# Chapter 9: Fragments of the Past
Eren's voice came out breathless, each word costing a visible effort.
"You... always..." He coughed, blood staining his lips. "You always were better than me, taking everything I ever wanted."
Yunar gripped his shoulders harder, trying to keep Eren's body from collapsing completely.
"Why are you saying this?" His own voice was trembling.
Tears streamed from Yunar's eyes. Warm. Involuntary.
And, for the first time, tears streamed from Eren's eyes too.
"Everything could have been different, if you—!"
Eren's voice came out almost without breath. His eyelids closed slowly, his eyes rolling back as consciousness began to slip away. His vision grew blurred, dim, but he could still hear.
The quiet sound of Yunar weeping.
And in that final moment, as life drained away, Eren's mind brought him a memory.
---
## Years Ago
The mountain wasn't very high, but the climb was steep enough to leave anyone breathless.
Something glowed at the top. A light that pulsed in colours that shouldn't have existed together — lilac, violet, brown, something cosmic and alien that hurt the eyes of anyone who looked directly at it.
Eren ran up the mountainside, his heart pounding in his chest — not from exhaustion, but from pure adrenaline. His feet struck the loose stones, nearly tripping more than once, but he didn't slow down.
He looked back.
Yunar was just behind him, nearly out of breath, one hand pressed against his chest as he struggled to keep up.
"Come on, faster!" Eren shouted without stopping. "We need to see what that thing is!"
"I know!" Yunar replied between heavy breaths. "But can't we rest for a second?"
"No!" Eren was already too far ahead to hear properly.
When they finally reached the top of the mountain, both of them stopped abruptly.
Their eyes went wide.
There, in the centre of a small circle of stones, were two triangular fragments. They glowed with that same impossible light — lilac, violet, brown, colours that seemed to pulse and shift as though alive. The fragments were attached to an ancient grimoire, its edges worn by time.
But beside them, just a few centimetres away, was a man.
White hair. Pale skin. Lying on the ground in a growing pool of blood that streamed from his mouth, nose, and ears.
Eren and Yunar trembled.
Slowly. Involuntarily.
Yunar was the first to move. He ran to the man, dropping to his knees beside him.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
He looked back at Eren, who was still standing there, frozen.
"We need to get him to a hospital!"
But before either of them could do anything, the man grabbed Yunar's arm. His fingers were cold. Weak. But firm enough to command attention.
"This is... the only way," the man whispered, his voice barely more than a hoarse murmur.
"You cannot escape lo—"
The voice died.
The man's eyes closed slowly. His hand slipped from Yunar's arm, falling limp to the ground.
Dead.
The glow around them intensified. The cosmic light from the fragments began to spread, illuminating the entire mountaintop in a spectacle of alien colours.
Eren moved.
Fast. Instinctive.
He grabbed the grimoire along with the fragments and tucked everything inside his shirt, pressing them against his chest. He had barely finished when voices echoed up from below.
People. Several people approaching to see the glow.
Eren grabbed Yunar's arm and pulled him to his feet.
"We need to get out of here."
"But—"
"Now!"
They ran.
---
Hours later, they were in Eren's apartment.
Sitting on the bed, still catching their breath, still processing what had happened. Yunar was visibly shaking, his hands pressed tight against his knees. His eyes were fixed on the floor, but seeing nothing. Just the image of the dead man, lying in a pool of his own blood.
It was the first time he had seen a corpse that close.
Meanwhile, Eren opened the grimoire.
He placed the two triangular fragments on the table, studying them with a mixture of fascination and caution. They no longer glowed as intensely, but still pulsed faintly, as though they had a life of their own.
Eren sat beside Yunar and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We didn't do anything wrong," he said softly. "You don't have to blame yourself that much."
Yunar didn't respond. Just kept trembling.
Eren sighed and turned his attention back to the grimoire.
He opened the old pages, the paper crackling under his fingers. The script was ancient but still legible. Detailed drawings of the fragments covered the pages, accompanied by notes in careful handwriting.
---
**Warning**
These fragments were created following a temporal explosion.
**Use**
The fragments can be joined by colliding one against the other.
When joined, you may alter your own reality.
Or the reality of someone you are thinking of at the moment of collision.
There is no second use for the same individual.
**Cost**
After use, the individual will die. Permanently.
Their existence will be erased from reality.
**Caution**
Do not use them.
---
Eren read aloud in a low voice, his tone growing darker with each word.
When he finished, he sat in silence for a long moment.
"Man," he finally said, looking at the fragments on the table. "That's sinister."
At that moment, Eren's phone buzzed.
He picked it up, unlocked the screen, and read the message.
*Sara: "If it's not too much trouble, can we meet? I'll send you my location."*
Eren looked at Yunar, who was still lost in his own thoughts.
"Hey," Eren said, pocketing his phone. "We can carry on later."
Yunar blinked, finally returning to the present.
"Sure. I'll head home."
Eren stood, grabbing the jacket hanging on the chair.
"Sara wants me to go to her."
"That's fine," Yunar said, standing too. "We'll talk later."
Eren paused at the door, turning to look at his friend.
"You should tell her you still love her."
Yunar froze.
"So what if your parents don't want you dating before university?" Eren continued. "You're already an adult."
Yunar didn't respond. He just looked away.
Eren sighed and opened the door.
"
Think about it."
And then he left, leaving Yunar alone in the apartment with the grimoire open on the table and the fragments glowing softly in the dim light.
---
*END OF CHAPTER 9*