The world around him was a blur of color, movement, and chaos. Alex stood frozen in front of a creature that looked like it had stepped out of a nightmare. The beast's eyes, glowing with an unnatural yellow light, bore down on him. Its body rippled and twisted, an unearthly presence that seemed to distort the very air around it. Its claws scraped the ground with a screeching sound, each movement sending ripples through the space as if reality itself was bending and warping.
He didn't flinch. His feet were planted, his hands steady at his sides. He wasn't scared—not yet. But this was it. He knew what was coming.
The fight. The clash. The battle for his life in a world that didn't make sense.
Without warning, the boy and the monster lunged toward each other, the ground beneath them shaking with the force of their charge.
But before their collision could unfold, something strange happened. The world around them… froze.
Wait, wait, wait.
"A voice—playful, almost teasing—cut through the stillness like a blade. For a moment, everything froze: the fight, the creature, even the mysterious stranger. Time itself seemed to hold its breath."
I don't think you're supposed to be watching this part yet.
The voice chuckled.
Of course, no spoilers, right? Who even knows if this part is gonna stay in the story at all, huh? Maybe you'll see it. Maybe you won't. Anyway, hold up.
There was a long pause.
You're probably wondering, who am I? And what am I doing here? And yeah, I'm not gonna tell you my name. It's better if I keep that to myself. A little mystery never hurt anyone, right?
The voice sighed in an exaggerated way, as though tired of the buildup.
But hey, let's rewind. Yeah? Let's go back to the start of this whole mess. All the way to when it began… Or maybe it didn't even begin yet. Who knows? Let's just get to it.
The world around is shifted. Everything around him distorted, and he felt the strange sensation of being pulled backward, as if time itself was unraveling and taking him with it.
It was the summer of 1986.
That boy you just saw? Yeah, him. He likes to call himself a mystery — says his name's a secret. But it's not. It's Alex. (Sorry, Alex — guess the cat's out of the bag.)
He was gliding down the cracked, sun-dappled streets of his small town on his skateboard, weaving past mailboxes and heat-shimmered curbs like he owned the place. The air was thick, humming with summer heat and the buzz of cicadas, but he didn't care. Not today. Not when his Walkman was strapped to his hip and his favorite mixtape was spinning magic through his headphones.
A dusty old Walkman.
The sound of A-ha's "Take On Me" blasted through his headphones, the upbeat synth-pop rhythm filling his ears and lifting his spirit as he sped through the street. The world around him seemed to blur and twist with every beat, as if the music was all that mattered. The world around him was a backdrop, a setting to the soundtrack of his life.
Take on meeee…
He rode with no destination in mind—just the feeling of the wind in his hair and the beat in his chest. For those few minutes, nothing else existed. No responsibilities, no rules, no expectations. Just him, the music, and the freedom of the open road.
His favorite place in the world—the comic book store—was just up ahead. He was used to making this trip, his own little ritual. Every week, like clockwork, he'd ride down to Mr. Wheeler's shop to find something new to dive into.
He pulled up to the curb, the sound of his skateboard wheels squealing as he came to a halt. The comic book store's faded sign hung above the door, the "Wheeler's Comics" logo barely visible under layers of dust. It was old, but it was home to Alex.
The bell above the door jingled as he entered, and the familiar smell of ink and old paper greeted him like an old friend.
"Ah, same as usual?" Mr. Wheeler, the shop owner, called out from behind the counter, his voice warm and familiar. The man's face was crinkled with age, his silver beard just as much a part of the store's charm as the endless rows of comics that lined the walls.
Alex flashed a grin and nodded, a casual wave of his hand as he made his way to the back of the shop.
"Yeah, you know me," Alex said, his voice light, "I love my fantasy books. I'll take whatever's new."
Mr. Wheeler chuckled at Alex's enthusiasm. "You're a good kid. Always so full of energy. The new stuff's right over there," he said, pointing to the back corner of the store. "Just came in a few weeks ago."
Alex didn't waste any time. He walked over, running his fingers over the rows of books, his eyes scanning for something that caught his attention. It didn't take long. His gaze landed on a particular book, its cover design unlike anything he'd ever seen before. The title was peculiar, strange even: "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once."
The book shimmered as if it were alive, the pages seeming to call out to him. He picked it up, and for the first time in a long while, he felt a weird sensation—a pull, like the book was somehow connected to him.
Alex paid for the books, the cashier's voice a soft hum in the background as he turned to leave. The familiar weight of the comics in his hand felt oddly comforting, but there was something else tugging at his mind. The title, the cover, that strange sense of anticipation—it was as if something was on the verge of happening, something just out of reach. But for now, all he had was the music pumping through his headphones, the book tucked securely under his arm, and the familiar streets of his small town.
He gripped his skateboard again, the wheels clicking against the pavement as he pushed off. The wind rushed past him, cool against his skin as the rhythm of the music settled in, guiding his every movement. His mind drifted, but there was still something in the air—something unspoken, like the quiet hum before a storm. Yet, in that moment, Alex let the feeling slip away. He had no reason to rush.
The town, small and unassuming, moved at its own pace. Life felt slow in the best possible way—quiet, carefree. There was time yet before anything would change. The kind of time where you could ride your skateboard aimlessly, lost in thought, with no place to be but exactly where you were.
And so, with the comics under his arm and his wheels spinning beneath him, Alex coasted back home, the world still just a little bit too big for him to comprehend.
When he arrived home, the familiar sights of his aunt and uncle greeted him like clockwork. His aunt, busy in the kitchen, was chopping vegetables, the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board creating a steady rhythm. His uncle was seated at the dining table, flipping through a newspaper, glasses perched on his nose. The smell of dinner wafted through the air — something hearty, maybe stew.
Alex paused at the doorway, silently studying his next move. He crept up the stairs like a ninja on a mission, his steps soft and calculated. The last thing he wanted was to get caught in the middle of another lecture. But of course, his uncle caught him halfway.
"Hey!" his uncle called out, lowering his newspaper, a grin spreading across his face. "What's the deal? Skipping high school again?"
Alex sighed dramatically, dropping the act.
"Oh, come on, Uncle Peter, not this again," he muttered under his breath. "Can't a guy just take one day off without it turning into a whole thing?"
His uncle raised an eyebrow. "I see you didn't just go school. You've got comics with you, huh?" he said, nodding toward the pile of books Alex had been trying to hide under his arm.
"Uh... yeah, I was at the comic shop," Alex admitted sheepishly.
His uncle shook his head. "You need to start taking this seriously. You're not a kid anymore. Act your age."
Alex's face twisted in annoyance. "Are you serious right now? Really?" he said, half-laughing, half-groaning. He could feel the eye-roll coming. "Just... just skip all this, alright? I'm not in the mood for it."
Uncle Peter sighed, looking more disappointed than mad. "Yeah, whatever. Just go, go."
Alex didn't need to be told twice. He dashed up the stairs, feeling his face flush. Here we go again, he thought.
When Alex reached his room, he dropped his comics on his desk. It was a small room, decorated with posters of his favorite bands and a few random memorabilia items that caught his eye. It wasn't much, but it was his space, his escape from the mundane. His eyes landed on the window, where the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the room. He tossed his headphones onto the bed and began unpacking the comics he'd just bought.
As he set the books down, he remembered his story — the real reason why he was living here now, with Aunt Mia and Uncle Peter. It wasn't something he liked to talk about, but hey, you might as well know. When he was 10, he'd been waiting outside school for his parents to pick him up. They never showed. Instead, Aunt Mia and Uncle Peter arrived, but not to take him home. They drove him straight to the hospital.
There, he found out that his mom and dad were gone. Just like that. They had been in a car accident—on their way to pick him up from school. They never made it. Alex didn't even cry. He didn't understand what it meant to lose someone back then, not really. But it still stung. It still hurt, even now, at 20.
He'd been adopted by Aunt Mia and Uncle Peter after that. They didn't have their own kids, so they took him in. They had no choice but to raise him. He didn't blame them — they did what they could, even if their idea of discipline was a little... much at times.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of his aunt calling from downstairs.
"Alex!" she called, her voice carrying through the walls. "Dinner's ready! Come help!"
Alex rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, "I just got up here, give me a break."
But in the end, he shouted back, his voice full of exaggerated enthusiasm, "Okaaaaaaay, Aunttttttt, I'M COMIIIIIIIINGGGGGG!" He could hear her laughing from downstairs.
---
Chapter 1: Ended.
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. Wait, what? Yeah, I guess that's it for now. Pretty boring, huh? But don't worry, there's more. Much more to come. Stick around for the next chapter; trust me, it's gonna get interesting
Hahahahahahahahahhahaha.
And with that, Alex's aunt glanced up the stairs, seeing him laugh like a crazy person in the middle of the staircase.
"Just come down and eat!" she yelled.
Chapter 1: Ended.