The sun cut through the blinds like a blade of warmth, landing square on Riku's face. His eyes opened slowly, amber light reflecting in his dark pupils. A soft chime rang out in his mind:
["Good morning, Host. Would you like to draw the daily gacha?"]
He didn't even need to speak.
"Yes."
[Congratulations! You have acquired: Perfect Memory (A+ Tier Passive Skill)!][Perfect Memory]: Your mind perfectly records and retains everything you experience—visually, aurally, emotionally, and more. This passive allows for flawless recall of combat techniques, sensory details, and learned information.
Riku sat still for a moment, staring at the glowing words in the air. His lips parted in a breathy murmur.
"This… is going to be insanely useful."
He pushed the covers off, his bare feet touching the cool floor. Stretching once, he stood and began his brutal morning routine without hesitation. Shirtless, his torso tightened with every motion as he dropped into a push-up.
One.Two.Three…
His body was sheened in sweat by the time he hit five thousand push-ups. Without resting, he switched to sit-ups, his core contracting again and again with mechanical rhythm. His muscles burned—but the cursed energy woven into his tissue reinforced every fiber. Armament Haki coated his limbs, hardening his body like iron and forcing him to hold proper form through overwhelming resistance.
Each rep was war. Every breath was a battle.
When he started the jumping jacks, the sound of impact echoed in his room like thunder, and by the time he hit eight thousand, he was soaked, trembling—but unbroken.
He stood slowly. His body twitched from exertion, but he smiled.
"Still not enough."
He headed into the bathroom and stripped down. The water was cold at first, but his overheated skin welcomed it. As he scrubbed away dried sweat and grime, he closed his eyes. Memories of every movement—every mistake in posture or timing—ran through his mind like a flawless replay, thanks to Perfect Memory.
After drying off and throwing on fresh clothes, Riku sat down at his desk. His body might've been done for the moment—but his mind? His mind had work to do.
He pulled a notebook from a drawer and clicked a pen. The blank page stared back at him. Then he wrote:
"Mirrorbound Domain — Reflection Techniques Brainstorm"
Below it, he scribbled out what he had so far.
Distorted Reflection: Basic reflection of physical and energy-based attacks, with visual warping.
Gravity Reflection: Reflect the downward force of gravity temporarily for boosted jumps, aerial stalls, or weightless movement.
Echo Delay: Delay the return of a reflected action by a few seconds (needs enemy input).
Self-Launch: Reflect his own physical momentum for explosive movement or impact.
Next to each, he began writing notes.
Distorted Reflection — Effective, but visual distortion sometimes telegraphs intent. Consider masking effect or stabilizing surface?
Gravity Reflection — Efficient for evasion and aerial control. Should test longer periods of negation. Would compound well with Flash Step.
Echo Delay — Unreliable without an incoming attack. Could use stored reflections? Trigger delay remotely?
Self-Launch — Best mobility option so far. Dangerous if misdirected. Test sideways propulsion next.
He flipped the page and began listing theoretical ideas.
Temporal Reflection?He paused, staring at the words.
"Is that even possible…?"
He tapped his pen against the table.
Time isn't a force. It's not gravity. It doesn't push like wind or punch like a fist.
But time does move him. It drags everything forward—the cells in his body, the beat of his heart. Unlike gravity, it isn't external. It's a dimension, a canvas everything's painted on.
"But what if…" he whispered.
What if he could reject the progression of that canvas?
He scribbled furiously:
Time Reflection: Reflect the progression of time for a target (stop aging? freeze movement?)
Problems: Time isn't a force. It's a stage.
Fix: What if I stop interacting with the stage? Pause my influence. Pause others' influence on me.
More thoughts spilled out:
Possible use: Stop aging by reflecting biological decay?
Stop own time for an instant to become untouchable?
What about one step further—reflect time's direction? Reverse momentarily?
He exhaled hard, leaning back.
"This is insane…" he muttered, "but…"
He could see the math in his head. The angles. The pulses of cursed energy. The principles of momentum, velocity, and force. Now with Perfect Memory, he could relive each trial, each movement, replaying failed experiments in real-time, finding cracks in the logic.
He flipped to a new page and started drawing diagrams.
Spirals of energy, lines of delayed reflection, bubbles of inertial pause. The paper became a battlefield of thought. Hours passed like minutes. He didn't even notice the clock.
Then, something clicked.
Not a full idea—but the shape of one.
A theoretical structure of "Temporal Reflection" forming like a haze on the edge of his understanding. It wasn't usable yet—not even close—but he had begun to see it. Not as a spell or trick, but a manipulation of natural law using cursed energy.
He tapped his pen again.
"This'll take weeks," he murmured. "Maybe months…"
But a grin tugged at his lips.
He was the only one even trying this.
And with Perfect Memory, time was on his side.
He leaned back in his chair, exhausted, brain still buzzing.
Then he looked out the window. The sun was higher now. Still morning—but only barely.
He stood, rolled his shoulders, and muttered, "Break's over."
Because if time wouldn't stop for him, he'd just learn how to stop for it.
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Hey guys sorry it took so long and I know what your thinking that reflecting Time is a big stretch from gravity but I think there is a way don't worry I'll do my research and if you want to help comment. But obviously were not going to do this right away, think about it as a text chapter I want to try and do this later but right now I just need to write it down.