The moment the words left his mouth—
"You're the girl every universe tries to erase."
—everything around us twisted.
The glowing memory-path flickered like someone was unplugging the entire multiverse and plugging it back in.
My knees almost gave out.
"I… I don't understand," I whispered. My voice cracked, embarrassing itself in 4D.
The younger boy—sweet-faced, heartbreak in his eyes—stepped toward me.
"You were never meant to exist," he said softly.
"But we loved you anyway."
Loved.
Past tense.
It stabbed somewhere under my ribs.
The stranger stepped in front of me instantly, blocking the boy with his body.
"Stay away from her."
The boy raised a brow.
"Oh? You care now? Wasn't caring what got me killed last time?"
The stranger's jaw tightened like he was physically holding in a roar.
I pushed past him.
"No. BOTH of you explain. RIGHT. NOW."
The universe paused.
Even the floating timeline fragments around us froze mid-flicker.
The younger boy inhaled.
"Anshu… you're not a normal person. You're not even a normal memory."
I blinked.
"Bro, what—? I'm not a normal memory?? Do I look like a pen drive?"
The stranger pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Not helping."
The boy continued.
"You're a glitch-memory. A core memory from a future that hasn't happened yet."
I felt sick.
"A… a memory from the future?"
"Yes," the boy said gently.
"A future that collapses because of you."
I was about to faint. Or cry. Or slap someone. Or all three.
"SO WHAT?? I break the future?? I cause the apocalypse?? Why do I suddenly sound like a rejected Marvel villain??"
"No," the boy whispered.
"You didn't destroy the future."
He pointed at the stranger beside me.
"He did. To protect you."
The memory path beneath us rippled angrily.
The stranger snapped.
"STOP lying to her."
"I'm not lying!" the boy shouted back.
"You erased the entire timeline just to keep her alive!"
The stranger moved so fast the air cracked—
—grabbing the boy by the collar.
"Say that again," he hissed.
The boy didn't flinch.
"You erased MY world for her."
Silence.
So loud it felt like the universe was breathing down my neck.
I stepped between them, forcing the stranger's hand away.
"What does that even mean?!"
The boy swallowed.
"We were from a timeline where you and I… had something."
Had something.
I froze.
My chest stung for no reason.
The stranger looked away sharply.
"You died in that timeline," the boy continued.
"The universe broke.
Reality cracked.
Everything fell apart."
He looked at the stranger.
"And instead of letting her go… YOU destroyed the entire timeline to erase her death."
My mouth dropped open.
I turned slowly to the stranger.
"You… destroyed a whole timeline? A whole world?? For me?"
He kept his eyes on the ground.
"Yes."
The honesty hit me like a punch.
"Why?" I whispered.
His voice trembled for the first time.
"Because watching you die broke me too."
My heart stuttered.
The boy scoffed bitterly.
"And in the process, he took MY life too."
The lights around us flickered violently.
Reality was shaking.
I pressed my hands to the sides of my head.
"STOP! STOP! BOTH OF YOU STOP!"
The stranger grabbed my shoulders.
"We need to get out of here—now."
The boy shook his head.
"She has to know the truth first."
"No," the stranger growled. "She's not ready."
"Ready for WHAT?!" I screamed.
They both fell silent.
Too silent.
Then…
the memory under my feet lit up.
A new fragment.
New scene.
New timeline.
And this one—
THIS ONE—
showed me.
Standing in a burning city.
Eyes glowing white.
Hands covered in light.
Mouth whispering something ancient.
And then—
A universe collapsing behind me like a dying star.
I stumbled back, shaking.
"That's… THAT'S NOT ME."
The boy's voice broke.
"That's the version we hid from you."
The stranger cursed under his breath, grabbing me.
"Don't look at it—"
I pulled away, tears burning my eyes.
"WHAT AM I?!"
The memory flickered again—
And this time I heard my own voice from inside it:
"I broke tomorrow."
The timeline shattered.
The entire glowing path cracked beneath us.
The boy screamed, "SHE REMEMBERED IT—GET HER OUT—"
The stranger grabbed me by the waist, lifting me off the collapsing platform—
But it was too late.
Because something was already crawling through the broken timeline.
A hand.
A pale hand with glowing veins.
Reaching toward me.
The stranger whispered in pure horror:
"Oh no…"
The boy whispered:
"She woke up."
I whispered:
"…Who?"
Both of them spoke the same trembling answer:
"The other you."
---