
Cold.
Mechanical.
[Bloodline Recognition… Complete.]
Kelly's breath caught.
"What… voice…?"
The jade exploded into light.
A green pillar shot upward, swallowing the room.
Kelly screamed—
But no sound came out.
Her body lifted off the ground.
Everything spun violently.
Her memories blurred.
Her heart pounded like it was about to break.
And in that moment—
A single thought crossed her mind.
This… feels like those transmigration novels…
Her eyes widened.
"No—wait—!"
The light swallowed her completely.
---
Silence.
Darkness.
Then—
[Space Awakening Initiated.]
A system voice echoed inside her mind.
Kelly gasped as she suddenly appeared in a vast unknown place.
Endless grasslands.
A river so clear it looked unreal.
A wooden house standing in the distance.
She staggered forward.
"This… this isn't real…"
She touched the grass.
It was real.
Cold.
Alive.
Her breath shook.
Then—
The sky cracked.
A sharp sound like glass breaking filled the air above her.
Kelly looked up.
Her pupils shrank.
A massive tear in space was opening overhead.
Red warning light flickered in the sky like a heartbeat.
And then the voice returned—urgent this time.
[Warning: Timeline Instability Detected.]
[Host reality collapsing.]
Kelly took a step back.
"What… collapsing?"
The wind changed.
Violent.
Unnatural.
The sky above began to fracture further.
Like the world itself was breaking apart.
Then—
A countdown appeared in the air.
10…
Kelly's heart dropped.
"No… no, no, no…"
9…
She turned in panic.
The wooden house in the distance flickered.
Like it was not fully real.
8…
The river reversed flow for a second.
Then snapped back.
7…
Kelly's breathing became frantic.
"What is happening to me?!"
6…
A force pulled at her body.
Like gravity had turned against her.
5…
Her feet lifted slightly off the ground.
She grabbed a nearby tree instinctively.
4…
The tree cracked.
3…
"Stop it! I don't understand this!"
2…
The sky split wider.
A blinding white light poured through.
1…
Kelly's eyes widened in terror.
"…I don't want to die again…"
And then—
The world shattered.
Everything went white.