Chapter 10: Beggining of...
1013 Words
The night after the semifinal… felt wrong.
Not quiet.
Not peaceful.
Wrong.
Alex sat alone in his dorm room, staring at his hands.
They looked normal again.
Too normal.
Like nothing had happened.
But he could still feel it.
Underneath his skin.
Waiting.
“…I’m not a prison,” he whispered.
No answer came.
But the shadows in the corner of the room shifted slightly.
Like they disagreed.
The White-Haired Girl Returns
The window was open.
Alex didn’t even hear it.
She was just suddenly there.
Sitting on the edge of the bed like she had always belonged there.
“…You again,” Alex sighed.
“You’re getting used to me,” she said.
“I don’t like that.”
“That’s fine.”
A pause.
Alex rubbed his face.
“…What did you mean earlier?”
She tilted her head.
“You’re the prison.”
“For what?”
She looked at him directly.
“…The fragment inside you.”
Alex went silent.
Then—
“I don’t even know what that means anymore.”
She leaned forward slightly.
“It means you are holding something that existed before this timeline.”
A pause.
“And it is waking up.”
Elsewhere – Darius Breaks Silence
Far away.
Broken ruins of a collapsed timeline zone.
Darius stood alone.
His crew behind him… tense.
One of them spoke.
“…We felt it too.”
Darius didn’t respond.
His eyes were locked on something unseen.
A distortion in the air.
A faint c***k.
“…He’s unstable,” Darius finally said.
Another teammate stepped forward.
“Then we extract him.”
Darius shook his head.
“No.”
Silence.
“…It’s too late for extraction.”
A pause.
Then—
“…We go to him.”
Back at the Academy – Something Changes
Sirens.
Not normal ones.
Emergency timeline alarms.
The entire Academy lit up red.
Students rushed into formation.
Kai grabbed his jacket.
“…That’s not training alarm.”
Mira narrowed her eyes.
“That’s invasion protocol.”
Leo cracked his knuckles.
“Finally.”
Eron looked around.
“…I think I hate ‘finally.’”
Nyx stood still.
“…He’s here.”
Alex looked up.
“…Who?”
Nyx answered quietly.
“Darius.”
The Sky Breaks Open
Above the Academy—
The sky tore.
Not like before.
Worse.
A massive fracture split reality open.
And from it—
Five figures descended.
Darius at the center.
But this time—
He wasn’t alone.
The pressure hit the ground instantly.
Students collapsed.
Even instructors struggled to stand.
Kai’s eyes widened.
“…That’s not just power…”
Mira whispered:
“…That’s war-level energy.”
Alex stepped forward slowly.
“…Darius.”
Their eyes met.
For the first time since everything started—
No battlefield.
No chaos.
Just two brothers.
The Truth Between Them
Darius landed gently.
Unlike his crew.
Controlled.
Calm.
“…You’re breaking,” Darius said immediately.
Alex clenched his fists.
“So I’ve been told.”
A pause.
Darius stepped closer.
“…You touched it, didn’t you?”
Alex froze slightly.
“…The fragment.”
Silence.
Kai looked between them.
“…Wait—what fragment?”
Darius didn’t answer him.
His eyes stayed on Alex.
“You weren’t supposed to reach synchronization yet.”
Alex’s voice sharpened.
“I didn’t ASK for any of this!”
Darius stepped forward again.
“You never do.”
That hit harder than expected.
Nyx Interrupts
Nyx stepped between them.
“This isn’t the time.”
Darius looked at her.
“…You’re still alive.”
Nyx didn’t react.
“I could say the same to you.”
A pause.
Something unspoken passed between them.
Alex noticed it instantly.
“…You know each other.”
Silence.
Then Nyx said quietly:
“…He was my instructor.”
Kai blinked.
“…WHAT?”
The Hidden Past
Darius exhaled slowly.
“That was before the first collapse.”
Alex looked between them.
“…First collapse?”
Darius nodded slightly.
“The event that erased three timelines.”
Silence fell.
Even Eron stopped joking.
“…You’re kidding,” Leo muttered.
Darius shook his head.
“I wish I was.”
The Real Mission Revealed
Darius turned back to Alex.
“You are not just carrying a fragment.”
A pause.
“You are stabilizing it.”
Alex frowned.
“…Is that supposed to make sense?”
“It means if you fully awaken it…”
Darius’s voice lowered.
“…the timelines collapse completely.”
Silence.
Alex’s breath slowed.
“…So what? I’m just supposed to accept that I’m a bomb?”
Darius stepped closer.
“No.”
A pause.
“You’re supposed to be contained.”
Alex’s eyes widened slightly.
“…Contained?”
Kai immediately stepped forward.
“Okay, that’s enough—”
But Darius continued.
“That’s why I sent you forward.”
Alex froze.
“…You didn’t send me to save me.”
Darius didn’t deny it.
“You sent me to lock me away,” Alex whispered.
Silence.
That was the answer.
Something Breaks Inside Alex
The shadows reacted instantly.
Not violently.
Quietly.
Like they were… offended.
Nyx stepped back slightly.
“…Alex.”
Kai tensed.
“Careful.”
But Alex wasn’t listening.
His voice dropped.
“…So I’m just a cage.”
The shadows began to rise.
Darius stepped back slightly.
“…Don’t do this.”
Alex laughed once.
Low.
Empty.
“…You all keep telling me not to do things.”
The air darkened.
Again.
“Maybe I’m tired of listening.”
The Second Transformation Begins
The ground cracked.
Not from impact.
From pressure.
The fragment inside him reacted.
For the first time—
It didn’t wait.
It pushed.
Alex’s eyes darkened.
The shadows surged upward.
But this time—
They didn’t feel like a monster.
They felt like something waking up.
Something aware.
Kai shouted:
“HE’S SHIFTING AGAIN!”
Mira ignited her flames.
“Get ready!”
Nyx whispered:
“…No… this is different.”
Darius raised his hand.
“…Stop it now.”
Alex looked at him.
And smiled slightly.
“…Make me.”
- Writer
