Chapter 19: Out of line

Date: April 5th, 2024

Location: The Sanctuary, Underground Training Facility

Kyle found himself lying on the cold, metallic floor of the underground facility, gasping for breath. The familiar hum of machinery and the distant echoes of drills reminded him that he was back in the present—or what passed for the present now. His body ached from the intense battle against Volaw, though he had only just returned from a confrontation with his future self.

He slowly stood up, the weight of his future's words still heavy on his mind. The timeline had shattered, and now he was faced with the daunting task of rewriting history, of preventing the catastrophic future he had just witnessed.

But as he took a deep breath, the door to the training facility hissed open, and a figure stepped inside. Kyle's heart skipped a beat as he recognized the man—tall, cloaked in shadows, with an aura of danger that radiated off him. The man wore a strange, featureless mask that covered his entire face, giving no hint of his identity.

Kyle straightened, his instincts kicking in. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice cold and steady.

The masked man didn't respond. Instead, he stepped forward, his movements eerily smooth and deliberate. In a flash, he lunged at Kyle with blinding speed, forcing him to summon a Chrono Shield to block the attack. The impact sent Kyle sliding backward, his heels digging into the ground.

"Looks like you haven't lost your touch, Kyle," the man said, his voice muffled by the mask. It was a voice that seemed familiar, yet distorted in a way Kyle couldn't place.

Kyle narrowed his eyes. "I asked you a question. Who are you?"

The man didn't answer. Instead, he attacked again, this time with a precision that caught Kyle off guard. They exchanged blows—punches, kicks, and bursts of temporal energy. Kyle could feel the power behind each strike, a strength that was overwhelming and terrifyingly familiar.

As the fight dragged on, Kyle began to notice something strange. Each time the man attacked, there was a moment—a brief, fleeting moment—where the mask seemed to glitch, as if reality itself was struggling to maintain the illusion.

Finally, in a desperate move, Kyle unleashed a powerful Time Rewind, hoping to catch his opponent off guard. The masked man faltered, just as Kyle predicted, and in that moment of weakness, Kyle struck.

With a swift, decisive blow, he slashed at the man's mask with the Chrono Blade, cutting it clean in half. The mask shattered, revealing the face beneath.

Kyle froze.

The man standing before him was none other than Axel—his friend, his enemy, and the man he had thought was long dead.

"Axel... how? Why are you here?" Kyle's voice trembled with a mix of shock and confusion.

Axel's face was cold, his eyes hard and unyielding. There was no trace of the friend Kyle had once known. Instead, Axel's expression was one of pure, unrelenting resolve.

"You should've known, ," Axel said, his voice now clear and unwavering. "In this timeline, I've become something far stronger than you could ever imagine."

Kyle's heart pounded in his chest. "

Axel didn't answer. Instead, he attacked with a force and fury that Kyle hadn't anticipated. Each strike was more brutal than the last, each blow more devastating. Kyle struggled to keep up, but it was clear he was outmatched.

In a final, desperate move, Axel unleashed a devastating attack—EON CUT. The blade of temporal energy sliced through the air, striking Kyle with a force that sent him crashing into the far wall. Pain exploded through his body, and he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness.

Axel loomed over him, his expression unreadable. "This is the price of challenging me, Kyle. I've grown stronger in this timeline—stronger than you can comprehend."

Kyle's vision blurred, and the last thing he saw before darkness claimed him was Axel turning away, leaving him defeated and broken on the cold, unforgiving floor.

Author messege: Defeat always with us even in real life.