**In a place untethered from the known world, where the sky drifts beneath layers of dark mist and stars glimmer like forgotten whispers in the void, a figure lies still upon the ground. The air hangs silent, weightless—no wind, no time, only the hush of something ancient watching.
Gradually, the figure begins to stir. Fingers curl against the cold earth. A breath is drawn, shallow and uncertain. Slowly, he rises—not with clarity, but with the quiet disorientation of someone pulled from a long and distant dream.**
"Ah... my head still hurts. Where am I? What is this dark space?"
[So, you are my new user?]
"W–What? Who are you? Where are you speaking from?"
[ You seem rather frail and weak for someone who wishes to wield me..}
" Don't dodge my questions. Answer me first."
[You ignorant fool, who are you to order me around? But I will let go of your ignorance this once and answer them for the sake of hospitality. You stand between the lines of your subconscious—soul mending with your mind. This is where artifacts awaken and teach their bearers. We call it The Fracture.
I am the artifact known as the Chronomortis. I have the ability to bend the 4th dimension of time. I am speaking to you through my projecting my voice in your mind. And you are my latest user after 2010 Years in earth's time.]
Pranjal flinched a little bit by the unexpected hostility the artifact exhibited. He chose his next words very carefully and spoke in a polite tone.
"Wait—an artifact? How did I even get you...? Ah—now I remember. You're the watch I wore while sitting on the bed. The one that caused... all that pain."
[ …That is correct.]
"Hmm…If your last user was 2010 years ago. That means you also come from the fallen era. Do you have any knowledge regarding how the Indian civilization fell 2000 years ago?"
[ Sadly my previous user somehow found a way to wipe majority of my memories about him and the time we spent together. I just remember some fragments about him and only some of the knowledge that I once used to possess. My powers can only be used by the user, hence I can't reverse time my self to check the events that occurred.]
""WAIT—REVERSE TIME? We can actually do that?"
[…You are not yet my master. Only once you earn my recognition will my full power be yours.]
"How do I make you recognize me?"
[Help me recover what was lost—my fractured memory. In return, I will guide you when you're in true peril. For now, I grant you a basic ability: time looping. Each time you die, you will come back the same moment the artifact attached itself to you.]
Hmm Time looping interesting…. But how exactly will the time loop? Will my memories be attached or will I loose them. How long will exactly this time looping occur… I got to ask him all this.
[I hear your thoughts clearly. We are still in The Fracture—where mind and soul intertwine. Your memories, and any magical progress you make, will return with you. The loop ends only when the artifact is removed.]
Pranjal was repulsed at the idea—his thoughts being heard so easily and without his permission. A flicker of discomfort crossed his face, but he quickly buried it, cautious not to offend the entity.
Wait magic exists? And How can the artifact be removed from me?"
[ Yes, Magic exists. I don't…I don't remember on how to remove the artifact.?]
"Do you remember anything about the vendor who sold you to me? Could he have known something?"
[No. Until I bond with a user, I cannot sense the physical world. It's as though I'm sealed off... Though, I don't think it was always this way.]
"Could it be something your previous user did to you?"
[...I don't know.]
"Hmm anyways, do you remember the history about magic and how to harness it?
[I remember it... Around 4.54 billion years ago, when Earth first formed, a fragment of the universe's primordial energy became sealed around the outer shell of the planet's core. Eons passed in silence—until the First Sapling sprouted. Its roots reached deep, tapping into a minute trace of that buried power.
This sapling grew into what was called the World Tree. It became the first conduit, drawing the core's ancient energy and dispersing it gradually into the atmosphere. Over time, the very air began to carry this energy in discrete, invisible packets.
When the first creatures emerged, they were bathed in this energy. Each new generation adapted further, and eventually, both organisms and object alike began to form a unique core—a node present at the core of the body which was capable of holding this power.
And when humanity learned to wield it, to shape this inner force consciously... they named it Magic.]
[ The magic already exists within you, you just need to learn how to harness., I will teach you how to use magic after you help me recover at least some of my memory first.]
"Okay…. Can you tell me about the magic cor-"
As Pranjal was about to say this, the space of fracture started to shake very violently. The shaking made it very hard to stand straight onto the surface and made Pranjal fall on his butt.
[ Due to some disturbance you are waking up in the outer world. We will meet again.]
As the chronomortis said those words, suddenly a blinding light flashed around the space.
" Ughh…So bright…And This feelsrather nauseating."
" Finally awake are you?"
"Yea-.. Huh? What? Who the hell are you? What are you doing inside my house?"
" Well I am —"
Stay tuned to find out what happens next in the next episode!