Fragments of Dawn

Kai stood at the edge of the training chamber, sweat rolling down his face as his muscles screamed for rest. The exercises had pushed him beyond anything he thought possible, and yet the Keepers showed no sign of stopping.

The lead Keeper raised his hand, and time itself seemed to slow—not because of Kai’s power, but because of what was coming next.

“You have learned to stop a moment,” the Keeper said, his voice calm yet firm. “Now, you must learn to extend it. To stretch time itself without breaking it.”

Kai wiped his forehead and took a slow breath. “And how exactly do I do that?”@@novelbin@@

The Keeper extended his hand, and suddenly, the air shimmered with golden light. A small droplet of water materialized between them, suspended in midair.

“This water will fall in exactly five seconds,” the Keeper explained. “You must make it take twenty.”

Kai frowned. He had slowed time before, but to deliberately extend a single moment that far? That was something else entirely.

Still, he had no choice but to try.

He exhaled and focused, reaching out with his senses. He could feel the flow of time, the invisible river that guided all things forward. He concentrated on the droplet, willing it to move slower, to stretch each fraction of a second beyond its natural limit.

The droplet trembled, resisting him.

Kai gritted his teeth. He pushed harder, forcing his will upon the moment—

Snap.

The droplet fell instantly, breaking apart as it hit the floor.

Kai staggered back, his head pounding. The recoil felt like a hammer striking his skull.

The Keeper sighed. “You are forcing it.”

Kai clenched his fists. “Of course I am! Time doesn’t want to be stretched.”

“Exactly.” The Keeper stepped closer. “And yet, the greatest masters do not force time—they persuade it.”

Kai exhaled sharply, steadying himself. He had been treating time like an opponent, like a force that had to be conquered. But what if that wasn’t the answer?

He closed his eyes and tried again.

This time, he didn’t push.

He flowed.

He imagined time as an endless thread, gently unwinding. He reached out—not to seize it, but to guide it.

The droplet trembled again.

Slowed.

Hung in the air like a delicate crystal.

Five seconds passed.

Ten.

Fifteen.

The droplet finally touched the floor at twenty seconds.

Kai opened his eyes, his breathing slow but steady.

The Keeper gave a small nod. “Good.”

Kai exhaled in relief. He had done it.

But deep down, he knew this was only the beginning.

In the ruins of an old industrial complex, Ava stood at the head of her growing army. The air was thick with smoke and the scent of burning metal. Before her, a group of prisoners knelt, their wrists bound with energy restraints.

They were survivors—messengers from the Keepers, sent to scout the area.

They had failed.

Ava stepped forward, her violet eyes glowing with cold determination. “You were sent to find me, weren’t you?” she asked, her voice deceptively calm.

One of the prisoners, a man with a scar running down his cheek, spat at the ground. “The Keepers know what you’re doing. They won’t let you corrupt the fragments.”

Ava smiled faintly. “Corrupt?” She crouched to meet his gaze. “Tell me, do you even understand what the fragments truly are?”

The man’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

Ava stood, raising her hand. The fragment embedded in her palm pulsed with power. The air around them crackled, reality itself shifting as her will bent the space between moments.

The prisoners gasped as the world around them twisted. The sky darkened unnaturally, and their voices became delayed, as if trapped between different times.

“I don’t seek to corrupt the fragments,” Ava said. “I seek to use them as they were meant

She turned to her second-in-command. “Take them to the containment cells. They’ll be useful later.”

The woman with silver hair nodded, motioning for the guards to take the prisoners away.

Ava turned her gaze to the horizon. She could feel the balance shifting, the forces of the world realigning themselves.

Kai was getting stronger.

But it didn’t matter.

Soon, she would make her move.

And when she did, the world would finally understand.

Back in the training grounds, Kai was catching his breath when he felt it—

A shift.

A pulse in the fabric of reality, like a stone dropped into a still pond.

He wasn’t the only one who noticed. The Keeper’s expression darkened.

“The fragments are stirring,” the Keeper murmured. “And so is she.”

Kai’s chest tightened. “Ava.”

He had known this day would come. From the moment he had awoken to this broken world, he had felt her presence like a shadow just beyond his reach.

She was moving.

The Keepers exchanged glances before the lead Keeper spoke again. “You are not ready.”

Kai clenched his fists. “Then make me ready.”

The Keeper hesitated before nodding. “Very well.”

The room darkened as energy surged around them. The final stage of his training was about to begin.

And when it ended, he would face Ava once more.