The wind howled like something alive.
Sharp. Cold. Relentless.
Anish ran.
Not because he wanted to—
But because stopping meant dying.
Behind him, the ground shattered with every step those unseen creatures took. The air itself felt like it was tearing apart, as if reality couldn't handle their presence.
"Faster!" Zehrat shouted, pulling his hand.
"I AM running!" Anish snapped, breath uneven. "Unless you want me to grow wings, this is my max!"
Another roar exploded behind them.
Closer.
Too close.
Anish didn't dare look back.
Because something inside him whispered—
If you see them… you won't be able to move.
"Where are we even going?!" he asked.
Zehrat didn't slow down.
"To the only place they can't follow."
"And that is?!"
She hesitated for half a second.
Then said—
"The place you sealed."
Anish almost tripped.
"Of course I did."
The ground ahead shifted.
Not cracked—
Shifted.
Like space itself folded slightly, distorting the path in front of them.
"Wait… is the ground moving?!"
"Yes," Zehrat said calmly.
"Tigren reacts to your presence."
"Great, so the world is alive AND trying to kill me."
"Not kill you," she corrected.
"Test you."
Anish let out a dry laugh.
"Same thing."
Suddenly—
Zehrat stopped.
So abruptly that Anish nearly crashed into her.
"What now?!"
She didn't answer.
Her grip on his hand tightened.
"Don't move."
Anish froze.
"…why?"
Zehrat slowly pointed ahead.
At first—
He saw nothing.
Just ruins. Broken land. Darkness.
But then—
The air flickered.
Like heat waves rising from a desert.
And within that distortion…
Something moved.
Not a creature.
Not a shape.
More like—
A tear.
A rip in reality itself.
Anish felt his chest tighten.
"What… is that?"
Zehrat's voice dropped to a whisper.
"A fracture."
"A what?"
"A place where time… is broken."
Anish stared at it.
The closer he looked—
The more wrong it felt.
The space inside the fracture didn't follow any rules.
Objects stretched, twisted, repeated.
Moments overlapped.
He saw a rock fall—
Then rise—
Then fall again.
Over and over.
"…I don't like this," he muttered.
"You don't have to like it," Zehrat said.
"We just need to survive it."
Anish looked at her like she was insane.
"You want to go INTO that?!"
She met his eyes.
"Yes."
"No. No, absolutely not."
"Do you want to face what's behind us instead?"
A deafening roar answered for him.
Anish slowly turned his head.
In the distance—
Multiple shadows moved.
Huge.
Distorted.
Faster than before.
He swallowed.
"…okay, maybe the broken time thing isn't so bad."
Zehrat gave a faint smile.
"Stay close to me."
"When am I not?!"
She stepped forward—
Into the fracture.
The moment she crossed the edge—
She flickered.
Like her body couldn't decide where it belonged.
Anish hesitated for a second.
Then followed.
And the world—
Broke.
Sound disappeared.
Not faded.
Gone.
Anish couldn't even hear his own breath.
Colors stretched unnaturally.
Red turned into black.
Black into something… nameless.
He looked at his hand—
It was there.
And not there.
Multiple versions of it overlapped, each moving slightly out of sync.
"What the—?!"
But no sound came out.
Panic hit instantly.
He turned to Zehrat.
She was ahead—
But also behind—
And also… standing still?
"Focus."
Her voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
Not from outside.
Inside.
"You have to focus."
Anish shut his eyes tightly.
"This is insane… this is insane…"
"Listen to me," her voice continued.
"Time here is unstable. If you lose yourself… you won't come back."
Anish opened his eyes.
"How am I supposed to NOT lose myself?!"
"You hold onto something real."
"Like what?!"
A pause.
Then—
"Me."
Anish froze.
For a moment—
Everything slowed.
Not the world.
Him.
He looked at her again.
This time—
There was only one Zehrat.
Standing in front of him.
Reaching her hand out.
"Don't let go," she said softly.
Something in his chest tightened.
Without thinking—
He grabbed her hand.
And instantly—
The distortion reduced.
Not gone.
But… manageable.
"…it worked," he whispered.
"Yes."
They started walking.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Every step felt wrong, like walking through broken glass made of time itself.
Around them—
Strange visions flickered.
Anish saw glimpses.
Memories.
Not his—
Or maybe they were.
A child crying.
A burning city.
Zehrat… screaming his name.
He stopped.
"I saw something—"
"Don't look!" Zehrat snapped.
Too late.
The vision pulled him.
Suddenly—
He wasn't in the fracture anymore.
He stood in a different place.
A throne room.
Dark.
Silent.
A figure sat on the throne.
Shadowed.
But familiar.
Anish stepped forward slowly.
"…who is that?"
The figure moved.
Then—
Looked up.
Red eyes.
The same glow he had seen in himself.
"…you."
Anish's breath stopped.
"No… that's not me."
The figure smiled.
Cold.
"You're looking at what you chose to forget."
Anish stepped back.
"I didn't choose anything!"
"Didn't you?"
The figure stood up.
"You created Tigren."
Step.
"You ruled it."
Step.
"And then—"
Step.
"You destroyed it."
"STOP!"
The vision shattered.
Anish fell to his knees.
Back in the fracture.
Breathing heavily.
Zehrat was in front of him, holding his shoulders.
"Stay with me!"
"I saw him… I saw—"
"I know."
Her voice was soft now.
"You're not ready yet."
Anish grabbed her wrist.
"That was me… wasn't it?"
She didn't answer.
And that silence—
Was enough.
Anish looked down.
"…what did I do?"
Zehrat's grip tightened.
"You tried to erase the pain."
"And instead… I erased everything?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Yes."
Silence fell between them.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Then—
The fracture began to shake.
Stronger than before.
Zehrat looked up sharply.
"They found us."
Anish's heart dropped.
"How?!"
"They don't follow time."
The distortion around them started collapsing.
The safe space—
Was breaking.
Zehrat stood up.
"We have to move. Now."
Anish forced himself up.
"…to where?"
She pointed ahead.
Through the collapsing fracture—
A faint light glowed.
A stable point.
"The center," she said.
"That's where you hid it."
"Hid what?"
Zehrat looked at him.
Something serious in her eyes.
"Your true power."
End of Chapter 4