The Liminal Plane pulsed around them like a living, breathing organism. Pale light bled into the mist, outlining the glowing threads of energy that crisscrossed the void. Each thread seemed alive, humming with potential — the pulse of countless universes, the heartbeat of existence itself.
Shit Jessica tell me the hell, what just happened, oh Frankie you were swallowed by a worm hole and by the look of things it does seem safe. Jessica said.
Oh my god what of earth is everything ok there, Frank said. Looks ok, Jessica said.
Frank stood, Emily still trembling in his arms, and felt the full weight of what Jessica had said. Every fragment in every universe could sense him now. They were no longer hidden. They were exposed.
> "They'll come," Jessica whispered, her hologram flickering violently. "And they'll come in numbers you can't imagine."
Frank didn't answer. He couldn't. His eyes scanned the misty void, and in the distance, shapes began to form — shadows, darker and denser than before, twisting along the glowing energy veins like smoke on a stormy wind.
Emily's grip on his arm tightened. "Frank… they're everywhere."
> "Stay close," he said, his voice low, steady. "I won't let them touch you."
The first wave hit like a hurricane. Shadows lunged from the mist, their forms sharper, faster, more terrifying than anything he had seen in the courtyard. This time, they weren't random echoes. They were coordinated, moving as if a single mind directed them.
Frank dropped Emily gently behind a glowing thread of energy, gripping the metal pole he'd salvaged. The resonance from the last battle still pulsed inside him, coiling like fire in his veins. His eyes flared as he shouted, "Come on! Let's see what you've got!"
The shadows screamed, charging in waves. Frank's strikes were precise, devastating. Each swing of the pole disintegrated them into black mist that evaporated into the air, but no matter how many he destroyed, more took their place.
Jessica's hologram hovered beside him, flickering. "Frank… your Soul Thread is unstable! You need to synchronize fully with Emily — or you'll burn out!"
He glanced at Emily. She was watching him with wide, terrified eyes, golden aura faintly flickering like candlelight in the storm. But she didn't run. She didn't scream. She… understood.
> "Frank… I can try," she said softly, her voice trembling. "But I've never done this before…"
He shook his head. "Then we do it together."
He reached out, placing a hand on hers. Instantly, golden threads shot from her soul into his, intertwining with his own like molten light spiraling into steel. He felt the pulse, the surge, the awareness of a thousand lifetimes condensed into a single heartbeat.
Power exploded.
The shadows recoiled, shrieking, as a brilliant aura of white and gold engulfed them. Frank's eyes glowed, the edges of his vision tinged with colors he had no names for — spectral lights of worlds beyond comprehension.
> "Full synchronization — now!" Jessica urged.
Frank focused, feeling Emily's heartbeat synchronize with his own. Memories, fragments, echoes of other realities merged in his mind. He saw glimpses of countless Emilys in countless worlds, each one tied to a fragment, each one facing shadows of their own. One thought crystallized in his mind: This isn't just a battle. It's the first ripple of a war that spans the multiverse.
The shadows lunged again, but this time Frank moved differently. Faster. Smarter. Every strike was a conversation with Emily's energy, every block and parry a dance between their souls. The misty void lit up with bursts of white and gold as they tore through the first wave, leaving only echoes of screams that faded like dying winds.
> "You're… incredible," Emily whispered, awe in her voice despite the chaos.
Frank didn't respond. He was alive in the moment, alive in the power of the resonance. But beneath that, a seed of fear grew. They had only seen a glimpse of his power. The fragments would come stronger. They would adapt.
---
Hours — or maybe minutes; time had lost meaning — passed in a blur of light, shadows, and energy. The first wave was gone, but the air was heavy, charged with anticipation. Then, from the far reaches of the Liminal Plane, a different presence emerged.
It was taller, broader, and darker than the rest. Shadows rolled off its form like smoke, but its movements were deliberate, intelligent. A deep hum vibrated through the entire void, resonating with the threads of energy and making Frank's chest ache.
> "That's… the leader," Jessica said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Every fragment follows its signal. If it reaches you…"
Before she could finish, the shadow moved.
The leader struck with blinding speed, faster than Frank had ever reacted. Its hand connected with the ground, and a shockwave rolled across the misty void, scattering lesser shadows like leaves in a storm.
Frank reacted instinctively, swinging his pole, but the strike barely grazed the entity. It moved like liquid, flowing around attacks, its power radiating like a black sun.
Emily screamed, her energy flaring uncontrollably. "Frank!"
He caught her just as a pulse of dark energy erupted from the leader, sending them both skidding across a glowing energy vein. Pain lanced through his arm, burning like fire. His Soul Thread was straining — and he knew, with a sinking dread, that this entity wasn't testing him. It was preparing to destroy everything in its path.
> "Frank… you need to—" Jessica began.
"I know!" he shouted, cutting her off.
He rose to his feet, ignoring the pain. The golden threads connecting him to Emily flared, burning brighter than ever. He closed his eyes, feeling the pulse of the multiverse beneath his feet, around him, within him. He was not just fighting for survival. He was fighting for existence itself.
The leader advanced, and Frank met it head-on.
Their clash shook the very fabric of the Liminal Plane. Light and darkness collided in deafening bursts. Shadows screamed. The leader's strikes were precise, adaptive, deadly — but Frank's resonance allowed him to anticipate, to react, to evolve.
Emily's golden aura flared wildly, her soul energy adding strength to his. Each pulse they sent together radiated through the void, illuminating fragments of other realities.
And then, the unimaginable happened.
A crack appeared beneath the leader's feet, jagged and glowing. Threads of energy from countless universes pulsed into the void, responding to Frank and Emily's combined power.
> "It's… reacting to you!" Jessica shouted.
Frank's eyes widened. The fragments weren't just enemies. They were conscious. They were alive. And this leader — the first true fragment — recognized them as a threat.
With a roar, Frank slammed his pole into the ground, channeling every ounce of his Soul Thread and Emily's resonance. Light exploded outward, tearing through the shadows like a supernova.
The leader screamed, a sound that was more felt than heard, and recoiled. The lesser shadows scattered in the blast, dissolving into the mist.
For a moment, silence.
Then, the leader rose again, more cautious now, its form flickering as if uncertain of its next move.
Frank gasped, collapsing to his knees, sweat and rain mingling. Emily was trembling, but alive. Her golden aura was dimmed, but steady.
> "We did it… for now," Jessica said softly.
Frank's gaze hardened. "For now… but they're not done. They'll come back, stronger. And this… this is just the beginning."
He looked at Emily. Her golden eyes met his, unafraid, trusting. And in that moment, he realized — they weren't just allies. They weren't just fragments of the multiverse. Together, they were a force that could defy the impossible.
> "We have to train," he said, voice low, determined. "We have to become stronger… faster than they can adapt."
Emily nodded. "I'll stay with you, Frank. No matter what."
Frank's chest tightened — part relief, part fear, part something else he didn't yet understand. In the distance, a whisper echoed through the Liminal Plane.
> 'Found you…'
And Frank knew. The war wasn't over. Not by a long shot. The fragments were coming. And this time… the multiverse itself would tremble.