That night, Aarav couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the glowing fracture in the air and heard the Guardian's voice echoing in his mind. The broken-clock mark on his palm glowed faintly in the darkness, pulsing slowly like a second heartbeat.
Suddenly, everything went silent. Not normal silence—complete stillness. The fan above him stopped mid-spin. The sounds of traffic outside vanished. Even the air felt frozen.
Time had stopped again.
But this time, Aarav didn't panic. He slowly sat up in his bed and looked around.
"I know someone's here," he said quietly.
The air in front of him began to ripple, like water disturbed by a stone. A distortion formed, bending the light around it. Slowly, a figure stepped out from the shimmer.
It was a boy.
About his age.
Same height.
Same face.
Aarav's heart skipped.
The boy's eyes glowed faint silver instead of blue, and a thin scar crossed his eyebrow.
"You're slower than I expected," the boy said calmly.
Aarav stared at him in shock. "Who are you?"
The boy gave a small smile.
"I'm you."
The words felt impossible.
"That's not possible," Aarav whispered.
"It is," the other version replied. "Just not from this time."
Aarav's breath became shallow. "You're from the future?"
"Yes."
The future-Aarav walked slowly around the room, looking at everything like he remembered it.
"You've broken time," he continued. "But you don't understand what that really means."
"Then explain it," Aarav demanded.
Future-Aarav stopped and looked at him seriously.
"When you cracked the clock tower, you weakened the barrier between moments. Time isn't a straight line anymore."
Aarav frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means the past, present, and future are starting to bleed into each other."
As if proving his words, the walls flickered. For a split second, Aarav saw his room burned and destroyed. Then it shifted again—empty and covered in dust like years had passed. Then everything returned to normal.
His heart pounded.
"This is just the beginning," future-Aarav said. "Soon, fractures will open everywhere. Some will freeze cities. Some will age people in seconds. Some will erase entire moments."
"Why are you telling me this?" Aarav asked.
"Because in my timeline," the older version replied quietly, "you fail."
The word hit hard.
"You lose control. The fractures multiply. The Slow World takes over."
Aarav clenched his fists. "No. I won't let that happen."
"That's what I said too," future-Aarav replied calmly.
Silence filled the frozen room.
"So what do I do?" Aarav asked finally.
"You must master the flow of time before it masters you. The Guardians won't teach you everything. They protect balance—not people."
"Then who will help me?"
Future-Aarav's expression darkened.
"There are others like us. Breakers. But not all of them want to save the world."
A faint tremor shook the frozen air.
Future-Aarav turned toward the window.
"They've already started moving."
"Who?" Aarav asked urgently.
Instead of answering, future-Aarav stepped closer and grabbed his wrist. The broken-clock mark on both of their palms began glowing brightly.
"You have three days," he said quietly.
"Three days for what?"
"To stop the next major fracture."
A loud cracking sound echoed across the sky. Even though time was frozen, the sound felt real.
The window glass shattered outward.
Through the broken frame, Aarav saw something terrifying.
High above the city skyline, a massive glowing crack stretched across the sky like a scar. Lightning pulsed inside it.
"It's bigger than the clock tower," Aarav whispered.
"Yes," future-Aarav replied softly. "And if it fully opens, the Slow World becomes permanent."
The air began distorting violently around them.
Future-Aarav's body started flickering.
"Our timelines are rejecting each other," he said. "I can't stay much longer."
"Wait!" Aarav shouted. "How do I stop it?"
Future-Aarav looked at him one last time.
"Trust your instincts. And don't trust everyone who calls themselves a Guardian."
His body broke apart into fragments of silver light.
"One more thing," he added faintly. "You're stronger than you think."
Then he disappeared.
Time restarted violently.
The fan spun again. Night sounds returned. The window was whole as if nothing had happened.
Aarav stood in the middle of his room, breathing heavily.
He rushed to the window and looked at the skyline.
At first, everything seemed normal.
Then—
High above the buildings—
A faint glowing line shimmered across the sky.
Not visible to everyone.
But visible to him.
Three days.
Aarav looked at the glowing mark on his palm.
This wasn't just about power anymore.
It was about survival.
And somewhere in the city—