onabebesh

Alexander Holmes is immortal—bound to time, yet lost within it. When a scientist vanishes during a dangerous experiment, time fractures, and reality begins to unravel. Hunted by a shadowy creature and haunted by his forgotten past, Alexander must uncover the secret behind his curse to save her—and possibly all of time itself.

But as time unravels, one truth becomes terrifyingly clear:
He was never just a witness to history—he was its trigger.

The Timebound

The Third Round: The Mirror That Remembers You

The city outside was quiet, almost reverent—as if holding its breath for what came next. Inside the tower, the surviving participants waited in the war room, each avoiding mirrors, glass, even puddles. Reflections now whispered.

Alexander stood at the edge of the table, staring at his reflection in a blacked-out screen. His other self stared back with a smirk he didn't wear.

Mira paced. The others—Seth, Dana, and Cole—checked their watches. Only four could play. One must stay behind.

Then the lights flickered. The screen changed:

> "ROUND THREE: THE LABYRINTH OF THE SELF

OBJECTIVE: CONFRONT YOUR FORGOTTEN SIN

WARNING: FALSE REFLECTIONS MAY KILL.

It was a corridor of impossible angles. Walls tilted like memory collapsing under scrutiny. Every surface mirrored. But none showed what they should. Alexander passed a wall where his reflection screamed without sound.

Seth panicked first—pounding the glass, yelling, "That's not me! That's not me!"

The real Seth never screamed again.

Dana vanished next. One moment walking behind them. The next, gone. Her reflection simply blinked and disappeared.

Only three remained: Alexander, Mira, Cole.

They reached a chamber made of fractured glass. In its center stood a single chair facing a floor-length mirror.

> "One of you remembers what the others forgot.

Sit, and confess your true face. Or the mirror will choose for you."

Cole, trembling, stepped forward and sat.

Then he looked into the mirror and whispered, "I remember… the fire."

> "You burned it down. The orphanage. You told them it was lightning."

Beyond the chamber lay the Core Room—circular, surrounded by spiraling mirrors that reflected moments rather than bodies. Alexander saw fragments of himself: laughing with Mira, sitting alone on a rooftop, burying something deep beneath a tree he didn't recognize.

In the center of the room stood a door made of black glass. On it, etched in gold:

> "TO KNOW YOURSELF IS TO END YOURSELF."

Mira stopped him. "Don't. What if you're not ready?"

He looked into her eyes. "I don't think I ever was."

A room without light, and yet somehow visible—like memory without warmth. In its center stood a final mirror. But this one was… empty.

Eyes too old. Smile too sharp. It spoke with his voice.

> "I am the version you abandoned. The one that remembered everything. You locked me away when you decided to live clean. You made them erase you."

Alexander stepped back. "No… I didn't ask—"

> "You did. You begged. And now… the Game brings us together. For judgment."

Every lie Alexander had told. Every version of himself he'd buried. Every denial made flesh.

And she shattered the mirror from behind, her voice breaking through the void: "You don't win by being perfect. You win by choosing who you become."

The false Alexander screamed as the room fractured.

No trace of the others. The screen simply displayed:

Alexander blinked. His reflection stared back.

But this time… the smile was his.