The sound of shattering didn't fade.
It echoed.
Too long.
Too loud.
The broken glass never hit the ground.
It hung there—
mid-air.
Fragments suspended in place.
Each one reflecting a different angle.
A different version.
Ardyn's breath hitched.
"…What is this?"
His voice didn't sound right.
It overlapped.
Like two voices speaking at once.
The moment he realized it—
the sound snapped back to normal.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Watching.
The other Ardyn stood still.
Not smiling anymore.
"…You're accelerating."
Ardyn's hands clenched.
"I didn't do anything."
A faint twitch.
His fingers moved—
without him telling them to.
Just slightly.
But enough.
The suspended glass pieces trembled.
Then shifted.
Not falling.
Moving.
Slowly—
toward him.
Ardyn froze.
"…Stop."
They didn't.
The fragments hovered closer.
Closer.
Each piece reflecting his face—
but not quite right.
Different expressions.
One was smiling.
One was angry.
One—
was empty.
Ardyn stepped back.
The world flickered again.
For a split second—
he wasn't standing on the street.
He was somewhere else.
That broken world.
Closer than before.
The ground beneath him cracked.
The sky above him distorted—
like it was collapsing inward.
Then—
back again.
Ardyn staggered.
His balance slipped—
but he didn't fall.
The space around him held him up.
Wrong.
Everything was wrong.
"You need to stop resisting."
The other Ardyn's voice cut through.
Calm.
Controlled.
Unlike him.
"It's already happening."
Ardyn shook his head.
"No."
A whisper.
"I'm not—"
The words broke.
The glass fragments suddenly jerked.
Then—
shot forward.
Ardyn flinched—
raising his arm—
But they stopped.
Right before touching him.
Frozen.
Again.
His breathing turned uneven.
"…I didn't—"
"You did."
The interruption was immediate.
Sharp.
Final.
The other Ardyn stepped closer.
Now standing right in front of him.
"You're trying to control it."
A pause.
"That's why it's breaking."
Ardyn's eyes widened slightly.
"…Then what am I supposed to do?"
Silence.
For a moment—
there was no answer.
Then—
"Let go."
The words landed heavily.
Too simple.
Too dangerous.
Ardyn's jaw tightened.
"…If I do that…"
The cracks around them trembled.
The air itself felt unstable.
"…what happens?"
The other Ardyn looked at him.
Not with amusement.
Not with mockery.
But with something else.
Understanding.
"…You'll see."
The glass fragments began to shake again.
Faster.
More violently.
The cracks spread further—
covering everything.
The world couldn't hold itself together anymore.
Ardyn's thoughts raced.
Control—
or release.
Hold on—
or let go.
His hands trembled.
His breathing slowed.
Then—
he stopped resisting.
For a single second—
everything went quiet.
Still.
Peaceful.
And then—
everything broke.