The creature stepped down from the massive rift in the sky and reality around it began to change instantly. Asphalt that had been whole only moments before turned dull and cracks spread from its footprints like a plague creeping beneath the earth. Utility poles rusted away in the space of a few breaths and concrete walls touched by its shadow peeled away layer by layer before crumbling into fine drifting dust. An ancient sharp scent filled the air as if something buried for thousands of years had been forced back up to the surface."What kind of creature is this," Rena's voice sounded tight as she backed away several steps without realizing it. "Please don't tell me this was all planned too."Axel didn't answer. His eyes stayed fixed on the figure now standing in the middle of the road. Its body looked like aged metal that had crossed countless ages, with a massive hollow cavity in its chest spinning endlessly like the mechanism of a giant clock — black gears meshing and grinding toge

The old steel door trembled softly when a single drop of blood from Axel's wounded shoulder fell directly onto the identification panel beside it. At first nothing happened at all, only a long silence that made Rena hold her breath while she supported Axel whose weight grew heavier against her shoulder with every passing second. Then a faint click echoed from deep inside the mechanism that had been dead for years, the small dust-covered indicator light blinked once, twice, and finally turned a steady green.Rena's eyes went wide. "Axel! It responded!"Before Axel could reply the row of locking bolts behind the steel wall began to shift, the grinding of old gears filling the narrow corridor while dust drifted from the edges of the door as it slid slowly aside to reveal the darkness beyond. At that exact moment a heavy thud came from somewhere far above them. The Time-Eater was still searching. Still digging. Still hunting them down without pause."Get inside now!" Rena ordered.She did

"He already knew... My father knew about you even before either of us was born Rena."Axel's voice was soft beneath the steady hum of the old generator in the corner of the bunker. His fingers tightened around the yellowed sheet of paper in his hand. The red ink had dried years ago yet the words were still perfectly clear.^Protect the daughter of the Wraith clan. She is the key.^Rena stood a few steps away her gaze shifting between the writing and the portrait sketched across the page. It was her face. There was no doubt at all."How is this possible?" she whispered. "I wasn't even born when this was written."Axel lifted his head. His face was still pale from the poison moving through his veins but his eyes held more life than they had only minutes before."It means my father knew everything. About time travel. About the Archon. About you.""About my bloodline?" Rena's voice rose.Axel nodded slowly.They both went back through the stack of documents scattered across the old wooden

Steam still curled upward from the tea on the conference table when Rena hurried to wipe the spill with the cloth hanging from her waist. The dark liquid soaked into the tactical maps and operational reports laid out neatly before the Order’s high command, curling the edges of several pages and blurring the ink in places."I apologize, General," Rena said quickly, keeping her head bowed. "It was an accident.""An accident?" The silver-haired man at the head of the table pushed his chair back hard enough to scrape loudly against the floor. "Those documents took three weeks to compile. Do you know how many people worked on that report?"Rena stayed bent low. The dark shadow that had crept beneath the table had slipped back under her boot, but a sharp burning lingered across her skin. The Light Oracle purification waves flooding the room felt like thousands of hot needles pricking at the Wraith blood running through her veins."I will clean it up right away, General.""If this emergency

Marcus moved faster than Axel expected. The moment the stack of papers landed on his desk, the captain shot to his feet and drew an energy pistol from his hip holster, the muzzle swinging straight toward the ventilation ceiling.A flash of blue light tore through the air and the metal grate exploded in a shower of sparks, the sharp smell of hot ozone filling the room instantly. But when Marcus narrowed his eyes at the hole left by the shot, all that remained was a curl of black smoke drifting away into the shaft."Who's there?" he barked.No answer. Marcus stepped directly beneath the vent, weapon still raised, his gaze sweeping every corner of the room in search of whoever had dared to infiltrate an Ordo officer's office undetected."Come out!" he shouted again. "If you have something to say, show your face!"Silence. Only the hum of the cooling system and the muffled sounds of the base beyond the walls answered him.Meanwhile, deep inside the crossing point of the ventilation shaft,