Downward Spiral

Dan's legs burned with exertion as he finally arrived at his destination. His shirt clung to his skin, saturated with sweat. He gasped for air, struggling to fill his lungs. He'd never pushed himself this hard before, using time dilation to sprint all the way here and not even bothering to consider other options. Now, as he stood before the door, he saw the toll it had taken on his body: red burn marks dotted his skin where friction had heated it to the point of scorching.

Dan's recovery stat kicked in, though, and he could feel the injuries healing even as his breath slowly steadied. He took a few moments to catch his bearings, scanning the area for any signs of trouble. After finding himself alone, he reached out to touch the doorknob, fingers trembling with exhaustion.

As he pushed the door open, he felt a strange sensation wash over him. It was like a shift in the air, a ripple of energy that prickled against his skin.

Dan's eyes widened in horror as he surveyed the room. There were bloodstains on the carpet, their metallic scent still noticeable in the air. The droplets were still wet, the color too vivid to be anything but fresh. Broken glass glinted menacingly in the light, crunching under his feet as he took a hesitant step forward.

A voice, low and casual, shattered the silence. "She won't stop struggling so we had to calm her down."

Dan's head jerked up, his gaze locking onto the speaker.

The man before him wore a sharp suit and dark sunglasses, his face clean-shaven and unmarked by the violence that had occurred. But there was something about him that made Dan's blood run cold.

"Who the hell is this?" demanded the man sitting in the center of the room, his gruff voice revealing him to be the same person Dan had heard on the phone. The man was older, with a rough beard and short hair, and his shirt was splattered with fresh blood.

Dan's eyes narrowed as he studied him, recognizing the resemblance to the boss he had beaten up.

"Probably the one we're waiting for," said the man in sunglasses, still appraising Dan with a cold gaze.

The bearded man scoffed in disbelief. "Huh?! It's only been like ten minutes, hasn't it? Was he close by?"

"Hey, is he the same guy?" a voice from the side called someone up. Dan's head snapped around and he finally noticed the seven or so men were surrounding them. One of them came forward and Dan recognized him to be Marcus. He observed him for few moments before saying, with fear evident on his voice, "Yeah, he is the son."

"Damn, so it is true then," muttered one of the guards, eyeing him with a mixture of fear and awe.

The man in sunglasses leaned forward, scrutinizing him closely. "Looking at the state he's in, he must have run here. That's a 45-minute drive at minimum. He's definitely fast."

Dan scanned the room, searching for any sign of his mother. "Where is she?!" he demanded, his voice echoing through the silent room.

No one moved, except for Marcus, who stepped back, clearly unnerved.

Dan had been wary but as he still hadn't located his mother, he decided to make his move. Just as he had done several times before, he focused his mind on the image of a giant clock towering over the world. With each passing moment, the second hand slowed down exponentially until everything around him seemed frozen in time...or that should have happened. He looked around and realized with growing horror that nothing had changed. The sunglasses guy still tapped his foot impatiently, while one of the men continued to chew gum at a regular pace. Even the clock on the wall continued to tick away, completely unaffected by Dan's abilities.

Dan opened his eyes wide in shock as panic began to set in. His mind raced as he attempted again and again to use his powers, to no avail. Had he overused them to the point of losing them entirely? He desperately searched for a rational explanation for his sudden powerlessness.

The sunglasses guy furrowed his brows in interest, observing Dan's motionless form. "Why is he just standing there doing nothing?" he questioned.

"Doesn't that just mean that your stuff worked?" the bearded man remarked, rising slowly to his feet and looming over Dan.

"Even if I disable his abilities, he should at least try to move," the sunglasses guy pondered aloud, scratching his missing beard. "It's like he already knew about it, or...his ability is something else entirely." He concluded.

The bearded man turned towards him, his eyes piercing. "Everyone saw him move fast enough to dodge bullets. If that's not an ability then what could it be?"

"Hmm, we need to observe more," the sunglasses guy murmured thoughtfully, leaning back in his seat before snapping his fingers lightly.

Dan's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden vision of his legs being swept out from under him. With lightning-fast reflexes, he dodged the attack and spun around to face his assailant: a woman wearing a smirk of confidence. But her expression quickly morphed into one of bewilderment as Dan avoided her attack with ease.

"What the hell?!" she cried out in annoyance, glaring at the sunglasses guy. "You said he can't use his abilities anymore."

Dan took a step back, his eyes fixed on the new enemy. Despite her small stature, he knew better than to underestimate her. She had only appeared after a signal, like a trump card, so he remained wary of her.

As he planned his next move, he heard the man with sunglasses speaking. "He was still able to avoid your attack but didn't initiate one of his own. Maybe it's a different power then?"

"What?!" both the bearded man and the woman exclaimed in unison.

"Having more than one power is fucking absurd," the bearded man retorted.

"We don't know much about these powers after all," the man with sunglasses said, taking off his glasses to reveal strange white eyes. "But yeah, having more than one would make anyone invincible."

Dan was now sure that the man with the sunglasses was the reason he couldn't use time dilation. He needed to get rid of him fast, but the woman stood in his way.

"Why are you just standing there?" the bearded man said, annoyance in his voice. "At least make him sweat."

With a click of her tongue, the woman turned back to face Dan and readied herself for a fight. She rushed at him with a swift kick aimed at his head, displaying superior speed and reflexes. Despite this, Dan was able to dodge at the last moment thanks to his foresight ability. Just as he thought he was in the clear, however, he was suddenly blown back and collided with the table behind him. The heavy blow to his chest knocked the breath out of him, leaving him gasping for air. He opened his eyes wide in shock as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

To his horror, the woman was still attacking him. Dan saw a vision of his groin being targeted, so he put his hands in front of himself to block the attack. He was successful in avoiding the attack, but he was then hit hard in the face, causing everything to go blurry for a few moments. He took a few steps back and tried to analyze the situation.

Blood trickled down from his nose, and his chest still throbbed along with his head. It was clear that his opponent was highly skilled and experienced in fights like these. However, what troubled him the most was that her attacks were still landing, despite his attempts to block or dodge them.

"What's happening now?" the woman asked, seeming just as surprised as he was.

"It looks like he isn't fast enough to keep up with your power," the man with the strange ability explained, still seated.

"How did they lose to a guy like this?" the smirk returned to the woman's face.

She continued to attack, and Dan did his best to defend himself. He tried to counterattack, but her skills were too good, and she was able to effectively avoid or defend against his moves. After a few exchanges, Dan finally realized what was happening. It seemed like her power allowed her to land multiple hits at the same time. If he focused hard enough, he could see multiple visions overlapping, but his reflexes were only fast enough to avoid one or two attacks at best. Moreover, he was not used to fighting someone as skilled as her. With each passing second, Dan's options seemed to dwindle, and he saw no way out of the situation.

As she continued to attack him, Dan's body took on the brunt of her blows. He winced in pain, feeling the damage accumulate with each hit. His foresight ability, while not only being unhelpful, automatically kicked in, draining his energy as he struggled to keep up. Dan's head spun as he remembered the last time he had felt so trapped. That opponent had been stronger, but he had managed to avoid the attacks. In comparison, her blows weren't as deadly but each successful one was still hurting him. He had started to feel lightheaded and dizzy and knew that soon he wouldn't be able to keep up.

Abandoning all defense, Dan lunged at his opponent, hoping to push her back even slightly. She seemed taken aback by his sudden shift in strategy, or perhaps she was just toying with him. He braced himself as he saw the vision of her next three attacks; a punch to his face, a side sweep, and a hard punch to his abdomen. With all his might, Dan dodged the first two attacks and threw a punch of his own. He felt satisfying crunch of his knuckles meeting her nose, breaking it. He saw blood trickling down her face as she staggered back, clearly surprised by his counter-attack. Anger was etched on her face as she wiped the blood away, clearly intent on continuing the fight.

Dan wasn't unscathed from the brutal exchange of blows. He coughed up blood as the woman landed the hardest hit yet. He struggled to determine if their exchange had been useful for him at all. He needed a moment to catch his breath and plan his next move, but the woman refused to give him any respite. Her attacks became more frequent and powerful, fueled by her mounting anger.

Dan's vision blurred as he saw five attacks overlapping, and all but one landed on him. He was hurled back, slamming into the wall with enough force to crack the plaster. He fell face-first to the ground, struggling to get up. The woman immediately pounced on him, grabbing his right arm and applying pressure.

Dan's alarm bells went off as he recognized the hold. He frantically tried to punch her with his other hand, desperately attempting to get up. But the woman was on top of him, and he was exhausted from the onslaught of attacks.

After a few agonizing seconds, Dan heard the sickening sound of bones breaking. He screamed in pain as the intense agony shot through his arm, leaving him unable to focus on anything else. The woman finally released her grip, allowing Dan to gasp for air.

But his relief was short-lived as she grabbed him by the throat and slammed his head onto the table. Dan's breathing became labored as the woman exerted more pressure on his neck. He tried to fight back, but his strength was rapidly fading.

Just as he thought he might still be able to turn the tables, another sharp pain shot through his leg. He cried out as she shattered his knee, leaving him with only two working limbs. Dan realized with dread that there was no way out of this situation but he refused to give up.

As he struggled to escape the woman's iron grip, he heard the man with white eyes speak up. "He could be a valuable specimen for study," he suggested. "Do you really want to kill him?"

The bearded man's response was swift and unforgiving. "You saw what he did to my brother," he snarled. "This is just the beginning."

Dan's heart sank as he heard something being dragged and dropped beside him. He strained his neck to see what it was, fear creeping up his spine.

"Before we continue," the bearded man spoke up with chilling menace, "let me show you the consequences for touching my family."

Panic set in for Dan as he understood what he meant. The force on his head lessened which allowed him to turn his head. What he saw made him feel sick to his stomach. His mother was lying on the floor, her face mutilated beyond recognition; her neck had a deep purple mark where she had been strangled. Her clothes were torn, and had burn marks all over them; her arms were twisted, and her fingers were broken and bloodied. Blood was pouring out of her many wounds and she had no signs of life.

The sight of his mother in such a state was too much for Dan to bear, and he screamed in anguish. He mustered all the strength he had left in his remaining limbs and struggled to get to her. But the bearded man intercepted him, getting his face close to Dan's with a cruel grin on his lips. "She begged me to leave you alone to her last breath," he taunted. "Honestly, I wanted to do this in front of you but I couldn't help myself."

The words sent Dan over the edge. Rage boiled over inside him as he realized that he had failed to protect his family despite having these powers. His mother had paid the price for his actions, and he should have been the one in her place. He had never fully appreciated her, even when he knew how hard she worked to keep their family afloat. No matter how weak and incapable he was, she had always treated him as her own son.

Now she lay dead, and Dan had lost the one thing that mattered to him the most. All reason left him as he vowed to make the bearded man pay for what he had done. He didn't care about anything anymore; he would not leave them alone, even if it's the last thing he was capable of.

Dan's eyes fixated on the giant clock again, its ticking sounding louder and louder with every passing moment.

But as soon as he activated it, a searing pain shot through his head, causing him to gasp in agony. Blood trickled from his nostrils, and his vision blurred. But Dan refused to let the pain distract him from his goal. He pushed himself further, delving deeper into the time dilation. The clock loomed larger and larger in his mind, until it was the only thing that existed. The clock's hands slowed, but not enough. He halved time again and again, pushing past his previous limit, straining to affect the world around him. His focus was unwavering, even as his body trembled with exhaustion. Suddenly, something strange happened.

The white image he could only see in his mind materialized before his eyes. It looked like it was imprinted on his retina itself. It was also blindingly bright in comparison to it's normal dull glow. It had the same incomprehensible writing but when Dan focused, it seemed to change into something legible.

Warning: Host has exceeded safe parameters limit. Further use can cause irreparable damage.

Dan ignored the warning, determined to push himself even further. As he doubled down on his efforts, the world around him seemed to lose its color, turning Gray and lifeless. But the white image burned brighter and brighter, illuminating his view completely and the writing changed-

Ignore overload checks and activate limit break.

Without hesitation, Dan focused all his remaining energy on the writing. And in that moment, everything changed. The world around him exploded into a riot of color, as if a dam had burst open. The clock tower swelled and distorted, and finally broke into a million pieces. As they rained down, Dan felt raw power course through his body. And just before the white image disappeared, he noticed something incredible. His stats had increased by five times their original value. As the colors of the world returned to normal, Dan glared at the bearded guy, ready to have his revenge.