Kei stood amidst the shifting ruins of the Prison, his breath uneven as he stared at the pulsating shard in his hand. The Time Fragment gleamed with an eerie glow, distorting the very fabric of reality around him. It was his key to survival, his only hope against the FacelessMan's overwhelming power.
A strange sensation washed over him—a feeling of being untethered from time itself. The world flickered, and suddenly, he saw two versions of himself standing beside him—one slightly ahead in age, another younger, filled with fear. They weren't illusions. They were him. Past and future, overlapping in a fractured moment.
"Kei…" The older version of himself spoke, his voice laced with exhaustion. "You need to understand—this place is alive. The Prison of Time doesn't just trap people. It feeds on them."
Before Kei could respond, a chilling laugh echoed through the chamber. The Faceless Man emerged from the shadows, his form flickering like a glitch in reality. "Ah… the boy is starting to see," he mused, his featureless face tilting as if amused. "But knowledge comes at a cost."
Without warning, the entire space around them twisted. Walls elongated, floors stretched infinitely, and the sky above became an endless spiral of shifting constellations. Kei clutched the TimeFragment tightly, feeling it synchronize with his heartbeat.
The older version of himself nodded. "Use it. Control your own timeline before he does."
Kei gritted his teeth and focused. The Time Fragment pulsed, and suddenly—
He was moving faster than time itself.
The Faceless Man lunged, but Kei sidestepped in an instant, his body flickering as he shifted between seconds. He could see the attack before it happened, anticipate movements before they even started.
This was his evolution.
But something was wrong. The more he used the Fragment, the more reality around him cracked. If he wasn't careful, he would rip himself out of existence entirely.
TheFacelessMan stopped his attack, watching him with eerie stillness. "Now you see the real Prison, don't you?"
Kei swallowed hard. This wasn't just about escaping anymore.
It was about surviving time itself.