Adam was still processing the collision of two lives within his mind. The author and his creation were now one. He was trying to separate his own memories from Eric's fabricated past when a sharp piercing sound cut through the quiet of the apartment.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell. The sound made him jump. A genuine jolt of surprise ran through him. Who would be here this early? He started moving towards the door on pure instinct. Then an idea surfaced in his mind with unnatural clarity. It was not his own thought process. It was too cold too calculating. It was Eric's mind at work. His new brain was already assessing the situation forming a plan before he had even consciously decided to act. This body this character was designed for strategy.
He stopped in the middle of the room. A slow smile touched his lips. It felt foreign on his new face.
"Well then" he whispered to the empty air his voice a low murmur. "Why not test the power I gave this story's main villain?"
It was a reckless thought born from a strange new confidence. He closed his eyes.
The world did not just fade to black. It was stolen from him. A void of absolute nothingness swallowed his senses. For a terrifying second there was only the sound of his own breathing and the incessant ringing of the doorbell. Then he focused. He pictured the space just outside his front door. The void sharpened. An image bloomed in the darkness clear and vivid like a high-definition screen inside his head.
He could see the hallway outside his apartment. He could see the man standing at his door. Adam's breath caught in his throat. His non-existent heart would have stopped. Standing there was a young man with a determined jaw and intense golden eyes. He was handsome. He was radiating an aura of barely contained fury. His thumb was pressing the doorbell again and again with a frantic punishing rhythm.
It was Bryan. The hero.
Adam recognized the face instantly. He had drawn it a thousand times. But seeing him here now as a living breathing person filled with such raw hatred was a completely different experience. Bryan's face was a mask of rage. He looked like he wanted to break the door down. He looked like he wanted to kill the person on the other side.
Adam deactivated the power. He opened his eyes and the luxurious bedroom snapped back into existence. He stood perfectly still. The relentless ringing of the doorbell was the only sound.
I know why he's here.
The realization was not a guess. It was a certainty. This was the opening scene. This was how his web novel began. After Bryan travels back in time his first and only goal is to eliminate Eric. He wants to prevent the future where he loses everything. He comes directly to Eric's apartment to end the story before it can even start.
A flicker of primal fear the ghost of the old Adam tried to surface. He should be terrified. Death was literally at his doorstep. Bryan the protagonist with future knowledge and a righteous cause was here to execute him. Yet the fear could not find purchase. His mind remained a placid lake of absolute calm. The disconnect was jarring. He was astonished by his own reaction.
"Death itself is walking toward me" he murmured to himself his voice steady. "And I am still calm."
A new question entered his mind. It was a question from the author not the character.
"Just how dangerous a man did I create?"
He took a slow deliberate breath. He turned away from the door and walked towards the kitchen. His movements were unhurried. The doorbell continued its frantic assault but he tuned it out. It was just noise. In the pristine kitchen he opened a drawer. Inside was a block of professional-grade chef's knives. He selected a small paring knife. The blade was short but wickedly sharp. The cold steel felt solid and reassuring in his hand. He slipped it into the pocket of his pants. It was a small weight against his leg a hidden promise of violence. It was a precaution. Eric would always have a precaution.
The bell was still ringing. Bryan was persistent. Adam walked back to the front door his footsteps silent on the thick carpet. He took one final deep breath to center himself. Then he unlocked the door and pulled it open.
He came face to face with his hero. Bryan's hand was still raised to press the bell again. His eyes were burning with a furious light.
Adam blinked. He manufactured a look of surprise and annoyance. He let a hint of irritation color his voice. "Who are you?" he asked his tone sharp. "And why are you ringing my doorbell over and over like that? Do you need something?"
The effect was instantaneous. Bryan's rage faltered. His angry expression dissolved into one of pure confusion. He stared at Adam as if seeing him for the first time. This was not the smug manipulative monster from his memories. This was just a teenager annoyed at being disturbed in the morning. Bryan's mind was clearly struggling to reconcile the two images.
He quickly recovered. The fury vanished from his eyes replaced by a forced polite smile. The transition was so fast it was almost seamless.
"I am so sorry" Bryan said his voice smooth and apologetic. "I seem to have made a mistake. I think I have the wrong apartment."
He gave a short formal bow a gesture of apology. He looked up one last time. His face was a perfect mask of polite regret but his eyes told a different story. Deep within them the golden fire of hatred still burned. It was a look that promised retribution. Then he turned and walked away down the hall his footsteps echoing in the silence.
Adam watched him go until he rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. Only then did he allow himself to exhale. A long slow breath of relief.
He knew it. He knew Bryan would not act recklessly. He was a hero after all. He would not attack an apparently innocent person without absolute proof.
"He said the exact same line" Adam thought to himself. A small genuine smile finally graced his lips. The story was following his script. For now. This gave him a measure of control. He stepped back inside and closed the door shutting the world out.
He glanced at the elegant clock on the wall. The hands pointed to 7:15 AM.
He had fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes to get ready and head to the academy. Today was his first day. Today was Bryan's first day. Today was the day he would meet Sophia.
Adam took a deep breath. The calm was still there a solid core of ice in his chest.
"Alright" he said to the empty room. "Let's go."