"Borrowed things are always borrowed."
---
Juno stood firm, her heart racing in her chest, the glow of the Chronosword casting eerie, shifting shadows on the cracked stone walls. Exos's swords still hovered like silent specters in the air, each one vibrating with a latent thirst for violence. The tension between them was like a coiled spring, ready to snap at any moment.
"You don't have to fight me," Juno said, voice steady though her hands ached from gripping the sword's hilt too tight. "Look, we're all on the same side here. You, me, Selene—we're all chosen by aspects. Blessed or whatever. We're supposed to stop these rifts before they ruin everything, right? So... maybe stop trying to stab me for five minutes, and let's work together?"
Exos didn't lower his swords. His gaze was sharp, analytical, dissecting her words like a blade slicing through silk. "Cooperation is weakness if it slows the mission," he said bluntly. "The rifts won't wait for sentiment. Neither will I."
Juno exhaled through her nose, irritation simmering just beneath the surface. This guy is like a brick wall with a sword fetish.
"Look, Captain Edgelord—" Juno snapped, immediately regretting her choice of words when one of the swords twitched dangerously close to her nose. "We don't have time to argue. If we waste energy fighting each other, those rifts will just keep spreading. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not get eaten alive by another plagueborn today."
Exos's expression didn't change. It was like talking to a marble statue—one that happened to be armed to the teeth. "You're wasting time," he said coldly. "The Starseer's power can locate the next rift. If you won't hand her over, I will wake her myself."
Juno clenched her jaw. This wasn't working. Exos was too focused, too rigid. He wasn't going to listen to words alone. He needed proof—something undeniable.
And, unfortunately, Juno had just the thing.
---
[System initializing… New ability unlocked
Temporal Overload: Echo Back 10 seconds.]
The world around her pulsed, folding in on itself for a brief moment as time bent to her will. The air shimmered, and then everything rewound—the swirling swords, Exos's cold stare, even her own voice. In a blink, the last ten seconds unraveled, and they stood exactly as they had before.
"Cooperation is weakness if it slows the mission," Exos repeated, though this time his words held an edge of uncertainty. He stiffened, as if sensing something was off—but he couldn't place it.
And then Juno stepped forward, standing exactly where she had before—but now with the weight of the aspect of time behind her.
"The rifts won't wait for sentiment. Neither will I." as both of them stated.
"Yeah," Juno said coolly, "Except time disagrees with you."
For the first time, Exos faltered. His eyes widened, his rigid posture cracking under the weight of realization. "You… knew what I was going to say?" he whispered, almost to himself. "The Timekeeper..."
All at once, his swords stopped vibrating in the air. Slowly, they lowered, like soldiers awaiting a new command. Juno expected relief. What she got instead was Exos taking a step back—and then dropping to one knee.
"You're real," Exos said, his voice filled with reverence. "The chosen of Time has finally awakened."
Juno blinked. "Uh... what are you—"
Before she could even finish, Exos placed a hand to his chest, bowing his head low. "I, Exos, The Warden of Blades, offer my allegiance. It will be an honor to follow your command, Timekeeper."
Juno stared at him, jaw slack. What. The. Hell.
She cast a quick glance at the unconscious Selene. "You seeing this? No? Just me? Cool, cool…"
Exos remained perfectly still, awaiting her orders like a knight swearing fealty to a queen. Juno's heart hammered against her ribs, and her mind scrambled for some kind of response that didn't involve curling up in a fetal position and screaming into the void.
This was not how she thought the conversation would go.
"Uh..." Juno cleared her throat awkwardly. "Okay. First off, uh, don't... bow to me. That's weird. Really weird. Just... stand up. Please."
Exos blinked, as if confused by the request. But after a beat, he rose to his feet, his expression calm and unreadable once again.
Juno exhaled, dragging a hand through her messy hair. "Look, how about we just talk for a bit? While Selene rests. You know, casually. No kneeling or sword-pointing involved."
Exos gave a curt nod, his posture still impeccably straight. "As you wish."
---
They found a quiet corner, far from the wind and the scent of rot. Selene lay on a makeshift bed of old cloaks, her breathing steady but shallow. Juno sat cross-legged beside her, while Exos stood like a sentinel, arms crossed, as if even rest was something to be conquered.
"So," Juno began, "mind telling me what exactly is going on here? Where are we? What the hell were those plagueborn things we fought? And why does everyone seem to know more about me being the 'Timekeeper' than I do?"
Exos regarded her for a moment, his expression unreadable. "This world is called Rasmora," he said. "One of many realms connected by the rifts. The plagueborn are creatures of decay—remnants of failed timelines and dying worlds. When the rifts open, they slip through, corrupting everything they touch."
Juno frowned. "And the rifts..."
Juno leaned back, her head spinning. "Hmm. Wait... so the fact that I got picked as the Timekeeper made everything worse?"
"Not worse. More dangerous," Exos corrected. "When an aspect chooses a new vessel, every blessed one across all realms feels it. A signal, sent through the ether, announcing the arrival of someone... significant."
Juno rubbed her temples, trying to wrap her head around it all. "So you knew about me the second I got picked?"
Exos gave a small nod. "We all did. And we've been waiting for you."
Juno groaned, slumping against the wall. "Great. No pressure or anything."
"I response, the Void grew much more, the rifts were more frequent."
"And the worlds are more being cirreupted than ever..." Juno contemplated.
For a moment, there was silence between them, broken only by the soft crackle of distant lightning.
Exos shifted slightly, his gaze lingering on the unconscious Selene. "The Starseer trusts you. That means something."
Juno glanced at Selene, a strange mixture of guilt and gratitude welling up in her chest. "Yeah... well, I just hope I don't screw it up."
Exos regarded her for a long moment, then gave a rare, almost imperceptible smile. "You won't."
Juno raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"
Exos's eyes gleamed with something close to admiration. "Because time is on your side."
"Hmmm."
Juno sat cross-legged on the cold floor, her head still spinning from Exos's revelations about the rifts, blessed ones, and the signal that resonated across realms the moment she was chosen. But one puzzle gnawed at the back of her mind: her system. She knew it was there—visible, functional, always ticking in the background—but Exos had acted like he had no clue what she was talking about.
"So," she began cautiously, glancing at Exos, "there's this... thing. It's hard to explain. It's like an interface, a system only I can see." She rubbed the back of her neck. "You know, like... stats, status screens, and—uh—abilities? You don't have that?"
Exos's brow furrowed, as if she had just started speaking in a foreign tongue. "I don't understand what you mean."
Juno blew a stray hair out of her face. "You know... a system! Like, an inventory, cooldowns?"
He blinked slowly, the only indication that he was even remotely trying to process her words. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Juno slumped against the wall, dragging a hand down her face. "Of course you don't. Why would you? That would be too easy."
She stared at the ceiling, her mind spiraling. What the hell is going on? Is this a game? A dream? A simulation? She bit her lip. Or is it because I was chosen by the aspect of time? Does time itself come with a system like this?
The thought was absurd, but so was everything else about her situation. Blessed ones, void rifts, plagueborn creatures… the idea that time could hand out quests like some cosmic gamemaster wasn't the weirdest thing she'd encountered today.
She leaned forward and rested her head on her knees. "Maybe the system is connected to time somehow," she muttered under her breath. "Maybe... it's my version of what it means to be the Timekeeper."
Exos gave her a blank stare. "If it helps, you can think out loud as much as you want. I'm used to people talking nonsense."
"Thanks," Juno deadpanned. "That's very comforting."
Juno shifted her focus to Selene, who still lay unconscious, her soft breathing the only sound filling the quiet space. Something about the Starseer tugged at her—an intuition, a strange sense that there was more to Selene than just cosmic visions.
Without thinking, Juno reached out and gently touched Selene's hand.
The moment their hands connected, the world tilted—and Juno's mind exploded with stars.
In an instant, she was somewhere else, floating in an infinite expanse of light and shadow. Swirling galaxies flickered around her like candle flames, and her vision blurred as constellations danced across her mind. Information flowed into her, not in words but in images and feelings.
She saw it—the rift.
It was hidden deep within an ancient crystalline temple, its walls made of gleaming quartz and shimmering sapphire. The temple sat atop a jagged mountain range, its spires piercing the sky like frozen lightning. The rift pulsed inside the temple's heart, radiating dark tendrils that threatened to unravel reality itself.
Juno gasped as the vision overwhelmed her senses. The stars whispered secrets in her ears—impossible truths she could barely comprehend. Time folded in on itself, spinning faster and faster, until—
She let go of Selene's hand, and the vision snapped shut like a book slamming closed.
Juno stumbled backward, clutching her head. What the hell just happened?!
Exos was instantly alert, stepping forward as if expecting an attack. "What did you see?"
Juno blinked, struggling to catch her breath. "I—I saw it," she stammered. "The rift. It's in a crystalline temple... on a mountain somewhere."
Exos's gaze sharpened. "You're certain?"
Juno nodded slowly. "Yeah. It's like... touching Selene gave me her power. Just for a second. I saw the stars, and they showed me exactly where the rift is."
She looked down at her hands, still tingling with the remnants of that strange, cosmic energy. Was that part of Selene's blessing? Could I really borrow powers just by touching people? Is this why Exos wanted her?
Before she could puzzle it out further, a familiar chiming noise rang in her head—and then, without warning, her system interface exploded into view.
[System Update Complete!]
New elements and features flickered across her vision, all glowing with a soft golden light.
[New Abilities Unlocked]
- Chrono Synergy: Temporarily borrow abilities from other blessed ones through touch.
- Stars Divination Echo: Store brief visions and replay them at will for tactical advantage.
[Status:]
- Health: 82%
- Chronoenergy: Stable
- Mental State: Clear but overwhelmed
- Status Effects: "Starseer's Residue" (temporary boost to awareness)
- [System Synchronization:]*
- Active Link with Selene—temporary access to stellar-based abilities.*
- No active link with Exos detected.
- [Void Rift Instability Meter:]
- Instability Level: 34%—Rift may collapse within 6 hours.
Juno gawked at the flood of information, her brain struggling to keep up. "Oh, come on! This thing updates now?" she muttered. "I barely understood how it worked before, and now there's more?"
She tapped through the interface with growing frustration. The new abilities and features looked incredibly useful—if she could figure out how to use them without accidentally setting something on fire.
"This is getting ridiculous," she whispered to herself. "I feel like I'm stuck in one of those weird RPGs where the tutorial makes no sense."
Exos raised an eyebrow. "R-P-G?"
Juno sighed. "Never mind. Just... more weird Timekeeper stuff."
She waved the interface away, mentally shelving her questions for later. The important thing was that they now knew where the rift was—and they needed to get there fast.
Juno stood up, brushing dirt off her pants. "Alright. Once Selene wakes up, we head for the temple. That's where the rift is."
Exos nodded, his expression as grim and determined as ever. "Understood."
Juno glanced down at Selene's peaceful face. Borrowing powers from others... She still wasn't sure how she felt about that. It sounded useful—but it also felt dangerous, like playing with fire she didn't fully understand.
She exhaled slowly, trying to center herself. "One thing at a time," she muttered. "First the temple, then the rift. And maybe somewhere along the way, I'll figure out what the hell is going on with this system."
Exos gave her a rare, approving nod. "A solid plan."
Juno shot him a look. "Don't get used to it. I'm just making this up as I go."
To her surprise, Exos's lips quirked—just slightly, almost imperceptibly. "So am I."
Juno smirked. At least I'm not the only one flying blind.
Now, all they had to do was survive whatever waited for them in that crystalline temple. No big deal.