The night sky rippled like a shattered mirror. Jagged streaks of light twisted through the air, warping everything they touched. Buildings flickered between ruin and stability, their foundations trembling under the weight of reality unraveling.

Ryu stood in the heart of the chaos, his breath steady despite the storm roaring around him. The raw instinct to survive gnawed at the edges of his thoughts, but he pushed it down, sharpening his focus.

He clenched his fists as fragments of memory gnawed at his mind—the flicker, the nightmare, and that cryptic, suffocating feeling that he'd been here before. He couldn't remember it clearly, but his gut told him one thing: this wasn't random.

They clearly had a connection.

And if it wasn't random, there had to be a way to stop it.

Maybe.

His gaze locked onto the epicenter of the chaos—a swirling distortion of light hovering above the street. Tendrils of energy arced from it, tearing through the air with crackling fury.

'Fuck. You're going straight into that thing?'

The rational part of his mind scoffed at the idea, but he shoved it aside. His options were limited, and standing here doing nothing wasn't one of them.

It meant instant death.

Well, maybe going into the flicker was death, too.

But he couldn't care less right now.

The flicker pulsed, a low hum vibrating through his bones. Each wave sent tremors through the ground, widening the cracks beneath his feet.

Ryu exhaled sharply, muscles coiling.

Then he ran.

The wind howled against him, tugging at his coat as he sprinted toward the flicker. The ground buckled and heaved, forcing him to adjust his footing with each step. Debris rained down from fractured buildings, but he didn't slow.

Not that he could. Space was quite literally pulling him towards it.

A jagged fissure opened directly in his path. Without hesitating, Ryu leaped over it, his boots skidding on loose gravel as he landed. His breath came in sharp bursts, but he kept moving.

Closer.

The flicker loomed ahead, its energy thrumming with chaotic intensity. The air around it shimmered, distorting the streetlights and shattered pavement into warped reflections.

His instincts screamed at him to stop.

Every survival instinct he had—honed through years of discipline—warned that stepping into that thing was suicide.

But the flicker wasn't just destruction. It was a door.

He didn't know how he knew that. He just did.

It would be funny if it was a one-way gate, though.

Ryu gritted his teeth and pushed forward. The distortion crackled violently as he closed the final distance. The light seared his vision, and the air grew thick, pressing against his skin like a living thing.

He didn't flinch.

With a final step, he plunged into the flicker.

The world shattered.

Light exploded around him, blinding and chaotic. For a moment, Ryu couldn't tell up from down. His body twisted in the void, weightless and disoriented.

A cacophony of sounds assaulted his senses—whispers, screams, and a low, relentless hum that gnawed at the edges of his thoughts.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

His breath caught in his throat as fragments of memory flashed before his eyes.

A hand reaching out.

A voice calling his name.

A flash of silver light.

Pain lanced through his skull, sharp and blinding. He gasped, clutching his head as the flicker's energy tore through him.

The memories came faster now, tangled and fragmented. Visions of a world both familiar and alien. Faces blurred by time and distance.

And always, the flicker.

It was there in every memory, pulsing at the edges of his awareness like a living wound.

Ryu's teeth clenched as he fought to hold onto himself. The flicker was trying to unravel him, to strip him down to nothing.

So, he had to remind himself that he existed.

'I think therefore I am!'

He gritted his teeth at how stupid it sounded. But now was not the time.

He forced his mind to focus, pulling himself back from the edge. The chaotic storm around him trembled, as though resisting his defiance.

Through the swirling light, a figure appeared.

At first, it was just a shadow—indistinct and flickering. But as it drew closer, the figure became clearer.

Ryu's breath caught.

It was him.

The figure stood tall, dressed in dark gray robes that shimmered with the same chaotic energy as the flicker. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes gleamed with a cold, knowing light.

"You again," the figure said, voice low and smooth.

Ryu's heart thundered in his chest. "Who the hell are you?"

The Other tilted his head, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "The better question is, who are you?"

The words hit harder than they should have.

Ryu clenched his fists. "I don't have time for riddles."

The Other's smile widened. "You always say that. Every time."

His breath hitched. "What are you talking about?"

"You'll figure it out," the Other said, taking a step closer. "But here's a hint: you're not here to stop the flicker."

Ryu's jaw tightened. "Then what am I here for?"

The Other's gaze was steady, unyielding. "To end it."

Before Ryu could respond, the flicker surged around him, and the world shattered into a blinding flash of light.

Then everything went dark.

And then there was light.

And then the light dimmed.

A sky was broken.

The land was beholden.

And then a shadow came.

The shadow was formless, yet it had a form.

It gazed at the sky and said: "The land is dark."

And then the shadow gazed at the earth and said: "The sky has shattered."

And then... it was gone.

―

Ryu's breath was ragged as he sat up, wincing at the sharp ache in his muscles. His coat was torn, the coarse fabric dusted with ash and fine cracks of blackened dirt.

The world around him had twisted into a nightmare—a patchwork of flickering shadows and jagged lights that defied logic. The sky above churned with fractured clouds, splintered by shards of swirling color that blinked in and out of existence. The air smelled sharp and metallic, humming with tension.

It wasn't the same world he had left behind.

"You survived the jump," a familiar voice drawled.

Ryu's gaze flickered up sharply.

The Other stood a few feet away, gray robes fluttering faintly despite the still air. He looked relaxed, arms folded across his chest, his expression caught somewhere between amusement and approval.

"You," Ryu said flatly.

The Other gave a mock bow. "Always a pleasure."

Ryu pushed himself to his feet, muscles taut. His breath steadied, eyes cold and calculating as he took in the man before him.

"You were in the flicker."

"And now I'm here," the Other said lightly. "Funny how that works."

Ryu narrowed his eyes. "Why are you following me?"

The Other smiled faintly, as though the question amused him. "Who said I'm following you?"

"You always show up right when things go to hell."

"Maybe I just have impeccable timing."

Ryu didn't respond. His instincts whispered that there was more to this man than he was letting on.

He wasn't the type to trust anyone for no reason.

It was creepy enough that it was literally him!

"What is this place?"

The Other glanced at the warped horizon. "A mess, mostly."

"Don't dodge the question."

The Other sighed dramatically. "Fine. Let's call it... an echo of possibilities. A crossroads between what is, what was, and what could be."

Ryu's jaw clenched. "You sound like a cheap fortune-teller. Did you forget I told you I don't like riddles?"

"And you sound like someone who doesn't know where he is or how to get out."

The words hit harder than they should have, but Ryu didn't flinch.

"Why are you here?"

"To help you," the Other said smoothly. "That's what friends do, right?"

Ryu's gaze was unflinching. "We're not friends."

"Yet."

There was a pause, heavy with unspoken meaning. The Other's smile faded slightly, replaced by something sharper, colder.

"Let me ask you something," he said. "How many times do you think you've stood right here?"

Ryu's pulse quickened. "What do you mean?"

The Other's eyes gleamed. "Think about it. The flicker, the nightmare, this place... doesn't any of it feel familiar?"

Ryu's stomach twisted, but he forced himself to stay calm.

"I don't live in déjà vu."

The Other's voice softened, almost sympathetic. "No. You live in repetition."

Ryu's breath caught. For a moment, he felt the weight of something heavy and suffocating pressing against his chest—a sensation that gnawed at the edges of his thoughts.

"What do you want?"

The Other smiled faintly. "To set you free."

Ryu's eyes narrowed. "Free from what?"

The Other shrugged. "That's for you to figure out."

'This fucking scoundrel!'

He turned as if to leave, his robes flickering in the strange light.

"Hey! Wait."

The Other paused, glancing back over his shoulder.

Ryu's voice was steady. "Why help me?"

The Other's smile was razor-sharp. "Because every prison needs a key."

And then he was gone.