Chapter 8: The Shattered Flow of Time
The moment the Unknown Queen revealed herself, despair swept across everything.
Her arrival was a curse in itself—Liriya had been slain, Orin had been torn apart, Karisila was sealed away, and even the sacred Golden Luminara Wave had been ripped from Liriya's heart.
With her presence, it seemed inevitable—sooner or later, the entire Cosmos would kneel before her.
---
The Queen stood tall amidst the ruins, her crimson eyes glowing like burning coals. Blood shimmered across her pale hands, yet her expression was calm, almost bored.
Queen: "These children were nothing but distractions. I've dealt with them, but my work here isn't finished. There is still one task that remains…"
With a cruel smirk, she raised her palm. A black Luminara Wave swirled into existence, rippling like liquid shadow. With it, she carved open a portal of twisting darkness, stepping inside without hesitation. The rift sealed behind her, leaving silence in its wake.
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And there lay the broken remains.
The lifeless body of Liriya, blood soaking the floor… Orin's head severed from his body, the cruel mockery of an unfulfilled promise.
But then—close up on Orin's eyes.
A flicker.
Something stirred.
Darkness. Endless, suffocating darkness.
Orin gasped as his mind regained awareness. He wasn't in the real world anymore. No—the place around him felt weightless, unstable. A world that resembled reality but was drenched in void.
He tried to move, but his body was thrown again and again through the emptiness, hurled violently as though some unseen storm had claimed him.
"Where… am I? What is this place? Am I… dead?"
Before he could spiral away once more, strong hands gripped him, halting the storm around him in an instant. The chaotic winds ceased. Silence swallowed everything.
Orin spun around, wide-eyed.
It was him.
The same masked man he had bumped into earlier on the street—the stranger who had run without explanation. His face was still hidden beneath the cloth mask.
Orin: "You… you again? Who are you? Why… why did you save me?!"
The man's voice was calm but firm.
Masked Man: "Don't panic, Orin. I came here to help you."
But Orin broke down, falling to his knees, tears burning down his face. His voice trembled with unbearable grief.
Orin: "Help? There's no help left! Everyone's gone! Liriya… Karisila… maybe even my parents—they're all dead!"
His hands shook violently as he suddenly lunged, grabbing the man's collar, shaking him with pure desperation.
Orin: "Why me?! Why did you save me?! You should have saved Liriya! I only brought her pain—I dragged her into this curse! It's all my fault!!"
His scream echoed across the void, raw and broken.
The man didn't resist. Instead, he placed a hand on Orin's shoulder.
Masked Man: "Calm yourself, Orin. You'll understand everything soon… but only if you let me explain."
Slowly, he removed his mask. For the first time, Orin saw his face—long hair cascading past his shoulders, a sharp yet weary expression, and a scar carved across his cheek, as though fate itself had marked him.
Masked Man: "My name… is Fresnacio. And when you collided with me on that street, I wasn't running without reason. I was fleeing from her—the very Queen who slaughtered your beloved Liriya, who sealed Karisila, who murdered your hope. She is my nightmare too."
Orin's eyes widened.
Orin: "You mean… she hunts you as well?"
Fresnacio gave a bitter nod.
Fresnacio: "Yes. Because of my powers—powers she wants to control. The powers of time itself."
---
Orin froze.
Orin: "Ti… Time powers?"
Fresnacio: "Yes. I was born with them. From the very moment I came into existence, my chest radiated with the glow of an Orange Luminara Wave. My birth shook my people… I wasn't just a child. I was an omen."
His voice lowered, becoming heavier with every word.
Fresnacio: "But my childhood wasn't one of wonder. Voices haunted my mind—unseen whispers echoing endlessly, threatening to tear apart my sanity. My father, Jacks, and my sister, Haizuna, conquered planets in the name of our people. Our planet was Uttopis. Bloodshed was our culture."
Orin clenched his fists, sensing the depth of his pain.
Fresnacio: "One day, my father and Haizuna invaded another world. They burned its people, harvested its life. But it was there that fate intervened. For the first time, they encountered a Luminara Wave—Violet. They didn't understand what it was. They only knew it was power. That power sank into my father's body."
Fresnacio's eyes grew darker as he recalled it.
Fresnacio: "But then… he came. An unknown figure, his very presence divine. His blade—made of pure darkness—cut down both my father and my sister in a single slash. Before he struck, he cried out a name over and over: Nyxara."
Orin's heart jolted.
Orin: "I know him. That was Silvaris, the God of Darkness. He wanders the universe, trying to free his beloved Nyxara."
Fresnacio's breath caught. His tone trembled.
Fresnacio: "The… God of Darkness?"
Orin: "Yes."
---
Fresnacio pressed his hand to his chest, as though feeling the wave inside him once more.
Fresnacio: "When I returned to the planet where my father and sister lay in pieces, I saw it… the Violet Luminara Wave glowing from his corpse. I was broken, enraged, drowning in grief. And then—my Orange Wave flared. It hurled me here… into this void between worlds. That was the first time I realized—I could bend time."
He shook his head, remembering.
Fresnacio: "I tried to change fate. I traveled two days into the past, begging my family not to march toward that world. But no one listened. Again, Silvaris came. Again, they died. Again, I failed."
His voice cracked.
Fresnacio: "But then—I reached deeper into my power. I touched my chest and ripped myself into another future… one where my family still lived, one where my father carried the Violet Wave. I learned… I could twist time itself. Past. Future. Infinite chances."
---
Orin's jaw tightened. The story was haunting, yet strangely familiar.
Fresnacio: "But my powers… they cursed me. My father and Haizuna used them to commit atrocities. Genocide on a scale unthinkable. And when I realized they were using me as a weapon, I fled."
He looked away, his voice trembling.
Fresnacio: "But I was too late. Haizuna grew stronger, hungrier. She killed my father herself and stole his Violet Wave. Soon she gathered three Waves—Violet, Black, and Red. She hunted me for my Orange Wave. And now… she has revealed herself to you as the Queen."
Orin's face went pale. His voice broke.
Orin: "Y-your sister… is the Queen?"
Fresnacio: "Yes, Orin. She is my sister. And she will consume everything if we don't stop her."
Orin collapsed to his knees, tears flowing once again. His voice shattered with anguish.
Orin: "She killed… Liriya. My Liriya… Can you—can you bring her back?! Please, Fresnacio! If you truly control time… bring her back!"
Fresnacio looked down at him, silent for a long moment. Then he placed his hand over Orin's shoulder.
Fresnacio: "That is why I came to you. I will take you to the past. Together, we will save your beloved… and together, we will end my sister's reign."
Orin's tears didn't stop, but for the first time, a glimmer of hope sparked in his eyes.
Orin: "If… if that's true, Fresnacio… then maybe there's still a chance. Maybe I can keep my promise… Maybe I can protect her."
The void around them pulsed, as though time itself was waiting.