The air didn't feel the same anymore.
It wasn't just heavy—
It was watching him.
Anish stood frozen, his chest rising and falling rapidly as faint red light pulsed beneath his skin. The ground around him had cracked into glowing patterns, ancient symbols reacting to something that had awakened inside him.
His hands trembled.
"What… is this…?"
The energy didn't feel external.
It felt like something that had always been there—
Something he had tried to forget.
Or… something he was forced to forget.
The creature in front of him growled, but this time, there was hesitation in its movement.
Fear.
It was afraid of him.
Anish noticed it.
And that realization alone sent a strange feeling through his body.
"I… did this?"
His voice sounded different.
Lower.
Heavier.
Like it carried weight beyond his own existence.
Behind him, Zehrat slowly stood up, her silver light flickering weakly around her.
She was injured.
Badly.
But her eyes… they weren't on the creature anymore.
They were on Anish.
"You remember… don't you?" she whispered.
Anish didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
Images flickered in his mind—
Broken.
Distorted.
A throne.
A burning sky.
A world kneeling.
And Zehrat—
Crying.
He clutched his head.
"Stop… I can't see clearly…"
The red glow around him intensified.
The symbols on the ground began to rotate slowly, forming a circular pattern beneath his feet.
The creature roared and charged again.
This time—
Anish didn't move.
He simply raised his hand.
And everything stopped.
Not slowed.
Not weakened.
Stopped.
The creature froze mid-motion, its massive body locked in place as if reality itself had rejected its existence.
Anish's eyes widened.
"I didn't… even do anything…"
"Yes, you did," Zehrat said softly.
"That's your power."
Anish looked at her.
"My power is… stopping things?"
Zehrat shook her head.
"No."
She took a step closer.
"You control the laws of Tigren."
The words didn't make sense—
But they felt right.
Like hearing something you forgot but always knew.
"The laws…?"
"Yes," she continued. "Time, space, memory, existence… all of it."
Anish let out a weak laugh.
"That's not possible…"
Zehrat didn't smile.
"It wasn't supposed to be."
The creature began to move again, slowly breaking free from whatever force held it.
Cracks of red energy spread across its body.
"Then why can it still move?!" Anish shouted.
"Because you're not in control yet!"
The creature broke free completely and slammed its arm down.
This time, Anish reacted.
Instinctively.
"Stop!"
The word echoed—
And the world responded.
The creature's arm shattered mid-air into fragments of black energy.
Silence followed.
Anish stared at what he had done.
"I… destroyed it?"
"No," Zehrat said quietly.
"You erased it."
A chill ran down his spine.
Erased.
Not killed.
Not defeated.
Gone.
Like it never existed.
The creature let out a distorted scream as its body began to break apart, piece by piece, dissolving into glowing particles.
But as it faded—
Its eyes locked onto Anish.
And it spoke one last time.
"…you… will… forget… again…"
Then—
Nothing.
Gone.
The battlefield fell silent.
The red glow slowly faded from Anish's body.
The symbols on the ground dimmed.
And just like that—
The power disappeared.
Anish dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
"What… was that…?"
His body felt empty.
Like something had been ripped out of him.
Zehrat walked toward him slowly.
"You used too much," she said.
"I didn't even know what I was doing…"
"That's the problem."
She knelt beside him.
"You're using power without understanding it."
Anish looked up at her.
"Then explain it to me!"
Zehrat hesitated.
For the first time since he met her—
She looked unsure.
"I can't… explain everything yet."
"Why not?!"
"Because if you remember too fast…"
Her voice dropped.
"…you might become him again."
Anish's expression hardened.
"Become who?"
Zehrat didn't answer immediately.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
Then she whispered—
"The one who destroyed Tigren."
The words hit harder than anything before.
Anish felt his chest tighten.
"You keep saying that like it's a fact…"
"Because it is."
Silence.
The wind howled through the ruins.
Anish stood up slowly.
"If I really did all this…"
He looked around at the broken world.
The dead sky.
The empty ruins.
"…then why bring me back?"
Zehrat looked at him.
Her eyes filled with something deep.
Something painful.
"Because you're the only one who can fix it."
"And if I don't want to?"
Her expression didn't change.
"Then Tigren dies."
A pause.
"…and so do I."
Anish froze.
"What?"
Zehrat smiled faintly.
"This world… is connected to you."
She placed her hand over her heart.
"And I'm connected to this world."
The meaning was clear.
If Tigren collapses—
She disappears.
Anish clenched his fists.
"This is insane…"
"Maybe," she said softly.
"But it's real."
The sky above them rumbled.
Dark clouds began to gather.
Something was changing.
Again.
Zehrat looked up.
"They felt it."
"Who?"
She turned back to him.
"This world isn't empty, Anish."
Her voice was serious now.
"There are others."
"Others… like that creature?"
She shook her head.
"Worse."
A distant roar echoed across the horizon.
Deep.
Ancient.
Not one.
Many.
Anish swallowed hard.
"Don't tell me…"
Zehrat nodded.
"They're coming."
The ground began to shake again.
Stronger this time.
Not just one presence—
Multiple.
Closing in.
Fast.
Anish looked at his hands.
No glow.
No power.
Nothing.
"…and I can't even use that power again, can I?"
Zehrat stood beside him.
"Not yet."
"Great. Just great."
Despite everything—
He let out a small, nervous laugh.
Then he looked forward.
At the darkness approaching.
"…so what now?"
Zehrat stepped ahead.
Her silver light flickering back to life.
"Now?"
She took a deep breath.
"We run."
Anish blinked.
"…seriously?"
"For now," she said.
"Because if you die here—"
She glanced back at him.
"…everything ends."
Another roar shook the world.
Closer now.
Anish exhaled slowly.
Then nodded.
"Alright…"
He stepped beside her.
"Lead the way."
Zehrat didn't hesitate.
She grabbed his hand—
And for a brief moment—
Time felt like it stopped again.
But this time…
It wasn't fear.
It was something else.
Something warm.
Something familiar.
Then—
They ran.
Into the darkness of Tigren.
End of Chapter 3