The storm of eternity swallowed everything.
Stars spun like knives, clock-hands whirled into spears, and the sky itself fractured into shards of ticking glass.
Aelric charged forward, pipe gripped tight, his body trembling under the weight of corruption.
Elara screamed his name, her timer flickering violently.
[29 Days : 5 Hours : 00 Minutes]
Her time was running faster.
The god was consuming her life to fuel its wrath.
---
The God of Clocks spread its wings, voice thundering:
"This is eternity's verdict! You, mortal, shall vanish into silence, and the girl's time shall be reclaimed!"
Its wings folded inward, collapsing into a single massive blade of time. The air shattered around it. One strike, and everything would end.
Aelric's lungs burned, his vision blurred, black veins crawling across his arm.
> [Corruption: 52%]
[Warning: Cognitive stability collapsing.]
Shadows whispered in his ears. He saw Elara dying again, her corpse reflected a thousand times in broken mirrors. His heart lurched, almost breaking.
But then—
He heard her voice. Not screaming. Not afraid. Just trembling, desperate, but filled with faith.
"Aelric… you promised me. You promised you'd never let go."
---
His hand steadied. His vision sharpened. He took a deep breath.
"I don't break promises."
The infinity mark flared so violently it burned through his skin, carving fire into his veins. He roared, raising his pipe against the descending blade of eternity.
The clash shook the heavens.
---
Time itself cracked.
Every second shattered into fragments, exploding outward like glass.
For an instant, Aelric stood in a void of infinite clocks, all ticking at different speeds. Some raced, some slowed, some spun backward.
And at the center — the God of Clocks pressed down, its blade forcing Aelric's body toward the ground. His knees buckled. His bones screamed.
But his mind… stayed sharp.
Force alone won't win. I can't overpower eternity. But eternity has one weakness…
---
His eyes flicked upward, seeing the cracks spiderwebbing across the god's mask. Each fracture pulsed like a weak point.
Aelric grit his teeth, forcing his voice through the storm.
"You call yourself eternity… but you're bound by rules too. Rules can be broken."
He shifted his stance, twisting the pipe at an impossible angle.
Instead of meeting the god's blade head-on, he redirected it. A paradox of movement, bending the strike into a line it could not exist in.
The god's blade slipped — for the first time, eternity hesitated.
And in that hesitation, Aelric struck.
---
His pipe slammed into the god's mask.
Cracks exploded outward, shattering the glass-and-gold facade. A blinding light poured out, flooding the chamber.
The god staggered, its wings faltering. The storm of time unraveled, collapsing into silence.
Elara gasped, her timer flickering wildly — then stabilizing, freezing at:
[29 Days : 5 Hours : 00 Minutes]
It stopped falling.
---
The god's voice trembled, filled with fury and disbelief.
"No… no! A mortal cannot—!"
Aelric raised his pipe again, his body bleeding, his arm blackened by corruption. His voice was hoarse but unwavering.
"I'm not just a mortal anymore. I'm the one who refuses to end."
He swung one final time.
The mask shattered completely.
---
The light burst outward, so bright it drowned the stars. Elara shielded her eyes, crying out.
When the light faded, the throne room was in ruins. The ceiling was gone, the sky above quiet and empty. The god was no longer whole. Instead, fragments of shattered clock-hands lay scattered across the floor.
But at the center of it all hovered a single, glowing core — a gear made of light, still spinning faintly.
The System's voice echoed:
> [Trial Complete: Defy the God of Clocks.]
Reward Generated…
[You have obtained: Temporal Core.]
[New Authority Unlocked: Chrono Rewrite (Fragment).]
---
Aelric collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath. His arm was almost entirely black now, corruption crawling toward his chest.
Elara ran to him, kneeling beside him, grabbing his shoulders.
"Aelric! Don't you dare close your eyes! You did it… you won… please, don't leave me now!"
He gave a weak chuckle, blood dripping from his lips.
"Relax… I'm too stubborn to die."
But his thoughts told another story.
52% corruption. And that was just one fight. How many more before I… stop being me?
He looked at Elara, her tear-stained face pressed close. His chest clenched.
Does it matter… as long as she lives?
---
Elara hugged him tightly, her voice muffled against his chest.
"I don't care about gods, or systems, or fate. I just want you. Don't lose yourself, Aelric. Please… promise me again."
His arms, heavy as lead, still managed to wrap around her. He whispered into her hair:
"I promise. Even if I burn away… I'll come back to you."
Her tears fell onto his skin, burning hotter than the corruption.
---
The glowing gear hovered above them, spinning slowly. Its light pulsed, and for a moment Aelric swore he could hear the god's fading voice.
"You may have broken me, mortal… but eternity does not die. Every tick you steal shall push you further into the abyss."
Then the gear dissolved, sinking into Aelric's chest. His body jolted, the infinity mark flaring wildly.
The System chimed again:
> [Chrono Rewrite (Fragment): You may alter a single second in reality.]
[Warning: Each use accelerates corruption drastically.]
Aelric's breath caught. Rewrite… a second itself…
The power to undo fate in its purest form. But the price—
He looked at Elara. She looked back, worry etched in her every feature.
For him, the price was already decided.
---
The chamber fell silent. No more gears, no more stars. Just ruins, and the two of them breathing in the dark.
Elara finally whispered, voice trembling.
"…We won?"
Aelric smiled faintly, leaning back against the shattered stone.
"For now."
Her timer glowed faintly on her wrist, unmoving at [29 Days : 5 Hours : 00 Minutes].
Frozen. Bought time.
But not forever.
---
As they sat in the ruins, a cold wind passed through. Aelric's infinity mark pulsed once more, this time not with light — but with shadow.
For the first time, he realized the truth.
Every god he defied, every trial he broke… wasn't just saving Elara. It was pulling him closer to something darker.
And in that moment, Aelric understood:
This was not a victory.
It was just the opening move.