"In the end, it's not the strongest who survive—it's the ones who refuse to die."
---
Juno's heart still pounded like a war drum as the weight of her second chance settled over her. The Leviathan's grotesque body writhed in the distance, the sound of its snarling breaths rolling through the ruins like a death knell. The image of Selene's brutal death was burned into her mind—too real to ignore.
I won't let it happen again.
She glanced at Selene, who was blissfully unaware of the horror Juno had just undone. She didn't know the stakes, didn't understand how close she had come to disappearing forever. But Juno did.
The Leviathan was a living nightmare, a thing stitched together from corrupted flesh, teeth, and rot, far more dangerous than it first appeared. Juno had seen firsthand what happened when they underestimated it, and she wouldn't let that mistake cost them twice.
She had to come up with a plan. Something bold. Something desperate.
Her mind raced, calculating every move, every variable. It absorbs energy… but it needs a clear target. If I can make myself look vulnerable, Selene can get in close and land a killing blow. She swallowed hard. It's risky as hell. But it's the only way.
"Selene," Juno said, her voice low but steady. "I need you to listen carefully."
Selene tilted her head, amused but curious. "Whoa, serious mode. What's the plan, boss?"
Juno met her gaze, her hazel-green eyes glinting with quiet determination. "I'm going to distract that thing. When it's focused on me, you hit it with everything you've got."
Selene blinked, the humor vanishing from her face. "Wait, you're going to play bait? Juno, that thing—"
"I know what it can do," Juno cut in, her voice sharper than she intended. "But it won't see you coming if I keep it busy. We don't get another chance at this."
Selene frowned, but Juno could see the gears turning in her mind. She was always quick to grasp the stakes, even if she hated the risks.
"Alright," Selene finally muttered, cracking her knuckles as sparks danced between her fingertips. "But when this is over, you owe me a drink. A big one."
Juno allowed herself a small, fleeting smile. "Deal."
---
[System initializing… Temporal Shift available in 5… 4… 3…]
Juno took a deep breath, her fingers twitching at her sides. Time to move.
The Leviathan loomed ahead, its twisted body rippling as it sniffed the air, sensing the two of them. Juno broke into a sprint, weaving through shattered pews and crumbling stone columns. Her boots barely made a sound on the cracked marble, thanks to the etched runes on their soles.
[Temporal Shift activated: Time slowed for 10 seconds.]
The world around her crawled as if submerged in molasses. Juno could see every twitch of the Leviathan's tendrils, each drip of saliva sliding from its fangs in slow motion. It gave her just enough time to dart under its reach, throwing a chunk of broken stone to the far side of the cathedral.
The beast roared, the sound a garbled mess in the slowed time, and twisted toward the noise. Juno gritted her teeth, forcing herself to keep running even as her muscles screamed. Come on. Focus on me, you ugly bastard.
As the effect of Temporal Shift faded, the world snapped back into place, and the Leviathan lunged—just as Juno had planned.
The massive tendrils whipped toward her, too fast to dodge. One slammed into her side, sending her flying through the air. She crashed into the remnants of a stone pillar, her ribs lighting up with sharp, burning pain.
"Juno!" Selene's voice echoed, but she didn't break formation. Good. Stay hidden, Selene. Stay hidden until it's time.
Juno staggered to her feet, her vision swimming. Blood trickled down her lip, and every breath felt like she was inhaling fire. I just need to hold on a little longer. Just a little longer…
But the Leviathan wasn't giving her any more time. It lunged again, the weight of its monstrous form bearing down on her.
[System notification: Health critically low. Death imminent.]
Juno's heart seized. Not now. Not yet. She scrambled backward, desperation clawing at her chest. Her hands fumbled at her side, instinctively searching for something—anything—that could help her survive.
And then it happened.
---
[New ability unlocked: Weapon Morph.]
[Chronosword summoned.]
---
The air around her shimmered and warped as if time itself was bending to her will. In an instant, a sword materialized in her hand—unlike any weapon she had ever seen.
The Chronosword was sleek, elegant, and impossibly sharp. Its blade shimmered with shifting fragments of time, glowing with a faint blue hue that pulsed like the ticking of a clock. The hilt felt cool and weightless in her grasp, wrapped in dark leather that seemed to hum beneath her touch.
Juno didn't think—she moved. The Leviathan's tendrils lashed toward her, but she was already in motion, the Chronosword slicing through the air with a whispering hum. The blade cleaved through the beast's limb effortlessly, severing it in one fluid motion.
The Leviathan shrieked, black ichor spraying from the wound, but Juno didn't stop. She ducked, rolled, and struck again, the sword's glowing edge leaving trails of shimmering blue light in its wake. I can do this. I just need to hold on.
"Now, Selene!" Juno shouted, her voice raw with urgency.
Selene didn't hesitate. She stepped from the shadows, her gauntlets blazing with electric fury. Her eyes glowed, brighter than ever, as she raised both hands toward the sky.
"Celestial Armament: Orion's Wrath!" Selene's voice rang out, clear and commanding.
Above them, the night sky seemed to shift, stars rearranging into the shape of a mighty hunter. Starlight poured down in radiant streams, wrapping around Selene's body in threads of silver and gold. The energy surged through her, crackling with unstoppable force.
She thrust her hands forward, and a massive spear of starlight formed, its edges humming with celestial power. The air around it shimmered with constellations, fragments of forgotten legends etched into its surface.
With a final, primal scream, Selene hurled the spear at the Leviathan. The weapon struck true, driving deep into the beast's heart.
The monster convulsed, its grotesque body twisting and writhing as the constellation's power tore it apart from the inside. With one last, deafening shriek, the Leviathan exploded in a shower of black ichor and stardust.
Selene swayed on her feet, the glow in her eyes flickering. She turned to Juno with a weary grin, her voice barely a whisper. "Told you… easy."
And then, like a burned-out star collapsing into itself, Selene crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
---
Juno rushed to her side, her chest heaving with exhaustion and relief. The Chronosword dissipated from her grip, the glowing fragments scattering like embers in the wind.
She knelt beside Selene, pressing two fingers to her neck. Her pulse was faint but steady.
Juno let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "You're okay," she whispered, brushing a strand of hair from Selene's face. "We're okay."
For now.
---
[Inventory:]
- Chronosword (Summonable through Weapon Morph)
- Wristwatch with swirling metal surface
- Silver pin resembling a broken clock hand
[Status:]
- Ability: Temporal Shift (Cooldown: 5 minutes)
- Ability: Rewind 60 Minutes (Available)
- Ability: Weapon Morph (Chronosword unlocked)
- Health: 40%
- Mental Strain: High
---
Juno glanced at the remains of the Leviathan, her expression grim. One battle down. A thousand more to go until we find the void rift in this realm.
The stars might burn out, but as long as she had time, she'd find a way to keep them alive.
---
Juno shifted Selene's unconscious body higher onto her shoulder, wincing at the dead weight of her friend's limp form. The celestial warrior wasn't exactly light. Selene's lithe muscles—trained to precision from years of battle—weren't just for show. Carrying her was like hauling around a fallen statue. A really sparkly one.
"Stars above, Selene... what do you eat? Stardust protein shakes?" Juno muttered under her breath, half-expecting a sarcastic response from her unconscious passenger.
But Selene didn't stir. Her breathing was soft, her pulse faint but steady beneath Juno's fingertips. She was alive—barely. The aftershock of summoning Orion's Wrath had drained everything out of her. Whatever cosmic energy had filled her veins now flickered like the last embers of a dying flame.
Juno gritted her teeth and pressed forward through the crumbled ruins of what used to be a cathedral. Each step felt heavier than the last, her ribs screaming in protest from where the Leviathan had thrown her. The streets outside were bathed in dim twilight, the sky overhead a swirling palette of muted purples and grays, as if the sun and moon were forever locked in limbo. The world wasn't so much decaying as it was forgetting how to exist.
Broken windows stared out from skeletal buildings like hollowed-out eyes, and the air carried the metallic scent of rust, mingling with the subtle tang of ozone from Selene's lingering magic. Every shattered cobblestone and collapsed wall told a story of battles fought and lost. The question that gnawed at Juno now was how many more they could survive.
---
Juno's thoughts churned, as relentless as a ticking clock. Why? she wondered for the hundredth time. Why did Selene pick me?
Selene was dazzling—a star given human form, always burning, always brilliant. She could summon the power of entire constellations and make the impossible seem effortless. In any other story, she would've been the hero. The savior. The one destined to win.
And yet, here she was, unconscious in Juno's arms, her fate resting in the hands of a girl who couldn't even keep her shoes from falling apart half the time.
"Why would someone like you trust someone like me?" Juno whispered, her voice barely audible over the crunch of rubble beneath her boots. The answer gnawed at her, sharp and unforgiving. Selene was strong. And I'm... not.
But that didn't matter now. What mattered was that Selene was still breathing, and Juno was going to make sure it stayed that way—no matter what.
---
As Juno rounded the corner of a half-collapsed bell tower, she spotted a narrow alley that looked just sturdy enough to provide shelter. She adjusted her grip on Selene, her muscles burning from the effort. Just a little further.
Then she felt it—a ripple in the air. Like the moment just before lightning strikes.
Her heart skipped a beat. We're not alone.
A figure stepped into the alley ahead, blocking her path. He stood tall, his posture rigid as a drawn bowstring. His dark coat billowed slightly in the wind, revealing sleek armor beneath, forged from blackened steel and laced with crimson threads that shimmered faintly under the twilight. His sharp, angular face was framed by tousled black hair, and his eyes—cold, calculating—gleamed with a dangerous kind of certainty.
Juno knew right away: this was not someone who asked for permission.
"Hand her over," the stranger said, his voice flat and commanding, as if he were stating a simple fact of nature. "I'll take her from here."
Juno tightened her grip on Selene instinctively. "Yeah, that's not happening."
The stranger's gaze didn't waver. If anything, it sharpened, like the edge of a blade catching the light. "I am Exos. Blessed by the Aspect of War. S Class, The Warden of Blades. I need the Starseer's power to find the next rift. You're delaying what needs to be done."
"Nice intro," Juno deadpanned. "But Selene isn't some tool you can borrow whenever you feel like it."
Exos's expression didn't change, but there was a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. "I wasn't asking."
Without another word, three swords materialized in the air around him—sleek, wickedly curved weapons, each one forged from a strange alloy that shimmered like liquid obsidian. They floated weightlessly, their edges humming with latent energy, as if eager to be unleashed.
The swords drifted closer, their points hovering inches from Juno's throat. Exos's eyes narrowed, cold and merciless. "You will give her to me. Or I will take her by force."
Juno's pulse thundered in her ears, but she didn't back down. Fear clawed at her, but she buried it deep. He's stronger. Faster. More experienced. The logical part of her brain screamed at her to give up, to hand Selene over and walk away.
But that logic had never gotten her this far. There are always many sides of a logic.
"No," Juno said, her voice steady. "If you think I'm letting you use her, you're going to have to kill me first."
Exos's gaze darkened. "That can be arranged."
The swords whirled in the air, their edges gleaming with lethal intent. One of them shot forward—but Juno was already moving.
---
[System activating… Temporal Shift: 5-second slow.]
The world slowed to a crawl, and Juno's breath hitched as the familiar pressure of her power wrapped around her like a suffocating blanket. Every heartbeat felt like a century. Every movement was a monumental effort. But it gave her just enough time to duck, the tip of the blade slicing through the air where her head had been a moment ago.
[Weapon Morph: Summoning Chronosword.]
The shimmering blade materialized in her hand once more, glowing with that strange, otherworldly light. Juno pivoted, bringing the Chronosword up just in time to deflect the second sword that came slicing toward her ribs. Sparks flew as the two weapons clashed, the impact sending a jolt up her arm.
Exos's eyes widened—just a fraction—as he realized she wasn't going down without a fight. Juno placed Selene besides her in a more elevated floor.
"You're stubborn," Exos muttered, flicking his hand. The third sword veered toward Juno from behind, aiming for her spine.
---
[Limits surpassed.
New Ability Unlocked: Temporal Blink
Short-range teleport activated.]
Blink? Just what I needed.
Juno vanished in a shimmer of blue light, reappearing a few feet away just as the sword sliced through empty air. She landed in a crouch, breathing hard, the Chronosword still humming in her hand.
"Surprise," Juno said, flashing a grin that didn't reach her eyes.
Exos's expression was unreadable, but there was a new tension in his posture. "You don't know what you're getting into, girl."
Juno straightened, keeping the Chronosword raised. "Maybe not. But I know one thing: Selene trusted me. And I'm not about to let some self-righteous war junkie mess that up."
Exos's swords hovered in the air, their points shifting slightly, as if waiting for his command to strike again.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. The air between them was thick with tension, like the charged silence before a storm.
And then Exos smiled—a thin, dangerous thing. "Very well," he said softly. "Let's see how long you can keep that promise."