FLAW: FORTY-FOUR

**ALEX POV**

I found myself sitting in a chair surrounded by a vast expanse of white. It looked familiar to me. The walls were unrecognizable, with no shadows or dark shades to emphasize them. Even the shadow of my chair seemed nonexistent.

In front of me stood a boy who resembled my younger self. He wore his usual clothes given to him by his parents. He had a typical look, a hint of anger and displeasure whenever I talked to him. He was my Alter, the manifestation of my conscience. Due to an experiment, our conscience was allowed to manifest a metaphysical body.

"What do you want now?" he asked with a tone of irritation.

"Sometimes, I just can't understand you," I replied. My alter showed a questioning look, as if asking how and why I said those words. "Yesterday, you were almost in tears because I didn't visit you, and now it seems like you want to drive me away."

"Tsk," he mocked as he looked away from me. Since I needed his help, I sighed in defeat and humility.

"I'm sorry," I apologized even though there was nothing to apologize for.

"For what?"

"You know... for disturbing you," I said sarcastically.

"You don't have to. So, why did you come here?" he asked as he materialized a chair in front of me and sat down.

"You mentioned that the world is changing," I said as I stared at my feet, resting on the white floor. I could also see a part of his feet, but just the tip of it.

"Yes, I did. What about it?"

"Someone told me that I am the reason for it," I looked him in the eye, giving him my worried look while he maintained a serious expression. "Is it true?" I added. My alter stared at me for about half a minute, then stood and turned his back on me.

"I can't explain it to you much, but I think I can show you." He snapped his fingers, and we were transported to a new place. It was Earth, in its usual state. I was a bit confused about why he showed me this.

We were in a meadow just above the hill overlooking the city where I lived. I could even see Maica's house from here. It was a beautiful scene, a good place to unwind and relax with friends and family.

My alter continued to walk until he stopped at the edge of the hill where the cliff awaited. I found myself following him. After a few steps, I felt something like a fabric touching my body.

I was in a state of shock when I saw the city. The peaceful and quiet city I saw earlier had turned into chaos. Fires and thick black smoke engulfed the city, and the ruins of the buildings decorated the scene. But what shocked me the most were the creatures wandering within it.

Varied in sizes and shapes, they terrorized the city. The screams and cries of the people became music to the ears of the creatures. Along with the screams were the destructive noises of exploding bombs and gunshots. It was like watching a live-action movie, with antagonists terrorizing the city while protagonists did everything to protect and survive this hell-like tragedy.

"The parallel world," my alter said, causing me to look at him. He was staring at the dreadful scene with a stoic face. "Two identical worlds existing in different time and space," he added. I had heard the term "parallel world" in my physics class before. It's like a world that looks like another.

"Multiverse," I mumbled. "So, what does this parallel world have to do with my situation?"

"The sheet that separates these two worlds is gradually depleting. It's just a matter of time for the sheet to be destroyed."

"Someone told me that, but one thing I don't understand is why me?"

"You see, Alex, manifesting such perfect power is not as simple as you can imagine. You are indeed using it, but you're not aware of its consequences." My alter turned towards me, looking me in the eye. "Sky may have already told you that your energy source is the Earth, however, he missed one thing."

"What is it?"

"You have one more source of energy." My alter turned away from the crumbling city and looked at the place where we were. "This," he added, and suddenly, a translucent wall as thin as fabric appeared in front of me. Due to its height, I couldn't see its end.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the sheet that separates our world from this one. But something caught my eye. I saw cracks resembling broken glass on the sheet as if it was about to shatter into pieces.

"80% of your energy comes from Earth, and the remaining 20% comes from this," my conscience explained. "Every time you use your abilities, you are slowly breaking the sheet. This sheet has existed since the beginning of time. And through people's belief that no such thing as monsters exists, it thickens. And if the time comes when people believe in them," he pointed to the monsters behind us, "this boundary will be destroyed. Hence, making these two worlds exist as one."

"That means those monsters—" I couldn't finish my sentence as I realized what could happen to our world.

"Yes, Alex. They will soon exist, and the world you once lived in will end up like this one."

Fear enveloped me as my alter spoke of the possible outcome. I couldn't think straight. I was just afraid and full of regrets. Regrets about why I had this kind of power. I blamed myself. I didn't want what was happening here to happen in our world. This world was hell.

"Alex, don't blame yourself. What you did is something you believed was right."

"Right?! Do you think what I did—slowly bringing our world to its end—is right?" I angrily yelled at him.

If he thought that what I did was right, then he was wrong. Hurting a person could never be considered right.

"Listen to me, asshole!" My alter jumped and instantly grabbed the collar of my uniform, making me kneel. "I know this is your fault, but you forgot something," we suddenly returned to the white room along with images of memories projected on the walls. It was my memories. "You forgot the lives that you saved with your powers."

I looked at the pictures, and memories of me saving a person or a group of people. Maica's kidnapping, the bomb in the festival, the monster, Quinn, and others that I prevented using the power bestowed upon me.

"I know it's hard to accept those things that may happen, but I trust you. I believe you'll overcome this. It's hard, but I know you can." It was the first time I heard a motivational speech from my alter. I thought he could only insult me, but I was wrong. He could be sweet sometimes.

I just nodded at his statement. He mentioned that "trust" word again, and I wasn't sure if I could really do what he believed I could. Yes, I could save them, but the question was how? How could I defeat those monsters?

If only I could change my destiny.

A faint voice started calling my name. It grew louder and clearer. Someone was calling my name in a deep and caring voice. I slowly opened my eyes, and I saw Sky's face in front of me. He bent his body to get a closer look at my face. He had that lifeless look, but I sensed a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Let's have dinner," he suggested and stood up properly, offering his hand to help me get up. I willingly grasped it, pulling myself from lying down. I realized I was on a sofa, still wearing my uniform.

"What time is it?" I asked as I finally sat up properly. Sky made his way to the kitchen to set the table.

"It's already 10:55 pm," he replied. I wasn't surprised when I found out the time. I'm totally aware that there's a time difference between my subconscious and the real world. But what surprised me was realizing that my boyfriend hadn't eaten yet.

"You should have eaten," I said as I stood up and headed towards the table. Two unused plates and spoons were waiting on the table. There was rice and a dish that looked like it was cooked by either Tita or Maica. As I reached the table, I immediately sat in the chair where a plate was placed, while on the other plate, Sky was seated.

I was about to grab some rice when Sky reached for it first. I was about to get annoyed, but then I realized he was putting it on my plate. I was shocked. It was the first time he did this for me.

"Thigh or wing?" he asked while holding the bowl of chicken adobo.

"Wing, please," Sky scooped the wing part and placed it on my plate. He also poured some sauce on top of the rice before doing the same for his plate. I felt a bit embarrassed by his actions. He had never been this sweet before. I wondered why he was suddenly doing this.

I found myself staring at my boyfriend, who was now busy enjoying his dinner. But I immediately lowered my gaze when he looked at me. I started eating while hiding my blushing cheeks.

"You seem quiet," he commented, interrupting my meal. I raised my head to look at him, and I found him staring at me.

"I just find the food delicious. The two never stop serving delicious food," I said as I continued chewing my food.

"I cooked that," he said, causing me to choke a bit. I started coughing as I patted my chest for relief, but only water could help. Sky handed me a glass of water, which I quickly took and drank. It hurt, but the discomfort subsided.

I let out a deep exhale as I could breathe properly. I wiped the tears that formed in my eyes while sniffing due to my runny nose.

"Wow! That was delicious, Sky! Woah!" I said as I continued eating. He seemed to ignore my reaction and just continued munching his food. The clicking of the spoon and fork echoed in the kitchen, which was earlier enveloped in silence.

Because of this awkward silence, I remembered the image of the city shown to me by my alter. Fear once again embraced my body, making my heart pound faster and heavier than usual. I tightened my grip on the spoon and fork until I felt the nails digging into my palms.

I tried my best to calm myself down, but my attempts failed. Too much fear was in my body. It wouldn't take long before I would have an anxiety attack. I just closed my eyes, feeling myself trembling. But I suddenly opened them when I felt a hand holding my mine. I followed the hand until I stopped at Sky's face. He had a worried look, and eventually, his lips curved into a genuine smile. I couldn't help but cry. Out of sheer fear, tears welled up in my eyes.

Fear of failure.
Fear of causing the deaths of someone I loved.
Fear of bringing destruction to my beloved world.
Fear of being unable to prevent it all from happening.

All the fears I had felt in the past years joined in. If fear had a physical form, I'm sure I would be beaten up by it. I couldn't help it. It was so strong that even my happiest memories turned into the saddest ones.

I hated this. I really hated this. But above all, I hated myself.