"Time slips away so quietly, it takes courage to wrest it back—and that courage has consequences."
---
Juno was running.
The landscape blurred around her—cracked streets, towering ruins, and shadowy alleys with no end. Her boots pounded against uneven ground as she twisted through tight corners and vaulted over debris, lungs burning, heart hammering in her chest. She could feel it behind her, a presence thick and suffocating, hot breath on the back of her neck.
She didn't dare look back.
Her mind screamed for escape, for a way out, but the streets ahead of her were endless, warping and folding over themselves. Each time she thought she'd found a path, the ground would shift beneath her feet, throwing her off balance. The world was a loop, and no matter how fast she ran, the thing behind her was always catching up.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Heavy footsteps pounded closer, relentless and inescapable.
Her body ached, her legs wobbled, but she pushed forward. Panic clawed at her throat, thick and choking. Then she heard it—laughter. Low, mocking, familiar.
"Why do you keep running?" a voice sneered from the shadows.
Juno's breath hitched. That voice. It shouldn't belong to the thing chasing her.
She stumbled forward, legs tangling in fear. A cold gust swept across her skin as the footsteps stopped just behind her. She turned—against every instinct screaming at her not to—and her heart dropped into her stomach.
It was Selene.
The girl's silver eyes gleamed with cruel amusement, her lips curled into a smile that didn't belong on the face Juno knew. Something was wrong. This wasn't the Selene she'd spoken with, laughed with. The one who told stories of rebellion under the stars. This Selene was predatory, gaze cold and void of warmth.
"You can't run from me," Selene whispered, her voice dripping with venom. "I'm always going to catch you."
Then Selene lunged, hands outstretched.
Juno tried to scream, but the world shattered into darkness—
—and she jolted awake.
Her heart pounded wildly as she sat up, gasping for air. For a second, the dream clung to her, thick and sticky, like cobwebs she couldn't shake off. She felt her pulse in her throat, her skin cold with sweat.
Juno's eyes adjusted to the dim light, and she blinked rapidly, taking in her surroundings: the abandoned house, the sagging bed, the cracked ceiling above her. The night sky beyond the shattered window was still dark, but the nightmare's grip on her didn't loosen.
Her gaze drifted to the other side of the bed, and there was Selene—curled up, asleep, her expression peaceful, almost innocent. She was completely unaware of the storm brewing in Juno's mind.
Juno exhaled, trying to calm herself, but the unease lingered. Something about the dream—no, the warning—gnawed at her. She barely knew Selene. Sure, they had fought together, shared food, and exchanged stories. But trust? That was a luxury Juno couldn't afford.
Not yet. Maybe not ever.
She leaned back, her hazel-green eyes fixed on Selene's sleeping form.
Who are you really? she wondered.
She wanted to believe Selene was an ally, someone she could rely on in this broken, terrifying world. But the nightmare had cracked something inside her—a sliver of doubt, sharp and dangerous.
Then the sound came.
A roar. Deep, guttural, and monstrous. It rattled the windows and shook the walls, making dust fall from the ceiling. It wasn't just a roar—it was a declaration. A warning.
Juno's body tensed, adrenaline flooding her veins. She shot a glance at Selene, who stirred awake with a groggy groan, her silver eyes snapping open in alarm.
"What the hell was that?" Selene whispered, already sitting up, her hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of her blade.
Juno swung her legs off the bed. "I think we're about to find out."
They exchanged a brief glance—no words needed—and quickly made their way toward the window, moving silently as they peered outside. What they saw turned Juno's blood to ice.
It was a monster. But not just any monster. This thing was massive—easily as tall as a building, its grotesque form barely humanoid, more nightmare than anything born of nature. Its body was a patchwork of swollen, ruptured flesh and jagged bone, with skin so thin and decayed that toxic green liquid oozed from every tear.
[System notification: Class A threat detected—Plagueborn Leviathan. Warning: Temporal Shift recharge unavailable.]
The beast's head was grotesque, an amalgamation of rotting animal skulls fused together, with rows of mismatched teeth gnashing at the night air. A tangled mass of tendrils writhed from its back, each one dripping with acidic sludge that hissed and smoked when it hit the ground.
Juno could smell it even from inside the house—rot and decay mixed with a plague-like stench so foul it made her stomach churn.
The thing let out another roar, its maw splitting wider than seemed possible, and summoned forth a horde of smaller creatures from its bloated belly. These underlings spilled out like a swarm, their malformed bodies twitching and writhing. They crawled over the ground on too many limbs, their faces twisted in eternal screams. Each one left a trail of blackened earth in its wake, the ground wilting beneath their feet.
Juno's heart raced. "What the hell is that?"
"Whatever that is I don't want it near me," Selene whispered grimly, her hand tightening around the hilt of her sword. "It's a big one. And it looks hungry."
The monstrous giant sniffed the air, then turned its bloated, skull-covered head toward the house where they hid. Its many eyes—some human, some animal, and others too alien to describe—gleamed with malice. It knew they were here.
"Shit," Juno breathed, stepping back from the window.
Selene's expression darkened. "We can't stay here. It'll tear this place apart."
As if to punctuate her words, the beast let out another roar and began lumbering toward the village, its acidic tendrils dragging along the ground and leaving deep gouges in the earth.
Juno's mind raced. They couldn't fight this thing—not without a plan. They needed time, and ironically, time was the one thing they didn't have.
Selene grabbed her by the arm. "Come on. We need to move. Now."
Juno didn't argue. The two of them darted toward the back of the house, their boots thudding softly against the wooden floor as they searched for an exit.
Behind them, the monster crashed through the outskirts of the village, crushing everything in its path. The smaller creatures swarmed ahead, their screeching voices filling the air like a nightmarish choir.
[Detected: Class D threat—Plaguelings.]
Juno threw a glance over her shoulder, her pulse hammering. We can't outrun that thing forever.
"Selene," she whispered urgently, "we need a plan."
Selene's silver eyes gleamed in the dark, a wild, dangerous grin spreading across her face. "We'll figure it out. But first, we survive."
Juno swallowed hard, adrenaline buzzing through her veins. Surviving was easier said than done.
How did that monster came from a crystalline world?
And the nightmare wasn't over yet.
---
Juno's boots crunched on the shattered marble beneath her, the remnants of what once must have been a grand hall now a decayed ruin bathed in sickly green light. Faint tendrils of plague-tainted mist slithered along the ground, curling like lazy serpents around her ankles. Her heart pounded in her chest—not from exertion, but from the overwhelming tension, the sharp awareness that every second mattered. The creatures lurking in this cursed cathedral weren't just mindless beasts; they were born of the plague's relentless corruption—twisted reflections of everything alive.
[System activating… scanning environmental hazard: Plagueborn proximity detected.]
Her pupils constricted. She couldn't slow down—not when danger oozed from every corner. Temporal Shift was her only card, a brittle ace she would have to wield with precision or risk being torn apart. And it wasn't just about survival. Somewhere beneath the fear, a different, darker thought nagged her—would Temporal Shift be enough? Would she be enough?
Her hand twitched toward the silver pin clipped into her hair, the broken clock hand glinting dimly in the fogged light as if it could offer some kind of reassurance. It didn't.
"I need more," Juno whispered. "More than just ten seconds."
[Ability: Temporal Shift ready.
Duration: 10 seconds.
Warning: Heavy strain upon consecutive usage.]
From behind her, Selene hummed a low, satisfied note. "I can smell them," Selene said, her voice dripping with excitement. "They're close." She stood at Juno's side, her eyes gleaming like twin stars in the gloom. For someone about to face horrors, Selene looked far too pleased—her silver hair shimmered with an unearthly glow, trailing in waves as if gravity had stopped paying attention to her. There was something otherworldly about the way she moved, as if the night itself followed her whims.
Juno didn't know what unnerved her more—the plagueborn or Selene's exhilaration at what was coming.
Selene lifted her hand lazily, and arcs of electricity flickered between her fingers, hissing like impatient snakes. Her armor—stitched with threads that glimmered like constellations—seemed to breathe in sync with her pulse. Tiny points of starlight flickered across the surface of her gauntlets, a slow, celestial heartbeat.
"Try not to blink, Juno," Selene teased. "I don't want you to miss it."
Juno suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "Just… don't blow everything up. Yet."
"Define 'everything.'" Selene's grin widened, and with a casual flick of her dual crescent blades, she summoned an orb of electricity that danced in the air like a restless sprite. "You're going to love this. First, a little shock."
She flexed her fingers, and the orb crackled with new intensity, its light sharp enough to cast jagged shadows along the ruined walls. "And then… I paint the stars."
They didn't have to wait long. The first wave of plagueborn slithered out from the darkened hallways—grotesque amalgamations of limbs, bone, and sinew, each form barely recognizable as something that had once been human. Their skin was mottled and wet, eyes sunken into sockets filled with black sludge. Spines jutted through their backs, bending in ways that defied nature. Their stench hit Juno like a slap, thick and rancid, burning the back of her throat.
One of the creatures lunged with a rasping hiss, claws outstretched, its jaw unhinging to reveal rows of jagged, splintered teeth.
Juno's heart seized, her body tensing—but she forced herself to focus. Now.
[Ability activated: Temporal Shift. Initiating slowdown—time dilation at 80%.]
The world around her dragged to a crawl. Sound muffled to a low hum, movements reduced to slow-motion blurs. Selene's electric orb hung suspended mid-flight, every spark blooming outward like fireworks frozen in time. The plagueborn's claws hovered mere inches from Juno's face, each serrated nail gleaming like glass shards beneath the dim light.
Juno exhaled slowly, feeling the strange, weightless calm of slowed time settle over her. It was both a relief and a curse. Ten seconds. That was all she had—ten fleeting moments to make a difference before reality caught up and tried to swallow her whole. She stepped lightly to the side, her boots barely making contact with the cracked stone beneath her feet. The creature's swipe missed by a breath, slicing empty air where she'd been.
She scanned the battlefield, her mind racing through possibilities. Selene stood frozen in perfect poise, her electric orb coiled tight with untapped energy. If only she had more than ten seconds—if only Temporal Shift gave her just a little more room to breathe.
The thought itched at the back of her mind like an unspoken promise. Not yet. But soon.
[System alert: Temporal Shift time remaining—3 seconds.]
As time snapped back into place, Juno stumbled forward, the sudden acceleration of reality slamming into her like a wave. Her pulse thundered in her ears. The plagueborn screeched in frustration, its claws slashing at empty space.
"Missed me," Juno muttered under her breath, steadying herself.
Selene's laughter rang out, bright and dangerous. "I hope you're ready to see something spectacular."
Selene hurled the electric orb toward the nearest group of plagueborn. It exploded mid-air, arcs of lightning streaking outward in chaotic, dazzling patterns. The energy danced across the creatures' twisted bodies, making them convulse violently. Their flesh sizzled, smoke curling from charred skin.
"Stellar Strike!" Selene shouted, her voice resonating with power. Her hands shot upward, and the points of starlight on her armor flared to life. From the heavens—or what remained of them—a streak of silver-blue light tore through the ceiling, piercing the sky like a spear. The energy hit the ground with a deafening boom, sending shockwaves rippling outward.
Juno could feel the air itself hum with raw power. Electricity buzzed along her skin, making her hairs stand on end.
Selene twirled gracefully through the chaos, her movements fluid and precise, as if she were dancing with the stars themselves. "I swear, this never gets old."
Juno's chest tightened with something unfamiliar—was it envy? Admiration? A strange mixture of both? Selene's mastery of her abilities felt effortless, while Juno wrestled with the limits of her ten-second window. But beneath the frustration, a flicker of hope stirred.
If Selene could wield lightning and stars with such ease… what would it feel like to control time with that same confidence?
The idea thrilled and terrified her in equal measure.
Just as the last of the plagueborn fell, their bodies reduced to smoldering husks, a deep rumble shook the ground. Cracks spread across the floor, and from the depths below, a monstrous roar echoed—a sound that spoke of ancient hunger and endless decay.
Selene's smile faded. "Uh-oh."
Juno clenched her fists, her mind racing. Not now. Not yet.
The floor buckled beneath them, and something massive began to rise from the shadows—a towering creature stitched together from the remains of countless plagueborn. Its eyes glowed with malice, and black tendrils writhed from its body like a swarm of snakes.
Juno's breath hitched. Ten seconds wouldn't be enough for this.
---
[Inventory:]
- Wristwatch with swirling metal surface
- Silver pin resembling a broken clock hand
[Status:]
- Ability: Temporal Shift (Cooldown: 5 minutes)
- Health: 89%
- Mental Strain: Mild
---
The Plagueborn Leviathan roared, a guttural howl that reverberated through the air and rattled the cracked marble beneath Juno's feet. Its massive, bloated body heaved with unnatural motion—dozens of mangled limbs, gnashing mouths, and twitching eyes fused into a pulsating mass. Thick tendrils snaked from its core, writhing like living whips.
Selene, still buzzing with adrenaline, narrowed her glowing eyes at the beast. "Easy. Big or not, I've taken worse." Her voice brimmed with reckless confidence—too much of it.
"No, wait!" Juno shouted, her heart slamming against her ribs as an overwhelming sense of dread gripped her. But Selene didn't stop. She moved with that same terrifying grace, her hands sparking with brilliant arcs of electricity that lit up the decaying cathedral like fireworks on a stormy night.
"Celestial Bolt!" Selene bellowed, her gauntlets humming with crackling energy. The stars woven into her armor pulsed brighter as she aimed her hands at the Leviathan, releasing a concentrated beam of lightning straight at the beast's heart.
For a moment, it looked like victory. The bolt struck true, blasting through layers of corrupted flesh. The Leviathan writhed and convulsed, its screams vibrating through the air in twisted, guttural notes.
But something was wrong. Horribly wrong.
The beast's wounds didn't bleed or decay—they absorbed the energy. The arcs of Selene's lightning sank into its flesh like a sponge drinking water. Black veins crawled across the creature's surface, growing thicker, spreading faster with every spark that Selene fed it.
"Oh no…" Selene whispered, her bravado cracking. "No, no, no…"
The Leviathan's tendrils shot forward with terrifying speed, too fast for Selene to react. They coiled around her wrists, legs, and throat, lifting her off the ground as if she were weightless. The starlight in her armor flickered like a dying ember, each pulse growing fainter.
Juno's breath hitched. This isn't happening. This can't be happening.
"Let me go, you piece of—" Selene struggled, arcs of electricity dancing desperately across her body, but the Leviathan didn't flinch. It only pulled tighter, crushing her limbs with sickening cracks that echoed through the hall.
"No!" Juno screamed, bolting forward, but her legs felt like they were moving through tar. She knew—even as she ran—that she wouldn't make it in time. She could feel it in her bones: this was the end.
The Leviathan's massive jaw unhinged, splitting into four grotesque sections, revealing rows upon rows of blackened fangs. A tendril wrapped around Selene's neck and yanked her down, head-first, into the waiting maw.
There was no time for her to scream.
The beast's jaws slammed shut with a wet crunch, and the light inside Selene—the electric star that had shone so brilliantly—was snuffed out.
Juno stopped dead in her tracks. Her vision blurred, her breath coming in shallow gasps as the reality of it hit her like a punch to the chest.
Selene was gone.
Not just gone—devoured, extinguished, erased. One second, she was there, burning with celestial brilliance. The next, there was only silence, the flickering remnants of starlight swallowed whole by the dark.
Juno's knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground, cold terror washing over her like a tidal wave. She tried to scream, but the sound caught in her throat, twisting into a choked sob. Her hands trembled as she stared at the place where Selene had been—nothing left but an ugly smear of blood on the Leviathan's maw.
"Selene," Juno whispered, her voice breaking.
The Leviathan turned its soulless eyes on her, and Juno knew, with chilling certainty, that she was next.
[System notification: Critical threat detected—death imminent.]
It struck faster than she could react, a tendril coiling around her waist and lifting her into the air. She didn't even fight. What was the point? If Selene—the brightest, fiercest soul she'd ever known—could die so easily, what hope did she have?
The Leviathan dragged her closer, its fetid breath washing over her like a wave of rot. Time seemed to slow, though not by her will this time—just the cruel mechanics of final moments stretching infinitely long.
This is it.
The jaws opened, black and bottomless, waiting to swallow her whole.
And then—darkness.
A familiar darkness.
Perhaps a place of nothingness.
If it's a place at all.
Is nothingness a place?
Or is it the feeling of all of this?
Then we have all died a countless times if that's the case, isn't it?
Now you, reader, tell me...
What makes you read this tragedy?
Perhaps it is already the end.
Maybe?
We'll see.
Juno Luminara.
How interesting.
You've had a great start Juno.
Two worlds you've been and it's been only two deaths.
The darkness was comforting.
How about you just stay here?
And hear my voice?
And everything?
Well...
This is just a wishful thinking.
Until we meet again, Timekeeper.
[System activation: Rewind protocol initiated. Reversing time.]
Time didn't rewind neatly or smoothly—it tore, snapped, and twisted around her like jagged glass. Memories, sounds, and sensations tangled together in a chaotic whirlwind. She wasn't just moving backward through time—she was being hurled, shattered into pieces and forced back together all at once.
Juno gasped as the world righted itself, the overwhelming sensation of falling slamming into her body. She staggered, clutching her head as everything around her shifted and snapped into place. The cathedral, the fog, the oppressive weight of the plagueborn—everything was exactly as it had been an hour before.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. She was alive.
Selene was alive.
Juno's knees gave out, and she dropped to the ground, struggling to catch her breath. The world spun around her, nausea clawing at her insides. But she didn't care.
Selene stood a few feet away, casually flicking a spark of electricity between her fingers, her silver hair catching the light like threads of moonlight woven with carelessness. Her purple outfit clung effortlessly to her lithe frame, the crescent-shaped blades at her waist gleaming like razor-sharp moons, their edges humming with quiet menace. She looked as carefree as ever, her smile curling at the edges, all mischief and ease. Completely unaware of the danger she'd flirted with. Unaware of how close she'd come to dying.
Juno's throat tightened. The nightmare crashed into her thoughts, unwanted and sudden, pulling her back into that twisted, feverish memory, the dream she had in the morning. Running. Choking on fear. A street with no end, walls folding in on themselves, and the sound of Selene's footsteps closing in behind her—laughter sharp as a knife, cruel and wrong. She could feel it again, that panic, the helpless scramble through streets that warped beneath her feet.
Her mind latched onto every detail, dissecting the scene with grim precision. What had it meant? Dreams had always lingered for her in strange ways—visions that danced too close to reality.
Was the nightmare a warning? A glimpse of Selene's death? The moment still seared into her memory: Selene's body breaking, bones snapping, and that awful silence when she was devoured whole by the shadows. Was the nightmare some twisted premonition of the battle they'd narrowly escaped? Or was it a message that Selene's fate was already sealed, that no matter how far Juno ran, time was always going to take her?
Her heart hammered painfully in her chest. Or... was it about something else entirely?
She hadn't just been running from death. She'd been running from Selene. In the nightmare, Selene had been different—cold, predatory, with a grin that wasn't playful but sinister. And the words still echoed in Juno's mind, "You can't run from me. I'm always going to catch you." It wasn't a threat. It was a promise. But what did it mean? That Selene was destined to betray her? Or worse—that the real Selene would die, leaving behind something else in her place?
Juno's hands clenched tightly at her sides, nails digging into her palms until the pain steadied her thoughts. She couldn't allow herself to spiral. Not now. Not with sixty seconds to act.
It could mean anything. The nightmare could be a warning about Selene's reckless nature, that she would get herself killed if Juno wasn't careful. Or maybe it was something deeper—something about Selene's connection to the strange forces that shaped this broken world. What if Selene wasn't the friend Juno believed she was? What if Selene was already something else, something dangerous?
Juno's stomach twisted at the thought. No. She couldn't believe that. Not yet. If she started doubting Selene now, she'd unravel—and there wasn't time for that.
Sixty seconds. That's all the time she had—just enough to change what mattered.
Her breath steadied as she forced herself back into the moment, every nerve in her body taut with resolve. Whatever the nightmare meant, it hadn't happened yet. And that meant it could still be stopped. Even if it meant rewriting time, bending it until it snapped—she'd make sure Selene lived.
She swallowed the fear tightening in her throat and forced a shaky smile. It didn't matter what the dream meant. She wouldn't let it become real.
"Selene," she called, her voice rough but holding.
Selene looked up, electric sparks crackling lazily between her fingers, her blue eyes glimmering with amusement. "What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Juno's lips pressed into a thin line. I saw worse than a ghost, she thought grimly. She saw the version of Selene that could exist if Juno failed. A Selene who wasn't alive. A Selene who wasn't Selene at all.
Her fists tightened at her sides. Not this time. Not again.
With sixty seconds ticking away in her mind, Juno gave Selene a slow, deliberate nod. "Stay close. We're not out of this yet."
Selene's grin widened, but this time it didn't unsettle Juno. Not completely. Because this was still her Selene—the one who toyed with danger and never looked back. And for now, that was enough.
Juno exhaled slowly, grounding herself in the present moment. "I've got a plan. This time, we do things my way."
Selene raised a curious brow, but there was no time to explain—not yet. The clock was ticking, and the monster was coming.
Juno rolled her shoulders, the tension in her muscles melting into something sharper, harder—determination.
She could feel it now, like a second heartbeat thrumming beneath her skin—the power to rewind, to correct, to survive.
The stars had fallen once. This time, Juno would make sure they burned brighter than ever.