Pain.
Dull, throbbing, relentless.
Nait woke up abruptly, as if he had been yanked out of oblivion. And immediately knew something was wrong.
He tried to move—and realized he couldn’t.
Not because he was tied up.
The space around him pressed down, as if invisible walls were crushing every cell of his body.
Fractum.
But not his own.
— Finally awake.
A voice. Calm, confident. No rush.
Standing before him was a man in his mid-thirties, short graying hair, and the face of someone who couldn’t care less about moral norms.
He didn’t look like a common thug. Too composed. Too experienced.
— Name’s Kaiser, — he introduced himself, looking down. — I assume you’ve already realized you can’t move?
Nait said nothing.
Kaiser smirked.
— Oh, silent? Smart kid. This is my Fractum—"Gravity Shackles."
He lazily snapped his fingers, and the pressure on Nait increased.
— Completely blocks movement but leaves one fun detail—full awareness.
Kaiser crouched, grinning.
— So you’ll feel everything till the very last moment.
"WHO HIRED YOU?"
Nait wasn’t planning to die quietly.
— Who hired you?
Kaiser laughed.
— I like you, kid. You’re about to die, but at least you’re trying to learn something.
He pulled out a knife and twirled it in his hand, examining the blade like he was seeing it for the first time.
— Doesn’t matter who hired me. What matters is that the job’s paid for.
Nait gritted his teeth.
Randolph.
Of course.
Kaiser slowly shook his head.
— You know, I’ve killed a lot of people, but kids—that’s a rarity.
He sighed theatrically.
— But if a child is dangerous…
He pressed the blade to Nait’s throat.
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Cold steel against his skin.
Nait couldn’t move.
Fractum weighed on his body, not even letting him take a deeper breath.
Kaiser gripped the knife confidently, knowing his victim could do nothing.
But in the next moment…
Someone placed a hand on his shoulder.
Calmly. Casually. As if simply stopping an old friend in the street.
— Yo.
Kaiser didn’t even have time to be surprised.
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AIR. COLD. AN ENDLESS ABYSS.
Kaiser didn’t even realize something had gone wrong.
One moment, he was looming over a helpless Nait, knife at his throat…
And the next—a hand was placed on his head.
Calmly. Casually. As if fixing his hair.
— Yo.
The world vanished.
And was replaced by stone.
A dull impact.
Kaiser didn’t understand what had happened.
His face smashed into the wall with full force.
A crack.
The stone fractured, and his mind reeled from the impact.
Kaiser staggered but didn’t fall.
Because the hand was still on his head.
— Hold on, hold on, not done yet, — Zane’s voice rang out.
And the world vanished again.
This time, Kaiser was on the ground, knees down.
But not just on the ground.
On his knees before Nait.
In the exact same position Nait had just been in.
Kaiser blinked.
Zane’s hand was still on his head.
— Oh, this looks about right now, doesn’t it?
The world vanished again.
Now Kaiser was on a rooftop.
He staggered, looking down—at Nait, at Zane, and… himself?
No, his body wasn’t there.
Only their gazes met.
And the hand was still on his head.
— Alright, now for the important part.
Kaiser struggled.
— W-what are you…?!
But this time, the world didn’t just vanish.
It exploded.
Sound disappeared.
Weight disappeared.
His body disappeared.
And Kaiser realized—he was in the sky.
High. Terrifyingly high.
Beneath him, nothing.
Only emptiness and merciless gravity.
Kaiser flailed helplessly, his body twisting midair.
— W-what the…?!
Zane floated beside him, calmly watching his desperate attempts to grab onto something.
Then sighed.
— I was just wondering…
He tilted his head lazily.
— Can you fly?
Kaiser lunged forward, trying to grab him…
But Zane was already gone.
And then he plummeted.
Like a stone, no hope, no chance.
----------------------------------------
THE RETURN
Nait still couldn’t move.
Kaiser’s bindings still held him, a cold, invisible weight pinning every muscle.
But now, he simply watched.
Zane extended a hand.
In the next moment, a spear disappeared from a bandit’s grip… and landed in Zane’s palm.
He didn’t even glance at it.
— Alright, let’s begin.
The bandits didn’t understand what had happened.
The first charged forward, swinging his sword…
Zane vanished.
And reappeared right in front of him.
The spear was already in his chest.
Zane hadn’t even moved his hand.
He just appeared in the perfect stance, with a weapon that found its mark on its own.
The bandit exhaled, his body slackening as he collapsed.
The others hesitated, wavered, but still attacked.
Zane vanished again.
The second fell.
Appearance—spear already at his throat.
The third.
Zane emerged behind him, spear piercing through his ribs.
The fourth.
Impaled before he could turn.
Fifth.
Sixth.
Seventh.
One by one.
No pauses. No mistakes.
No fight.
The bandits never even realized they were dead.
The last stood, trembling.
— I… I surrender…
Zane twirled the spear.
— You surrender?
The bandit nodded furiously.
Zane vanished.
When he reappeared, the spear was already through his chest.