The fracture was collapsing.
Cracks of distorted light spread across the air, tearing through space like fragile glass. The unstable world around them began folding into itself—moments repeating, breaking, and vanishing all at once.
Anish could feel it.
This place wasn't meant to last.
"Move!" Zehrat shouted, grabbing his arm.
They ran.
But running inside a broken timeline wasn't simple.
Each step felt delayed—
Then rushed—
Then repeated.
Anish nearly lost balance as the ground beneath him shifted between solid and nonexistent.
"This is getting worse!" he yelled.
"It's because of you!" Zehrat replied.
"Of course it is!"
Ahead of them, the faint glowing point Zehrat had mentioned flickered like a dying star.
"That's it!" she said. "The center!"
Anish narrowed his eyes.
"That tiny light is my 'true power'?!"
"It's not small," Zehrat said.
"You just don't remember how big it really is."
Another violent tremor shook the fracture.
Behind them—
Something broke through.
A massive claw tore into the distorted space, ripping apart layers of time like paper.
One of those creatures had entered.
"No way… they can come here too?!" Anish shouted.
"They can't normally," Zehrat said, her voice tense.
"But right now, this place is collapsing—there are no rules anymore!"
The claw slammed down again.
Closer.
Anish felt the pressure in his chest increase.
"Then we're basically dead, right?"
Zehrat didn't respond.
Which was answer enough.
"Great…"
They pushed forward.
The glowing center grew brighter with every step.
But something felt off.
The closer Anish got—
The heavier his body felt.
Like something was resisting him.
Like something didn't want him there.
"…why does it feel like I'm being pushed back?" he asked.
Zehrat slowed down.
"…because you are."
"What?"
"That power…" she said quietly,
"…you sealed it yourself."
Anish's steps slowed.
"So I'm blocking… myself?"
"Yes."
"That's stupid."
"No," she said softly.
"It means you were afraid of what you could become."
The words hit harder than expected.
Afraid… of himself?
The ground cracked violently beneath them.
The creature behind them let out a deafening roar, forcing its entire body through the fracture.
Now it was fully inside.
And it was fast.
Too fast.
"Anish!" Zehrat shouted.
"Forget everything else—just reach the center!"
"I'm trying!"
The pressure increased with every step.
His vision blurred.
His legs felt heavy.
It was like walking against an invisible storm.
"Why… won't it let me through?!"
Zehrat stopped.
"What are you doing?!" he yelled.
She looked at him—
Her expression calm.
Too calm.
"I'll hold it back."
Anish's eyes widened.
"What?! No, that's not happening!"
"It's the only way."
"No, it's NOT!"
The creature lunged forward.
Zehrat stepped in front of it, her silver light flaring brighter than ever before.
"Go," she said.
"I'm not leaving you again!"
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Both of them froze.
Again.
Anish blinked.
"…again?"
Zehrat's eyes trembled.
For a moment—
Hope flickered in them.
"You remembered…" she whispered.
"I didn't mean—"
"You did."
The creature roared, interrupting them.
No more time.
Zehrat turned away from him.
"Go, Anish."
Her voice was softer now.
"Trust me."
He clenched his fists.
Everything inside him screamed to stay.
But something deeper—
Something buried—
Told him she was right.
"…don't die," he muttered.
Zehrat smiled faintly.
"I already did once."
Before he could respond—
She charged forward.
Her light clashed against the creature, creating a massive shockwave.
Anish was thrown forward—
Toward the glowing center.
"No… ZEHRAT!"
He forced himself up.
But the distance between them grew.
The fight behind him intensified.
Light vs darkness.
Memory vs corruption.
And in the middle of it—
Him.
Anish turned toward the center.
The glowing point was now right in front of him.
But it wasn't just light anymore.
It was a shape.
A sphere.
Floating.
Pulsing.
Alive.
As he stepped closer—
The pressure became unbearable.
His body screamed.
His mind fractured.
Voices returned.
"You don't deserve this power—"
"You'll destroy everything again—"
"You'll hurt her again—"
"STOP!"
Anish fell to his knees.
"I won't… I won't do it again…"
The sphere reacted.
Its glow flickered.
As if… listening.
Anish clenched his fists.
"I don't remember everything…"
His voice shook.
"But I remember enough."
He looked back.
At Zehrat—
Fighting alone.
Bleeding light.
Still standing.
"…I won't run anymore."
Silence.
Then—
The pressure disappeared.
The sphere slowly descended.
Floating toward him.
Anish's breath caught.
"…it's accepting me?"
"No," a voice echoed.
Cold.
Familiar.
"It's testing you."
Anish froze.
That voice again.
He turned.
And there—
Standing behind him—
Was the same figure from the vision.
His other self.
Red eyes glowing.
Calm.
Terrifying.
"You want your power back?" the figure asked.
"Then prove it."
Anish stood up slowly.
"…how?"
The figure smiled.
"Survive me."
Before Anish could react—
The figure moved.
Faster than anything before.
A single strike—
And Anish was sent flying.
Pain exploded through his body.
He crashed into the ground, gasping.
"What… the hell… was that?!"
The figure walked toward him slowly.
"You sealed me for a reason," he said.
"I am everything you fear."
Step.
"Your power."
Step.
"Your past."
Step.
"Your truth."
Anish forced himself up.
"…then I'll face all of it."
The figure stopped.
For a moment—
Silence.
Then—
A faint smile.
"Good."
The sphere behind them flared with light.
The final test had begun.
Behind him—
Zehrat screamed.
End of Chapter 5