The fractured city had fallen silent after the first clash, but Kael's chest still thrummed with the pulse of threads he didn't understand. Each thread was a sliver of possibility, a connection to countless versions of himself scattered across timelines. He could feel them quivering like live wires inside him, demanding release.
"Focus, Kael," Aris said, floating above the cracked asphalt. His golden Chrono Barrier shimmered faintly, slowing the air inside. "Threads are not just power—they are your connection to time and reality. You can manipulate them, or they will consume you."
Kael frowned. "Manipulate… how?"
Aris gestured at a shard of the street that floated upside down above them. "See that? That's a fragment from a parallel timeline. Every time your threads flare uncontrollably, reality weakens in spots, and alternate timelines peek through. You fight in multiple layers at once, even if your body is in one place."
Kael's eyes widened as the shard flickered. Inside it, he could see a version of himself running through a street that didn't exist here—a city built entirely from crystal spires and floating rivers of light. And in that street, humans with silver skin and eyes like molten glass moved as though they were hunting him.
Before he could process it, a scream echoed. From the fractured rift in front of him, a bizarre creature lunged: a massive wolf-like animal, body made of shifting starlight, eyes pulsing with cosmic energy. Its claws tore into the air, each strike leaving miniature tears in reality that revealed glimpses of other worlds—forests of glowing crystal, rivers flowing upward, cities of liquid metal.
Kael stumbled back. Threads writhed inside him, almost responding on instinct. One sliver extended outward, wrapping around the wolf's claws and dampening the energy it emitted. He didn't even think about it—it was reflex. The threads hummed. This was his first semi-conscious control.
"Good. But not enough," Aris warned. "You're only connecting a fraction of your threads. Each thread links to a possibility, a future you might become. Clones, alternate selves, even fragments of potential power—if you ignore them, they'll fight against you."
From the edges of the rift, three clones of Kael emerged. Each one slightly different—one taller and muscular, another almost spectral, the third with silver streaks across his skin, eyes glowing blue. They moved independently, attacking in perfect coordination, each using powers Kael hadn't even imagined yet: fire erupting from palms, gravity warping strikes, blades formed from condensed time itself.
Kael felt panic rise, but the threads responded. He pulled, and the clone with blue eyes hesitated, its body caught between timelines for a fraction of a second. He realized the threads could distort time locally, slowing enemies, or even merging attacks across timelines.
Aris descended, his staff glowing with cosmic light. "I can hold some of them off, but you must act!" He unleashed Chrono Waves, pulses of slowed time that forced two clones to move in slow motion. The cosmic wolf lunged at Kael again—he grabbed a thread and struck. The energy wrapped around the beast, tearing a temporary rift that sent it into a side timeline.
Kael's chest burned. Threads flared, glowing like molten gold. He felt the pull of multiple possibilities—the spectral clone, the muscular one, and the blue-eyed one. Each one a potential outcome of his life. The threads hummed louder than ever.
Then Aris shouted, voice splitting across reality: "Watch closely! You can synchronize your threads with theirs—you can fight all versions of yourself at once!"
Kael concentrated. He reached out with the threads, connecting to each clone. Images of himself across countless timelines swirled before his eyes: versions fighting, versions dying, versions laughing, versions afraid. With a pulse of thought and instinct, the threads responded. The clones froze, then moved in unison with Kael's own will, performing a single synchronized strike against the wolf.
The cosmic wolf howled, claws tearing at the fabric of reality, but the combined attack struck it squarely. It vanished in a burst of starlight, leaving a shimmer of rifts behind.
Kael gasped, chest heaving. "I… I did it?"
Aris smiled faintly. "This is just the beginning. Every fight will awaken more threads, reveal more timelines, and push your control. But remember—the stronger your power, the more unstable reality becomes. One misstep, and timelines collapse around you. And your enemies… they will adapt faster than you think."
Before Kael could reply, the ground beneath him cracked. A new rift opened, larger than before. Through it, bizarre humans with molten metal limbs and eyes that reflected multiple timelines streamed out, along with a creature resembling a winged lion made of liquid fire.
Kael's threads flared uncontrollably, sensing danger, power, and possibilities all at once. The world quivered. Time itself seemed to hesitate.