NOT LIMITED

CHAPTER FIVE- SHATTERED TIMELINE

Rain hammered the city in relentless sheets, turning streets into rivers of silver reflections. Aiden’s lungs burned from running, his soaked clothes clinging to him like a second skin. He kept glancing over his shoulder, knowing instinctively that Liam wasn’t just following—he was hunting. Every shadow that moved unnaturally, every flicker of light, made his heart stutter.

Ahead, the neon glow of the art district blinked through the storm. Zara’s studio, their only hope, loomed like a beacon in the chaos. Somehow, she had been right: she could see the fractures in reality, the timelines bleeding into one another. And somehow, she could help him—but only if he made it to her first.

Lightning split the sky, momentarily illuminating the rooftops. On the tallest building, Liam crouched, his coat whipped by the wind. His eyes glowed faintly, unnatural, reflecting not only his brother’s soul but the corrupted presence that had infiltrated him. That presence—the thing Aiden didn’t fully understand—was powerful, relentless, and terrifying. It had stolen Liam’s memories, replaced fragments of him with something else entirely, yet a spark of the real Liam remained. Enough to make Aiden’s stomach twist in fear and grief.

Liam stepped forward, leaping across the gap between rooftops like a predator born to hunt. Every movement was precise, mechanical, yet undeniably human. The fractured timelines seemed to obey him—or perhaps he obeyed the fracture itself.

Aiden skidded into the alley leading to Zara’s studio, soaked to the bone. He tried the door—it was locked—but before he could pound on it, the air around him shivered. The same pulse he had felt the first time the sky had glitched washed over him. It wasn’t a warning. It was a signal. Liam was closer than ever.

And then he saw her.

Zara.

She was standing at the far side of the studio, her arm raised as if to shield herself. Her tablet floated in the air, the holographic spiral burning brighter than ever. The symbol twisted and wriggled, almost alive, projecting the faint outline of three figures: Aiden, Liam, and someone—or something—else.

Her eyes met his, wide with recognition and fear. “You made it,” she gasped. “I… I can’t hold it for long. The timelines… they’re breaking faster now. You need to—”

A flash of lightning struck nearby, and the studio shook violently. The spirals on her screen elongated, stretching into impossible dimensions. Aiden stumbled forward. “Zara! What’s happening?!”

She grabbed his arm. “It’s him. Liam. He’s not… just your brother anymore. Something is inside him. The timeline fracture is using him—using his body—to stabilize itself!”

Before Aiden could respond, a metallic c***k echoed through the air. The rooftop above the studio exploded in a shimmer of violet light, and Liam dropped through it. Rain-slicked, terrifying, eyes glowing with a fractured intensity. He landed in the center of the street with unnatural grace, boots splashing into puddles. His voice, layered with two tones—one familiar, one distorted—cut through the storm.

“Delta… you’ve survived far longer than expected.”

Aiden froze. “Liam… stop! This isn’t you!”

A flicker of something human crossed Liam’s face—a hesitation. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by cold calculation. “Subject Delta… must be contained. Target eliminated. Timeline preserved.”

Zara moved quickly, holding her tablet like a shield. “Aiden, listen! He’s controlling himself through the fracture. You have to sever the link, or… or he’ll—”

A c***k tore the air as reality bent violently. The walls of the studio flickered; the street behind them rippled like liquid glass. Shadows stretched and twisted unnaturally, echoing in impossible directions. Aiden felt his vision blur. For a brief second, he saw multiple versions of Liam, all moving simultaneously, all closing in on him, all identical yet different.

“This isn’t real… it can’t be!” Aiden whispered, staggering backward.

Zara’s voice was sharp. “It is real! It’s a fragment of the alternate timeline leaking into ours! If it fully stabilizes inside him, you’ll never see your brother again—he’ll be gone. Not dead. Gone!”

Aiden’s mind raced. He couldn’t process all of it. But one thing was clear: he had no choice. He had to reach Liam before the fracture consumed him.

“Zara,” he said, determination hardening his voice, “show me how!”

She nodded, tapping a series of holographic commands. The spiral on her tablet expanded, then split into three distinct paths. “This is it. You have to enter the timeline fragment. Temporarily. Your soul—your essence—needs to connect with his. Only then can you pull him back.”

Aiden’s stomach twisted. “Connect… with him? You mean… like swapping souls?”

Zara’s eyes glinted with grim certainty. “Exactly. But it’s dangerous. You might not come back the same. And if the fracture overwhelms him first…” She swallowed, her arrogance faltering. “We… we could lose him forever.”

Before Aiden could respond, Liam surged forward. Reality itself seemed to scream as he moved. Each step distorted the street; lights warped, puddles rose and fell like tides. The first wave of impact struck Aiden like a physical blow, knocking him off his feet.

“Liam… please!” he shouted, staggering. “I know you’re still in there! Fight it!”

For a fleeting second, the real Liam flickered in his eyes—the brother who had laughed at childish pranks, the brother who had taught him how to ride a bike. Then the presence was gone, replaced by the cold, fractured entity controlling him.

“Delta,” the voice hissed, layered and metallic, “your interference will be nullified. Resistance is… irrelevant.”

Aiden’s hands shook. He glanced at Zara, who was muttering commands into her tablet, her holographic shields expanding. “Now!” she shouted.

Taking a deep breath, Aiden extended his consciousness toward the fracture. The world around him seemed to slow, dissolve, and reassemble in shimmering layers of violet and silver. Pain shot through his head, his chest, every fiber of his being. He felt himself stretching, tearing, entering the same space Liam occupied—but not physically. His mind, his essence, merged with the fractured version of his brother.

Liam’s eyes locked with his, and for the first time, Aiden saw it: fear. Confusion. Humanity struggling against the alien presence.

“I… can’t… hold it,” Liam whispered, his voice cracking between layers. “It… it’s too strong…”

Aiden gritted his teeth. “I’m here. I’ll pull you back. I promise. Fight it with me!”

The world bent violently around them. Shadows coiled like serpents, and time itself seemed to splinter. For every movement Aiden made, multiple Lilams mirrored him, attacking, resisting, folding reality in on itself.

Aiden felt his consciousness strain to maintain connection. Memories flooded him—Liam’s memories, their childhood, the father’s death, the mother’s struggles. And beneath all of it, the alien presence tried to overwrite everything, twisting memories, erasing who Liam was.

“Remember us!” Aiden shouted, voice echoing across fractured reality. “Remember who you are! We are brothers! Not… not this!”

For a fraction of a second, the world stilled. Liam’s eyes softened, recognition flashing. The fractured entity hissed, a sound like metal scraping glass, and recoiled.

But before Aiden could fully stabilize the connection, a new force tore through the fragment.

The mother.

Back in their apartment, she screamed—not in fear, but in power. Her memories, her lost knowledge, surged through her as she fought against the fractured presence. Years of suppressed trauma and memory loss crystallized into raw energy. The battle she waged internally projected outward, causing the timelines to warp violently.

Aiden felt her essence brush against his, intertwining, strengthening him. “Mom!” he gasped. “You’re… helping me!”

The fractured Liam recoiled again, and for the first time, the entity controlling him let out a sound of panic. It realized that the connection between the three—the mother, Aiden, and Liam—was stronger than it anticipated.

Reality snapped violently. Aiden felt himself ejected from the timeline fragment, crashing back into the street outside Zara’s studio. The wind whipped around him, soaked and gasping, but alive.

Zara staggered toward him, eyes wide. “You did it… you connected with him.”

But when Aiden turned, his heart sank. Liam lay in the middle of the street, eyes closed, body trembling. Not fully himself. Not fully gone.

The fractured presence had retreated—but it had left a mark. Liam’s movements were jerky, mechanical tendencies lingering. Something inside him remained… alien.

Aiden knelt beside him, gripping his brother’s shoulder. “Liam… wake up. It’s me. Aiden. Your brother.”

Liam’s eyes fluttered open, human again, if only barely. Recognition and relief crossed his features, but there was something else—something distant, hidden.

He spoke in a quiet voice, barely audible over the storm. “Aiden… I remember… but… not everything. The timelines… they’re… broken.”

Zara stepped forward, voice trembling, eyes glowing from the residual energy of the fractal symbols. “It’s worse than we thought. The timelines didn’t just fracture here—they’re bleeding into the entire city. Multiple realities are converging. If we don’t stabilize them… they’ll collapse.”

Aiden helped Liam to his feet, rain plastering their hair to their faces. “Then we stop it. Together.”

But deep down, Aiden knew the truth. They hadn’t won. They had survived—but only barely. The fractured presence was still out there, lurking in the cracks of reality, waiting for another chance.

And Zara, for all her genius, looked shaken. “This… this isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”

The mother’s voice echoed faintly in Aiden’s mind, a whisper layered over the storm. “Some things are never fixed… only delayed.”

Aiden’s heart sank. They had survived the first clash, but the battle was far from over. He looked at Liam, his brother—partly human, partly something else—and knew that nothing would ever be the same.

The rain continued to pour, washing the streets in silver. And in the shadows, a figure watched. Not quite human. Not quite Liam. Waiting.

The timelines had shattered.

The city had survived.

But the war between reality and the fracture had only begun.

TO BE CONTINUED…