Adam sat in his usual spot at the back of the exam hall, the faint scent of ink and paper lingering in the air. The clock ticked down relentlessly—two hours, a hundred multiple-choice questions, and a future hanging in the balance. He could already feel the pressure mounting in his chest.
"You're gonna fail again, Adam,"_ his inner voice whispered, mocking him as he stared blankly at the first question. He glanced around the hall, where the other students seemed completely immersed in their work. Sarah, of course, was writing furiously, a model student who never seemed to struggle.
Adam sighed, his pen tapping absentmindedly against his desk. He wasn't the kind of guy who studied. Not unless he absolutely had to. And this time, it was way too late.
His hand reached for the bottom of the exam paper, fingers brushing against something unusual. A piece of paper, tucked between the pages. Odd. He flipped it open. It was *black*. Thick, matte black, the kind of paper that didn't belong in a regular exam.
His heart skipped a beat.
"What the heck?"_ Adam muttered, but curiosity got the better of him.
He slid the black sheet out carefully, folding it just enough to read. The writing was strange. Instead of the usual physics problems, there were symbols, something that looked almost like ancient text. There was no time to think. Without a second thought, he began to scribble the answers, feeling a strange rush as his hand moved faster than ever before.
Time seemed to slow as he worked through the symbols. Each answer felt easier, more natural, as though the sheet itself was guiding him. The words on the paper blurred into something more… *alive*.
Minutes passed, but Adam had no idea how much time had actually gone by. He didn't care. His focus was sharp, his mind clear, and the answers to the questions appeared to him as if they were written in his mind.
And then, when the last question was answered, something strange happened.
The air around him grew *still*. The hum of the fluorescent lights above seemed to fade. The faint whispers from the students around him died down completely. Adam froze, his heart hammering in his chest.
"What just happened?"_
His eyes flicked nervously to his wristwatch. The second hand had stopped moving. No, it wasn't just the watch. Everything was frozen. The clock on the wall, the students, even Sarah's pencil hanging mid-air.
*He had stopped time.*
His breath caught in his throat. This… this couldn't be real. He was dreaming. He had to be.
But it was. The world was motionless, and Adam was the only one who could move.
His mind raced as he took a hesitant step. The sensation was incredible. It felt like power was coursing through his veins, like he could do anything. *Anything at all.*
But as he looked around at the frozen faces of his classmates, he felt a chill run down his spine. This… this wasn't a gift. This was something darker.
He reached for the black sheet in his hands again, the one with the strange symbols. As his fingers touched the paper, his stomach twisted. Something inside him warned that this was wrong. That using this power would come at a cost.
Just then, he heard a soft voice in his head. _"Don't use it again."_
Adam froze. The voice was unmistakable. He turned his head quickly, but there was no one there. It was a warning, clear and chilling. His eyes darted to Sarah's frozen form. Had she heard it too? Was she somehow connected to this power?
The voice spoke again, this time more urgently. *_"You have no idea what you're dealing with."_*
Adam's hand clenched around the black sheet. Something was off. Very off. But at the same time, part of him wanted to test it again, to see how far this power could take him.
But he couldn't. Not without understanding more.
He quickly folded the black sheet back into his exam paper, taking one last look at the frozen world around him.
_"What the hell did I just do?"_
With one final glance at Sarah, who remained motionless, Adam made a decision. He was going to find out what this was about. But he had to be careful. *Very careful.*