The Chrono Sigil flared like a sun in Julius's palm.
It happened at dawn—his body jerked awake, heart racing, eyes burning with light. The pulse of the Sigil did not fade. It pointed him northeast, past the Whispering Highlands, beyond the known edge of Earthland.
To a place the Sigil named in radiant glyphs: The Ninth Arc.
"What is it?" Lyra asked, looking at the runes hovering in the air.
"A graveyard," Solas said grimly. "Of timelines."
The Twilight Zone guild traveled in formation, crossing elemental storms and skipping between moments of time flux. Julius led the charge, blade Entropis at his side.
The Ninth Arc rose before them—a floating ruin spiraling through the sky like a broken clock. Bridges cracked mid-air. Staircases looped backward. Every structure shimmered between past and future.
When they entered, the air shifted. Lyra gasped. "I see… my childhood home. But it's broken."
Rael pointed. "That's me. But older. And dead."
The Arc showed each person a failed future.
Julius alone saw nothing. Just an empty throne. And silence.
At the center of the ruin was a sealed hourglass, dark and unmoving.
Kairon's voice echoed: "This is your soul's echo, Julius. The part erased when you took on the Seventh Flame. It's waiting to return."
But guarding it stood a new enemy:
A humanoid figure in armor made of broken timelines. Its voice was static.
"I am Chronoshard. I am entropy's will. No soul leaves the Arc."
The battle that followed was chaotic. Every strike twisted their position in space and time. Rin's blades missed due to retroactive dodges. Rael had to cast spells before he thought of them.
Only Julius adapted. Using the rhythm of the Clock of Glory, he timed his movements to the beat of stability.
He cleaved through Chronoshard.
The hourglass opened.
A radiant version of Julius stepped out—calm, complete, smiling. It merged with him, and Entropis pulsed.
"I remember now," Julius said. "Why I chose this path. And why I must finish it."
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: 6/10000A Rank Quests Completed: 1/10000
Guild Status: Silver Rank
Next Chapter Preview: The God That Whispers
A silent star falls above Earthland. A god once thought dead begins whispering across dreams. Julius hears it say only one thing: "Return what was taken."