"Some battles are lost the moment they begin, and others are won only by knowing when to surrender."
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Juno's chest rose and fell as she locked eyes with the massive wolf stalking toward her. Its sleek black fur shimmered with streaks of silver-blue, like live wires running just beneath its skin. Sparks crackled along its hackles, dancing in the charged air. It crouched low, claws scraping across the shattered tiles beneath them.
Her fingers twitched. Her breath caught somewhere between her lungs and throat.
Think, Juno. Do something different.
A flash of teeth—razor-sharp and gleaming—cut through the space between them. In the wolf's eyes, there was no room for fear, hesitation, or pity. Just the hunger to tear her limb from limb.
The air buzzed with tension, heavy like thunderclouds about to burst. Juno rolled her shoulders, feeling the strain pull across her lean muscles. A single misstep meant death. She knew this, and the wolf did too.
The beast sprang.
Juno hurled herself sideways, her boots skidding across the wrecked tiles. She twisted mid-fall, throwing every ounce of her body into grabbing the nearest chair. Her legs coiled, muscles screaming, and she launched the chair like a javelin, the wood cracking under her grip.
The wolf swerved mid-leap. The jagged edge of the chair splintered against its ribs. A snarl exploded from its maw, lightning snapping through the air as it crashed awkwardly into a table, legs flailing.
Adrenaline roared through her veins. She landed hard, palms slamming the cold ground, and rolled onto her feet in one fluid motion. Her boots squeaked, catching traction just as she darted toward the counter. Broken chairs, glass shards, and spilled coffee painted the scene in chaos.
One glance—a fire extinguisher mounted near the door—and a desperate plan sparked in her mind.
She bolted. Her boots barely kissed the ground as the wolf gathered itself, shaking foam and static from its fur. Its glowing yellow eyes narrowed, locking onto her again. She reached for the extinguisher just as the beast launched a second time, jaws snapping at the back of her neck.
"Not today, asshole," she whispered.
Her fingers wrapped around the extinguisher's handle. She *ripped* it from its mount and spun, every movement precise and practiced. The wolf's maw was inches from her shoulder, fangs crackling with electric fury. Time slowed—or maybe it was her brain forcing everything into clarity.
She ducked beneath its open jaws, her cowl whipping behind her. Muscles coiled tightly as she twisted at the waist, dodging the beast's snap by the breadth of a whisper. Sparks skimmed the side of her face, stinging like dozens of tiny needles.
[Temporal Shift ready for activation]
The system shows up, in split second, out kf her instincts, she decided—
"TEMPORAL SHIFT!" Juno shouted, her voice echoing with the sudden activation of the system.
Everything bent. The world around her shifted with an audible hum, like the gears of an ancient clock grinding against each other. The air thickened, heavy as syrup. Droplets of spilled coffee hung in the air, suspended mid-fall. Glass shards drifted lazily, glittering like starlight caught in amber.
[Temporal Shift: Active. Time slowed to 0.1x speed for 10 seconds. Use wisely.]
Juno could feel the seconds ticking down in the back of her mind—each one a sharp nail digging into her skull. The wolf was trapped in the temporal drag, its body sluggish and awkward, every movement exaggerated.
She didn't hesitate. The extinguisher's nozzle swung up, and she jammed her thumb down on the trigger. A plume of white foam erupted, coating the beast in frost and chemicals. Its fur hissed, sparks dying in puffs of steam. The wolf snarled in slow motion, trying to shake off the heavy sludge now weighing it down.
Juno twisted again, her heart hammering in her chest. Eight seconds left. She had to finish this before the Shift wore off.
The fire extinguisher clanged to the floor as she dropped it, her boots crunching over shattered glass. Her gaze swept the room, locking onto a splintered chair leg—sharp enough, long enough. She grabbed it in both hands, the jagged wood biting into her palms.
Six seconds.
The wolf fought against the slowing effect, its movements stuttering like a broken machine. Foam dripped from its snout, anger and confusion burning in its glowing eyes. It lunged again, a jagged blur cutting through the thick air.
Juno planted her feet.
The Shift faltered—time snapping back in increments. She could feel it winding down, like the slowing swing of a pendulum.
Four seconds.
The wolf came down hard, claws raking through empty air as Juno pivoted on her heel, every muscle in her body working in tandem. Her cowl fluttered as she spun with the grace of a dancer, twisting just beyond the beast's reach. She drove the jagged chair leg into its side with everything she had.
Time snapped back into place.
The wolf howled—an unholy, electric wail that rattled the windows. Sparks exploded from its fur in frantic bursts, wild arcs of energy that singed her hands and made her teeth vibrate. But she didn't let go. She pushed, forcing the splintered wood deeper, twisting until she felt bone crack beneath her grip.
The beast writhed violently, its body thrashing in agony. Foam and sparks mixed in a chaotic mess as it fought against the inevitable. Juno gritted her teeth, holding on with trembling arms, every jolt sending shocks up her spine.
Then, with one final convulsion, the wolf collapsed.
Its glowing eyes flickered, dimming to lifeless embers. Sparks fizzled out along its soaked fur, leaving nothing but the faint scent of ozone in the air.
Juno stumbled backward, her legs shaking from the adrenaline crash. Her hands stung, raw from the jagged wood and stray sparks, but she didn't care.
[Enemy Defeated: Thunderfang Alpha | Class: A]
[Ability Mastery Progress: Temporal Shift 12%]
She stood there for a moment, chest heaving, staring down at the lifeless form of the wolf sprawled on the wrecked café floor.
"I did it..." she whispered, wiping foam from her brow with a trembling hand. Her heart drummed in her ears, the words tasting strange and foreign on her tongue.
But something gnawed at her, deep in the back of her mind—a warning she couldn't quite shake.
The air around her shifted again. A low hum echoed through the room. The rift at the edge of her vision pulsed, sending tremors through the fabric of reality.
She gritted her teeth. More were coming. And this was only the beginning.
Her wristwatch—still without hands—buzzed against her skin, the swirling metal surface shifting ominously. She stared at it, a cold knot forming in her gut.
The system's voice whispered one final message in her mind.
[Warning: Exhaustion imminent. Rest is recommended.]
Juno exhaled sharply. The fight wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
Juno's breath came in ragged gasps as she knelt over the wolf's lifeless form. The café reeked of ozone, burnt fur, and the acrid tang of chemicals from the fire extinguisher. The beast's body still radiated a faint warmth, small sparks dancing like dying embers across its bristled fur.
Her muscles ached, adrenaline bleeding out and leaving behind exhaustion that settled deep in her bones. She leaned closer, fingers hovering just above the wolf's muzzle. Its once-vibrant golden eyes had dulled, glassy and vacant.
Why did it have to be like this? she wondered. For all its fury and monstrous strength, the wolf's death felt strangely... hollow. It had been desperate, like it was running from something far worse.
The eerie quiet that followed should have been reassuring. Instead, it felt like the eye of a storm.
Juno's knees hit the cracked tile floor of the ruined café, the jagged edges scraping her skin, but the pain was distant—just another passing reminder that she was alive. Barely. She knelt next to the dying wolf, its body twitching with weak pulses of electricity. Smoke curled from its fur like it had been burned from the inside out. Golden eyes, once fierce and storm-bright, flickered dimly, the light of life ebbing away.
The air smelled sharp, metallic, like the aftermath of a storm. Juno's breath shuddered as she exhaled, feeling the weight of exhaustion pressing down on her bones. She didn't need the system to tell her that she was at her limit—every cell in her body screamed it loud and clear.
[System: Temporal Shift Available. Warning: Limited Usage Remaining.]
I just need 10 seconds. Just ten seconds to slow it all down… Her fingers hovered over her chest, where the timekeeper's emblem—the swirling clockface embedded in her broken wristwatch—twitched in faint recognition. The wolf was done, but the problem wasn't over yet.
Then she heard it: the sharp tap-tap of boots on the tile floor.
Juno shot to her feet, heart slamming in her chest. From the shadows of the ruined café, a figure emerged—a woman draped in a shimmering cloak, the fabric shifting between midnight blue and the deep purple of twilight.
Because someone else was already here.
"You fought well enough, school girl," a smooth, lilting voice cut through the stillness. "You beat that wolf without a weapon of your own. But if you don't move aside that wolf, I'll show you what real power looks like."
The voice belonged to a woman who stepped out from the ruined café's shadows, her movements so fluid they seemed to flow with the night itself. Silver hair cascaded in soft waves past her shoulders, reflecting the dim glow of shattered streetlights like strands of liquid moonlight. Her skin was impossibly pale, with an ethereal, almost translucent quality, as if light bent differently around her. Icy blue eyes, glimmering like twin frozen lakes, locked onto Juno, cold and calculating, holding the promise of both mercy and malice. She wore a sleek, fitted outfit in deep purple, embroidered with intricate lunar patterns that shimmered as if enchanted—symbols that shifted subtly with every step, as though alive. A high-collared mantle draped over her shoulders, its fabric embedded with tiny constellations that flickered like distant stars, threading a quiet cosmic power through her presence.
Hanging from her belt were two crescent-shaped blades, their surfaces impossibly smooth and reflective, catching every fragment of light in the room. But they weren't ordinary weapons; the edges emitted a faint, humming resonance, as if tuned to an unknown frequency. Each blade's arc seemed unnaturally perfect, curving like slivers of a moon eclipsed—one marked with faint runes along the edge, the other dripping with traces of an energy so cold it made the air around it sting. When she shifted, the blades hummed louder, vibrating with a subtle pulse, as though they were alive and waiting to taste blood.
Her lips curled into a slow, deliberate grin—a grin that stretched just a bit too wide, like a cat savoring the moments before pouncing on a trapped mouse.
"Selene," the woman said, a dangerous glint in her dark blue eyes. "Class S. Title? Let's just say I'm a little out of your league."
Juno's heart sank, and she felt that familiar knot of inferiority tighten inside her chest. Class S? This wasn't just any opponent. The wolf—an A-Class monster—had nearly killed her. Now, this woman stood here with a power that felt like it belonged to the cosmos itself. And from the way Selene stared at her—lips curved in a grin, head tilted slightly—she was enjoying every second of it.
[Class: S.
Title: The Exile of the Stars]
What kind of a title is that? But I wonder what my class is... if she's this strong, I must see it for myself.
Juno wasn't ready to give up. Not yet.
She forced herself to her feet, legs trembling like brittle sticks under her weight. "What do you want? I cannnot just trust you," she said, though even she knew how weak her voice sounded.
Selene's laughter bubbled up, bright and mocking. "You think you have a choice?" Her hand dropped to one of the crescent blades at her hip, fingers tapping it almost affectionately. "I've been tracking this little beast through three rifts, sweetheart. You're not going to ruin my fun."
Think, Juno. Time. All you need is time.
"Temporal Shift!" Juno shouted.
[System Engaged: Temporal Shift | 10 Seconds | Warning: User is near exhaustion—system lock imminent.]
"Temporal... No." Selene uttered, seemingly shocked to her core.
"The prophecies were true. The Timekeeper is finally born."
The world flickered as the air around her slowed to syrup. Every detail sharpened: the wolf's ragged breaths, the broken glass catching the dim light, Selene's grin freezing mid-taunt. Even her own heartbeat slowed to a deliberate drum, as if she could count each second she had left.
Ten seconds to think. Ten seconds to act.
Juno pushed herself forward, every movement labored and slow as she dragged her body through time's thick, heavy current. She reached toward the wolf, her hand shaking with exhaustion. If I can stop Selene—just long enough to close the rift just like the aspect of time said...but how?
But the system crackled in her mind like a sputtering engine.
[System Alert: Temporal Shift exhausted. Locking abilities.]
The world snapped back to full speed, and Juno staggered forward, her legs giving out beneath her.
Selene's grin deepened. "Aw, honey. You tried so hard." With a flick of her wrist, one of her crescent blades flew into her hand. She dragged it lazily across the air, leaving a glowing trail of starlight. The constellation shimmered in the air—a twisted diagram of stars connected by jagged lines.
"Play time's over."
"Selene..."
The air was suddenly heavy. The lights flickered.
"Celestial Fall!" Selene's voice rang out, clear and triumphant.
Connecting lines with twinkling dots are seen, it's a constellation and it burst apart, and hundreds of tiny stars rained down, each one burning like a miniature sun. They sparkled, falling in slow, lazy arcs—beautiful, dangerous, impossible to dodge.
Juno cursed under her breath, every muscle screaming as she flung herself sideways, rolling behind an overturned counter just as the first wave hit.
The stars exploded on impact, sending up clouds of dust and shards of debris. Juno could feel the heat of them on her skin, could hear the distant hum of their cosmic energy vibrating through the air.
She's playing with me.
Juno peeked out from behind the counter, heart hammering. Selene stood at the center of the ruined café, spinning her crescent blades in lazy circles. She was smiling—like all of this was a game, and she was enjoying it far too much.
The wolf let out a pitiful whimper, and Selene's gaze shifted toward it, gleaming with hunger.
Juno knew, in that moment, that she couldn't win. Not against this. Selene wasn't just strong—she was overwhelming. The kind of opponent who didn't even have to try.
This time is different. I might no longer rewind again if she kills me.
"Take it," Juno said quietly, the words bitter on her tongue. "Take the wolf. Do what you want."
Selene blinked, surprised for a moment, then let out a delighted laugh. "Smart girl. I knew I liked you."
She knelt beside the wolf, placing her hands on its smoldering fur. Starlight poured from her fingertips, wrapping around the beast like a glowing cocoon. The wolf shuddered once, then went still.
[System Notification: Selene has absorbed the power of the Thunderfang Alpha.]
Electricity crackled along Selene's arms, dancing over her skin like living lightning. She threw her head back and laughed, a wild, triumphant sound that echoed through the broken walls of the café. "Oh, this is delicious! My first additional power!"
The sparks curled around her fingers, merging with the starlight in strange, chaotic patterns. Her crescent blades hummed with new power, glowing with a faint electric shimmer.
She turned to Juno, a grin still plastered on her face. "So, what do you say, time girl? Wanna team up? I could use someone like you."
Juno stared at her, trying to catch her breath, her body heavy with exhaustion. The part of her that wanted to survive said she should agree. But the part of her that remembered how Selene had laughed while toying with her screamed that she couldn't be trusted.
She just tried to hurt me earlier and now she's trying to be allies? As if nothing happened?
The air between them crackled with tension.
Selene tilted her head, her smile widening. "What do you say?"
And just as Juno opened her mouth to answer—
The rift pulsed violently, a deep, ominous hum that vibrated through the walls. Cracks spread along the edges of the portal, widening as if something massive was trying to force its way through.
Both women turned toward it, the air thick with unspoken tension.
"Looks like the fun isn't over," Selene murmured, her eyes sparkling with excitement.