Chapter 10: A Shattered Mind
The silver light engulfed them both, and for a moment, Remus felt his body unravel, as if every fiber of his being was being stripped away and scattered across time. When he opened his eyes, he wasn't on the battlefield anymore.
"Remus! Are you just going to sit there all day?"
The familiar voice jolted him, and he turned to see his younger brother, Edwin, staring at him with a mix of impatience and confusion. His dark hair was a mess from the morning breeze, his cheeks flushed from running around outside. The simplicity of the moment felt jarring, almost alien, after everything Remus had endured.
He blinked, his thoughts racing. The small wooden table before him, the faint smell of bread baking, and the distant sound of his sisters laughing—all of it rushed back to him. He was in his family's cottage. Home.
"You zoned out again," Edwin said, sitting beside him. "What's wrong with you? You've been weird all morning."
Remus didn't respond immediately. He was still grappling with the sheer impossibility of what was happening. His hands trembled as he touched the wooden table, his breath hitching when he realized it felt real. Too real. This wasn't just a memory—it was now. Somehow, his consciousness had been pulled back into his younger self.
Edwin frowned, waving a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Remus? You're scaring me, man."
"I'm fine," Remus said hoarsely, his voice strained. He glanced out the window, his mind racing. Two years ago. This was two years ago, just before the Germanican soldiers attacked their village. Before everything fell apart.
"Fine," Edwin echoed skeptically, but before he could press further, their mother called them for breakfast.
The first attempt was chaotic. Remus barely had time to process what was happening before the soldiers arrived. He tried to rally the villagers, shouting warnings as he sprinted through the cobbled streets.
"They're coming!" he yelled, his voice hoarse. "Everyone, get to cover!"
But they didn't listen. Most were too confused, unsure whether to believe him or dismiss him as a madman. He reached his home just as the first flames began licking at the rooftops.
"Get out!" he screamed at his family, grabbing Edwin and his sisters by the arms. His father and mother hesitated, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Remus, what's—" his mother began, but she never finished.
The front door burst open, and the soldiers poured in. The next moments were a blur of screams, blood, and chaos. He fought with everything he had, but his body was weak—just as it had been two years ago. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how fiercely he resisted, it ended the same way. He watched his family die.
When the silver light engulfed him again, Remus was back at the table, Edwin shaking his shoulder.
"You zoned out again," he said, his tone identical to before.
Remus's heart sank. He knew what had happened. It hadn't worked. They were still doomed.
He tried again. This time, he focused on his family alone. He didn't bother warning the villagers or trying to fight back. He shoved his family into the small cellar beneath the cottage and barricaded the door. "Stay here," he whispered, his voice trembling. "Don't come out, no matter what happens."
The soldiers arrived moments later, their shouts echoing through the village. He stood outside the cellar, a makeshift spear in hand, determined to hold them off. He managed to kill two of them, but they overwhelmed him. As he lay bleeding on the ground, he heard the soldiers breaking into the cellar. The screams that followed would haunt him forever.
The light came again, and he was back at the table.
"Remus?" the voice was the same, but this time, Remus didn't answer. He pushed back from the table, his movements mechanical.
This time, he tried to escape with his family before the soldiers arrived. He led them through the forest, running until his legs gave out. For a moment, he thought they were safe. But the soldiers found them anyway. Arrows rained down, and his siblings fell one by one.
And then the light came again.
The loops began to blur together. Each time, he tried something different. He dug trenches, set traps, rallied the villagers, or begged the soldiers for mercy. He fought, he ran, he hid. But no matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, the result was always the same.
His father would be cut down first, his powerful frame no match for the soldiers' numbers. His mother would shield his youngest sister, only to be struck down moments later. Edwin would always fight, screaming defiance as they overwhelmed him. And his sisters...
Remus stopped keeping track of how many times he had seen them die.
On the final loop, he simply stood in the middle of the burning village, his body numb as he watched the soldiers swarm his home. He didn't fight or run this time. He just stood there, staring as the flames consumed everything he loved.
When the light came again, he sat at the table, staring blankly at Edwin's concerned face.
"Remus?" he asked, his voice uncertain. "Are you okay?"
Remus didn't answer. He couldn't. His mind had fractured under the weight of it all. He had seen his family die too many times, felt the crushing weight of his failure over and over.
His brother's voice became a distant hum, drowned out by the memories of fire, blood, and loss. His gaze drifted to the window, but he didn't really see the world outside. He was trapped in a loop of grief and despair.
Edwin leaned closer, his brow furrowed in deep concern. "Remus, what's going on? You're scaring me."
But Remus didn't respond, his lips trembling as he muttered under his breath. "I can't… I can't do this anymore. Not again. I've had enough." His voice cracked, shifting between low whispers and panicked breaths.
He reached out, shaking his brother's shoulder. "Remus, you're not making any sense! Snap out of it!"
But the words didn't register. Remus's mumbling grew louder, his hands clutching his head as if trying to keep his thoughts from spilling out. "I can't save them. I've tried. Over and over. It's always the same. They die. You die. Everyone dies."
Edwin's face paled. "What are you talking about? No one's dying! We're fine!" He glanced out the window as faint sounds of commotion reached his ears. The soldiers. They were coming.
"Get up!" he urged, his voice shaking. "We have to go! Now!"
But Remus didn't move. His trembling turned into outright shouting, his voice cracking with anguish. "I don't want to see it anymore! I want to get away! Just... get away!"
Edwin staggered back, his eyes wide as a faint blue glow began emanating from Remus's body. The light pulsated, growing brighter with each second. "Remus?" his voice was barely a whisper now, trembling with fear.
The soldiers burst into the village, their voices ringing out in harsh shouts. The telltale sound of steel meeting flesh echoed through the air. They were coming closer. But Remus didn't even flinch. He didn't seem to notice them at all.
Instead, his body began to change. His youthful features aged rapidly, his frame growing taller and more defined. His eyes, wild with despair, burned with an otherworldly blue glow.
Kael stumbled backward, shielding his eyes as the light around Remus intensified.
"I WANT TO GET AWAY!" Remus roared, his voice deep and resonant, echoing through the village like a thunderclap.
The blue light exploded outward, sending shockwaves through the air. The soldiers froze in their tracks, shielding their faces from the blinding brightness. The very ground beneath Remus cracked and splintered, sending tremors through the village.
Reality itself seemed to twist around him. The air shimmered like a mirage, and faint cracks began forming in the sky, jagged and unnatural. The cracks spread, spider-webbing through the air.
Edwin screamed his brother's name, but his voice was lost in the deafening hum that filled the air.
Remus's body pulsed again with blue light, brighter than before. His words were fragmented now, a mix of anger, pain, and desperation. "No more… I don't want this… Let me go!"
The cracks in reality deepened, fragments of the world splintering and falling away like shards of glass. Another explosion of light ripped through the village, and the soldiers were thrown backward, their weapons clattering to the ground.
Edwin, lying on the ground, reached out weakly toward his brother, tears streaming down his face. "Remus… please…"
But Remus didn't look at him. His glowing eyes stared at the crumbling world around him, unseeing. One final, shuddering breath escaped his lips as he whispered, "Get me out of here."
And with that, he exploded in a final burst of radiant blue light.
The cracks in reality spread one last time, and then everything shattered. The world splintered into countless pieces, disintegrating into an endless void.
And Remus was gone.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone