Chapter 16: Echoes of Time Part 2

Alec’s pulse hammered in his ears as Ken’s words echoed in his mind. They felt too real, too raw, but Alec wasn’t ready to confront them—not yet. Not when his world was falling apart and his past was dissolving into contradictions. Every answer he found only led to more questions. Every piece of the puzzle was a reminder that things weren’t what they seemed.

Ken’s gaze softened, but his voice remained firm. "Alec, this isn’t just about your past anymore. It's about your future. You need to face what’s inside you before it takes over. We don’t have much time."

Alec shook his head, struggling to breathe through the anxiety building in his chest. The grip on the watch tightened, its cold metal biting into his palm. He could feel it. That familiar sensation creeping back up his spine, like a shadow rising within him, slowly taking root in the very core of his being. The same shadow that had haunted him for years.

“I’ll deal with it,” Alec whispered through clenched teeth, a wave of emotion crashing over him. He wasn’t sure if he meant the past or the growing darkness inside him.

Ken hesitated, his eyes full of concern. "You think you’re strong enough to handle this on your own? You’re not alone in this fight, Alec. We can help."

But Alec wasn’t listening. The surge of something darker had already begun to rise in him. It had always been there, lurking beneath the surface. The anachronization—the strange twist in time that had begun the night of his parents’ death—had infected him deeper than he realized. It wasn’t just messing with his memories or his understanding of reality. It was changing him.

Alec's vision blurred as a cold, malevolent energy coursed through his veins. The shadow within him was growing stronger, filling his thoughts with promises of power, control—freedom from the pain and uncertainty. He felt himself slipping, falling into its embrace, his every instinct screaming at him to let go and embrace it. The more he tried to fight it, the stronger the pull became.

But it was too late. The darkness consumed him, and Alec’s features twisted into something unrecognizable, a reflection of the very evil that had now taken hold. The room felt suffocating, the walls pressing in as if reality itself were bending to Alec's will. His breath quickened, his body trembling with the force of the transformation.

Ken backed away, his face paling at the sight. "Alec… No, not now. We need to stop this!"

Lina rushed to his side, her voice desperate. "Alec, please! Fight it! Don’t let it take you!"

But Alec couldn’t hear them anymore. He was drowning in the abyss, the dark energy flooding his mind with visions of destruction, of everything falling apart. The power was intoxicating, and part of him reveled in it. His hands clenched into fists, and the room around him began to distort, the air crackling with the energy pulsing from him.

“This is who I really am,” Alec muttered, his voice echoing with a sinister edge. “The truth they couldn’t see.”

Ken’s heart raced as he tried to process what was happening. He had read about such occurrences, heard whispers of dark entities and corrupted timelines—but never had he thought it would be Alec who would succumb to it.

"We need to act now," Ken said, his voice sharp. "The curse is taking over. It’s not too late to save him."

The team sprang into action, quickly pulling together a plan. They had been prepared for many things, but never for something like this. They had to find a way to sever the connection between Alec and the darkness before it consumed him completely.