The evening sky turned dark purple.
The training field was almost empty. Only the sound of the wind passing through the short grass and the academy's stone walls.
Kael still stood with the training sword in his hand.
On his back, the Chrono Halo slowly faded again, like light sinking into his body.
In front of him, the old man stood calmly.
Aether Valen.
His gaze was sharp. But not sharp from anger, rather sharp like someone who had witnessed too much of the past.
Kael finally broke the silence.
"What do you mean… destroying the world?"
Aether did not answer immediately.
He walked a few steps to the middle of the field, then bent down and picked up a dry leaf from the ground.
He lifted the leaf slightly.
"Young people often think power is a gift."
He flicked his finger.
The leaf fell back down.
"But time…"
Aether looked at Kael.
"…never gives anything without taking something."
Kael swallowed.
"I didn't ask for this power."
Aether nodded slowly.
"Of course not."
He pointed at Kael's back.
"No one chooses the Chrono Halo."
That sentence made Kael fall silent.
"Then why is it with me?"
Aether did not answer.
Instead, he asked in return.
"When you avoided that attack earlier… what did you feel?"
Kael thought for a moment.
"Like…"
He tried to find the right words.
"…the world slowed down."
Aether shook his head slowly.
"Not the world that slowed down."
He pointed at Kael's chest.
"You were the one who stepped out of the flow of time."
The wind blew a little stronger.
Kael felt the hairs on his neck stand.
"What do you mean stepping out of time?"
Aether walked closer.
"Everyone lives within the same flow of time."
He pointed toward the academy.
"Users of water, fire, light, and darkness… they manipulate the world's energy."
Then he pointed at Kael again.
"But the Chrono Halo…"
He paused for a moment.
"…manipulates the very foundation of that world."
Kael felt his chest grow heavier.
"So… I control time?"
Aether let out a long breath.
"Not yet."
He looked at the twilight sky.
"What you are doing now is merely disrupting the synchronization between yourself and the world."
Kael frowned.
"Synchronization?"
Aether nodded.
"All living beings have a rhythm of time."
He tapped the ground with his staff.
"Heartbeat."
Tok.
"Breath."
Tok.
"Body movement."
Tok.
"All of those follow the flow of the world's time."
He looked at Kael.
"But when the Chrono Halo is active…"
He pointed at Kael's back again.
"…your rhythm changes."
Kael slowly began to understand.
"That's why earlier I felt… my heartbeat wasn't the same as the world."
Aether smiled faintly.
"Correct."
Then he spoke softly....
"And the further you step out of that synchronization…"
His expression turned serious.
"…the greater the price that must be paid."
Kael gripped his training sword tighter.
"Price?"
Aether looked at him for a long moment.
Then spoke in a voice that was almost like a whisper.
"Time does not like to be stolen."
Silence enveloped the space between them.
A few seconds later Kael asked,
"Then… why do you know all of this?"
Aether did not answer immediately.
He looked at the sky that was beginning to darken.
Then finally said,
"Because I once saw someone who had the Chrono Halo before you."
Kael froze.
"There was… someone else?"
Aether nodded.
"Once."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
"A young man who believed he could save the world with that power."
Kael felt his breath catch.
"Then… what happened to him?"
Aether slowly opened his eyes.
"He succeeded."
Kael blinked.
"…what?"
Aether looked at him deeply.
"He saved the world."
Then he continued in a flat voice
"…by destroying it first."
The night wind suddenly blew strongly across the training field.
Kael felt his heart pounding hard.
"How could that save the world?"
Aether did not answer.
Instead, he said,
"The more important question is…"
He pointed at Kael.
"…will you repeat the same mistake."
Kael fell silent.
For the first time since the Chrono Halo appeared
he felt afraid of that power.
Aether began to walk away.
But before he truly left, he stopped.
Without turning, he said,
"Tomorrow morning."
"Come to the academy's east tower."
Kael raised his head.
"Why?"
Aether answered briefly.
"If you want to live longer than that power…"
He turned his head slightly.
"…I will teach you how not to be destroyed by time."
Then the old man walked away into the shadows of the stone corridor.
Leaving Kael alone in the middle of the field.
The sky was already dark now.
Kael looked at his hand again.
He tried to move his fingers.
Normal.
Everything felt normal.
But deep within his body
he could still feel something ticking.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Like an invisible clock.
Kael whispered softly,
"…what exactly are you?"
There was no answer.
Only the night wind blowing across the academy.
But far above the sky
the clouds moved very slowly.
As if time itself was watching.