Keeping his finger pressed to Ayan's forehead, Kanisk moved with a weight that left no room for doubt.
A concentrated sphere of violet energy shimmered at his fingertip, then sank into Ayan's skull.
"Now I will transfer the authority of time to you. The Raw Power of Time itself. Use this power to save everyone. Change the future. From this moment on, do not try to find me. I may no longer have access to that power after this. And maybe... I will be dead in the future. Your true path lies not in seeking me, but in uncovering the reason behind your death. Through all these experiences, you'll learn about me."
Kanisk paused for a moment. "Violet Mist will be one of your most useful abilities. It's the main power I've unlocked besides Time Travel. Violet Mist creates a haze around you, and when your enemy is inside it, you can control speed—yours or theirs. If your foe is fast, you'll see them moving slowly. If you're slow, you'll gain speed. I'm not entirely sure if there are deeper uses beyond this; it depends on you to discover more."
Taking a long breath, he continued, "Pain and death will be your progression. You will grow through the torment you endure. Do not falter—accept the pain and embrace the agony. Every death will stand as proof of your growth. Do not stray from your path. Master this power, and rewrite your fate with your own hands."
A sudden pulse tore through Ayan's skull—sharp, electric, and tinted violet. It wasn't just light; it had weight and presence, like something ancient forcing its way into him.
The surge shot down his spine, branching through every nerve like lightning searching for ground.
Ayan's fingers twitched. His chest locked up for a beat, like his heart had forgotten how to move.
Soon, the smoke came.
His vision blurred. He couldn't tell if he was burning or freezing from the inside out.
Violet mist spilled from his skin, coiling upward in slow, deliberate spirals. It danced in the fractured space, twisted tighter, then spun faster, until it wasn't mist anymore.
It became a vortex, a tight spiral storm.
The spiraling vortex solidified into a towering column of energy, glowing with that same violet hue, edged by a strange, luminous white-violet border that pulsed like a heartbeat.
The air around him vibrated. Space itself reacted to the energy.
And in the blink of an eye, it reversed.
The structure collapsed inward, folding in on itself, rushing back into his body like it had never left. The moment it re-entered, his form lit up, veins glowing faintly violet beneath his skin, his whole body outlined in that smoky, violet light.
Ayan's heartbeat surged, thundering like a storm in his chest—suddenly, everything stopped. The rhythm returned to normal.
He gasped.
Something had changed. He didn't know how or where, but deep inside he felt that something within his body had been rewritten.
Ayan asked, "What do you mean you'll lose access to this power? And… what do you mean you'll be dead in the future?" His eyes drifted downward into the endless space below them.
He reached up and grasped Kanisk's hand, the one still resting against his forehead.
When Kanisk heard the question, he didn't respond right away. His gaze lowered to the wrist Ayan was gripping, and when he finally spoke, his voice was calm but steady. "Sometimes, change demands sacrifice. And to be honest… I still don't know what the future holds."
Ayan didn't look up. His grip stayed firm, fingers trembling slightly. But his voice came from somewhere deep inside. "I hate people who sacrifice themselves without even trying. Then they call it noble... and dump everything on someone else."
Kanisk's eyes flickered. For a moment, just a flicker, like something in those words struck deeper than expected.
He let out a quiet breath. "I've already lost too much. I've failed to protect what mattered. Compared to that, one small sacrifice doesn't matter." He slowly raised his other hand and gently placed it over Ayan's, the one clinging to his wrist. "And you call it a burden... but I already told you. Yes, you'll be cursed. That part won't change."
Kanisk's grip tightened slightly, his voice clear. "But it won't only be a curse. You'll inherit the full authority over time… just as I mentioned."
Ayan turned his head up but didn't meet Kanisk's eyes. "I don't even know how to use this ability. You explained my death, the time travel, the time leap… the timelines…" His voice dropped, trembling. "What you've burdened me with… I don't even know if I can do this."
Ayan remembered the faces he lost. The silence after their screams. He paused, breath shallow. "But I'll try." A moment passed. "I have to save her… and him. Before the apocalypse."
Even if I don't know how… I can't let them die again.
Kanisk lifted his other hand and gently grasped Ayan's chin, tilting it upward until their eyes met. "You have to do it. No matter what it costs." His voice was calm. But something unspoken pressed behind it, something heavy.
He glanced at the unstable space around them. The folds of reality trembled like waves frozen in motion, yet barely holding themselves together.
"And one more thing," he added, voice sharper now. "No matter what happens, no matter how many times you die, never use the Radio Wave Plasma Bomb. If you do, the aftermath will be worse than World War III."
Ayan's eyes widened. "You know about World War III? How much have you seen of humanity?"
Kanisk turned his gaze back to Ayan, released his chin, and gave a quiet smile. "Every answer you're looking for is waiting for you... somewhere in the future. Across multiple timelines."
He let go of Ayan's hand as well, slowly detaching it with a gentleness that felt final. Both his hands now hung loosely by his sides. "The Power of Time has many facets. Two of them are the ability to cross between timelines and Violet Mist. I hope you'll discover the rest on your own."
He drew a slow breath and kept his eyes on the shifting space around them, his expression unreadable. "For now, I can only help you activate the ability and escape this space. The rest—learning how to control it, mastering it—you'll have to figure that out yourself."
He clasped his hands behind his back. "Right now, you're not immune to this power. Using it will cause side effects. You may temporarily lose memory of our conversation in this space, but as you try to recall it, the memories will return clearly. Don't be afraid of experiencing these effects until you make yourself immune."
"But—" Ayan parted his lips to speak, still staring into Kanisk's eyes.
Then it hit them.
A deep, distant rumble rolled through the space around them. It trembled like waves on a stormy sea, each pulse heavier than the last.
The vibrations grew stronger.
Crack.
A sharp, echoing fracture tore through the silence, like glass splintering under invisible pressure.
Ayan whipped his head toward the sound. "What was that?"
More cracks followed. Invisible fault lines split across the warped space, each one sharper and closer than before. The air trembled. Reality itself was starting to come apart, like glass under too much pressure.
Kanisk parted his hands from behind his back and placed them gently on Ayan's shoulders. "Our time together ends here," he said, voice calm but final. "Now we have to hurry."
He raised one hand and pressed his finger to Ayan's forehead once more.