The Rift

What a frightful experience it was for Blank. He was stuck, in what seemed like a loop in time. He was repeating his actions over and over, yet he failed all of them. Worst of all, he was resisting, but his body refused to listen. He felt trapped. And truly he was trapped, in his own body. Poor Blank!

Blank was a normal teen of thirteen, who was just a bit curious about everything. He questioned every phenomenon and even tried answering them by himself. To be honest, it isn't great in itself, as it is human nature to question things. It was impressive because he was logical at solving the questions he put before himself.

He had plenty of attachments to life as a person with good mental well-being should. He could be described as a genius for his age. But he did not use his vast intellect properly. He would rather stay up all night, solving crosswords, puzzles, and Rubik's cubes, instead putting that amount of effort in his studies. He was also a pretty carefree boy, taking risks without thinking twice.

One evening, while on his way to his home, he saw an adorable kitten. It was majestic in its look, having royal fur and an innocent look. Blank stopped at once. He was tempted to pick the kitten up. When he put out his arms to get it, it fled. However, he did not dare to give up. Thus he followed it.

In a corner, the kitten suddenly stopped rather abruptly. In an instant, it turned towards Blank and stared right at him. It was a ominous stare. It made Blank lose his control. He stubbed his toe and fell. The world became black for a moment. He heard no sound, saw nothing, felt nothing. Suddenly a calm white light blinked far in the distant darkness. He found himself running. The kitten was staring at him. He tried stopping early. But alas! His body denied his orders and went on. He lost his control, stubbed his toe, and fell. It was repeating.

For what seemed like an hour, he was stuck in the loop. Afterward, it stopped at once. He found himself in a void. He stood on nothing. He was surrounded by eternal darkness. Yet there was light, as he could see his body. He was able to breathe, proving the presence of air. It was ineffably horrifying, which shook him down the spine.

Just as existential dread came upon his mind, he saw a familiar calm white light in the distance. He went towards it, expecting some answers as to why he was there. It might have been a trap to capture him, or worse, to kill him. But it was a necessary risk he was willing to take.

At his destination, he saw a tree. It was enormous. However, it had no branches, only its trunk. The tree gave off a calm white glow, which seemed to blink.

"I suppose you want answers.", said a sweet female voice. Blank was taken by surprise. So, there were others beside him, he thought. "Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here?", he asked in a confused state. The strange occurrences till now made no sense to him whatsoever. Despite his best efforts, he could not understand the phenomenon.

From behind the tree, came a girl. It would be wrong to say girl. She was a pretty woman, maybe the prettiest. Her beauty was on a whole another level. Her feminine charms were fruitful, ones that every man would crave. Her hair was purple and her eyes were too. Her smile was bright. She introduced herself," I am Erbia, the guardian of time. You are in the Realm of Time due to the act of being associated with the breaking of time in the Middle Realm.

Blank, unaffected by her charms, asked, "Explain yourself.". She replied in affirmative and answered, "This tree is the Tree of Time. It represents the timeline of the Middle Realm, where your multiverse lies. Your destiny was to go to your home and live your life. However, under the influence of some unknown plague, your destiny was altered, resulting in the birth of another timeline. However, you are not the only one. People from different times of your world have fallen prey to this. You are the latest.". Blank looks at the tree again. It had grown branches, several of them. Erbia resumed, "You have no other way except eliminating the plague. I do not know for certain what, where, why, when, and how it is, but I do know it will destroy the natural order of time.". Blank asked, "Why am I being forced to do this?". She swiftly replied, "Well, according to Rules and Regulations of Time Management, any kind of relation to tampering with Time is to be deemed as a severe crime. And because you all are the victims, the Authority of Time is generous to forgive the one who destroys the plague. This is a Deathmatch, where the losers will get erased from the entire history without a trace. You might want to start now, as others are way ahead of you. When you want to go to a timeline, just chant 'Erbia, I request to be taken to ---- in the month of ---- of the year ----'. You must specify the year and month of the timeline, without which I will be unable to do so. I think it is time. Where and when do you want to go?"

"To my hometown, in the month of March of the year 2019.", Blank replied. "Good luck.", said Erbia," You will need it.". She snapped her fingers. Blank closed his eyes.