Kei stood at the edge of the floating platform, the shattered remains of a past battle still scattered around him. The prison was shifting again—rearranging itself like a never-ending maze designed to keep him trapped. He had already lost count of how many times the walls had moved, how many corridors had stretched into nothingness, and how many enemies had risen from the void.
But this time, something was different.
A low, mechanical hum resonated through the air. TheFacelessMan was nowhere to be seen, but Kei could feel something—an unseen force threading itself into the space around him.
"Time itself is watching me," Kei muttered, gripping his fingers into a fist. The fragments of time he had unknowingly absorbed in previous fights were still dormant, yet he could feel them—pulsing like a second heartbeat.
Then, the world blinked.
A sudden, violent shift. The sky above cracked like glass, revealing glimpses of futures that had never been written, and timelines that had yet to collide. And in that frozen moment, Kei saw himself—versions of him standing at the peak of evolution, wielding powers beyond comprehension. But those weren't him… not yet.
A voice—faint, yet commanding—whispered in his mind.
"You are an anomaly, Kei. A ripple in time's perfect design. Adapt, or be erased."
The echoes faded, and the world snapped back into place. Kei exhaled sharply, sweat trickling down his temple. He wasn't ready yet. But something inside him had begun to stir.
And this time, he would make sure to control it.