[ chapter fourteen ] i can't feel your heart

BURNING EMBERS FELL TO THE GROUND as the main entrance door opened by itself. Crumbs of the ceiling were lying on the floor still smoldering although the smoke residues were nowhere to be seen.

Dormammu pushed Nicholas inside as it took him too long to look around to see all the debris bordering their view. The boy tripped over his own leg, and fell back to his knees, letting a loud hiss out of his lips to resound the place. As he took a look at his palm, there were thousands of glass fragments, some of them pierced through his skin.

"It seems like your world is shattering, and you even got to talk to him," Dormammu pointed out, smirking as he noticed the distress inside the naive boy. He came forward to pick him back up, however, Nicholas broke free from Dormammu's grip by quickly moving his elbow, still stumbling, feeling the pain from previous hits.

"Oh!" Dormammu yelped, shaking his head in disbelief when he all of a suddenly got the strength to be a meanie in this scenario.

"Where is he?" Nick questioned, still thinking that he could think of a plan for how to escape from the Sanctum Sanctorum before it falls or before Dormammu will interfere with his decision. That's the last thing he would do in his life, telling his father that he worked with the Lord of Chaos only to stab him in the back.

"I don't know. I'm not omnipresent like my sister," Dormammu shrugged in confusion since he was randomly looking around. He definitely knew where Stephen Strange was.

"You know too well that I don't like my hands getting dirty," he chuckled mysteriously as all of the lights dimmed, leaving only the burning remains of the building. Something even covered the window from the outside to block the coming light.

"Have fun!" Dormammu's voice deepened as he vanished into nothingness, but his presence remained as he was simply watching him from a distance to see if he was really going to fulfill their deal.

Nicholas froze as he realized that he was there alone in a concealed shadowy place with a fire flaming in the distance, tinting the room in red. His legs shivered as he decided to make the first move. This was a kind of a maze as there was mess lying everywhere, nevertheless as he moved forward he managed to realize that the debris was creating a path, helping him to easily move around.

Nick exhaled and started to move quickly, knowing that there can't much time left. He stuttered immediately as he observed the door to the sanctum's basement.

The only problem about that was the basement's size, it was even larger than the Sanctum's grounding. He wanted to touch the doorknob but it disappeared right as he touched it, opening the door for him as the place was listening to his demands.

There are many steps leading downstairs and it would be pretty unfortunate if he fell down. Just as he was about to make the first step down, the surroundings shifted with him standing on the ground. Nick looked behind to see the row of steps fading in the dark, imitating the dominoes falling down as something hit them with a blow.

He looked back and perceived a dark silhouette in the distance. It took him a long time to realize that could be him, not a boogeyman.

"D-Dad?"

"Dad!" Nicholas hurried to Stephen who was sitting down, his back leaning on the cold wall. It seemed like the pressure in his chest didn't fade, but was getting stronger as well as the tears that were suppressed, "I'm going to get you out of here, okay?"

There was no reaction as he was trying to help him to get back to his feet.

"Dad?" His voice was shaking as he touched Stephen's shoulder, attempting to turn him toward him. Something was off. His body was heavier and too relaxed as he slipped from his grip, leaning against the wall on which there was a bloody stain. He really thought that he had time, but he ran out of it in the beginning.

"No no no no. . ."

Nicholas gulped all the tears away as he observed him being lifeless, the dead stare, the tear stuck in the corner of his left eye, "Please wake up!" He insisted, grasping his clothes and trembling with him, thinking that it would solve everything but it shuddered him the most as the numbness disappeared when a surge of emotions attacked him.

"I finally learned how to use them! It's going to be alright, you will be okay...." Nick's chin trembled. He could save his life, as he finally understood how healing through darkness worked.

He couldn't coordinate his hands as he was in shock, feeling like the pieces of his shattered heart was all over the place. Nicholas struggled to make his powers work; he perceived the dim coming from his hands but it disappeared as soon as he pressed his hands onto his father's lifeless body; it was too late.

"No no no!"

"Please, dad! You can't leave me here! Please!" Nick mumbled over and over, doing everything to wake him from the endless sleep. He wanted to but he couldn't even touch his face as his hands, similarly, as his head. Both rejected the truth.

His throat hurt from the constant biting lips, trying his everything to hold the tears back when his face was senseless. Raising the inner part of his brows, leaving those marbles falling down his cheeks, "Please. . . I can't feel your heart."

Nothing happened, he found himself in complete darkness, "Dad, please. . . I can't feel it."

"I-I'm scared. . ." Nicholas cried out as the sorrow got to the surface, his legs weakened as well as his whole body, falling right into his arms, specifically on his chest, shedding tears in a place where he always felt safe, nearest to his heart. Believing that he would hear at least one beat to feel protected once again. His heart was now soundless when he cried out his own, destroyed by the situation.

Something touched his shoulder — the cloak of levitation — covered him to keep him warm and safe and sound.

The boy woke up as he was startled, snuggling with his comfy blanket, grasping it tightly, and moving slightly, nevertheless, his body froze. His chin shivered as he was unable to speak, looking at the ceiling covered in shadows and dim, playing a show just for him.

Nicky's eyes were locked in one place, feeling someone else's presence.

As his pupils were widening to adapt to the darkness, he appeared more and more nervous, just like his heartbeat that rapidly fastened. It almost seemed that his chest couldn't take this amount of pressure as he was trying to do everything to force the bad to go away, he became even more frightened from the unknown hidden in the dark that deepened every second. Chills were running down his spine as well as sweat was dripping from his forehead covered with dark curls.

The temperature of his body was unexpectedly rising. Nicky tried everything to force himself to close his eyes back, to protect himself. All he was taught was that when he didn't see the danger, the danger couldn't approach him. He begged and begged, mumbling something to make the darkness fade away for good — forever.

His hands wandered, clutching the blanket even tighter as he observed a dark figure shrouding in the corner. That was when his body was finally released from the invisible hands, keeping him as a hostage, having him see the pitch-black murk surrounding him until he was completely helpless and crying.

For a six-year-old that was afraid of darkness, this feeling could be described as a feeling of being vulnerable, terrified of death. He leaned on one of his hands attempting to turn on the lamp on his nightstand. His movements were quick and graceless as he wanted to light the dark, weeping for help.

"Daddy?" Nicky mumbled as he was shedding tears, seeing the dark monster coming in his direction, "Daddy!" He cried out, bawling.

He almost got it but then his hand slipped down, hitting himself on the table that imprinting a bruise on his skin. That got him off guard as he was hissing in pain. When he took a peek back, the shadow figure ran in his direction, evoking him to hide underneath the blanket, curling up, quivering from the terror.

Nicky managed to finally close his eyes for a second until streaks of light colored the inner part of his eyelids, with sparks flickering in the distance as someone entered the room.

He hadn't the time to even register the room being outlined by the light, when suddenly a warm hug secured him, although at first he was startled.

"Shh, It's me. I'm here," Stephen whispered, holding him delicately. He sighed as he was feeling the beat of Nicky's heart while he was still shaking from the fright, still sobbing, "You're safe."

Stephen pressed a palm onto his forehead that was burning, probably from a fever.

"I-I'm scared, daddy," Nicky mumbled to his shoulder as he held him and did his best to calm him down by stroking his dark brown hair. He attempted to breathe in and out slowly to help his son to pass the calm energy entailed by lightness and gentle approaches.

"You know very well that if anyone showed up, I'd give him a lesson. No one has the right to scare my boy," Stephen breathed, peeking through his arms to see his reaction. Normally corners of Nicky's lips would twitch and then turn into laughter, nevertheless, it appeared that this comment deepened his mood even more.

"It's just probably one of River's pranks," he tried to explain, not only to him but also to himself. He swore to his life that he left both lights on as Nicholas' panic attacks were getting worse as he was getting older. Sometimes he couldn't even speak.

Whenever there was a glimpse of light, Nicholas allowed himself to finally fall asleep since all he felt at that moment was being secured and most importantly guarded by something out of his reach.

He sobbed.

"Oh, Nicky..." Stephen said softly as his heart was aching, giving him a peck into his hair to prove that he really meant it. He knew what he was doing because he was the only person that could comfort him when he found it difficult to breathe during the never-ending nights.

"Look at me. . ."

Nicky breathed out to relieve the stress that was filling up inside of him, taking a glance at his father. Those sparks of terror blended with tears glinted in his eyes. As he exhaled, he started to quiver even more from a cold drifting in the open space.

"I was terrified of the dark too but the first time I held you realized that I can't be scared of it anymore, because if I was, there wouldn't be anyone to protect your mother, sister, and most importantly you," Stephen illustrated his thoughts, looking deeply into his son's shimmering eyes. He tucked him into the blanket to make sure that he was shielded from every angle.

Slowly but surely Stephen managed to lie down with his beautiful boy in his arms.

They both yawned at the same time which made Nicholas giggle so Stephen pinched him in the nose as his lips were shut.

"How are you not scared anymore?" Nicky questioned softly, listening to his heart that somehow calmed him down quicker than the breathing techniques, he followed the beats like a path. As if he was lost.

"I promised myself that I'll make sure that you won't face the darkness ever again," Stephen explained, gazing at him as he was playing with his hair.

"When I get older, I'll do the same for you, dad," Nicky whispered, already visioning how he will master the darkness to protect his loved ones, overcoming his fear.

A LOUD LAUGHTER ECHOED through a dark corridor similar to falling droplets dripping from the half-destroyed ceiling. Purple rays shone through, reflecting the rainbows in the puddles, creating a loop of constant ripples on the water's surface as the loud drumming of music playing in the background at once created a show.

Those droplets, tears, representing the Sacred timeline aching as it was destroyed, holding onto the freshly created branches, were complemented with a heel clatter, copying the nonstop drumming in Kang's head. It forced him to write down his strangest ideas to finally finish the story that everyone deserved. An ending that won't be forgiven.

"No, Enigma. Don't say anything," Kang lifted his index finger, although he was looking down, re-reading the words he had just written, sealing someone's destiny. A single dot after the last sentence closed Stephen Strange's storyline in a form of the last breath.

I watched him from a distance. The eerie smile that formed on his lips confirmed that I arrived too late, "You can't do this."

"I like it that way, it will make sense later. Trust me." Kang insisted as his way of thinking was influenced by external sources, in fact, he was more confident than before. He wasn't just a human being, a mortal whose story was written by a woman. He was the writer himself, a writer that was proud of his own work.

"That is not an excuse," I said, hiding all my emotions behind a stone-cold expression.

He took a glance at me, understanding that his actions weren't holy in my eyes but a definition of selfishness.

"I thought you were going to be proud of me," He whispered.

I went silent.

"At least we have finally something that's going to clear up some space in the void."

"I hid Alioth away, to keep him safe. And you decided to use him, my son, for your wicked experiments."

"Oopsie." 

The shrug He managed to make was lacking feelings and trustworthiness, literally concealing the true meaning of the void. That place wasn't set at the end of time for nothing. Usually, those who got pruned, and erased violated the rules multiple times. It was meant to be a prison for those who weren't that lucky, giving them another chance to flourish or perhaps fix themselves. Now they hadn't the right motive to be better.

I felt the anger burning inside of me.

"You destroyed the only reality that we were relying on the most. Without the Sacred timeline, the TVA is meaningless even the void!" I addressed him, coming closer to him, showing him that I wasn't afraid of him or supportive.

"What nonsense..." Kang uttered.

"You never understood the true meaning of authority."

"Authority is the power of one." He chuckled with a wide grin creating an unpleasant expression on his lips.

"I deserve this place more than you. You only wanted to shut me down, hide me, imprison me but I cracked the enigmas sooner than you thought I would," It was very obvious that he was pissed off. His hand reached for the only apple that was left in the bowl on his table and took a big bite out of it.

My mouth twitched, "Don't you dare to tell me such lies!"

"I am smarter than you think," the last word He vocalized loudly with lips puckering as the juiciness of the apple juice calms his nerves. He chuckled again as he swallowed the bite.

"If you are so sure about it, say it to the council. It's always present," Soon as I stated, my voice echoed in different tones, and the Citadel was engulfed in blue.