Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Price of Power

The air around Elias crackled with an energy so intense, it felt as though the very fabric of time and space were straining against his power. His muscles burned with exhaustion, his breath shallow, but he pushed on. He had to. His training had become an obsession, a need to grow stronger, to protect the people he loved.

As he closed his eyes and focused on the flow of energy around him, his body began to hum, the surge of power building within him. He gathered the essence of time, molding it into a delicate sphere, feeling the strands of fate weave around him. It was a dangerous task, something few could ever attempt. But he had to master it.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack. A force, raw and untamed, ripped through his concentration. The world around him blurred and began to twist. Time itself seemed to stretch and distort, dragging him in all directions. His body felt weightless, his vision spinning like a broken clock. A vortex of energy exploded out of him, the intensity blinding. And before he could even comprehend what was happening, the world around him vanished.

He was no longer in the familiar training space. Instead, he was suspended in a realm where time had no meaning. Silence filled the void, an endless expanse of nothingness. The air was thick, pulsating with a strange energy that seemed to bend the very essence of existence. In the distance, an elderly figure stood, his presence unsettling in its coldness.

The figure's robes seemed to shimmer and shift, as if they were affected by the flow of time itself. The man's hair, long and white, fell loosely around his shoulders, his face lined with the marks of countless years. But it was his eyes—deep and endless, as though they had seen lifetimes—that immediately struck Elias.

"You've arrived," the old man spoke, his voice echoing through the space, cold and distant. "I am you."

Elias blinked, the shock of the moment freezing him in place. "What... What do you mean, 'you'?"

The man gave him a cold smile, one that never reached his eyes. "I am you, from a time far beyond this moment. A future you."

Elias stepped back, a chill creeping down his spine. "This... this doesn't make sense. How is this possible?"

The future Elias—his older self—stepped forward, his movements smooth and precise. His clothes, dark and timeless, billowed in the strange atmosphere around them. He wore a long, flowing cloak that seemed to absorb the surrounding space, blending into the distorted air. His expression was unreadable, the lines on his face giving him an aura of immense experience and authority. But there was a coldness to him—an unapproachable, unfeeling demeanor that set Elias on edge.

"I've already seen it all, felt it all," Future Elias said, his voice almost monotone. "You will, too. But first, you must understand what you are destined to become. The trials ahead are unavoidable."

Elias's mind was reeling. "What's going on here? How did I get here? And why… why are you telling me all of this?"

The coldness in Future Elias's gaze deepened, and he spoke again, his words slow and deliberate. "This space is... beyond your understanding for now. It is the space between moments, a place where time has no hold. It's where I reside—where you will come to rest in time."

"But how did I get here?" Elias pressed, stepping closer, his eyes burning with confusion and urgency.

"This... is the benefit of being a timeline anomaly," Future Elias explained, his voice carrying the weight of centuries. "It's something you should be used to by now. You've already started to understand, haven't you? The changes in your body, the shifting timelines. Time is your ally, and your greatest enemy."

Elias's mind raced. "But… what about the people I care about? Aria... what happened to her?"

Future Elias's expression darkened, his gaze piercing. "Aria was the first to die. She and her sister were taken from this world. Their lives were stolen in the worst way imaginable. You... you will never be able to stop what is coming."

The words hit Elias like a blow to the chest. His knees wobbled, and he barely caught himself before falling. "No... No, not Aria..." His voice cracked, and his breath quickened. "She's dead? No... she can't be!"

Future Elias did not flinch, his coldness unwavering. "They were the first, Elias. The council, the forces that would hunt you down—they took her, and they took others. She never stood a chance."

Tears burned at Elias's eyes, but he refused to let them fall. His heart felt like it was being crushed, but still, he couldn't stop himself from asking, "And what about my other friends? What happens to them?"

"They all die," Future Elias replied, his voice devoid of any emotion. "But it won't matter. You will be left with nothing."

As Elias's despair consumed him, his eyes began to change. The blue in his irises bled away, replaced by a deep black that shimmered with unnatural light. His eyes flickered again, turning an eerie white as the time energy coursed through him. Future Elias frowned but said nothing.

Seeing the agony in Elias's eyes, Future Elias gave a slight sigh. "Let me tell you a story. It's a story of a boy—one who could have been a god."

The older Elias's voice softened slightly, as if the memory of the tale caused him some pain. "There was once a boy, born with infinite potential. A genius beyond comprehension, abandoned by the world, by his family, by everyone who should have cared for him. He didn't even know what he was. He didn't understand the world, its energies, or its people. But still, he grew."

The tale grew darker as Future Elias continued. "At his lowest, when his friends were murdered one by one, when they were defiled, that was when he understood. His existence was a calamity. He realized that being weak in this world... was a sin. But he couldn't escape it. They tried to kill him, but he couldn't die. And so they took his soul, and they trained him."

Elias's eyes widened. "Wait... that's... that's you, isn't it?"

Future Elias nodded slowly. "Yes. I am that boy. And my fate was sealed long ago."

"The boy became a weapon," Future Elias continued. "A servant to those who claimed him. He was forced into an existence of misery, abused by those who were betrothed to him by an ancient entity. These women—his wives—didn't love him. They used him, controlled him, tortured him emotionally. The white-haired one was kind, but pity is not love. The red-haired one was cruel, unrestrained, always insulting him. And the rainbow-haired one—she was the worst. She treated him like a slave in his own home."

Elias listened in horrified silence as Future Elias continued to recount his tragic story. "The boy grew colder, more distant. He played the game of the world, not for fun, but because he had nothing else to live for. He defeated the strongest beings, became a legend, but there was no joy in it. His power was his curse. And even then, it wasn't enough."

Future Elias paused, his gaze distant. "The boy... the man... reached the peak, but there was no higher place to go. He destroyed everything he touched, and in the end, he wished for death. But death would not come."

At last, the facade of the cold, unfeeling Future Elias broke. Tears welled in his eyes, his cold composure shattering. "I hate my life! I can't live, I can't die, I can't do anything!" he cried, his voice breaking. "They treat me like nothing. The white-haired one is kind, but it's not love. The red-haired one insults me at every turn, and the rainbow-haired one—she just looks at me with disdain, as if I'm beneath her."

Elias stood frozen, unable to comprehend the emotional storm unfolding before him. "I... I don't know how to comfort you," he murmured, his voice tinged with horror. "But if this is how it's going to be... is this... my future? Is this what I'm becoming?"

The thought chilled him to the bone. He couldn't breathe. His heart raced as he realized the terrifying truth: the man before him, the one who had been so cold and brutal, was his future self. And this… this was the fate he had to look forward to.