The silence lasted only a second.
In a single breath, a monstrous scream tore through the sacred air of the sanctuary. The ground trembled beneath the creature's steps. Massive and twisted, the demon of time had four arms, each ending in a blade of black bone. Its skin looked like shifting shards of obsidian, as if it contained broken pieces of reality itself.
Léon stepped back. His legs trembled uncontrollably. The ring-sword of the present pulsed white light on his wrist, but he still had no idea how to activate it. Jason, holding the sword of the future, was already in position—but his arm was shaking. His expression was graver than ever.
— "Léon… stay behind me."
— "No. If I run now, I'll never be ready."
The monster charged.
There was no time to think. Jason raised his sword and clashed it against one of the monster's blades, but the impact flung him backward. A shockwave cracked the stone floor. Léon shouted his name, but a claw slashed from the left—he barely rolled away, though a deep gash tore across his side.
Blood. His first real wound.
— "He's too fast… too strong…", Léon thought, his breath ragged.
Jason staggered to his feet. He raised a hand, and for a split second, time froze. The monster hung in the air… suspended.
— "Now, Léon! Strike!" Jason yelled.
Léon clenched his jaw and rushed forward, but as he swung—the monster resisted the time lock. It moved ever so slightly, dodging Léon's strike, and in a flash, drove a claw into his shoulder.
Léon screamed, thrown to the ground.
Jason leapt at the beast, sword raised, unleashing a furious combo—but the creature dodged each blow as if it danced through the future's predictions. Jason grimaced. "It can see time… just like I can!"
Then—one leg struck him full force.
Jason was hurled through a crystal pillar, landing hard, coughing up blood. His vision blurred.
— "I don't have enough energy… this body's almost done…"
The monster approached him, slowly, savoring its victory.
Léon, on the ground, saw his friend in danger.
He forced himself up, blood dripping from his arm and side. The pain was unbearable. But deep within him… something awoke.
A voice… a whisper:
"The present is not just a moment… it is a decision."
His eyes opened wide, now glowing with pure white light. He lifted the ring-sword—and at last, it fully materialized. A thin, radiant blade, vibrating with energy.
Léon charged forward, without hesitation.
The monster turned—but too late.
A horizontal slash severed its right arm completely. A deep, inhuman scream echoed, shaking the sanctuary walls.
Jason, still lying down, smiled weakly.
— "He's finally awakening…"
But it wasn't over.
The monster stepped back—then entered frenzy mode. Its body mutated. Two new arms burst forth, its eyes multiplied, and a dark aura wrapped around it. Each step now shattered the ground beneath it.
Jason closed his eyes.
— "Léon… I think it's your turn to protect me now."
And hell began again.
The ground crumbled beneath the creature's steps. The monster, now in an even more terrifying form, roared with a force that seemed to shake the walls of the sanctuary. Dark energy bolts burst from its many arms, slashing the air with black lightning.
Jason, on his knees, his arms trembling, was bleeding heavily. He wanted to stand, but his body refused.
— "I have no reserves left… not here… not in this present..."
He turned his head toward León.
And what he saw widened his eyes.
León wasn't backing away anymore.
On the contrary… he was moving forward.
Each step he took seemed to root into the earth with certainty, as if he were dancing with time itself. The air around him shimmered, warped, fluid.
His ring-sword shone with a blinding white light, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
— "I think I'm starting to understand…"
León whispered these words without even looking at Jason, his eyes locked on the monster preparing a devastating attack.
— "Time in the present… it all happens now. Not yesterday, not tomorrow. It's the only thing I can control. And I'll anchor myself in it."
The monster leaped.
With a single move, it launched a storm of strikes – a hurricane of blades, claws, and dark energy blasts.
But León… vanished at the last second.
Or rather… he moved at the edge of the present, between each instant, each heartbeat.
He reappeared to the monster's left, sword raised.
— "Pure Present: Strike Zero."
He slashed.
A piercing hiss cut through the air, followed by a colossal shock. The monster's left arm exploded in a rain of black crystal. The beast screamed, retreating, its furious eyes locked on this young human who, just moments ago, had been nothing more than a burden.
Jason, panting, smiled faintly.
— "He's doing it… he's reading the present…"
But the battle wasn't over.
The creature began fusing its remaining limbs, forming a massive curved blade, worthy of a titan. It raised it above its head… and aimed it at León.
— "You won't dodge this one…", it thought.
But León calmly raised his hand, palm open.
Time froze. Not for the whole world… just for him.
— "I can see every possibility in this moment. Every choice. Every outcome. And I know which one to take."
He leapt, dodging the monstrous blow with a precise lateral move, climbed the creature's arm like a moving cliff, and upon reaching its shoulder:
— "Pure Present: Secondary Impact."
He plunged his blade into the monster's neck.
An explosion of light burst from the point of impact. A cosmic scream filled the sanctuary. The monster staggered, its strength seeming to vanish into the wind.
Jason closed his eyes, relieved.
But León… didn't stop.
His steps made the ground vibrate. His eyes were now white, bathed in the energy of the present. Time itself bent to his will. He leaped again, aiming for the monster's heart.
— "Absolute Present…"
Time slowed. Even Jason, capable of manipulating seconds, was stunned.
Time slowed. Even Jason, capable of manipulating seconds, was stunned.
— "… Instant Judgment."
TO BE CONTINUED