Rana sat with the gadget in his hand.
The screen was dark. Silent. But that vibration — the same faint, steady vibration — was still there. As though something inside the device refused to stop. As though it had always been active, always waiting.
He stared at the screen for a long time. His mind refused to settle on a single thought. One arrived, then another, then a third. Everything at once. Like several voices speaking simultaneously — and none of them willing to stop.
Xyolithian.
The box.
Leader.
"You have made a very serious mistake."
Those words. Still there. Hours had passed — and yet those words remained exactly where they had been. As though someone had pressed them permanently into the inside of him, leaving no room for them to fade.
Rana closed his eyes. Drew a slow breath.
One thing at a time. Slowly.
The fifth dimension.
Leader had said it — the body would remain here. The consciousness would be imprisoned there.
But how does one imprison a consciousness?
There had to be a device. A method. Something — that created the connection. Something that held the consciousness in place and prevented it from returning.
Rana opened his eyes — and then —
A memory arrived. Sudden. Clear.
The day the soldiers had taken Xyolithian. When the device had been raised. When everything had happened in a single second — and Rana had only watched. Had not been able to stop it. Had not been able to do anything.
In that moment — as Xyolithian was falling — one soldier had done something. Had extended a hand. To a specific part of Xyolithian's head. Something small. Fast. Precise.
He had not paid attention then. Too much was happening. Everything had been a blur.
But now —
A chip.
Rana's breath paused for one second.
That chip — it is the connection to the fifth dimension. The method of keeping the consciousness imprisoned there. A physical anchor. If the chip were removed —
The thought did not complete itself. It did not need to.
But —
For one moment — Rana stayed where he was. Made no move to rise.
Because there was one more thing.
What if I am wrong —
What if removing the chip causes something else to happen —
What if Xyolithian returns — and he is actually —
Rana closed his eyes. He stopped that thought before it could finish. Because if it finished — what came after it would be too heavy to carry. He would never be able to rise. Never be able to act.
Answers. That is all. Just answers. Everything else can wait.
He stood up.
There was a specific room in the base.
He had not paid much attention to it before. But now — now he noticed everything. Every detail. Every pattern. A room that soldiers visited repeatedly. That no one normally approached. That Leader would occasionally pause near — just for one second — and look toward.
The body will be there.
Rana stepped quietly into the corridor. Moved along the walls — slowly, carefully. Calculated each step. Listened to each sound.
One turn. Then another.
And then —
He stopped.
Two soldiers. Outside the door. Armed. Alert. Both of them completely still — like statues — only their eyes moving, checking every direction.
Rana stepped back behind the wall.
His heart was beating fast. But he knew — allowing his heart to beat fast right now was wrong. Right now only the mind worked.
Guards.
Which means — something important is inside.
Which means — this is the room.
He drew a slow breath. Something inside him was saying — go now. Remove the chip now. Finish this now. But he knew — that feeling was wrong. That urgency was wrong. Going in directly — against two armed soldiers — without any plan — was wrong.
There will be noise. Leader will find out.
And then —
Rana looked around the corner once more — looked at the guards — then came back.
A method has to be found. A distraction. Something that moves them away from there — just for a few minutes.
Something that does not appear suspicious.
Something that —
His mind was running. Fast. And Rana stood there — behind the wall — in the darkness — building a plan — frustrated — but in control.
Not now.
Tomorrow. But it will happen.
And on the other side — very far away —
The police station.
Inside, a simple room. Table. Chairs. A large screen on one wall. A tube light that was slightly too bright — the kind of light that made it clear this was a place where only truth was searched for. Where there was no room for softness.
His father and mother sat beside each other. His mother's hand was in his father's — fingers interlocked. Both silent.
The officer sat across from them.
"I will speak directly," he said. "We have found some footage."
The screen came on. The video began.
It was the exterior of the warehouse — the industrial zone. Night time. The camera angle from above — a wide shot.
And a figure —
Rana.
Clearly. Unmistakably.
His mother's grip on his father's hand tightened — involuntary. As though the body had reacted before the mind could process what it was seeing.
Rana was walking — he appeared completely normal — moving toward the warehouse. Then —
Glitch.
Horizontal lines. Distortion. One second. Two seconds.
Rana —
Was not there.
"This —" His father's voice did not come out the first time.
"Twice," the officer said. "Same location. Same pattern. Same glitch. Once on the day of the accident — and again on the night you filed the missing report."
"Was it a camera fault?" his father asked — his voice controlled — but something inside it was breaking.
"No. We checked. Only at this specific angle — only when Rana was in the frame — this happened."
His father looked at the screen — at Rana's last frame — where he was — and then was not.
Something inside him could not settle. A father's pain — the kind that has no words. The kind that is only felt — deep inside — in a place no one else can reach.
He is my son. My son.
And then his father's mind went somewhere else for a moment.
Just yesterday — Rana had sent a message —
"I'll be late. Don't keep food for me."
And today — today Rana could not be found anywhere. By anyone.
And I —
I could not do anything.
"Did your son have any enemies?" the officer asked.
"No," his father said.
"We will go to the warehouse to investigate tomorrow morning," the officer said. "Full team. If anything is found, we will inform you immediately."
His father nodded.
Outside — it was night. Cold. Sitting in the car — his father placed his hands on the steering wheel — but did not start the engine.
Simply — sat there.
His mother said nothing. His father said nothing.
But his father's eyes — which had been dry for hours — once — just once — filled.
And they overflowed.
And on Zyphoros —
The following morning, Rana was moving slowly down the corridor. Each step placed carefully — deliberately — as though every footfall had been thought through in advance. He was almost at the room when his eyes fell on Leader standing directly ahead.
Leader looked straight at him.
"What is it, Rana?" he asked, his voice calm. "What are you thinking about?"
For one moment a wave of alarm rose inside Rana. His heart began to beat faster. But he composed himself immediately. He did not allow the alarm to reach his face.
Rana drew a light breath and said —
"I am worried.
I have been here for approximately four to six days now.
How many days exactly — I cannot even remember.
But my parents are on Earth.
They will be worried about me."
This was not something Rana had said merely in passing.
He was genuinely worried about his parents.
Leader looked at him for several moments. Then said quietly —
"Rana, I know your parents are worried about you.
But to save Earth, to save Zyphoros, to save the entire universe — you must stay here.
Your parents will suffer. But that suffering will begin to feel small — when we win.
When we save the universe from the upper aliens, the Raxorians, and Veyrath."
Rana went quiet.
Only one thought was moving through his mind —
I need to free Xyolithian first.
But he was given no opportunity to say anything. Leader gestured for him to come along and took him somewhere else.
Rana could not even refuse.
And at that same moment —
In that room —
Where Xyolithian was held —
Something stirred.
That place — which existed on no map.
The fifth dimension.
Where there was darkness — the same complete, total darkness. No walls. No floor. No ceiling. Only infinite black in every direction.
Xyolithian's consciousness was there.
Had been there since the soldiers pressed the trigger.
He had been watching. Thinking. Feeling. But could do nothing. As though he were behind glass — everything visible — but his hand could not reach through.
Rana.
You gave away the box.
You did not understand.
That frustration — that was inside him — that pain — that he could not make sense of — why — why had Rana not listened — why had it been so difficult —
But I could not explain it.
I was also wrong.
I did not explain it the right way.
This thought had come for the first time here. In this darkness. When there was nothing — only time to think.
And then —
Something happened.
From outside. Something was there — pushing. Or pulling. As though a connection existed — slowly activating. As though a door had been shut for a long time — and now — someone outside was opening it.
Who is there?
The connection grew stronger.
Xyolithian's consciousness — which had been completely still — moved.
For the first time.
Someone is outside. Someone —
And then — that darkness — which had surrounded him from every direction —
Began to thin.
Slowly. But clearly. Like the first light of morning — when night has not yet gone — but is going.
Xyolithian felt it — that connection — that pull — and he — for the first time — moved toward it.
With everything he had.
In the base —
That room — where the body was — where the guards stood —
Something happened.
The body — which had been completely still for hours —
A hand moved.
Fingers. Slowly. As though someone was waking from a very deep sleep — as though the body was remembering how to move.
Guard one did not notice.
Guard two looked toward the room for one second — then looked straight ahead again.
And inside —
Xyolithian's eyes —
Slowly —
Opened.
Blurred at first. Then focus returned. Ceiling. Room. Light.
I —
I am outside.
One second passed — processing. Then —
He rose. Slowly. Hands on the floor for support. Drew breath — the first real breath — the kind that did not exist in the fifth dimension.
Inside that room — where Xyolithian had been held — there was a strange stillness. The faint sound of machines. Dim lights. And at the center — a figure that was no longer still at all.
Xyolithian slowly straightened to his full height.
His eyes were open — and in those eyes, something was different now.
Anger.
Pain.
And above all — the burning desire for retribution.
He clenched his fist. His breathing was deep — as though with every breath, the anger inside him was becoming more intense.
Then he spoke — quietly, but with the full weight of his voice —
"I will spare no one now.
Whoever stands between me and my goal —
I will kill them all."
The glow in his eyes intensified.
And then he roared —
"I am Xyolithian — Xyolithian!"
The air inside the room felt heavy. Xyolithian still stood straight — the same rage, the same pain, the same fire of vengeance burning in his eyes.
Then suddenly —
His gaze fell on something ahead.
Someone was standing there.
For one moment Xyolithian went completely still. As though his mind was trying to process what it was seeing.
He said softly — in shock —
"You…?"
The entity standing before him replied in a calm voice —
"Yes… me.
And it was I who freed you."
The room fell back into silence.
And on the other side —
Rana still had no idea that Xyolithian had been freed.
And Leader had no idea either.