Chapter 2: The Eve of Chronos
A Month Before the Summoning
Archiea Kingdom
“Your Highness,” the priestess said, her voice trembling despite her effort to remain composed. “The Time Crystal is behaving… abnormally.”
The woman seated upon the throne did not rise.
“Crystals behaving strangely do not warrant a royal audience,” the queen replied evenly. “Speak. What did it do?”
The priestess swallowed.
“It spoke.”
Silence slammed into the chamber.
The queen’s fingers stilled against the armrest. “…Spoke?”
“We could not discern its words clearly,” the priestess said quickly. “Only fragments remained. Will come… mortal realm… protect.”
She hesitated, then lowered her voice.
“We believe it to be a warning. Something—or someone—will descend into the mortal realm. And when it does…”
Her fists clenched.
“We must protect it. Or else the mortal realm itself.”
The queen’s gaze sharpened.
“And the Saintess?”
The priestess lifted her head. “She is currently in the western continent, Your Highness. On a mission to slay a high-ranking demon.”
“Does she know?”
“Yes. She is being informed through the Fero Network as we speak.”
The queen laughed softly—an unsettling sound in the still chamber.
“So,” she murmured, rising from her throne, “the time of arrival has finally approached…”
She turned sharply.
“Suspend every ongoing mission. No exceptions. Relay this information to all vassal kingdoms immediately.”
The priestess blinked. “Y-Your Highness… the time of arrival?”
sweat dripping from her neck.
The queen did not answer.
Meanwhile — The Realm of Heaven
The physical manifestations of few of the 10 divine crystals hovered in the air, suspended before the gathered gods of authority.
“He will escape,” said the God of Knowledge, adjusting the watch on his wrist.
“I predict no more than two years.”
A low hum rippled through the chamber.
“We need someone like her,” the Elemental Crystal spoke, glowing faintly. “Perhaps only she can defeat hi—”
“Do not speak of her.”
The Clear Crystal’s resonance cut through the air like shattered glass.
The Magic Crystal crackled with static, amused.
“Oh? I thought you might wish to use her again. No?”
Silence followed.
“I propose the summoning of otherworlders,” the Goddess of Creation said at last.
The Clear Crystal pulsed. “All those in favor?”
“I am,” said the God of Space.
“I oppose this,” the Cosmic Crystal hummed, its voice heavy and distorted.
“The Reality Crystal and I are indifferent,” the Imaginary Crystal replied. “We consent.”
The chamber vibrated.
“Then it is decided,” the Clear Crystal declared. “Four in favor. one opposed.”
The remaining Crystals were silent.
A sudden light flared.
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“Wait,” said the Elemental Crystal, shining brighter. “I speak now on behalf of our sibling—the Time Crystal.”
The air grew tense.
“This was its message, entrusted to us alone:
Mark thy words—this choice shall come to bite thy universe.”
The light dimmed.
No one spoke.
“Then the meeting is dismissed,” the Clear Crystal declared.
The Heavenly Garden
Hidden behind the towering trunk of an ancient tree, the Goddess of Creation stood silently.
Not far from her, the Goddess of Death sat slouched in a chair beside a small table, her head resting against her arm. Her face was obscured, unmoving—perhaps asleep.
“So…” Creation said softly, breaking the stillness.
“We meet again.”
“Mhm,” came the low reply. “It’s already been decided, hasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Creation said. “We need to form a team.”
A pause.
“And why,” Death asked calmly, “should I involve myself?”
“For old times’ sake,” Creation replied.
“For her.”
“And for the reason you still come to this garden.”
Death’s fingers twitched.
“You know what I promised myself,” she said. “Yet you still ask this of me?”
“We have to change the fate of this universe.”
A faint laugh escaped Death.
“Our?” she repeated. “Our universe?”
She lifted her head slightly, her voice sharpening.
“You’re mistaken. I hate this universe—every fragment of it.”
Her presence darkened.
“Even this garden she built.”
Mana flooded the air—dense, suffocating. Creation blinked—
And vanished.
Only her voice remained, drifting faintly through the garden.
“I hope you can understand one day…”
A pause.
“No—more than that.”
“I hope this universe learns how to understand you.”
Silence reclaimed the garden.
Outside the Realms of Causality
A lone crystal shone within the void.
“So… they argue,” a voice echoed.
“Not that I care.”
The Time Crystal resonated softly.
“I apologize on their behalf, ▓▓▓▓▓.”
“It is of no concern,” the other voice replied. “Did you do as I instructed?”
“It is done,” the Time Crystal answered. “But are you certain she will be willing to fight again… after what happened?”
A pause.
“Even if she refuses, I will not force her,” the voice said calmly.
“Nor will I blame her.”
Then, quieter—
“But she will fight. That is simply who she is.”
Another presence stirred.
“Then I shall aid her,” a mortal voice said.
“Yes,” the voice replied. “Help her—emotionally.”
A faint warmth crept into the void.
“She is still a child.”
The Time Crystal hummed, almost amused.
“You still call her a child? She has outlived the universe multiple times.”
A laugh echoed—dark, deep.
“Oho…
She will always be a child to me.”
The mortal spoke again, firm.
“Your will is my command.”
“Good,” the voice replied.
“Now leave. Do not forget your roles.”
A pause—heavy with inevitability.
“On the Eve of Chronos, the three of us shall meet again.”
The realm fractured.
Cracks tore through existence as the crystal and the mortal were torn away—
And the space beyond causality collapsed into nothing.
After a Month
Arrival at the Time Crystal’s Hall
The Hall of Offering was silent—too silent.
Only the faint hum of the Time Crystal filled the air, its glow casting long shadows across silver-carved walls. Dozens of priestesses stood in perfect rows, heads bowed, breath held.
At the altar, the High Priestess and the Saintess of Time knelt, hands clasped.
Then—
A prophecy echoed from the crystal itself.
The chosen one will descend into the mortal realm.
The air rippled.
One priestess gasped.
Another stumbled back.
The Saintess lifted her head.
“It’s starting…”
A spark appeared above the rune-etched floor.
Tiny. Harmless.
Then it exploded.
Golden light bloomed outward as violent wind tore through the hall. Banners ripped from their mounts. Veils and robes were flung like leaves in a storm. Priestesses clung to pillars as divine pressure crushed the space itself.
Rune letters—ancient, living Rune Magic—spiraled around the light, shifting and writhing.
The High Priestess wept.
“The prophecy… it’s real…”
Within the blinding glow, a silhouette formed.
A woman—falling, twisting—caught between worlds.
“Something is coming—prepare yourselves!” the Saintess cried.
The runes flared white.
Then—
BOOM.
A shockwave detonated through the hall. Light vanished. Dust filled the air. Candles flickered violently.
At the center of the shattered floor—
A woman lay on her side.
Bare. Dazed. Steam rising from her skin. Her clothes had been reduced to ash.
Gasps filled the hall.
Some priestesses dropped to their knees in worship.
Others turned away in panic.
A few could only stare, frozen.
Because it wasn’t just her nakedness—
She radiated power.
Old. Heavy. Terrifying.
“Is she—”
“A deity?”
“An outsider?”
“No one warned us she’d appear like this—”
The pressure alone stole their breath.
And this—
This was only her arrival.
I hope thou art faring well and thy curiosity burns bright.
Prepare thine eyes and heart.
