Glimpse of the Past

Toshi's face remained an impenetrable mask as he absorbed Ikaris' words, his eyes flickering like distant stars while his mind wrestled with this bizarre, unprecedented idea.

"Energy?... Manipulation?..." he murmured slowly, as if tasting the meaning of each word for the very first time. A heavy silence stretched taut between them, laden with the unvoiced weight of countless hidden thoughts.

Then, releasing a resigned exhale that seemed to carry the fatigue of countless battles, he squared his shoulders. "Alright. Whatever this is, show me how to do it."

A wry smile curved Ikaris' lips—a smile imbued with centuries of secret knowledge and quiet amusement. "Such arrogance," he declared with an almost playful distaste.

Before Toshi could offer even the slightest retort, Ikaris evaporated from sight.

It wasn't a mere flash of speed—it was something altogether more uncanny. One moment, Ikaris stood a mere breath away from him; the next, he appeared behind him as if summoned by some mysterious force. The shift was so unnatural it felt as if reality itself had been manipulated to accommodate his presence.

Toshi barely had time to widen his eyes in shock when—

A force, alien and unlike anything he had ever encountered, struck him with indiscriminate brutality.

A hand—unmistakably not Ikaris' but one of those strange, otherworldly appendages he had glimpsed earlier—materialized from thin air and slammed into Toshi's chest with devastating impact.

The blow was cataclysmic.

Toshi's body was hurled backward, crashing against the rough, time-worn cave wall with a sickening crack, the sound echoing ominously through the hollow space. The air filled with a swirling cloud of dust and debris as he groaned, struggling desperately to rise while his head spun uncontrollably. Every nerve in his body cried out in protest from the violent trauma, his ribs aching as if they were being crushed by an invisible vise.

Harsh, ragged gasps tore from his lungs as air was cruelly forced from within. His ears rang like distant bells, and his entire being trembled with the aftershocks of the assault. He had endured brutal attacks before, yet this one was altogether different—its force devoid of mass, yet it hit with the relentless might of an unstoppable landslide.

"What... was that?!" he spat through gritted teeth, each word strained against the pain as he struggled to gather himself.

Ikaris barely deigned a glance in his direction, his tone flat and almost disinterested. "The very power you're so casually dismissing," he remarked. "The force that could end the world without a second thought."

Toshi ground his teeth together, anger simmering just beneath the surface like molten lava. Summoning every ounce of strength, he forced himself to stand, his body trembling involuntarily from the raw exertion. "Tch… You seem to be enjoying this, don't you?" he challenged, his voice rough with pent-up fury.

Ikaris chuckled lowly, a sound that carried a mixture of amusement and something far more enigmatic. "More than you realize," he admitted with a hint of condescension.

Toshi's fist clenched, quivering with rage, but before he could launch into any further action—

"Let's not waste any more time," Ikaris interjected casually, his tone as cool as if dismissing a trivial matter, as if he had long since abandoned any attachment to the sprawling spectacle.

Toshi inhaled sharply, his breath ragged as the promise of revelation loomed. *So he's finally going to show me—* his thoughts collided with anticipation.

"Let's delve into your mind first," Ikaris declared, his voice resonant with ancient authority.

*What?* Toshi wondered, stunned into silence.

Before he could muster a protest, Ikaris snapped his fingers.

In that instant, the world around him began to collapse.

Everything shattered like delicate glass— the rugged cave, the cool, still air, even the firm ground underfoot disintegrated into a cascade of nothingness.

Then—

Darkness.

A suffocating, endless void that swallowed all light.

A heartbeat later, Toshi hit solid ground—hard and unyielding.

His feet met with the firm, uncompromising earth, though it was no longer the familiar cave he had known. He was… somewhere else.

Earth.

His breath caught in his throat as he took in his surroundings. The air carried a different essence altogether, the sky sprawled overhead in vast, open splendor, and a distant hum of life pulsed softly in his ears. This was no illusion—it felt as real as the pounding of his own heart.

A long, winding street unfurled before him, its familiarity mingling uneasily with elements of an otherworldly strangeness. Down the road, he caught sight of a young boy sprinting, his every movement charged with the urgency of one fleeing from a fate too dire to name.

The child's face remained vaguely obscured, yet his posture and frantic energy told a tale of terror—he was clearly desperately fleeing from something unseen. An almost tangible aura of fear radiated from him, but what made the scene eerily unforgettable was a faint, unearthly yellow light that encircled the boy.

It was not ordinary at all. It was not something human.

It was clear—the child was manipulating something beyond human comprehension.

Toshi's whole body tensed, every muscle coiling in silent alarm. *What am I seeing? Who is that?* his thoughts echoed in his mind.

The boy stumbled, tripping over the irregular pavement, his sprints interrupted by a painful tumble as he rolled across the unforgiving concrete. A distant voice called his name, barely audible above the cacophony of his frenzied escape, yet the child pressed on relentlessly. His bloodied hands trembled as he forced himself up, each movement driven by sheer survival instinct.

Before Toshi could edge closer to grasp the unfolding mystery—

He was whisked away. Again.

This time, the atmosphere itself was transformed—the air grew thick with oppressive heat, and sweat knotted on his skin as his world shifted.

Before him, a house burned fiercely, its walls consumed by ravenous flames that licked outward as though an explosion had ripped through its very soul. The searing heat was palpable, oppressive, enveloping him like a stifling, iron grip that squeezed the life from the moment.

A metallic tang filled his mouth while his heart pounded as though in a frantic escape of its own. Yet, amid the chaos and acrid smell of burning wood, there lingered a disquieting familiarity.

This house—it felt too familiar.

He knew this place.

Or did he?

Then, amid the roaring chaos, a voice emerged—soft, yet carrying an unmistakable chill that slithered down his spine.

"Ru?... Are you there?" it whispered, its sound distant and fragile, as if it were barely audible above the crackling inferno. The voice held an eerie, otherworldly tone, its resonance empty and hollow—as if the speaker were questioning their very existence.

A surge of indescribable emotion crashed over Toshi—a relentless pressure, an overwhelming sense of something fundamental slipping just beyond his grasp.

His chest constricted as if squeezed by invisible hands. Something was undeniably amiss.

The flames danced in unnatural, erratic patterns, and the smoke curled upward in spirals that defied natural law, while embers hung suspended in midair as though time itself had been paused.

This was not merely a recollection.

It was something deeper—a buried secret etched into the very fabric of his existence.

At the very edge of the inferno, a shadowy figure emerged.

Quietly watching.

Patiently waiting.

The disembodied voice sounded again, now startlingly close.

"Ru… I know you're here."

Suddenly, the air around him plummeted in temperature, a biting cold that crept into his core.

His pulse thundered in his ears as the figure stepped forward from the burning wreckage. For the first time, Toshi could see its features clearly.

And the sight sent his world careening off its axis.

For the person standing before him—locked in a silent, frozen ballet with the flames—was none other than his own reflection.

The inferno roared higher, and the air vibrated with an ancient, unsettling energy. The dancing reflection of the flames sparkled in the other man's eyes, but his expression held neither fear nor anger—it was one of infinite understanding and a knowing smirk that whispered of dark secrets.

Taking a slow, unsteady step forward, Toshi managed to ask in a trembling voice, "Who... are you?"

His reflection simply grinned wider, as if amused by the tangled layers of his destiny.

Then, in a final, shattering moment, the world around them crumbled into chaos once more.

Chapter End.