The Breaking Point

I can't sleep.

Not after what I saw.

That man—or whatever he was—looked at me like I was part of something I never signed up for. Something I didn't ask to inherit.

All night, my hands shake. Every clock in the apartment ticks wrong. My alarm skips seconds. Even the microwave timer blinks like it's unsure what hour it is.

I stay quiet. I don't want to scare Mom. She's already working two jobs. Already exhausted. She doesn't need to know that her son might accidentally freeze the world.

So I stay up. Drawing. Thinking. Listening.

And then… I hear it.

A boom. Not thunder. Louder. Deeper. It shakes the window.

I rush to the roof. The whole city is lit up in red and gold—fire swirling in the sky like it's alive. Sirens wail from every direction. The skyline flickers. I hear screaming.

It's happening again.

But this time—it's not just one man.

There are others.

I see shadows in the smoke. Figures moving unnaturally fast. Electricity crackling from one of them. Another lifts a chunk of road with his bare hands. These aren't normal people.

And they're not saving anyone.

I start to run.

⸻

By the time I reach the plaza, it's chaos. Glass litters the streets. Power lines spark like angry snakes. And right in the middle of it—Marcus.

He's helping a little kid get out from under a collapsed bench. His eyes find me, wide with fear.

"Kai!" he yells.

I don't get to answer.

A figure drops from above—tall, armored, with glowing red eyes. One of them. One of the others. He sees Marcus.

And charges.

I move.

Faster than I ever have before. Time bends. Everything slows. But I'm not fast enough.

The strike lands.

Marcus flies back—hits a wall hard—and slumps to the ground, not moving.

No. No no no.

I run to him, skidding to my knees. He's breathing. Barely.

"Stay with me," I whisper.

But I know.

Something inside me knows.

He's not going to make it.

Lio appears—out of nowhere. She drops beside me, hands glowing. "Let me try!" she says.

But when she touches him, the glow dims. Her face falls.

She's too late.

And I break.

I scream. And time listens.

It collapses.

Everything folds inward. The city warps. People vanish. Fire reverses. Rain freezes midair.

And I see him again—the man from before.

"You'll regret this," he says.

But I don't care.

I reach inside myself. Deeper than ever.

And I change it.

I rewind everything.

Back to when Marcus is alive. Before the figure drops. Before the disaster unfolds.

It works.

He's okay. He's okay—

But the sky cracks.

Not physically. Temporally.

A line opens in the air—like a tear in a film reel. I see flashes. Possible futures. Possible deaths. And I know I've done something wrong.

I saved him.

But I broke something else.

And time… will make me pay.