The Dawn of the New World

A hush fell over the cabin when Hao Xuan finished recounting all that he had experienced over the last few months. Unlike his expectations, Jin Wang did not speak up any time soon, and judging from the look on his face, it was pretty obvious he was lost in deep thought.

Hao Xuan sat back and smoked the entire cigarette Jin Wang had given him and then three more from his own storage space before Jin Wang elected to ask another question.

"These visions, how long have you been having them? Are they all similar to the ones you described? Where you're in the same place but with different circumstances?"

"The visions are relatively new. I can't remember exactly when but I think they started after we reached the Academy. But I have been having weird dreams even before that."

"What kind of dreams?"

"Well, they were more like fever dreams or even nightmares than anything else. There was no particular theme and each one was different. I forgot most of them but there is one I remember very clearly because it felt so real."

"I was the oldest of several siblings. Our entire family lived near the woods and one day we went hunting and crossed a bridge to a dangerous place looking for food or something. But there was something there and it followed me back. My father died by its hands and I ran back but I'm pretty sure it killed everyone else at the end, including me."

Hao Xuan shook his head softly, "I can usually tell when I'm dreaming but that one felt way too real. Even after waking up I couldn't get it out of my mind."

Jin Wang leaned back into his chair while putting his feet on the bed. He was biting his thumbnail which Hao Xuan had never seen him do before.

"Hmm, tell me about the visions you saw most recently, how did they "feel"? Was it the same as the dream?"

Hao Xuan thought about it for a second but couldn't really find a straight yes or no answer.

"They were and weren't. I could control myself in the visions but in the dreams I was just a spectator in my own body."

Jin Wang suddenly paused, "In your own body? How did you know you were in your body and not watching someone else?"

Hao Xuan shrugged, "Isn't that normal? Don't all people dream as themselves?"

"It depends on the dreams...and the people," Jin Wang responded in a low voice before continuing his nail-biting, "Let's go back to the visions again, you said you could move freely so does that mean you interacted with that world and its people?"

"I could interact with all the worlds but in the first one I punched a guy and my hand went through him. In the second I was in the direct line of sight of several people and monsters but they didn't see me. Only in the third and last vision was I able to come into contact with those wraiths or whatever they were."

"The last is the one with the giant skeleton?"

"Yeah."

"What about...."

For the next hour Jin Wang proceeded to ask a few hundred questions that related to some of the smallest events and instances all the way to the most significant ones. Hao Xuan basically told him his entire life story in that time frame.

The commotion outside the cabin slowly grew over time until Hao Xuan could hear several voices despite the many formations that were actively working to cut them off.

Henrik and Salome were the loudest among the group and the most impatient.

Hao Xuan threw Jin Wang an anxious glance, "Come on already, just tell me what it is. Your face gives everything away."

He had never seen Jin Wang look that concerned and confused before, no matter how well he tried to hide it. He looked up to meet Hao Xuan's gaze, "Is it really that obvious?"

"Yeah. Never play poker."

"A little too late for that..."

"So? Tell me what's wrong. I know it's nothing good but I can take it."

Jin Wang sighed. He needed some more information to get the full picture but it was better Hao Xuan know this sooner rather than later in case something went wrong.

"Its time."

"....Time for what?"

"No, I mean the visions that you saw, and from the looks of it most probably the dreams too. Each of those were different timelines. The dreams were either the past or the future, while the visions were what could have or should have been."

"Wait wait, so I'm seeing and 'experiencing' different timelines instead of just ordinary visions?"

"Yeah. Especially the last three. You were seeing different series of events that each led to a different end for this city. The fire, the crimson beasts, and the Death Lord."

Hao Xuan's frown deepened.

"But...how? And why? Is it because of the time ability I got from that demon?"

"No, it has nothing to do with that. It's just the weave trying to fix itself. You're a glitch, an error in the system, a knot that should not exist in this place and at this time.. The visions are different outcomes, the ones that don't have you in them."