Pendralune sparkled under golden streamers and silver lanterns. The Clocktide Festival had begun—a centuries-old celebration marking the moment when Pendralune was first blessed with a stabilized time flow by an ancient Chronomancer.
The Twilight Zone guild was, for once, relaxed. Rael helped hang lights with Lyra. Rin Ayana had challenged three townspeople to an eating contest and was dominating. Bloom maintained the potion booth for the festival.
Julius stood atop the clock tower, watching it all.
"We've earned a moment of peace," Kairon said behind him. "Even if it's borrowed."
As night fell, music drifted from the main plaza. A bard—dressed in a silver mask and flowing violet robes—stepped onto the festival stage.
"I sing of echoes not yet heard, Of clocks undone and futures stirred. One shall fall and one shall fade, The flame you keep will split the blade."
Julius froze. The bard was reciting a prophecy.
Solas joined him. "That verse… it references the Seventh Flame."
The crowd clapped, unaware of the meaning. But Julius moved toward the bard.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The bard removed their mask.
It was a younger version of Kairon.
"Time loops, Julius. Time bleeds. I am what was left behind," he said. "The future is catching up."
Suddenly, the sky cracked—a thin fissure like a broken mirror stretching across the stars.
Time fractured briefly. For one terrifying moment, Julius saw dozens of Pendralunes stacked atop one another, each destroyed differently.
Then it vanished.
The bard was gone.
Kairon was silent the rest of the evening. But as the last lantern floated into the sky, Julius made a vow:
"We will stop the timeline from breaking. We'll protect every version of Pendralune… even the ones not yet born."
Twilight Zone Guild – Members: 6
Julius (A-Rank Mage, Silver Guild Master)
Lyra (C-Rank Mage, Ice-Make Magic)
Rael (C-Rank Mage, Lightning Magic)
Rin Ayana (C-Rank Mage, Whispering Blade Style – Memory Awakening)
Solas (B-Rank Mage?, Unknown Magic – Seal Fragment Holder)
Bloom (C-Rank Mage, Assassin-Herbalist, Crimson Veil Defector)
F Rank Quests Completed: 70/1000E Rank Quests Completed: 10/10000D Rank Quests Completed: 15/1000C Rank Quests Completed: 16/1000B Rank Quests Completed: 5/10000A Rank Quests Completed: 1/10000
Guild Status: Silver Rank
Next Chapter Preview: Blade of the Forgotten
A mysterious blade appears in the guild vault overnight—one that Julius doesn't remember forging… but has his magical signature embedded within its hilt.