It was 11:07 PM when the rain finally stopped, leaving the highway shimmering under the streetlights. The city felt strangely quiet, as if something was holding its breath. Aarav ran down the empty stretch of road, his shoes splashing through shallow water, his lungs burning with every breath. He didn't know who was chasing him, but he could feel it — that instinctive fear crawling up his spine, telling him not to stop.
The roar of an engine shattered the silence. Headlights flared behind him, blinding and aggressive. A black SUV sped around the curve, tires screeching against the wet asphalt. Aarav glanced back, panic flooding his chest. The vehicle accelerated straight toward him. The rear window rolled down slowly, and a man dressed in black leaned out. In his hand, something metallic caught the light.
A gun.
Before Aarav could fully process it, a flash burst from the weapon and a gunshot cracked through the night. But instead of impact, something impossible happened. The sound stretched unnaturally, deep and distorted, like thunder echoing underwater. The bullet drifted through the air in front of him — not fast, not deadly — but slow. Incredibly slow.
The rain froze mid-fall. Droplets hung suspended like glass beads. The SUV crawled forward as if trapped in invisible glue. Aarav stared at the spinning bullet inches from his face, watching every tiny rotation. His thoughts were clear. Too clear. His heart pounded violently in his chest, and with each beat, the world seemed to bend further.
Without thinking, he stepped aside. Calmly. The bullet slid past him, moving like it was cutting through thick syrup. Aarav's breathing steadied as he looked around in disbelief. Everything had slowed — except him. He moved freely while the rest of the world struggled against time itself. The men in the SUV were frozen in partial motion, their expressions distorted by confusion.
He walked closer to the vehicle, testing his steps. The air felt heavier near them, like resistance pushing back against him. Pressure built inside his skull, sharp and painful. His heartbeat thundered again, and suddenly the slow world flickered. The rain began falling faster. The engine noise rose. Reality snapped back violently.
The SUV screeched past him, brakes locking as it halted ahead. Doors slammed open. Three men stepped out, dressed in tactical black gear. They moved with precision, weapons raised. One of them spoke into an earpiece, his voice steady. "Target confirmed. Subject reacted to projectile."
Subject.
The word struck Aarav harder than the gunshot. They weren't surprised. They expected this. His pulse raced again, anger mixing with fear. The air trembled around him. Streetlights flickered. One of the men tossed a metallic device near his feet. It activated with a low hum that vibrated through his bones.
Pain exploded behind Aarav's eyes. His heart pounded faster, harder. The world slowed again — but this time it fractured. Movements glitched. Rain fell in broken frames. The men's steps became distorted, as if reality itself was buffering. Aarav felt something inside him tearing open, something powerful and uncontrollable.
He realized then that he wasn't just slowing time.
He was breaking it.
The device sparked violently as the distortion intensified. One of the agents tried to grab him, but his arm froze mid-reach. Aarav moved effortlessly through the chaos. For a moment, the highway became his domain. The only thing not trapped in time was him.
But the strain was unbearable. Blood trickled from his nose. His vision blurred. The slow-motion world destabilized again, threatening to collapse. The agents began regaining speed. The leader raised a sleek weapon, aiming directly at him.
Then everything stopped.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
Complete silence swallowed the night. The rain hung perfectly still. The agents froze like statues. Even the wind vanished. Aarav stood alone in absolute stillness, his breathing echoing in the void. Fear twisted inside him as he turned slowly, realizing this level of control wasn't intentional.
A voice broke the silence.
"You've gone further than expected."
Aarav spun around. A woman stood behind him, completely unaffected by the frozen world. She wore a dark coat, her expression calm and calculating. She stepped forward, the air cracking faintly around her movements.
"How are you moving?" Aarav demanded, his voice unsteady.
She studied him carefully. "So it's true," she said quietly. "You're a natural Timebreaker."
The word sent a chill through him. Before he could respond, the frozen world began to fracture like shattered glass. Sound rushed back violently. Rain resumed falling. The agents moved again, startled and aggressive. The woman grabbed Aarav's wrist firmly.
"Run," she ordered.
Gunfire erupted once more, but Aarav no longer felt the same fear. Deep inside, beneath the confusion and pain, he understood something terrifying. This wasn't an accident. It wasn't random. His power was real. And the people hunting him knew exactly what he was becoming.
As they disappeared into the darkness, Aarav realized one undeniable truth — the slow world had awakened.
And so had he.