The forest was silent again, but my heart wasn't. Every part of me ached—from the fight, from the weight of what I was carrying—but the shard had shifted. Its glow was still warm, but now it pulsed in a rhythm I hadn't felt before… like a heartbeat syncing to another.
Another shard.
I turned toward the direction the pulse was leading me. A soft breeze whispered through the trees, carrying with it something strange—familiar and foreign all at once. The shard at my waist tugged slightly, its magic pulling me forward like a compass.
I kept moving, pushing past low branches and slipping between moss-covered trunks until I reached a clearing that didn't feel entirely natural. The trees around it were twisted, leaning inward, like they were being held back by some invisible force.
And in the center of it—stood a woman.
She was tall, statuesque, with long blue hair that shimmered like a river beneath moonlight, cascading down her back in intricate braids. Her skin was pale, flawless, and her eyes—pitch black, void of light or mercy—locked onto mine the moment I stepped into view.
She was calm. Poised. Waiting.
In her hand was a curved blade made of the same ancient metal as my shard—and just behind her, embedded in a jagged stone, was the second shard of the Blade of Time.
My breath caught.
"You've come farther than I thought," the woman said, her voice smooth like velvet laced with steel. She took one step forward, her gaze never wavering. "But this is where your journey slows, Princess."
I gripped my dagger tightly, the first shard burning hot at my side. "Who are you?"
She tilted her head slightly, almost as if amused."I am Eva. Guardian of the second shard. Sent by those who know the truth behind your bloodline... and who fear what you'll become if you gather them all."
I took a step forward, heart pounding.
"I'm not afraid of you."
Eva smiled—cold and elegant. "Good. Then I won't feel bad about breaking you."
She raised her blade, and the air around us rippled.
The real fight had just begun.
The clearing seemed to hold its breath the moment Eva raised her blade. The very air shimmered, thick with pressure, and the trees around us groaned as if they feared what was about to unfold.
I drew my dagger, but it looked like a toy compared to the weapon in Eva's hand—curved and ancient, its edge flickering faintly with blue flame. Still, I didn't back down.
The shard at my waist pulsed stronger now, reacting to the presence of the second shard behind her… and maybe to the threat she posed.
"You won't stop me," I said, stepping forward into the center of the clearing. "That shard doesn't belong to you."
Eva smirked, black eyes glinting with something almost… excited."It doesn't belong to anyone," she replied, circling me slowly. "That's what makes it so dangerous. Power like that—it chooses. And you?" She scoffed. "You're not worthy of it yet."
She struck first.
A flash of blue and steel, fast and vicious. I barely dodged, her blade grazing my shoulder and sending a flare of heat through my nerves. I hissed and spun low, slashing out with my dagger, but she leapt back with impossible grace.
"Too slow," Eva taunted.
I gritted my teeth. The shard at my hip vibrated harder now, like it was urging me—pushing me to remember something.
I narrowed my eyes and drew it from my belt, holding the glowing fragment tight in my free hand. Its light flared, wrapping around my wrist, then my entire arm like a shield of radiant energy.
Eva paused for just a moment, her expression tightening. "So... you've started to unlock it."
I didn't answer. I charged.
This time, when our blades met, the energy from the shard surged into my dagger, sending sparks into the air. Eva staggered back—not far, but enough to know the playing field had shifted.
"You're learning fast," she growled, flipping her blade in a flourish. "But you're still not ready."
She struck again, and the clearing erupted with flashes of steel and bursts of energy. Each time we clashed, the shards seemed to react—resonating like twin flames meeting. I fought harder than I ever had before, each movement fueled not just by instinct, but by something deeper.
Purpose.
Every dodge, every counter, I moved closer to the shard behind her. And she knew it.
Eva's strikes became more desperate, more wild. A crack formed beneath our feet as time itself pulsed through the ground—unsteady, unraveling.
Then I saw the opening.
She overextended—a high arc meant to finish me—and I dropped low, slamming my shoulder into her midsection. She stumbled. I rolled past her and sprinted toward the stone where the second shard pulsed like a heartbeat.
Eva let out a roar behind me, but I was faster.
I reached for the shard—fingers brushing its edge—
And everything went white.
A pulse of raw energy exploded from the stone, throwing both of us back. I hit the ground hard, the shard clutched in my hand, glowing brighter than ever.
Two shards now. And they were awake.
The light slowly faded, leaving behind a charged stillness. I lay on the forest floor, breathing hard, my fingers still curled tightly around the second shard. It was warm—warmer than the first—and it pulsed with a deeper, steadier rhythm, like it recognized me now… or was testing me.
Across the clearing, Eva groaned as she pushed herself to her knees. Her once-flawless expression was now cracked with frustration—and something else. Caution.
She stood slowly, the tips of her blue hair tangled and her dark cloak torn. But instead of lunging again, she stayed where she was, watching me.
Then she did something I didn't expect.
She sheathed her blade.
"So… the blade accepts you. For now," Eva said, brushing dirt from her shoulder. Her black eyes locked with mine. "But you need to understand something, Princess."
I rose slowly, both shards now resting in my hands. I didn't let my guard down—not for a second.
"This isn't over," she continued, her voice quieter now but filled with gravity. "You've stepped into something far more dangerous than you realize. The Blade of Time tests its bearer. It judges. And unless you are truly the descendant of Queen Lisa—the Blade Timer herself—it will turn on you."
I froze, my heart skipping a beat."Queen Lisa?"
Eva gave a slow nod. "The original bearer. The only one it ever chose willingly. Her bloodline is the key… and the curse." She stepped backward toward the mist, fading into shadow. "And one more thing..."
She paused.
"Be careful of the Time Ninja Twins. They aren't what they seem. They wear loyalty like a mask—but underneath?" Her lips curled into a cold, knowing smile. "They serve time, not you. And time has no mercy."
With that, Eva turned and vanished into the woods, the mist swallowing her as if she had never been there at all.
I stood alone, the two shards glowing faintly in my hands, my mind racing.
Queen Lisa. The Blade Timer. The twins...
I had more questions now than answers—but one thing was certain:
This wasn't just a journey to gather a weapon.
It was a test of who I really was—and whether I deserved to shape time at all.
I knew exactly who the twins she spoke of were—Alex and Kai, the ones who possess the power to control time. But why the warning? Why now, after the second shard accepted me? Were they connected to the blade in ways they hadn't revealed? Or could they be descendants of Valor himself—the one who once wielded forbidden time magic?
My heart pounded. If that was the truth, then I needed to take Eva's words seriously. One of them had already torn me from my timeline, and I still didn't know why. Was it really about love... or something far more dangerous?
Kai had said he wanted to protect me. That he didn't know about the blade—at first. But the way he spoke, the way he looked at me when the shard started to glow—it was like he was fighting a truth he didn't want me to see.
I clenched the shards tighter in my hands, their faint glow pulsing between my fingers like the heartbeat of something ancient and alive.
Could I trust them? Could I trust him?
I glanced over my shoulder, sensing movement in the trees. I wasn't alone anymore.
If I was truly the descendant of Queen Lisa—the Blade Timer—then I would find the rest of the pieces. On my own, if I had to. And if the twins were hiding something… I'd uncover it. No matter the cost.
I had just started to turn back, thinking I could find a better route to throw them off, maybe even circle back unseen. But the moment my foot touched the moss-covered path, a strange dizziness swept over me.
My vision blurred.
The forest around me began to spin—slowly at first, then violently. The trees twisted and swayed like shadows in a dream. I tried to breathe, tried to move, but it was like the world itself rejected me.
A heavy hum filled my ears. Ancient. Timeless.
Then, everything around me vanished into white.
A vision slammed into me.
I was no longer in the forest—I stood in a vast marble courtyard under a sky that seemed too big for this world. Arches stretched toward the heavens, glowing with ancient runes. In the center, two figures stood, locked in a battle that felt both heartbreaking and holy.
Queen Lisa.
And Valor.
She was radiant—her silver hair catching the wind, her blade glowing with a gentle, mourning light. She didn't just look like a queen… she felt like destiny itself. Across from her stood Valor, dark and imposing, cloaked in shadows, his hand gripped around a blackened, jagged sword.
But it wasn't hate that filled the air.
It was heartbreak.
"You were supposed to fight beside me," Lisa cried, her voice cracking, and I could feel her pain burn into my chest. "Not become consumed by it!"
"You don't understand, Lisa," Valor growled, his eyes glowing with something corrupted. "The blade is more than just a weapon. It's a doorway—I can reshape everything that was taken from us!"
"At what cost?" she screamed.
Their swords clashed—light and shadow colliding with a thunderous burst. I staggered back instinctively, even though I wasn't really there. I felt it—her fear, his obsession.
He hadn't always been this way. Once, he was her ally… her lover. But now the power of the Blade of Time had poisoned his heart.
He no longer saw time as something sacred.He saw it as something he could own.
They fought, but it was clear—it wasn't just a battle for the blade. It was the destruction of something that had once been beautiful.
Then, as the sky began to shatter like glass, Lisa turned. Her eyes—glowing with ethereal light—locked directly onto mine, as if she could see me across the distance of centuries.
"You must not let history repeat itself."
And just like that, the vision collapsed into darkness.
I gasped, stumbling back into the forest. My chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. My heart hammered against my ribs.
That wasn't just a memory.
It was a warning.
Valor had once been noble… but he let the blade twist him into something else. And if the twins—Kai and Alex—were really his descendants…
I looked down at my trembling hands.
How long until they were consumed, too?
This wasn't just about gathering the blade anymore.It was about stopping it from repeating the past—before it chose someone unworthy again.