Chapter 2 - The Man Who Shouldn't Exist
____________________________________________
The monitor beside the bed beeped softly.
Steady. Infuriatingly steady because it sounded so alive while its owner remained still.
Keira stared at the glowing screen for a long moment before tightening her grip around the man's hand.
"Wake up," she whispered. "Please."
From the living room, Daniel's voice drifted in.
"No, the CT scan is normal. EEG is normal too. We need another specialist"
Keira lifted her head.
The air shifted.
A thin pressure built in her ears, like an airplane descending too quickly.
And when she turned. Someone was standing near the window. She jolted to her feet so abruptly that her chair toppled backward.
"Who are you?!" Daniel immediately ended the call and rushed in.
"Keira? What-" He stopped in the doorway. Because he saw him too.
The man in black robes stood there calmly, as if the room belonged to him.
Daniel instinctively stepped in front of Keira.
"Who are you?" His voice was low, tense.
The stranger showed no sign of guilt for appearing out of nowhere.
"My name is Nevil Noctaris."
"I don't care what your name is," Daniel snapped. "How did you get in here?"
"I did not enter."
And before either of them could react, Nevil lifted from the floor. He moved through the air effortlessly, gliding toward the bed.
Silence fell like a blade. Keira and Daniel understood in the same instant.
He was not ordinary.
"If this is some kind of prank.." Daniel tried, clinging to reason.
"He is not ill." Nevil's Cut Daniel before he finish his word.
Nevil's gaze settled on the unconscious man.
Both Keira and Daniel fell silent.
"If you know something," Keira said, her voice trembling now, "say it."
Nevil turned his dark eyes toward them.
"His body is intact. His breathing is stable."
"Then why won't he wake up?" Daniel demanded.
Nevil answered softly.
"Because part of him is not here."
Daniel shook his head. "This is insane."
"Nev- whatever your name is. Explain it in a way that makes sense."
Nevil did not seem offended.
"Time has been reversed."
Keira stiffened.
"He was pulled to a point before her death," Nevil continued.
"I never died!" Keira shot back.
"You do not remember."
The room felt smaller.
Nevil gestured toward the man on the bed.
"In the restored timeline… he is still alive."
Keira's breath faltered.
"He died one day after you were buried."
Daniel's jaw tightened. "Buried?"
"His soul recognized the call," Nevil said calmly. "The law of time demanded its return."
The monitor continued its rhythmic beeping.
"So… his soul left?" Keira whispered.
"A part of it."
Keira stared at the man she loved.
"How do I bring it back?"
Nevil looked directly at her.
"There is one way."
The air felt heavier.
"Soon, a group will come for you," Nevil said quietly. "They are from your past."
Keira shook her head slowly.
"I don't have a past like that."
Nevil held her gaze.
"There is one rule you must follow if you want him to awaken."
Daniel remained rigid beside her.
"What rule?" he asked.
"When you meet them, you must not connect them to this world. Not once. Do not mention his new life."
Silence thickened.
"If that rule is broken, the line of life may shift again."
The monitor beeped.
"Accept them. Follow them back to the life that was yours."
Keira tightened her grip around the man's hand.
"And if she refuses?" Daniel asked.
"His breath will remain," Nevil replied evenly.
"But he will never truly return."
The silence that followed struck harder than any scream.
Keira closed her eyes briefly.
"I understand," she said softly.
Nevil snapped his fingers.
In an instant, he stood by the window.
"Until we meet again."
And then he was gone.
Completely gone.
Daniel and Keira stood frozen. The monitor continued its steady rhythm. The world outside kept moving. Daniel slowly turned to her.
"You heard that too… right?"
Tears finally slipped down Keira's face.
"Yes."
And for the first time in seven days.
They understood this was no longer just a medical mystery.
It was something far greater.