I held the candle tight as I came down the stairs. The wood creaked under my feet, but the house was quiet. Too quiet. I saw Grandfather sitting by the fire, his back hunched, his hands holding something close. He didn't turn when I called to him. He looked so small.
Then the air changed.
It felt like the room took a breath, and everything froze. The flame in my candle flickered hard. I stopped on the last step. Something shimmered in the middle of the room. Like a crack in the air. Light circled it—thin and sharp, buzzing low like a whisper too deep to hear. Then it opened.
They came out fast.
The Epochiels.
They were tall and thin, like shadows stretched wrong. Their skin looked like smoke held together by something darker. Their eyes glowed a dull red, not bright—more like coals about to die out. They didn't walk. They drifted, like they didn't need to touch the ground.
They screamed. Not loud, but deep. It hurt my ears and made my chest feel tight. I wanted to move but I couldn't. I just watched as they rushed him.
Grandfather stood. He reached out, maybe for me. His face... I'll never forget it. Not scared. Just sad.
Then they grabbed him.
They pulled him back toward the portal, their long arms wrapping around him like smoke. He didn't fight. He just looked at me, and then he was gone.
The portal closed with a loud crack. The light vanished.
Silence.
My hands were shaking. The candle almost snuffed out. I couldn't breathe. I tried to scream but nothing came out. Then finally I did. Loud.
Grandmother ran in, calling my name. She looked around, then at me. Her face was pale.
"What happened?" she asked.
I couldn't answer. I just stared at the place where the light had been. Where he had been. My chest hurt. Everything felt cold.
Grandmother knelt beside me, holding my shoulders. "Tell me what happened," she said, voice trembling. "Where's your grandfather?"
I shook my head, tears spilling down my cheeks. "They took him."
"Who? Who took him?"
"I... I don't know what they are. They came out of a hole in the air. A circle of light. It opened right in the room."
She stared at me, eyes wide. "A portal?"
I nodded. "Yes. And these things came through—tall and dark. Like shadows. Their eyes were red. They didn't walk, they just floated. They looked... wrong."
Grandmother's face changed. She wasn't just scared. She knew something.
"They grabbed him," I said, my voice cracking. "He looked at me. He didn't even scream. And then they dragged him into the portal and it closed."
She sat back, pale and quiet. "Epochiels," she whispered. "It's too soon."
"Why are they here?" I asked.
She didn't answer right away. Just looked at the fireplace where he'd been. Then she stood, slowly, like something heavy pressed on her.
"We have to move," she said. "Now."
"Where?"
"somewhere safe" I know a place - we'll be safe there.
I swallowed hard under Grandmother's sharp gaze.
-The time rift-
I knew about it. Grandfather had shown me earlier in the morning in the attic—the way the air twisted like heat over a flame, the way it hummed with something other, But I didn't know how he'd called it there. Didn't know if it was something he could control or if it had a will of its own.
"Yes," I whispered. "Grandfather told me."
Her face didn't change, but her fingers tightened around her shawl. "Then you understand how dangerous it is."
I nodded, though I wasn't sure I did. Not really.
The silence stretched between us, heavy with things unsaid. I wanted to ask more, but the words stuck in my throat.
Grandfather POV.
The world twisted around me as the Epochiels dragged me through the portal. One moment, I was in my living room, the next—I stood in the ~Chronos Hollow~
The place was vast, endless. The sky wasn't sky at all, but a swirling abyss of dark purples and blues, like ink spilled in water. Strange, glowing orbs floated in the distance, casting eerie light on the jagged black rocks beneath my feet. Time felt... wrong here. Slower. Heavier.
The Epochiels—tall, shadowy figures with glowing red eyes—pushed me forward. We walked for what felt like hours, through valleys of crystal that hummed with forgotten power, across bridges made of frozen light.
Then, we reached her palace.
It rose from the darkness like a nightmare given form—towering spires of obsidian, veins of gold pulsing through the stone like living things. The gates opened on their own, whispering as if breathing my name.
Inside, the air was thick with the scent of something sweet and dangerous. The throne room stretched before me, vast and cold, swarming with Epochiels, screeching. And there, upon a seat carved from black diamond, sat ~Sylpharion~.
She was terrifying. Beautiful.
Her skin was pale as moonlight, her hair a cascade of silver that seemed to move on its own. Eyes like liquid gold pinned me where I stood, unblinking. She wore robes of deepest violet, clinging to curves that made my throat dry. Every movement was grace, power.
One of the Narathis. The Ageless ones.
A smile curled her perfect lips. "You have something I want," she purred. "The Eon Key." her voice echoing through the walls of her palace.
She knew I had it.
But the way she looked at me—I knew lying wasn't an option. And it's only a matter of time.
Being in her presence felt strange, like a drag in the moment, I could almost feel my body collapsing, as I felt a twist in my stomach. She stood up from her throne, her robe trailing behind her. Her breast round and obviously soft from the way they swayed with every step she took. I couldn't shake the thought off my head. As she inched further towards me, waving at the Epochiels to let go of me.