I woke up in the middle of the night to the shrill vibration of my phone echoing across the room. The glow of the screen cut through the darkness, pulsing like a heartbeat. My head still throbbed faintly from the stitches, wrapped tightly under the bandages, but curiosity overpowered the pain.
"Who's calling me at this hour?" I mumbled, dragging myself out of bed. I squinted at the caller ID — Face call request.
Seriously? At 2 A.M.?
I tapped to answer. Sariya's face filled the screen, half-lit by the warm glow of her bedside lamp. Her hair was messy, her eyes sleepy, yet somehow she still looked radiant.
"Oh, he did give me the right number," she said with a satisfied grin.
I blinked, trying to catch up. "Uh… hi."
"Malique gave it to me, by the way," she added quickly, almost like she had to explain herself.
Of course he did. That sounded exactly like him.
"Oh, did he now?" I said with a smirk. "What do I owe the pleasure of this late-night surprise?"
She tilted her head and giggled. "I was checking on you, silly. You know the whole school's talking about what happened, right?"
"I didn't know I was famous," I replied, scratching the back of my head awkwardly.
She laughed again, her laughter light and unfiltered. "You kind of look like a mummy with all those bandages."
I looked into the camera and chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I do. All I'm missing is a tomb and a curse."
Her smile softened, and her gaze dropped briefly off-camera. "That wasn't really why I called, though."
Something about her tone shifted — like the air between us changed. I straightened up, suddenly more awake. "Then… why'd you call?"
She hesitated, lips parting and closing as if trying to find the courage to finish her thought. I couldn't read her energy from a distance; without proximity, my connection to people's emotions was faint — just soft ripples instead of waves.
Finally, she exhaled. "I was wondering…" She paused again, nervously twirling a strand of hair. "If you like to go to the homecoming dance with me?"
I froze. "Me?"
Before she could even react, I blurted, "Yes."
Her cheeks flushed, and she smiled wide — that genuine kind of smile that hits harder than any sunlight. "Are you going to school tomorrow?"
I shook my head. "No, still in surgery recovery. Just one day. I wish I could be there, though."
"Oh, okay. I understand," she said softly. "Well, I hope you get better soon, Kaleb. I'll see you soon. Bye!"
"By—" My voice cracked embarrassingly. I cleared my throat and laughed. "Bye."
She laughed too, that melodic giggle echoing even after the screen went black.
A moment later, my mom's head peeked through the door, one eyebrow raised. "'I wish I could be'?" she mimicked. "I thought you didn't want to go to school."
I stayed quiet, staring at her, trying to keep my grin from showing.
Her smirk grew. "Who's the girl?"
"Someone I met in ninth grade," I said, playing it cool.
"Ahh, young love," she teased dramatically, pressing her hands over her heart.
"Mom," I groaned. "Cut it out."
She laughed and said warmly, "I'm happy for you, Kaleb." Then she left, closing the door gently behind her.
I sat down in the middle of my bed, still processing the conversation. My chest felt… lighter. I fell back onto my pillow and drifted into sleep, the faint echo of Sariya's giggle still replaying in my head.
Morning came with the slow warmth of sunlight sneaking through the blinds. I needed air. Space. So, I walked down to the beach near our neighborhood — something about the waves always helped me think.
The salty breeze hit my face, the soft hiss of the tide kissing the shore easing the static in my mind. The water brushed against my legs, cool and grounding. For a moment, I forgot about timelines, forgotten realities, and the chaos lurking behind every corner.
Peace. For once, I just wanted to exist.
But peace never lasts long for me.
Ever since I came back — since we came back — the past has been hunting me like a ghost I can't outrun. I could erase memories again, make everyone forget, start over... but it wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be fair. And the last time I tried something like that, it drained me dry — physically, mentally, spiritually.
Even if my power returned to full strength, I couldn't bring myself to use it that way again. These people… they have no idea they're living through a rewritten version of time. A copy of a copy, minus the cracks and scars I still carry.
I stopped walking, letting the waves curl around my ankles. I looked out toward the horizon where the ocean melted into the morning sky. This was my reality. My responsibility. And for better or worse — my fault.
That's when I felt it.
A chill that wasn't from the wind. A coldness that crawled up my spine like shadowed fingers. The clouds above started to move — not drift, move — as if something massive was forcing them together.
Then, the sky darkened.
A shape descended through the mist, tall and twisted, the air bending around its presence. I'd felt this energy before — dark, parasitic, suffocating.
Vesper. The Shadow Leech.
He landed down the coast, not too far, but far enough for me to see him clearly. His aura bled through the air, swallowing light like tar. My breath caught in my throat.
"What does he want…?" I whispered.
I started to back away, careful, quiet, trying not to draw his attention — until a scream pierced the sound of the waves. A child's scream.
My head snapped toward it. Vesper was holding a kid by the throat, dangling him like a broken toy. My hesitation vanished instantly.
I couldn't just stand there.
I sprinted across the sand, my feet pounding against the wet ground. Instinct took over. I reached him in seconds and threw a punch that connected with his jaw, hard enough to send him stumbling and release the child.
"Run!" I ordered, my voice low and cold.
Vesper straightened, his inky features twitching in amusement. "I know you," he said, tilting his head.
"No, you don't," I shot back. "Never met anyone who looks like an expired carton of milk."
His eyes flared white. In an instant, he blurred forward — speed beyond human, shadows curling around him. He gripped my collar and lifted me off the ground effortlessly.
"No regular person could hit me that hard," he hissed. "What are you?"
I struggled, trying to pry his grip loose, but his strength felt unreal.
He smirked. "Doesn't matter. You'll be dead soon anyway."
He formed a blade from the darkness — liquid shadow hardening into something sharp and alive. I braced for the strike.
Then — a blast of radiant energy cut through the air. A surge of yellow light slammed into Vesper's side, hurling him across the shore and straight into the ocean. The impact sent waves towering up the beach, crashing around me.
"What the—?" I muttered, scanning the sky. The energy was unlike anything I'd felt before — blinding yet pure.
Vesper rose from the water, fury twisting his voice into a snarl. The ocean beneath him blackened, turning to bubbling tar that solidified into jagged shards of glass. "Damn you!" he roared.
And then I heard it — a familiar voice, commanding and strong.
"Sun Blast!"
A golden beam tore through the clouds, splitting them open as it crashed down upon Vesper, enveloping him in burning light. The entire beach lit up like the sun had been reborn.
When the radiance faded, a silhouette descended through the clearing smoke.
He landed on the sand, eyes burning with golden fire.
It was my dad.