Echoes of a broken time

Eiser stumbled forward, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The world around him refused to stay still—shadows stretched unnaturally, buildings twisted into impossible angles, and the sky flickered between night and day like a dying lightbulb.

He pressed his palm against a cold, cracked wall, trying to steady himself. His mind felt like it was splitting apart, memories overlapping in ways that made no sense. He had been here before. Or had he? The more he tried to grasp onto a solid memory, the more they slipped like sand through his fingers.

"This isn't real," he muttered. But even his voice sounded distant, like an echo traveling across centuries.

A ripple surged through the air, distorting everything around him for a brief moment. A street that had been empty was suddenly bustling with people—people wearing clothes from different eras, all layered on top of one another like ghostly projections. He watched in horror as some of them walked through each other, oblivious to their own impossibility.

"Eiser Grains," a voice called.

He turned sharply. A woman stood at the edge of the shifting street, her coat billowing in a wind that didn't seem to exist. She was calm, her dark eyes locking onto him with an intensity that made his skin crawl.

"Who are you?" Eiser asked, though his voice wavered with uncertainty. He wasn't sure if he had spoken those words before.

"You're unraveling," she said, stepping closer. "The paradox inside you is awakening, and reality can barely hold its shape around you."

Eiser's pulse pounded. He wanted to step back, to retreat into some semblance of sanity, but there was nowhere to go—every direction led to more distortions, more cracks in time itself.

"What do you mean? What's happening to me?" he demanded.

The woman tilted her head. "You don't belong here. Not in this moment. The universe is trying to correct itself."

"Correct itself? By breaking?" He gestured around them as another pulse rolled through the air, turning a nearby car into an old-fashioned carriage for a heartbeat before it flickered back.

"By erasing you."

A chill ran down Eiser's spine. He felt it now, the pull at the edges of his existence, as if something unseen was trying to wipe him away like a smudge on a painting.

"Come with me," the woman said, extending a hand. "If you want to survive."

Eiser hesitated, glancing at her outstretched hand. He didn't trust her. But trust didn't matter right now—because the alternative was letting time itself erase him.

With a deep breath, he took her hand.

The moment their fingers touched, the world shattered around them.

Light shot up from the ground, blinding and all-consuming. Eiser felt weightless, as though his body had been stripped away, leaving only his consciousness drifting through the void. For a moment, there was nothing—no sound, no time, no existence.

Then, sensation returned. His body reformed, solid ground beneath his feet. But everything was different.

He stood in a vast chamber of shimmering glass-like walls, reflecting endless variations of himself. Some older, some younger, some unrecognizable. The air felt thick with power, as though time itself breathed within these walls.

"Where... are we?" he whispered, his voice trembling.

The woman released his hand. "Welcome to the Nexus," she said. "The center of all time."

Eiser turned in a slow circle, taking in the sight before him. The reflections within the walls were not simply mirrors; they moved independently, showing moments of his past and glimpses of futures that had yet to unfold. He saw himself as a child, laughing with his mother. Another reflection showed him older, standing atop a crumbling skyscraper, his hands glowing with a strange, golden light.

He swallowed hard. "This... this isn't possible."

"Nothing is impossible here," the woman said. "The Nexus exists outside of time itself. It is the place where all realities converge."

Eiser turned back to her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Selene," she said, her voice steady. "And I am here to help you understand what you are."

Eiser narrowed his eyes. "And what exactly am I?"

Selene hesitated for a moment before speaking. "You are a Paradox, Eiser. A living contradiction. You exist in multiple timelines at once, and the universe does not know what to do with you. That is why reality is breaking apart wherever you go."

Eiser's mind reeled. "That doesn't make any sense. I'm just... I'm just me."

"Are you?" Selene asked, stepping closer. "Tell me, Eiser—do you remember how you got here? Can you recall the exact moment that led you to this place?"

He opened his mouth to answer but stopped. His memories felt fractured, incomplete. There were flashes of different lives, different choices. He had died, hadn't he? Or had he been running? Had he been searching for something? It was all a tangled mess of shifting realities, and the more he tried to hold onto any single moment, the faster it slipped away.

Selene nodded knowingly. "You are starting to see it, aren't you? The cracks in your own existence."

Eiser clenched his fists. "If what you're saying is true, then what do I do? How do I stop this?"

Selene's expression darkened. "There is a way, but it will not be easy. The Nexus is the key. Within these halls, you will find answers—but you will also find danger. You are not the only one who has come here seeking control over time. There are others. Some who wish to repair the timeline... and some who wish to shatter it entirely."

A deep, resonant sound echoed through the chamber, and Eiser felt a sudden pressure in his chest. The reflections in the walls flickered, distorting violently as if something powerful was approaching.

Selene's eyes sharpened. "They're here. We have to move. Now."

"Who?" Eiser demanded, but she was already turning, striding toward a glowing archway at the far end of the chamber.

Eiser took one last look at the shifting images of himself before forcing his feet to move, chasing after Selene.

Whatever was coming for him, he wasn't ready.

But he had no choice.

Then, as they ran through the archway, a whisper brushed against Eiser's mind. A voice both distant and familiar.

> "I'm... still here."

Eiser skidded to a halt, his blood running cold. "Synn?"

Selene turned sharply. "What did you say?"

Eiser swallowed hard. "Synn. They were with me when the light took us. I heard them just now. But they're... gone."

Selene's face darkened. "Not gone. Displaced. They've been scattered somewhere in time. And if we don't find them soon... they may never return."

A cold dread settled over Eiser. He had already lost so much. He wouldn't lose Synn too.

Clenching his fists, he nodded. "Then let's find them. Before time erases them forever."