The monster's roar shook the rooftop.
Its skin was made of smoke and fire, eyes glowing like molten suns.
Elara clutched Aelric's arm, trembling. "W-what is that thing?"
Aelric didn't answer. His heart pounded too hard to speak.
He could feel his wrist burning, the timer glowing an impossible ∞.
The System's voice still echoed in his head:
> [Skill: Chrono Reversal activated.]
[Warning: Unauthorized manipulation of time detected.]
Unauthorized?
He didn't care.
Because in front of him, Elara's timer was collapsing, digits vanishing like grains of sand.
---
The beast lunged.
Aelric reacted on instinct. He shoved Elara aside and raised his arm.
For a split second, time… slowed.
The monster's claws hung in the air, frozen. Its scream distorted, echoing like a broken record.
Aelric blinked in shock. The world was moving at the pace of dripping honey.
"I… did this?"
His wrist glowed brighter, the infinity symbol pulsing.
But his body screamed in agony. Every second felt like his veins were burning.
He clenched his teeth. "No matter what it takes…"
He twisted his arm—
and time snapped back.
The beast's strike crashed into the rooftop, smashing concrete into shards. But Aelric was no longer standing there. He had moved without even realizing.
---
Elara's voice pierced the chaos.
"Aelric! Behind you!"
He spun. Another shadow-beast crawled from the rift in the sky. Its fangs dripped black liquid, sizzling where it fell.
Aelric grabbed a broken pipe lying nearby. It was no sword, no weapon of legend. Just rusted steel.
But when he swung, the pipe cut through the beast like a blade of light.
The monster dissolved into ash.
Aelric stood frozen, panting. "That… shouldn't have been possible."
His body was weak. He was no soldier, no hunter. He had never killed anything before.
So why did it feel… natural?
The answer burned on his wrist.
The System's glitch.
The forbidden skill.
---
Elara rushed to him, her eyes wide with fear and something else.
"Aelric… what did you just do? I've never seen anyone move like that."
He forced a smile. "Lucky swing, maybe."
But she wasn't convinced. She looked at his wrist—and gasped.
"Why is your timer… infinite?"
His heart dropped.
Normally, people guarded their timer more than their secrets. To show someone your wrist was almost like baring your soul.
And now she had seen his.
Aelric quickly pulled his sleeve down. "It's nothing. Probably another glitch."
But Elara shook her head. Her eyes shimmered with something between awe and fear.
"A glitch doesn't give you powers, Aelric. Something is happening to you."
---
Before he could answer, the rooftop trembled again. More beasts emerged from the rift, crawling like spiders across buildings. Their roars blended with screams from the streets below.
The city was collapsing.
Aelric grabbed Elara's hand. "We can't stay here. We need to reach the shelters."
They dashed down the stairwell, each floor echoing with chaos. Families rushed past them, clutching crying children. Alarms wailed. Soldiers fired rifles at the shadows, only to be torn apart seconds later.
Elara's grip tightened. "Why does it feel like the world is ending?"
Aelric didn't answer. Because deep down, he wondered the same thing.
---
At the base of the building, a barricade of soldiers blocked the street. One of them shouted at the crowd:
"This way! The shelters are below the station! Move, move!"
Aelric and Elara pushed through. But just as they reached the checkpoint, the soldier's eyes locked on Aelric's wrist.
He froze.
The glowing infinity symbol was impossible to hide now.
The soldier's expression twisted. He raised his gun.
"Stop! This man—he's unregistered!"
The crowd gasped. People stumbled back, whispering.
Unregistered.
It was the worst label possible.
In this world, the System tracked every timer. Anyone without one was considered a threat… or a curse.
---
Elara stepped in front of him.
"Wait! He's not dangerous! He saved me—he saved us!"
The soldier didn't lower his weapon.
"His timer is broken. That means he's broken. And broken things in the System must be destroyed before they destroy us."
His finger tightened on the trigger.
Aelric's blood ran cold. He could feel Elara's trembling hand in his.
For a moment, fear almost won.
Then he remembered her wrist.
[29 Days : 10 Hours : 12 Minutes]
Her life was still bleeding away.
And if he let them kill him here… she would die too.
---
Time bent.
The soldier's bullet left the barrel—
but in Aelric's eyes, it crawled forward like a drifting feather.
He stepped aside, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. The bullet missed, striking the wall.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
Before the soldier could fire again, Aelric moved. His hand slammed into the man's chest with unnatural force, sending him flying.
The street went silent.
Dozens of eyes turned toward him, some in terror, others in awe.
Elara's whisper was the only sound he heard.
"…Aelric… what are you becoming?"
---
He looked down at his wrist.
The infinity symbol burned brighter than ever.
And beneath it, new text appeared:
> [Quest Unlocked: Break the Chains of Death.]
[Objective: Survive the First Trial. Save Elara Veynar.]
Aelric's chest tightened. The System was acknowledging him.
No… it was challenging him.
He looked at Elara—her face pale, her timer dripping away like sand in an hourglass.
He clenched his fists.
"I don't care what I'm becoming. I'll save you, no matter what."
Above them, the rift widened, swallowing the stars. Dozens—no, hundreds—of beasts poured into the city.
The true Trial had only just begun.