The Safe Zone was filled with its usual tension. Even without monsters scratching at the gates, Aron felt the world on edge. Something in the system's rhythm had changed.
[DAY 5: SYSTEM CYCLE STABLE]
[NO MAIN MISSION CURRENTLY ACTIVE]
[SIDE MISSIONS AVAILABLE: 3]
Most survivors treated it as a day off. Dan was up and walking, still stiff, while Greg had called for a supply run squad to check the eastern stairwell block. Aron declined to join.
Instead, he sat on the floor of a dim maintenance shed behind the scaffold of Sector B6, surrounded by tarps and broken circuit panels. His inventory was open, and his focus was absolute.
One by one, he laid the components in front of him.
The Broken Gear Cog pulsed faintly with something he could not read.
The Null Packet flickered in and out of existence like a corrupted file.
The Glitched Datacore emitted quiet static, still warm to the touch despite being in storage for days.
A Fragmented Wiring Coil was tightly coiled.
And the tactical belt clasp was rusted but intact.
He wasn't a craftsman or an engineer. He hardly knew what he was.
But the system didn't seem to care.
[CRAFTING INITIATED, CUSTOM CONFIGURATION]
Components detected: Temporal and anomaly-grade fragments
Risk Level: CRITICAL
Proceed? [Y/N]
"…Yes."
The parts began to move—not through his hands but via the interface. Data shone around the objects. They floated, clicked into place, rotated, and pulsed as if guided by an unseen force. Sparks flew between the cog and the datacore. The Null Packet emitted a high-pitched screech.
[Illegal Integration in Progress...]
[Temporal Anchor Searching...]
[Sync Incomplete. Locking fragment.]
ITEM CREATED: [INCOMPLETE TIMEPIECE (Tier ???)]
It clattered to the ground.
It looked like a half-finished pocket watch, the gears misaligned, the casing jagged as if it had been shattered and poorly reassembled. A cracked glass lens showed a clock hand spinning backward, ticking once every few seconds.
Aron's hands shook as he picked it up.
[INCOMPLETE TIMEPIECE]
A glitched temporal device. Function: Temporal Revert.
Usage: Once per cycle, rewind all events within a 10-meter radius by up to 6 seconds.
Effect applies to objects, enemies, and allies.
User retains memory.
Warning: This item has not been approved by system regulation.
Potential Consequences: Unknown.
[Ability Gained: TEMPORAL REVERT]
Status: Primed
He didn't smile or celebrate. He just stared at the device and tucked it into a secure pouch in his belt next to the broken phone.
He didn't wait long to use it.
Three hours later. Mission Level C – "Structural Survey: Collapse Block."
Objective: Map unstable foundations under Zone 5A.
Party: 2 required. Aron + Marcus.
"Keep the light up," Marcus said, his makeshift shield scraping along the collapsed stairwell as they moved. "These tunnels weren't on the map."
Aron swept the flashlight across the rubble. Every step creaked.
They passed an elevator shaft turned vertical graveyard. Cables hung like nooses, swaying in unseen air currents.
Then they heard it.
Metal clinking. Click-click—scrape.
Then silence.
Then a burst of movement.
From the shadows behind a wall of steel piping, a creature leapt.
[ENEMY DETECTED: WIRE-TWIN]
Class: Glitchspawn
Behavior: Ambush predator, target duplication
Notes: Avoid reflective surfaces. Target may mirror ally's form.
It was already too late.
The creature lunged at Marcus, its skin flickering with his face.
"WHAT THE—!" Marcus raised his shield but slipped on loose gravel. The Wire-Twin struck him and pushed him toward the unstable edge.
Steel cracked.
The floor buckled beneath their weight.
Aron shouted but didn't reach him in time.
The concrete gave way. Marcus fell through.
[ALLY STATUS: UNRESPONSIVE – SEVERE INJURY DETECTED]
Aron dove down the slope, his eyes wide.
"No, no—"
The Wire-Twin turned toward him, reshaping itself into Marcus's form—eyes blank, mouth wrong.
He backed against the wall, his heart racing.
Then, by instinct, he grabbed the Timepiece.
[TEMPORAL REVERT ACTIVATION REQUESTED]
Confirm rewind? [Y/N]
Duration: 6 seconds
Radius: 10 meters
Warning: Potential Glitch Feedback
"Do it!"
The world spun.
Light reversed. The air twisted.
Time broke like a rubber band snapping back.
Marcus shot upward, unfalling. The cracked floor reset, fragments floating back into place. The creature blurred and retreated into the shadows. Aron returned to the moment just before the ambush.
But he remembered.
This time, he acted before it attacked.
"Marcus—shield left! Now!"
The shield intercepted the lunging Wire-Twin mid-strike.
Marcus grunted, then slammed it back into a pillar. The creature squealed as it shattered against the rebar.
[ENEMY TERMINATED]
+40 EXP
[SECRET ABILITY USED – TEMPORAL REVERT]
System Alert: UNAUTHORIZED TEMPORAL ALTERATION DETECTED
Monitoring Increased
[Aron: EXP 530/600]
[LEVEL UP — Lv. 3]
+2 Stat Points
[Points Available: 3]
They stood in silence for a moment.
Then Marcus looked at him. "What the hell was that?"
Aron shook his head. "A guess. A good one."
They returned to the surface shortly afterward. Mission complete.
That night, as Aron sat alone near the terminal scaffolding, the system flickered oddly.
[CONSTELLATION: The Masked Archivist is deeply intrigued]
[CONSTELLATION: Thorn-Eyed Judge has filed another observation request]
[CONSTELLATION: "The Timestitched Raven" is circling…]
Aron rubbed his eyes. The Timepiece pulsed faintly at his side.
It ticked once.
Backward.