Alex did not sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes, the sky cracked open again.
He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling as rain hammered the city outside. The lights were on now. The world looked normal. Too normal. But the symbol on his wrist still glowed faintly beneath his skin, pulsing like a second heartbeat.
This was not a dream.
He sat up slowly and pressed his fingers against the mark. Pain flared—sharp, electric—shooting up his arm and into his skull. Images flooded his mind.
Stars collapsing inward.
Worlds tearing apart like paper.
A throne made of darkness and bone.
Alex gasped and pulled his hand away.
"What are you?" he whispered.
The symbol dimmed, as if listening.
A low hum vibrated through the apartment. Not a sound—more like pressure. The air felt heavier, denser. Alex stood and walked toward the window.
The street below was empty.
No cars. No people.
At 2:34 A.M., that made no sense.
Then he noticed something worse.
The shadows were wrong.
They stretched in directions the light did not allow, twisting unnaturally, pooling in corners where darkness should not exist. One shadow, long and thin, slid across the opposite building—moving against the rain.
Alex stepped back.
His phone buzzed.
This time, it wasn't a call.
It was a message.
UNKNOWN SENDER:
Do not open the door.
Alex's breath caught.
"Lyra?" he whispered.
Another message appeared instantly.
UNKNOWN SENDER:
They are already inside the city.
The humming intensified. Glass trembled. Alex felt it again—that pressure inside his chest, as if something enormous was coiled within him, waiting.
Waiting for what?
A knock echoed through the apartment.
Alex froze.
Three slow knocks.
Perfectly calm.
"Alex Vortex," a voice called from the other side. Male. Polite. Almost gentle. "We'd like to ask you a few questions."
Alex backed away, heart pounding.
The symbol on his wrist burned.
Another message appeared.
UNKNOWN SENDER:
If you answer, Earth-721 ends tonight.
The doorknob turned.
Alex didn't think.
He ran.
He burst into the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. The building felt… hollow. Every sound echoed too loudly, as if the walls themselves were listening.
Halfway down, the lights flickered.
Then went out.
Darkness swallowed the stairwell.
Alex stumbled—and something caught him.
Hands.
Cold. Too strong.
He screamed.
The world shifted.
Reality folded inward like collapsing paper.
Suddenly, Alex was no longer falling.
He was standing on a rooftop.
Wind tore at his clothes. The city sprawled below, but it looked… fractured. Buildings shimmered as if overlapping with other versions of themselves. For a split second, Alex saw the same street in flames, then whole again.
"What—what did I just do?" he gasped.
"You jumped realities," a voice said behind him.
Alex spun.
Lyra Nox stood a few feet away.
Her armor was gone. She wore dark civilian clothes now, blending into the night. But her eyes—those silver eyes—glowed faintly, reflecting something far older than the city below.
"You moved us half a second sideways," she continued. "Enough to break their lock."
Alex stared at her. "You did this."
Lyra shook her head slowly. "No. You did."
Before Alex could respond, the air behind them rippled.
Figures emerged.
They looked human at first glance—tall, well-dressed, calm. But their eyes were wrong. Completely black. No whites. No pupils.
Hunters.
Lyra stepped in front of Alex. "Stay behind me."
"Who are they?" Alex demanded.
"People who believe you are a weapon," Lyra said. "And people who are right."
One of the Hunters smiled. "Lyra Nox. You're early."
Lyra's jaw tightened. "You're not supposed to be here yet."
"Timelines have a way of accelerating," the Hunter replied. His gaze shifted to Alex. "So this is the Core."
Alex felt his chest tighten.
The Hunter raised a hand.
The city screamed.
Windows shattered across multiple blocks. Cars lifted off the streets, twisting mid-air. Alex dropped to his knees, clutching his head.
Lyra shouted something—but Alex didn't hear it.
The pressure inside him snapped.
Light exploded from his body.
A shockwave tore across the rooftop, hurling the Hunters backward like dolls. The city stabilized, buildings snapping back into a single version of reality.
Silence followed.
Alex collapsed, gasping.
Lyra stared at him in horror.
"You're manifesting faster than predicted," she whispered.
Alex looked up at her. "You knew this would happen."
Lyra didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Elsewhere.
Far beyond Earth-721.
In a realm where time flowed backward and forward simultaneously, a figure sat upon a throne of fractured stars.
The Null King opened his eyes.
"So," he murmured. "The Core awakens again."
A ripple passed through the multiverse.
Universes shuddered.
The game had resumed.
Back on the rooftop, Lyra knelt beside Alex.
"We need to move," she said. "Now."
Alex pushed himself up, anger cutting through his fear. "No. You're not disappearing again."
Lyra met his gaze.
"You don't understand what you are," she said softly.
"Then explain it," Alex snapped.
Lyra hesitated. Just long enough for Alex to notice.
"There was a universe," she began, "where you made a different choice."
Alex felt cold. "What choice?"
"You chose to save one world instead of all of them."
"What happened?"
Lyra swallowed. "Everything else died."
Alex staggered back.
"That's not possible," he said.
Lyra stepped closer. "You don't remember because you weren't supposed to. Your memory was fractured across realities to stop you from becoming him again."
"Him?"
Lyra's voice barely rose above a whisper.
"The Destroyer."
The ground trembled.
Alex laughed weakly. "This is insane."
Lyra reached out and touched his wrist.
The symbol ignited.
Alex screamed as memories slammed back into him—not fully, but enough.
Himself. Older. Colder. Standing above a dying multiverse.
Lyra screaming his name.
"I killed them," Alex whispered.
"You saved one universe," Lyra said. "By condemning the rest."
Alex pulled his hand away. "Then why are you here?"
Lyra's eyes filled with conflict.
"I was sent to make sure you never make that choice again."
"And if I do?"
Lyra looked away.
"I kill you."
Sirens wailed below.
Human authorities, unaware of the war unfolding above them.
Lyra stepped back. "We can't stay on Earth long. Too many factions are watching now."
Alex shook his head. "I'm not leaving."
"You don't have a choice," Lyra said.
A holographic display appeared above her wrist.
Red symbols blinked rapidly.
Alex read the words before she could hide them.
DIRECTIVE UPDATED
TARGET STATUS: UNSTABLE
TERMINATION AUTHORIZED
Lyra froze.
Alex looked at her.
The city lights flickered.
"You got the order," he said quietly.
Lyra's hands trembled. "Alex—"
The sky cracked open above them.
Not just one裂.
Hundreds.
Portals bloomed across the heavens, revealing alien ships, shadowed creatures, and broken stars bleeding light.
Alex felt the Core inside him awaken fully for the first time.
The multiverse was calling him.
And something ancient was answering back.
The voice returned—clearer now.
"Come home."
Alex stepped toward the edge of the rooftop.
Lyra grabbed his arm.
"Don't," she pleaded.
Alex looked at her—and smiled sadly.
"What if I choose wrong again?"
The symbol on his wrist flared blindingly bright.
END OF CHAPTER 2
NEXT CHAPTER TEASE:
Alex enters his first alien world… and Lyra must decide whether love or duty survives the night.