I Am You (17)

After two days, the afternoon sun hung lazily in the sky as Fahim approached his home, his thoughts drifting as he unlocked the door.

"Finally, another Friday is over. Tomorrow is Saturday, which means no alarms—just a full night of sleep," he mused, a hint of exhaustion in his voice as he bent down to untie his shoes.

The familiar creak of the door closing behind him was soon interrupted by the sharp sound of glass breaking from somewhere deeper in the house. Fahim's brow furrowed.

"What was that?" he thought, his heartbeat quickening as he followed the sound cautiously. It led him to his mini-lab, a personal space where he conducted his various experiments.

As he opened the door, his eyes widened in disbelief. Several of his lab tools lay shattered on the floor. Among the mess was the crystal—now glowing with a fierce light that bathed the room in an otherworldly radiance. The vibrant glow pulsed, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

"Wow... it's glowing," Fahim whispered, mesmerized. Instinctively, he reached out to pick it up. But the moment his fingers touched the surface, a surge of raw energy exploded from the crystal. The glow of the crystal stopped.

The impact was immediate, sending him crashing into the far wall with brutal force.

Pain shot through his body as he slumped to the ground. Dazed, he struggled to catch his breath, staring at the glowing crystal in disbelief and blood dropped from his hand.

.

.

.

A few moments later, Tamim arrived at Fahim's doorstep, ringing the bell.

The door opened, revealing Fahim, looking somewhat disheveled and clutching his bandaged left hand.

"What happened?" Tamim asked, concern etched on his face as he eyed the bandage.

"Nothing, just a little cut while cooking," Fahim replied, waving it off with a forced smile.

Tamim frowned, noticing the size of the bandage. "That looks like more than just a scratch."

"Nah, it's no big deal. Just a minor injury," Fahim shrugged, quickly changing the subject. "Anyway, the tournament's coming up soon—just a few more days left."

As they began walking toward Nextera E-Sports, a figure stood on a nearby rooftop, observing them intently.

A deep voice rumbled from the shadows, "There you are."

" About half a month has passed, but Faria and I only conversed in-game for game-related matters. She hasn't given me any information yet, although she promised she would as soon as she could. I didn't discuss this online as per her request, fearing exposure," Tamim reflected while engaged in a game with his team at NextEra E-sports, he was not playing but looking at the screen.

Samia spoke up. "Tomorrow's the selection round. I'm sure we'll breeze through it."

Rafi grinned. "Yeah, I think we have a real shot at the world cup this year."

"I hope so. But first, we've got to win the nationals," Fahim chimed in, keeping his focus on the screen.

Riya suddenly shushed everyone. "Quiet, guys! Faria's in trouble because of your chatter. We've all been eliminated, and now she's facing a 1v5 with just a sniper at close range. Stop distracting her!"

Faria's voice remained calm. "It's fine, I'm not bothered."

Moments later, a victory screen flashed on all their monitors—Faria had somehow pulled off the impossible.

"Wow, you turned a no-win situation into a win! That was insane!" Samia exclaimed, her voice full of admiration.

"Faria, can you wait for me after today's practice?" Tamim asked.

Everyone's attention shifted towards Tamim since he hadn't been conversing much with Faria lately, especially in front of them.

"No worries, I've got the papers from the University," Faria replied, smoothing over the situation.

"Great, she saved me. I awkwardly stumbled in my conversation," thought Tamim. "I thought you forgot," Tamim said aloud.

"Are you both in the same university?" Riya inquired.

"Yes, same university and class, I think I've mentioned that earlier " Faria confirmed.

"Oh ya..just remembered, sorry." Replied Riya.

After practice, Fahim excused himself, leaving Tamim and Faria alone in the street.

Faria handed some papers to Tamim.

"What are these for?" Tamim asked.

"To turn the lie into the truth," replied Faria.

She added, "I understand why you called me, but unfortunately, I don't have any available way to gather information about Dr. X."

"Why is that? You were able to provide precise information before, and I know you're somehow connected to the police or the department working against Dr. X," Tamim persisted.

"Ahh, you still believe that? I'm afraid there's nothing I can say. I think it's not safe to talk while walking on the road. How about we go to the Butterfly Lake bridge and talk there?" suggested Faria.

Tamim thought, "She's suggesting a specific place; she must have some connection there, so I'll go along."

"Alright," Tamim agreed.

Butterfly Lake bridge -

Tamim and Faria stood on the bridge's walkway.

"I never intended to disclose this to anyone, but your misconception about me is making things awkward," Faria expressed to Tamim.

"What are you trying to say?" Tamim asked.

"The idea that I work for the police, it's a misconception. My dad is a Supercop of the Sup-13 project. He was one of the key officers working on Dr. X's mission, and I merely hacked into his Operation file and his account to gather information. Unfortunately, now his account and files are closed off, so I can't access the info anymore. My father hasn't returned home for a while, especially after that night about fifteen days ago when all his team members died while fighting monsters. He's the only survivor from his department that day," explained Faria.

"Oh, you mean that night when we went to the forest," Tamim clarified.

"Yes, if I'd been late that day, I wouldn't have been able to save my father. Fortunately, I did save him, but he didn't recognize me," Faria recounted.

"And you managed to hack into government files without setting off any security alerts? That's quite impossible and sounds funny to me ," Tamim remarked.

"I used my dad's phone to access the information directly. Since the IP address matched mine, it didn't raise any red flags," explained Faria.

"Ah, she's skilled at hacking. That's an interesting aspect of her abilities," Tamim thought.

"I won't be able to share any information until I have a better understanding of the situation or meet my dad. But I'll keep you informed if I do," Faria assured him.

"Why did you decide to lend me a hand?" Tamim inquired.

"I'm not exactly helping you, to be honest. None of us are truly helping each other; it's more about mutual use. Anyway, I have to head home," stated Faria as she began walking away.

Tamim contemplated, "I don't entirely trust her, but I still need her assistance to reach Dr. Shohan." Watching her depart, he pondered over her words.

After a while, Tamim arrived home and opened the door. He stepped inside, closing it behind him, and walked toward the sofa. He collapsed onto it, thinking, "I should stop worrying about all this crap. The training Paul gave me to control my powers feels like a total waste of time."

He reached for the remote and turned on the TV, its soft hum filling the room. "Maybe it wasn't a complete waste"he mused. "I'm calmer now than I used to be. All I did before was some basic meditation and watched a few tutorials online, but Paul... he helped me figure out what really mattered. I've gotten stronger without even pushing my body that hard."

Tamim glanced at his phone, thinking, "Maybe I should just focus on Esports" and began absentmindedly scrolling through social media, letting the soothing background music from the TV melt into the atmosphere.

A sudden ring from the doorbell snapped him out of his daze.

Frowning, Tamim got up and checked the door camera. It was Paul.

"Paul?"he thought, confused. He opened the door.

"Yo, bro, what's up? I'm back," Paul greeted with a grin.

"Wait, didn't you leave the city?" Tamim asked, still surprised.

"Yeah, I did, but I came to visit you, man. I was missing you maynn.." Paul pushed past him into the house, casually throwing out, "Now let me in."

Tamim shut the door behind him and said "Missing me?"

"Of course! Didn't you miss me?" Paul shot back.

"Nah..why would I?" Tamim replied.

"You sure about that? You sure missed me " Paul teased.

Tamim chuckled and reached to fully close the door, but something resisted. He pushed harder, feeling a force pressing back against it.

His eyes darted to the door and saw it—a glowing yellow hand holding it open.

Before Tamim could react, the hand shoved the door with incredible force, sending both him and the door flying across the room. The door crashed to the floor with Tamim beneath it.

Paul spun around at the sound and froze, his expression turning from playful to stunned. Standing in the doorway was a figure clad in radiant golden armor, complete with one sword strapped to his back. His face was hidden behind a gleaming helmet, his presence overwhelming.

Paul's lips curled into a wired smile.

Tamim groaned, pushing the door off himself and scrambling to his feet. His eyes locked onto the armored figure. "What the hell.. What the hell is this ?!"

Paul suddenly changed the expression to fear as the armored figure finally spoke, his gaze shifting to Paul. "You don't look familiar."

"Answer my damn question!" Tamim growled, his voice steadying as he stepped forward. "Who the hell are you, and what do you think you're doing?"

The figure turned his attention back to Tamim. "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is why I'm here"

A glowing book materialized in the figure's hand. From its pages, he pulled out a golden sword, its brilliance illuminating the room.

"Huh?" Tamim Said.

"I've come to kill you." Figure Replied.

Paul, stepping back, muttered nervously, "Tamim... is this the villain you've been training to fight?"

Tamim narrowed his eyes. "No, but he might be sent by him."

The figure scoffed. "Villain? I'm no villain. I'm a hero—here to prevent the destruction of the multiverse by eliminating a dangerous version of myself."

" A ..what? And multiverse? Wow that sounds cool" Sais Paul.

" What are you talking about, what's cool ?" Tamim asked Paul.

Paul cut in with a smirk. "Dude, he just said you're like, some kind of variant from another universe or timeline ! That's kind of cool, right?"

Tamim shot Paul a confused glare. "Cool?! What's wrong with you suddenly ?"

The armored figure sighed. "It seems you don't understand." Slowly, he began removing his helmet.

As his face was revealed, both Tamim and Paul stood frozen in shock. The man's face was almost identical to Tamim's—shorter hair, more mature features, a bit taller, and with a beard covering his jawline. He looked Tamim dead in the eyes and said, "I am you."

Tamim's thoughts raced. "This is impossible! How does he look exactly like me?"

The figure continued, unsheathing one of his swords. "I come from a different timeline. In my reality, you're the reason the entire multiverse will be destroyed. Killing you is the only way to rewrite reality and save it."

He drew his second sword, his voice cold and steady. "I'm here to kill you."