Chapter 11: The Eternal Pause
The battle was finally over.
The Red Queen, Haizuna — the harbinger of chaos — had been defeated.
But victory came at a terrible cost.
The Earth's core had been destroyed.
Everywhere, the world was tearing itself apart — crimson lava erupted through cracked lands, tsunamis swallowed cities, and the ground itself shuddered as if it were mourning its own death. Buildings collapsed one after another, turning the once vibrant world into a scene of despair.
Orin turned to Fresnacio, his voice trembling with urgency.
"Karisila! Where is she? We need her—right now!"
Before Fresnacio could respond, a gentle yet familiar voice spoke from behind.
"I'm right here, Orin."
Karisila stood there, exhausted yet radiant, her silver eyes dim from the battle's toll.
Orin: "Can you restore the Earth's core? Please… there has to be a way."
Karisila: "No... not entirely. My power isn't that limitless. I can't rebuild what's already perished... but I can redirect the destruction."
She raised her hands, her aura shimmering like starlight. The raging tsunamis and molten rivers of lava began to twist and turn, bending under her control, and were cast away toward the distant seas — away from human life.
But even as the surface calmed, the planet itself groaned in agony. The destruction hadn't stopped; it only slowed.
Karisila: "That's... all I can do."
Orin: "Then we wait... for Silvaris. He's our only hope now."
And then, everything stopped.
Literally — stopped.
The roaring oceans froze mid-wave. The lava halted mid-burst, motionless like glowing statues. Even the wind ceased to whisper.
Orin and Fresnacio stood frozen — completely still — as if caught between seconds of time itself.
Only Karisila could move. Her heart pounded in confusion.
And then... the sky opened.
A light — divine, overwhelming, eternal — descended from above.
From it emerged a being unlike anything she had ever seen.
A towering figure cloaked in radiance, his back adorned with a massive, luminous ring, marked with glowing runes that resembled a cosmic clock. Each tick echoed like the heartbeat of the universe.
Karisila's eyes widened in horror.
"A–Aurelios... The God of Time."
The deity's voice was calm, layered with infinite echoes — as if thousands of versions of him spoke in unison across timelines.
Aurelios: "So... you resist my time's dominion. Intriguing. But I have no quarrel with you, Karisila."
Aurelios (sternly): "I'm here for one who has defied the laws of time itself. The one who twisted its flow for his own gain — Fresnacio."
Karisila's eyes widened in defiance.
"You can't take him!"
She charged, summoning her full divine power, but before she could strike, the clock behind Aurelios pulsed once — tick.
A wave of shimmering time-energy burst forth and struck Karisila, freezing her mid-motion.
Aurelios (softly): "Did you truly believe immunity to my aura made you untouchable?"
Aurelios: "When I bind someone personally, even eternity cannot defy me."
He floated forward gracefully, time swirling around his body like threads of golden light.
He reached out and lifted Fresnacio effortlessly into the air — frozen, helpless.
Then, with a gesture, he looked down upon the shattered Earth below.
Aurelios: "Let chaos be undone."
In a flash of celestial light, the destruction began to reverse — buildings restored, oceans calmed, the land healed. Within moments, Earth was whole again.
And then, both Aurelios and Fresnacio vanished into the heavens.
Silence returned.
Moments later, a bright portal tore open in the sky — Silvaris appeared, carrying Liriya and her family. They landed safely upon the renewed soil.
But what they saw made their hearts drop.
Orin lay unconscious on the ground, and Karisila stood motionless — frozen in time, her expression still locked in determination.
Liriya (panicked): "Orin! Wake up, please!"
Silvaris looked around with a grim expression.
Silvaris: "No... this presence... it was him."
Liriya: "Who?"
Silvaris: "Aurelios. The God of Time."
Orin's fingers twitched. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
Orin (weakly): "Liriya... you're safe. We did it... Haizuna is gone. Finally... peace."
Liriya: "Yes, but... what happened to you? You collapsed all of a sudden."
Orin (confused): "I don't know. I was talking to Fresnacio and Karisila, then... everything went blank."
Liriya: "And Karisila... she's frozen. Why?"
Orin walked up to her and reached out, but as his hand neared her, it began to slow... slower... until it, too, stopped.
He pulled back, eyes wide in realization.
Silvaris: "It's true. Aurelios came here... and he took Fresnacio. He's paying the price for meddling with time."
Orin (clenching fists): "Then we'll get him back. No matter what."
Silvaris (grimly): "Not now, Orin. Facing the God of Time unprepared... would be suicide."
Orin: "Then we'll prepare. Whatever it takes."
The wind stirred once again — as if time itself had started moving forward after holding its breath.
But the shadow of Aurelios lingered...
And destiny had only just begun to turn its clock again.