The Chamber of Pendulums was hidden deep beneath the ruins of the original Chronos Cathedral, its walls carved from temporal ore and engraved with every hour ever struck.
Julius approached the obsidian dais at the center, where a figure awaited—a man cloaked in gears and gold, with a mask shaped like a broken clock face.
"I am Zerethil, the Clocksmith, final guardian of the Clock of Glory's evolution," the man said. "To claim its true form, you must first face… the Unwritten."
A pulse shook the chamber. Gears reversed. Time unraveled.
Julius's body split in two—one version clad in his current form, the other in an alternate timeline: darker, colder, ruthless.
The Clocksmith raised his hand. "Only one may pass. Only one future may survive."
Thus began the Trial of the Unwritten.
The ruthless Julius wielded Chrono Erosion, disintegrating time itself. He had mastered Time God Slayer magic through destruction.
"I chose power over people," he said.
But Julius stood his ground. "And I chose to protect people, even when it meant growing slower."
Their battle broke physics—attacks happening before they were cast, wounds opening before blades struck. The chamber filled with paradoxes.
Rael and Lyra watched from beyond the veil, unable to interfere.
"He's fighting… what he could have become," Rin whispered.
In the end, Julius didn't overpower his alternate self. He embraced him.
"I am all my choices—light and dark. But I choose now."
His blade, Entropis, rang like a chime across centuries.
The Clocksmith lowered his mask. "You have passed."
The Clock of Glory pulsed, then shattered into stardust—and reformed as a radiant artifact: Chrono Aeternum.
Its true form.
"Time is no longer a weapon," Julius said, holding it close. "It is a promise."
Twilight Zone Guild – Members: 6
Julius (A-Rank Mage, Silver Guild Master – Wielder of Chrono Aeternum)
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: When the Stars Forget
With the Chrono Aeternum awakened, Julius glimpses a star map that no longer exists. The past has changed, and something—someone—has begun erasing timelines. The culprit? A girl who claims to be Ankeirum's daughter.