As the corridor ahead of me churns like vomit circling the drain, I barely manage to make out several new hallways branching off into the morass. The only mercy is that the area immediately around me doesn't shift, probably a side effect of my perception stabilizing that segment of the reconciliation. As I slowly take a cautious step forward, reality hardens and becomes more concrete. My presence literally driving away the force that is manipulating reality like plasticine.

The Fat Man can't alter anything within my immediate presence or something I have already perceived. But that still gives him plenty of leeway to work with. Already I can hear harsh crashing noises coming from somewhere ahead, like massive concrete blocks breaking apart and slamming into each other. The alterations are still going on, merely hidden from me by intervening walls and angles in the corridors.

"Anything that's out of my line of sight is fair game huh?" I grumble to myself, pondering on how to proceed.

All the more reason to hurry. The longer you tarry, the more time our enemy has to prepare.

"Yeah. Rush straight into the heart of the storm." I nod in agreement with the voice of my heart, "No matter how much the Fat Man works his magic, there's a limit to what this reality will accept."

Precisely. This building is a standard shopping mall cum office complex. There is -

Before the voice of my heart can finish speaking, a low rumble echoes throughout the entire structure, causing it to sway gently. A keening moan rises from the depths of the shifting corridors, the Fat Man sounding more like a wounded animal than a human being.

"Another botched reconciliation?" I smirk to myself.

Yes. Our opponent tried to implement a series of traps as well as impassable chasms to use against us. These additions were naturally rejected as a matter of course.

"Naturally." I guffaw to myself, feeling pretty good at the moment, "Since when do shopping malls get armed with deadly traps?"

And I do believe that there is more good news. You sense it as well, correct?

"Yeah." I shut my eyes and focus my senses. While I did not have complete control over the reconciliation, this reality was ultimately a part of myself. I could sense the Fat Man's presence within it, much like the dull throb caused by a particularly annoying splinter. And wonder of wonders, the Fat Man had stopped moving about. That last botched reconciliation must have done quite a number on him. I nevertheless feel the dull weight of the Fat Man's array weighing down on my personal reality, the torn and tattered constellations still possessing fearsome pressure. Even the building's foundations creak in protest against this invisible force.

"Time to finish this." I declare and bolt down the corridor as fast as I can.

Although my presence prevents my immediate location from being further altered, the Fat Man had already managed to rearrange the corridor into an almost non Euclidean shape. My dart around innumerable turns and twists, ascend and descend multiple spiral staircases and kick down an ocean's worth of unmarked office doors.

"Fat Man's trying to waste my time." I snort derisively, "He won't be able to hold me back forever though."

I barge through yet another stairwell, this one leading to a lounge that's under construction. Large parts of the floor have been torn up, revealing cement that has been left to set. Nails had been scattered all over the place and the wall panels had been left unfinished, revealing sparking electrical cables hanging loosely.

"Our friend's getting creative." I comment offhandedly, barely managing to avoid getting a foot punctured by a dozen nails.

Nothing caution should not be able to overcome.

I purse my lips absently and begin to advance slowly toward the exit at the opposite end of the lounge. Using the tip of my foot, I begin sweeping the nails clear from the path, taking care to avoid the patches of drying concrete. Sweat beads my brow and stray droplets fall on to the ground. With my concentration fully engaged on the task, I distantly note that the building's foundations start shaking again.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

The Fat Man is wearing down your reserves of potential. You must hurry.

"I'm trying, alright?" I bark back, performing a jump to clear the last patches of setting concrete. The last thing I want is get my feet stuck while my potential burns out completely.

"Damn it!" the false ceiling abruptly collapses and a live cable lashes towards me like a whip. Bringing up both arms in panic, I feel a nasty burning sensation explode across my skin. Prickly needles stab throughout my entire body as my mouth goes dry. Before I can get my bearings and work out what's going on, my heart is gripped by an irregular beat, pounding hard in my chest.

I try to speak, but only foam burbles from my mouth. My heart beats painfully, causing both legs to buckle. Distantly, I realize that my entire body is spazzing out, completely beyond my control. Death by electrocution. That's what the Fat Man had planned when he set this room up.

"No ..." I grit my teeth and concentrate all the potential available to me. This wasn't the last vision I had of my doppelganger. That means he survived the riot.

That means whatever happens in this building, I will survive.

I will survive!

Logical. Reconciliation accepted.

Reality bends to my dictate, a tidal wave of willpower dashing aside all other potential outcomes. I feel the Fat Man resist, grappling at my potential like a desperate oiled up wrestler. But at the last moment, the Fat Man eases up and backs off, conceding the point. The sparking cable twists away from me like a wounded snake as I unsteadily rise to my feet.

He is learning.

"Yeah. Probably too much to hope that he would suffer another botched reconciliation." I remark, breathing hard. Fresh burns mar both my arms and I can still feel an electrical twinge as my heart gets back into its normal rhythm. I'm nearly knocked back down by a sudden quake that causes the building to drunkenly tilt to the side. Cracks blossom all over the walls and plaster starts raining down on me. From between the cracks, I can see the soul gem array's constellation winking slyly at me.

That near death experience had drained a large chunk of my potential and the Fat Man was doubling down on the war of attrition between us. But my enemy is close. I've nearly overcome the distance he had put between us. From what my senses are telling me, just one good sprint should put me right on top of the Fat Man.

"Here I come!" I yell to rally my spirits and throw open the doors sealing the lounge's exit.

And the sight I'm met with nearly throws me into a blind panic. Piled nearly to the ceiling are bags of cement, metal rebars and various other construction materials. The assorted crap is piled so high and thick that it might as well be a fortress wall. I try butting at it with my shoulder but the only reward is plaster stains all over my clothes. The Fat Man can't have walled himself in, right? Making the room completely inaccessible would create an irresolvable paradox.

Correct. There must be an accessible entrance somewhere.

I stalk along the makeshift wall's perimeter, desperately looking for the entrance, all too away that I've so little time to waste. And I finally see it. A gap carved into the wall, large enough for the Fat Man to wriggle through.

Except the gap is close to the high ceiling, far out of my reach. My eyes scan the wall, trying to pinpoint any handholds that I can use to make the climb. But its no good. All the garbage is packed tight. There's nothing I can use to grip on and scale the wall.

"How is this an acceptable reconciliation?" I demand, "Don't tell me lard ass can make this climb."

Look closer at where the entrance is.

"No way." I mutter. Coiled neatly inside the gap is a bundle of rope. Was that all it took for the reconciliation to be accepted?

Yes. It explains why the Fat Man can access the entrance while you cannot. He used the rope and pulled it up after him.

"What about the bloody wall?" I demand, "How is this acceptable or logical?"

Construction is taking place in this building. The Fat Man merely shifted the materials stored in this room.

The voice of my heart speaks in a level tone, but there's an undercurrent of tension. Things are getting incredibly dicey right now. The building continues to sag to its side, a sinister reminder that the hourglass is running out.

"Damnit!" I shout and kick impotently at the wall. Nasty laughter erupts from the other side as the Fat Man begins to jeer in that oily voice of his.

"Take a seat friend. Neither of us are going anywhere soon." the Fat Man taunts, "Unless you can't wait that long."

I quickly silence myself, not willing to give the Fat Man the satisfaction of hearing me lose my cool. The lights begin to flicker and mold spreads over the walls like jam.

I'm weakening. Slowly but surely, I'm weakening.

There has to be a way forward. Surely things can't end like this.

Accept your destrudo and -

"No. Shut up." I snarl, "I will not embrace certain death in order to avoid probable death."

My eyes home in on the gap, so close yet so far. Its all that separates me from strangling the life out of the Fat Man. But everything behind the wall is within sight of the Fat Man. His perception creates a reality I can't oppose.

Then inspiration hits me.

"That's right." I smile wickedly, "This place is under renovation isn't it?"

"And a building is far more than what's on the surface."