The air in the room had changed.
Karel was still staring at the chair. As if it would return to its old weight at any moment. It didn't.
"Okay," he said at last.
"This isn't normal."
Riven crossed his arms. His eyes were on Karel's hands.
"In the future," he said in a calm voice,
"how did you die?"
Karel swallowed.
"I was bitten."
Silence.
"I couldn't escape," he added.
"They were too fast."
Riven nodded slightly.
"Who was with you?"
"You."
"Boran."
"And three others… I don't want to remember their names."
Riven looked away.
"What about Boran—"
"He was torn apart," Karel said.
"In seconds."
Riven's jaw tightened. He didn't say anything.
Karel continued:
"That's why we can't waste time."
"Whatever there is to do, we do it now."
"Wait," Riven said.
"There's one more thing."
Karel looked at him.
"This power," Riven said,
"is it only objects?"
Karel thought.
"No."
"I haven't tried it on a living thing."
"Don't," Riven said firmly.
"For now."
He stood up and walked to the window. Looked outside. People were passing by. Laughing. Looking at their phones.
"Four months," he said to himself.
"No one would believe it."
Karel spoke from behind him:
"Doesn't matter if they don't."
Riven turned.
"You're wrong."
"There are three of us."
Karel raised an eyebrow.
"Three?"
The door opened.
"Hey, open the damn door!" a voice shouted.
"There's a bell but I guess it doesn't work!"
Boran barged in.
With his massive body, he forced the door open and walked into the living room without even taking off his shoes.
"Ooo," he said.
"What's with the faces?"
"You look like someone died."
Karel and Riven looked at each other.
Riven spoke:
"Boran."
"We're going to try something."
Boran grinned.
"An experiment?"
"I'm in."
Karel looked at the metal chair by the table. Focused.
The chair disappeared.
Boran's smile froze.
"…Dude."
"Where did it go?"
Karel snapped his fingers. The chair came back.
Boran stepped back.
"Don't mess with me."
"Is this some camera trick or something?"
"No," Karel said.
"This is real."
Boran paused for a moment. Then started laughing.
"Alright, alright," he said.
"This is some new TikTok trend, got it."
Riven walked over and put a hand on Boran's shoulder.
"Boran," he said in a low voice.
"In four months, the world ends."
Boran went silent.
"And Karel lived through it," Riven added.
"He came back."
Boran's smile slowly faded.
"If this is a joke," he said,
"it's not funny."
"It's not," Karel said.
"And in the future, you…"
He stopped.
Boran frowned.
"What?"
"You were very brave," Karel said.
"And a little crazy."
Boran laughed briefly.
"That part's already true."
Riven cut in:
"That's enough for now."
"First tests."
"Then a plan."
Karel nodded.
"Tomorrow," he said,
"I'll try it outside for the first time."
Riven looked at him.
"What?"
Karel's voice hardened.
"The limit of my power."
And in that moment,
all three of them understood
that the future was no longer fixed.