It happened fast—so fast I almost missed it.

A blur of motion. A gust of wind that wasn't wind. And then he was there—his hand clenched around the killer’s throat, lifting him effortlessly into the air.

The killer choked, feet flailing. Jay didn’t speak. He just slammed him into the floor hard enough to leave a dent in the concrete, then threw out an arm—smashing me into the wall behind.

Air left my lungs. Pain flashed behind my ribs. I blinked. Looked up—

Jay.

Not a ghost. Not a myth. Not a name whispered in Lira’s stories.

But real. Eyes sharp. Knuckles bloodied. Hair disheveled. Angry. A fury barely caged inside the silhouette of a man.

Lira cried out. “Jay—stop!”

He didn’t move. Not until her bloodstained hands gripped his arm. Something flickered in his eyes.

“Lira…” His voice cracked, low, guttural. “What did he do to you?”

“I’m okay,” she lied.

Jay turned to her slowly, his eyes falling on the gash along her arm, her temple bruised, blood still fresh. Something inside him broke.

He spun back and punched the killer so hard I swear I felt the man’s ribs shatter from where I was standing.

Kael, wide-eyed, finally found his voice. “Wait—Lira has a brother?!”

Jay didn’t look at him. Just dusted his knuckles and muttered, “Not one she advertises.”

Kael blinked. “You’re… wait, who even are you?”

Jay sighed, finally turning toward us. “An assassin. For hire.”

That landed like a brick in the silence.

He glanced at me. “I left Lira with someone I trusted. Someone I knew could protect her.”

Kael looked confused. “Noa? He studies and listens to jazz. He’s—”

Jay cut him off. “Your friend has mastered five martial arts. He’s better with weapons than I am.”

Silence again.

Mom’s hand went to her chest. Dad's jaw clenched.

I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t something I ever wanted to be proud of.

Before anything else could be said—a sound cut through the air.

A low swoosh.

Everyone turned.

On the far end of the ruined street—a shimmer. A crack in reality, like glass bent beneath heat. And from that shimmer, something fell.

A glint. Small. Metallic-black. Hit the pavement with a dull click. It rolled to a stop.

Nobody spoke for a beat.

Then Jay squinted. “What the hell…”

“It’s just a… rock?” Kael offered weakly.

“It’s not a rock,” Lira whispered.

She was right.

Because suddenly, it moved.

Slowly at first. Then faster. Then faster—it hovered. Spun in jagged, chaotic arcs like it was rejecting the very idea of gravity.

A hum built in the air.

Jay tensed. “Temporal anomaly.”

“What?”

“That shimmer was a portal—a rip in time. Whatever dropped through isn’t syncing with our world. That thing’s rejecting the atoms around it.”

Lira took a step back. “What happens now?”

Jay frowned. “If I’m right… then right about now, it should—”

Reality bent inward.

A sharp flash of black bloomed mid-air—a black orb. Floating. Growing. Spinning.

Not like a ripple in water. Like a hole in existence.

Everything around it began to shift.

Dust. Nails. Splinters. Bolts. Debris. Lifted. Dragged into it.

Like gravity was reversed.

Kael screamed. “Oh my god. It’s a blackhole!”

Jay muttered, “A fake one. Powered by the object’s energy. It’ll burn out—”

A snap. Chains snapped loose. Beams creaked.

And that was when the killer ran.

Shoved two cops. Ran for the door.

Two others chased. Didn’t make it far.

Because from the sky came a steel barricade, whipped by the vortex like a god’s hammer— And it crushed all three of them.

Bones. Blood. Silence.

The screaming started again.

I grabbed my parents. “We need to move—NOW!”

Kael stumbled to the book the killer had been chanting from. “It’s this—this book—it’s cursed!”

Jay snatched it, tore a few pages, and threw it. “It’s garbage. Children’s tales. This is science.”

Kael panicked. “I can’t—I can’t die like this—”

He ran. Straight through the window.

The crunch that followed was horrifying.

I turned—grabbed my mother’s arm. “Get Lira. Go!”

They turned—and froze.

Because a shattered barrel had launched into the wall—trapping me beneath it.

I gritted my teeth, pushing, trying to move—but nothing budged.

Mom’s eyes welled. “We’re not leaving you.”

“You have to,” I hissed.

“No—!”

Jay snapped, voice like thunder: “GO!”

They obeyed. Finally.

Jay turned to me, eyes burning.

“If I can get to the object and toss it—maybe it’ll collapse the vortex.”

I nodded. “Do it.”

He vanished—leaping from rooftop to rooftop, dodging flying debris. The center was a storm.

He landed, skidding to the black object. Reached out— And the blackhole sucked him in.

But not before he looked back—saw Lira near me.

Saw a blade of metal—whirling from the vortex—

Saw it slice her in half.

His scream never reached her in time.

He disappeared into darkness.

I didn’t move. Couldn’t.

My body was screaming. My mind was blank.

Eventually, the barrel gave way.

I crawled forward—my palms soaking in blood.

Lira’s blood.

I didn’t cry yet. My body was too numb.

I stumbled to the edge. Looked down.

Kael. Crushed beneath scaffolding.

I looked farther down the road.

My parents. In the car.

Trying to drive away.

Oil. Black oil. Everywhere.

I tried to yell. I begged my voice to work.

But the words choked. Died in my throat.

They started the engine.

A flicker of flame.

And then—

Light. Sound. Fire.

Gone.

All of them.

Gone.

My knees gave out.

Everything blurred.

I don’t know how long I laid there.

The vortex was gone. The world was quiet.

The object still floated.

I walked toward it.

A ring. Smooth. Black. Cold.

I reached out.

It fit perfectly.

And then— I screamed.

And the ring began to glow.