The boy's head hurt.
A hole roughly the size of a finger was drilled through his brain, eliminating some of his mental fortitude.
He focused, and found where each cell he lost was. Most of it was still flying out of him. He controlled each cell as if it were his limbs, and stepped into and out of the higher dimension he could access, his step out landing each cell back where it was a quarter of a second ago.
He spun, his hand outreached, he solidified a sword, which floated in the air peacefully- it seemed to be made out of a pale quartz, slightly transparent, and polished to utter perfection. The blade was a bit longer than a short sword, and it had intricate details of a battle not dissimilar to this one carved into it. The dips were currently filled with blood, swirling and running through them, like electricity through a wire. The blood accelerated, and was absorbed into the sword, turning it a deep red. He grabbed the floating sword and pointed towards a girl standing roughly 3 meters away from him.
The girl ducked, but it was too late for her. The blood stored in the sword solidified as an unimaginably thin needle at the tip of the sword, and it shot towards her. It pierced her head, and a small trickle of blood left her forehead before she collapsed.
"Did it get any better?" Said a large man, ducking under some rubble and walking towards the boy.
The boy shook his head. "I think they were spot on. The higher dimensions aren't the ones described in physics. I can step into the fourth, and it's just another dimension. No time travel."
The man nodded. "At least you can get some practice with it, it's just you and her who can get anywhere close to going there."
The boy's eyes narrowed, his blue eyes still, but hiding some emotion. He fixed up his white coat and pushed back his blond hair, sheathing his sword. "Any word about her yet?"
The man shook his head, and started walking away, intending for the boy to follow him. "She's still gone- after that day". He looked up solemnly at the broken figure of the citadel. Now shattered into pieces, frozen in time, as if refusing to fall on the thousands upon thousands who dwell below it.
"Charlotte.." The boy said, his fist clenching.
--12 days before The Falling--
"Okay, Charlotte- we need to get you registered as part of GSC, so we have to go to the citadel to register you. Meet us at floor- uh... 47B?" Said Haylene.
"Yep." Affirmed Marcus. He continued. "Tomorrow, quarter rotation. Don't be late, please."
Charlotte walked outside. The city was loud. It was comforting, in a way. People she didn't know. Unfamiliar streets. The sun. Every so often, though, she heard something familiar- which put her back on full alert. It was tiring, and difficult- just going home. She saw a few people she recognized, and it was unsettling that she could no longer remember their names. She only saw them yesterday. But she last saw them a long, long time ago.