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Part I – From Chronicle to Scripture
At first, Lyra's Codex of Time was a scholar's record, nothing more. A meticulous catalog of repeating events and how small choices changed them.
But in a continent where every soul carried memories through the loops, the Codex became more than notes. It became law.
People began quoting it as prophecy:
"The ninth bell brings the fallen fruit."
"The red sunrise heralds unbroken skies."
Soon, her writings spread beyond academics. Farmers used the Codex to predict harvests. Merchants used it to gamble safely on repeated transactions. Lovers used it to test how many variations could lead to "happily ever after."
The Codex became Scripture.
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Part II – The Birth of the Timekeeper's Faith
A priesthood emerged, calling themselves Chronites. They preached:
> "The Codex is not record — it is design. We are not trapped. We are ascending."
They worshiped Lyra not as a deity but as a herald of eternity.
Temples were erected where scribes endlessly copied the Codex.
Devotees practiced "Loop Fasts," refusing to eat or drink, only to revive healthy in the next cycle.
Some even threw themselves into fires or blades, testing how many times the loop would allow them to die before madness consumed them.
The cult grew stronger each cycle.
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Part III – Lyra's Doubt
Lyra herself grew uneasy.
Her work had been meant as a tool, a way to survive repetition with reason. But now her people twisted it into worship, martyrdom, and fanaticism.
She wrote in secret:
> "The Codex was meant to free us from ignorance, not bind us in chains of false destiny. Yet I see now: knowledge is never neutral. It becomes weapon, or idol."
But even her doubts were absorbed. The Chronites declared those hidden passages as "tests of faith."
The Codex had slipped beyond Lyra's control.
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Part IV – The First Schism
Inevitably, A'Xarch fractured.
Two sects formed:
1. The Eternalists – who saw the loop as divine perfection.
2. The Breakers – who sought a way out of the loop, even if it meant burning the Codex.
Lyra stood between them, helpless.
For the first time, she realized that knowledge itself was not the ultimate power. Interpretation was.
And in the void, Kay laughed softly, eyes gleaming.
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