"Blood cannot cleanse what is carved into the soul." – Unknown Prophet
Time twists, and the Scions face their doom in endless isolation.
Trial Three dragged the siblings into the Temporal Labyrinth—a fractured realm splitting them into separate dimensions, each a twisting corridor of black stone etched with glowing runes, resetting every 30 minutes with a bone-shaking chime. Unaware of each other, ages unchanged—Kain 11, Vespera 11, Lyric 1, Zynia 6, Isolde 1, Sablon 6—their sigils pulsed with dread.
Isolde in the Shadow Dimension
The air reeked of decay as Isolde toddled alone, her Crystal Scorpion hissing, its tail twitching with a sharp, metallic clink. A Temporal Wraith (ethereal figure, shifting faces, power: time distortion, aging flesh) lunged from the wall, claws dragging across her arm with a cold, bone-dry scrape. Wrinkles bloomed on her skin, the stench of rotting flesh filling her lungs.
She screamed, "Fuck, no!" and ducked beneath it, her breath hitching as she fought to steady herself. Pain seared her arm, and she paused, wincing. The Scorpion lashed out, pincers biting into the Wraith's shifting form with a wet crunch.
A flash-forward slammed into her mind: Kain impaled, blood gurgling from his chest. Vespera burning alive, her screams piercing the void. Lyric crushed under collapsing voidstone, a faint giggle cut short. Zynia drowning in molten blood, her curses bubbling up. Sablon drained dry, his hollow eyes staring blankly.
The Wraith closed in, its presence a suffocating weight. A flare of Wrath's Inferno from a far-off dimension—Vespera's outburst—twisted the corridor, shattering the floor with a grinding roar. The air grew thick with sulfur.
The chime tolled. Reset.
"System, help!" Isolde shouted, her voice echoing off the damp stone.
Silence.
Inventory: null.
"Shit, it's fucked!"
Her Scorpion clicked furiously, its scales glinting in the dim light. The AI shimmered into view—a pale humanoid with jagged horns and void eyes, its breath a hiss of static.
"Weakling," it sneered. "You'll rot here forever, forgotten by all who ever cared." The words stung, clawing at her fragile resolve.
The Wraith lunged again, its claws aging her skin with a prickling burn. Isolde growled, commanding the Scorpion to strike. Its shard tail skewered the Wraith's chest with a sickening squelch.
She raised her hands. Shadows surged.
Envy's Grasp.
Tendrils coiled, ripping into the Wraith with a tearing sound. But it resisted, warping backward in time with a dizzying lurch.
Loop 48. The AI reappeared.
"Temporal Shatter," it hissed, its voice dripping with malice. "Your envy means nothing."
Her attacks rewound. Blood exploded from her leg—a wound undone, then redone with sticky warmth. She staggered, fear flashing in her eyes—What if I can't win?—her cold rage simmering beneath.
Loop 49. She didn't hesitate. She let her Scorpion act first, luring the Wraith into a narrow corridor, the walls closing in with a grinding scrape. When it lunged, she screamed, not in fear—but fury. Envy's Dominion exploded from her hands—a vortex of gnashing shadows that tore through the Wraith and AI alike, ripping them into a storm of gore and glitching fragments with a wet, shattering roar. The AI tried to reset time, its form flickering.
Her Scorpion skewered it mid-cast, its tail bursting through its skull with a crunch, black ichor splattering her face.
The chime rang—but her vortex resisted. 30 minutes shattered.
Golden light engulfed her, warm and oppressive. She collapsed, trembling. A memory flickered: her cradle surrounded by divine runes, a cold presence looming.
"Fucking divine bastards..." They'll pay, coldly, she thought, her childish tantrum masking a calculating mind.
Kain in the Dominion Dimension
The Chronoshift Titan descended, mace dragging a storm behind it with a howling wind. Its eyes burned gold, casting an eerie glow. Kain raised his sword, the hilt slick with sweat. His Grimscale Drake hissed and spat venom, the acrid smell stinging the air.
"Inventory's gone!" he shouted, his voice cracking with frustration.
The AI mocked him: "Pathetic prince. Born for failure. Your pride will bury you." The words gnawed at him, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind—Am I enough?
The Titan swung. Time slowed. Kain saw his death—mace to skull—frame by frame, the air thickening with dread. He dove, the ground trembling under his roll.
His Drake coiled around the Titan's leg, acid eating through its armor with a sizzling hiss. Dominion Strike cracked its ribs with a thunderous boom. It reformed, its metallic groan echoing.
Loop 49. Reset.
"Enough!" Kain roared, his hands shaking with rage. The AI appeared again, hands glowing with a sickly green light.
"Temporal Shatter."
His strikes were undone, the backlash knocking him back with a jolt. Blood dripped from his lip, and he paused, his righteous fury flaring—I'll prove my worth.
Loop 50. He smiled, a grim determination settling in.
"You're cocky for a glitch," he growled. His sigil burned gold, the heat searing his palm. The Titan charged, its footsteps a rhythmic thud.
Kain roared back. His Drake launched itself, coiling around its head with a wet snap. Kain jumped, the air rushing past him.
Dominion Apex.
A blinding eruption of golden chains crushed the Titan into powder, dust choking the air. The AI staggered—bleeding code, its form glitching. It tried to rewind time, the world lurching backward.
Kain smiled cruelly.
"Not this time."
The Drake devoured the AI, fangs ripping into its ethereal heart with a guttural tear, black mist spilling out.
Time stilled.
Flashback: a divine crown, placed by faceless gods, their whispers cold in his ears.
"Assholes..." My pride will rise above them, he vowed.
Vespera in the Inferno Dimension
The Flame Chronovore circled, hissing with a sound like crackling fire. Her Cinder Wraith flew overhead, wings aflame, the heat brushing her skin. The air reeked of burnt ozone.
"You'll die burning," the AI snarled, its voice a rasp of embers.
The serpent struck. Time burned her nerves—she felt her skin blister in reverse, the pain a searing wave. She gasped, desperation clawing at her—Will I fail them?
"Fuck you!"
She summoned Inferno Wrath, flames melting its scales with a roar, the scent of charred flesh rising. It hissed, reforming with a wet slosh.
Loop 50. Reset.
Loop 51. Her arms trembled, muscles aching from the strain.
The AI reappeared. "Why resist? Burn out. Your rage is a child's tantrum."
"Because I'm not done!"
She raised both hands, the ground trembling under her fury. Flames erupted.
Inferno Ascension.
Pillars of fire consumed serpent and AI, their screams merging into a deafening wail. Ash fell like snow, coating her in gritty residue. The AI tried to reverse it, time stuttering.
Her Wraith shrieked and bit its throat, pinning it with a crunch. Flames engulfed its form, the heat blistering her cheeks.
Vespera collapsed to her knees, panting heavily. She felt the edge of self-destruction creeping in—I'll burn myself to ash for this.
Flashback: a circle of divine fire around her crib, shadows dancing within.
"Fucking meddlers..."
Lyric in the Chaos Dimension
"Wheeee!" Lyric spun, the Imp distorting reality with a sickening warp. The ground flipped. The walls turned to teeth, grinding with a guttural hum.
Her Shadowflit Owl dove, slicing with spectral talons, the air whistling with each strike.
"Chaos Weave!" she sang, her voice echoing oddly.
Daggers of light spun, stabbing the Imp with sharp pops. It laughed, eyes rearranging with a wet squelch.
"Temporal Shatter," the AI giggled, its tone mocking. "Your chaos is a joke."
Her spells unraveled, the backlash stinging her skin. Loop 52.
Lyric grinned, undeterred.
"Let's play for real!"
She danced on one finger, the floor slick with her sweat. Shadows spun around her, a dizzying whirl. The Imp lunged, its claws grazing her leg.
Chaos Eternity.
The realm shattered. Reality collapsed, folding into kaleidoscope fire with a deafening crack. The Imp burst, its laughter cut off.
The AI shrieked. "No! You're a pest!"
Her Owl blinded it, talons raking its eyes with a squish. Lyric sang louder, her voice a chaotic melody.
The AI dissolved into glitched petals, the scent of ozone lingering. She giggled eerily—Even gods can't stop my fun.
Flashback: eyes in the dark watching her giggle, a divine hum in the air.
"Gods are silly."
Zynia in the Fury Dimension
Lava roared, the heat baking her skin. The Golem swung, its molten fists glowing. Time froze, locking her joints with a painful snap.
She gritted her teeth, a surge of panic rising—What if I can't protect them? Her Wolf growled, its fur singed.
"I'm not weak!" she screamed, the sound bouncing off the walls.
Fury's Blaze scorched its limbs, the smell of burnt metal filling the air. The AI laughed, a grating cackle.
"Time is my toy. You're nothing."
Loop 52. Loop 53. Loop 54.
Zynia bled from her mouth, the coppery taste sharp. Her Wolf pounced, dragging the Golem into lava with a hiss and splash.
Fury's Eruption.
Volcanic energy exploded, melting both beast and AI with a thunderous boom, ash raining down.
The AI screamed, reforming with a wet gurgle—until the Wolf tore its skull open, cracking bone.
Zynia's eyes burned red. Her fury halted the chime, the silence deafening. Then, in a flash, she unleashed a hidden Fury's Ember Pulse—a concentrated blast of molten light that stunned the AI, its form glitching wildly. "What—?!" it gasped, caught off guard.
Flashback: fire in a divine cradle, a cold hand guiding it.
"They'll all burn." I'll shield them, no matter the cost, she vowed, her ruthless need to protect flaring.
Sablon in the Lust Dimension
"Pretty boy," the AI sneered, its voice a velvet threat. The Chronomancer drained his youth, his skin sagging with a dry rustle.
He gasped, knees shaking, the floor sticky with his sweat. "Choke on this."
He cracked his whip, the snap echoing. The Lynx snarled, its claws clicking.
Lust's Allure lashed the Chronomancer, silk cutting through shadow with a sharp tear.
Loop 53. Loop 54.
AI appeared, its grin widening. "Drip for me, you worthless shell. No one will remember you."
He smirked, defiance flaring. "How about you drip?"
Lust's Dominion.
Whips of shadow and silk wrapped around both foes, the air humming with tension. The Lynx bit the AI's throat, pinning it to the obsidian floor with a wet thud, blood splashing across his face.
Screams echoed, the scent of iron thick. The AI's eyes imploded with a pop.
Flashback: divine lovers around a crib, their laughter cold.
"Fuck your chains." I'll charm my way out of this fear, he thought, his sarcasm masking a tremble.
After victories, the Transportation Nexus pulsed, drawing them together. A system screen flared before Kain:
[Trial Three Complete. Congratulations, Scion. Reward: Enhanced Sigil Resonance + Shadow bane Relic.]
Others saw it—each rewarded.
"You're alive?!" Kain gasped.
"Different worlds, you fucks?!" Vespera snarled.
Shock struck. They had fought alone. They had suffered alone. They had won alone.
The Chainseer loomed. "Their isolation forged them."
The Void Reaver rasped, "I'll feast on their souls."
A cloaked figure whispered, "I'll fuck their divine blood into oblivion."
But in the shadows of Trial Three... someone was waiting. Watching. Smiling.
The chains have tasted blood. They're hungry for more.