The castle's corridors groaned as the air itself fractured — one second warm, the next freezing cold. Leo ran beside Aurelius, each step echoing against trembling walls that seemed to breathe with the pulse of time. The sound of the world unraveling was everywhere — faint, distant, and terrifying.
"Do you know where Aunt Niya and Lili are?" Leo's voice broke through the chaos.
Aurelius glanced sideways, face pale but composed. "They weren't in that room, right?"
He didn't finish the rest. He didn't need to.
The meaning hit Leo harder than a blade. Already erased…? His hands trembled. For a moment, it felt like his chest was collapsing inward.
No. Not again. I won't lose them again.
His breathing quickened, mana spiraling through his veins. Blue light flickered in his eyes as faint symbols formed on his skin, glowing like ancient script burning to life. The air rippled around him — alive, vibrating, bending to his will.
—Telepathy: Activate—
"Zama!"
The voice tore through distance and reality alike. It echoed not in sound, but inside another's mind.
A pause, then a shaky reply.
"Umm… Lord Leo? I'm here. Goblins are recovering. Why do you sound—"
"Listen carefully," Leo interrupted. His tone carried urgency sharp enough to cut air. "You're still in the goblin village, right? Protect everyone. Don't let anyone leave or enter. If you can move them—take them far away from Rustalia. As far as you can."
"Wait—what's happening? Do you need help? Lord Leo—"
Static. The connection wavered. Leo clenched his teeth. I can't waste time explaining. Not now.
"Just trust me."
The link shattered.
—Telepathy: Disconnected—
The light in his eyes faded, leaving a faint burn under them. He exhaled slowly, grounding himself. Every second counts. If I lose focus, I lose everyone.
He turned toward Aurelius. "Let's move."
Aurelius nodded once, his crimson cloak sweeping behind him as they raced deeper into the castle — toward the one place where time still held shape.
The horizon bled orange and violet as Zama lowered his head, the echo of Leo's voice still pulsing faintly in his mind. The words trust me wouldn't stop repeating.
He looked around. Wounded goblins leaned against broken wagons, humans tended to fires, the scent of blood mixing with smoke. The world felt wrong — stretched, silent, heavy.
What in the world did he mean by that tone…?
He gritted his teeth and stood, pulling his cloak tighter. "No. I can't sit here and wait."
He turned to the goblin guard, a scarred warrior barely holding his spear. "Keep watching the injured. If anything strange happens, get everyone underground. Don't hesitate."
"Where are you going, Zama?"
He looked toward the horizon — where faint golden sparks flickered above Rustalia's skyline like dying stars.
"To find out what's happening. Leo's in the middle of it. I can feel it."
He climbed onto his beast — its dark hide shimmering faintly under the fractured dawn. As the wind howled, his eyes burned with quiet resolve.
Hold on, Lord Leo. Whatever this is… I'll reach you.
And Zama rode toward the storm.
Then.
The staircase spiraled downward, each step colder than the last.
The torches along the walls burned low, their flames barely alive, as if something deeper in the dark was sucking the heat out of them.
Leo walked beside Aurelius, the silence between them thick. Their footsteps echoed against the stone — slow, cautious, and strangely hollow.
When they finally reached the end, Leo stopped dead in his tracks.
A vast chamber opened before them — but what waited inside made his breath hitch.
The air was utterly still.
Knights stood frozen mid-stride, swords raised, faces twisted in battle cries that would never finish. Even the fire from the torches… frozen mid-flame, the light caught in motion like glass.
Leo's voice trembled. "What the hell… is this?"
Aurelius's crimson eyes scanned the chamber. His expression didn't change. "Ignore it. You see that door ahead?" He pointed toward an archway at the far end — though to Leo's eyes, it was nothing but a blank wall. "For normal people, it's just stone. But for me—"
"Hey," Leo cut him off, irritation laced with fear. "Stop with the monologue and do whatever you're planning. We don't have time to waste."
Aurelius blinked at him, then sighed with a half-smile. "You really don't know how to respect your elders."
He turned toward the frozen corridor. "Can you go there?" He pointed again, straight at the motionless wall.
Leo's brow furrowed. "Are you insane? I'll freeze the moment I step in there. Can't you see?"
"Yeah," Aurelius said, almost amused, "but it's for you only. Not for me."
He exhaled slowly. The air shimmered faintly around him. "Time here is… gone."
Before Leo could respond, Aurelius stepped forward. The instant he crossed the faint silver-grey border that marked the edge of the stillness, Leo's eyes widened. The man kept walking, unaffected — his cloak drifting like it was moving through living air, untouched by the frozen world.
Aurelius approached one of the still knights, resting a hand gently on his shoulder. "Everything's going to be alright," he whispered. "Your king is here."
Then he turned toward the massive sealed doors at the far end — towering things covered in ancient symbols that pulsed faintly beneath layers of frost.
He raised both hands. His eyes ignited in a deep, molten red, and the golden light within them flared like twin suns. His aura spilled out in thick waves — a gas-like mist of gold and crimson swirling violently around him.
The power seeped into the doors. The runes awakened, burning brighter and brighter until the entire gate glowed with blinding brilliance.
"Stay back," Aurelius warned softly.
Leo covered his face with his arm as a shockwave of light tore through the chamber. For an instant, there was nothing — no sound, no weight, no sense of body.
And then—
White. Endless white.
Leo blinked rapidly, lowering his arm. The frozen room was gone. The walls, the knights, the torches — all vanished. Only a vast, gleaming expanse stretched in every direction, so bright it felt unreal.
"What… is this place?" he muttered, his voice swallowed by the emptiness.
Aurelius stood calmly beside him, his eyes no longer glowing. "We're inside," he said. "I let us through. This is the Hall of Zycrist."
Leo's heart still pounded. "The Hall of… what?"
Aurelius started walking forward, his boots echoing against an invisible floor that rippled faintly under his steps. "No questions for now. Just follow me. We only need to go straight."
Leo took one last glance behind — half expecting to see the frozen castle waiting there.
But there was nothing.
Only silence, and that endless white stretching toward eternity.
The air was heavy.
When Zama finally arrived at the edge of the Empire of Rustalia, the ground trembled beneath his feet. The city he once saw bustling with life was now breaking apart — buildings flickered like mirages, voices echoed and vanished mid-scream.
He spread his wings slightly, landing atop a ruined tower and scanning the streets below.
Damn it… this isn't a war. It's something else entirely.
I can't even sense time flowing properly.
People were fading — some screamed for help, others stood still, eyes blank, memories already stolen.
I have to do something. I promised Leo. I can't fail him… not now.
Zama jumped down, his heavy boots cracking the ground beneath him.
That's when he saw her — Feren, the woman who once helped Leo back in the tavern.
She was kneeling near a wounded knight, pressing cloth over his chest, her hands shaking but determined.
Zama rushed toward her.
"Hey! Feren! It's me, Zama — you remember, from before? I was with Leo— no, Hades!"
Feren looked up, her eyes cloudy with confusion.
"Um… who are you?" she asked softly.
Zama froze, his expression dropping.
"You… don't remember me?"
Before he could speak further, another voice came from behind Feren — calm, firm, and strangely distant.
"She doesn't remember anyone. None of them do."
Zama turned and saw a woman with long purple hair and cold blue eyes walking toward them through the smoke. She was helping people, using faint traces of magic to stabilize the injured.
"Who are you?" Zama asked, his tone guarded.
The woman crouched beside Feren, checking her pulse before replying,
"Someone who's been trying to slow this madness down. But it's spreading too fast. This… is a Temporal Disruption."
Zama narrowed his eyes.
"Temporal… Disruption? What the hell is that?"
She shook her head.
"Even I don't fully understand. People are losing fragments of time — memories, identity, even existence itself. The longer they stay here, the more they fade."
Zama turned toward the nearby street — and his blood ran cold.
Citizens were vanishing in waves, leaving behind only faint afterimages.
He stepped forward in panic.
"We can't just watch! We have to help them!"
But before he could move, the purple-haired woman grabbed his arm tightly.
Her touch was cold.
"Don't go near them. If you cross that line… you'll start to forget too. First names, then faces… until nothing's left of you."
Her words struck him like lightning.
He froze, staring at the people he couldn't save.
No… not again. I can't let this happen again. But what can I even do?
The woman looked at him, noticing the panic in his eyes.
"You're not human, are you?" she asked quietly.
"You look stronger than most. Can you fly?"
Zama blinked, nodding.
"Yeah… I can. What are you thinking?"
She pointed at the surviving civilians gathered nearby.
"Take them out of here. As far away from this empire as you can. If they stay, they'll vanish too."
Zama hesitated, glancing at Feren — who was now staring blankly into the distance, lost in confusion.
This is what Leo told me… move them far away, keep them safe. Even if I can't save everyone…
The purple-haired woman's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Well? Will you help us or not?"
He took a deep breath and looked around — at the vanishing city, the burning sky, the terrified survivors. Then, quietly, he smiled.
Sorry, Lord Leo… but saving them is what you'd do too.
He stepped forward and said,
"Alright. Follow me. I'll carry the injured on my back."
The woman nodded gratefully.
Zama crouched, letting children and wounded climb onto his broad back.
His wings unfurled wide, scattering dust and broken light.
"Don't stop running!" he shouted to the others.
"Head east, toward the mountains! I'll keep coming back until everyone's out!"
The purple-haired woman saluted him faintly, while Zama kicked off the ground —
his wings tore through the wind as he soared over the collapsing empire, carrying the last sparks of life through the storm of time.