⏳ Chapter 72
"Some dungeons weren't made to be explored… they were made to contain."
🏰 Scene 1: A Strange Symbol Appears
After Aeren's mysterious takedown of the Nexilis-affiliated assassin, the battle officials tried to halt the round. But something was wrong.
The dungeon's magic—which had been stable—shuddered.
"W-what's happening to the terrain?""The core of the simulation is… breaking apart?"
And then… the sky inside the dome cracked.
Not just visually—literally. Reality folded like paper, and a massive clockwork sigil burned itself into the sky above the battlefield.
An ancient symbol—the Seal of Chronos.
The same one marked on Aeren's back.
A low hum began to echo in every direction.
Then… the ground exploded.
🕳️ Scene 2: The Hidden Chamber Below
Aeren, Anshi, and their team were thrown down into a newly opened sub-layer beneath the dungeon—a zone that was never supposed to exist.
"This wasn't part of the simulated map," one of the high-ranking seekers said from the control chamber."This… is a natural structure. The dungeon just… grew around it."
An ancient hallway unfolded beneath them—walls made of polished black stone, etched with broken runes and rusted gear mechanisms.
At the end was a sealed gate pulsing with red and silver energy.
On it, carved in glowing lines:
"HERE LIES THE FIRST CLOCKED KING."
And beneath it:
"DO NOT WAKE HIM."
Anshi grabbed Aeren's arm.
"Please tell me this has nothing to do with you."
Aeren's eyes were glowing again.Silver.
"I think… this has everything to do with me."
⚠️ Scene 3: The Warning from Above
Meanwhile, up in the observation tower, panic had spread. The high-ranking instructors couldn't teleport the students out.
"Dimensional interference. Something down there is anchoring time itself."
Instructor Zephyra's voice darkened.
"He's nearing the Tomb of the Clocked God. If it awakens…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
Back in the ruins, Nexilis agents had also entered through side corridors. They wore masks shaped like gears and red crowns.
"Kill the team. Extract the heir."
⚔️ Scene 4: The Fight in the Forgotten Hall
As the team approached the sealed door, masked enemies attacked from the shadows.
Anshi fought fiercely, pushing her rare bloodline to the edge. Her movements were fast—agile—like lightning through stone.
But Aeren?
He didn't fight with fists.
He predicted.
He knew where they'd land.
Where they'd blink.
Where they'd die.
His eyes flashed again.
"Left flank… paralyzed. Center agent—fear of drowning. Backline is blind on their right. Strike—now."
Within seconds, the team turned the tide—because of Aeren's commands.
But then—someone screamed.
"The gate—IT'S OPENING!"
🕰️ Scene 5: The Tomb Awakens
The sealed gate groaned and slowly cracked open, not because someone pushed it…
…but because something inside was waking up.
A gust of wind like dying time blew outward.
Inside the tomb, they saw him.
A giant being, cloaked in black threads of broken time, with gears and hourglass shards embedded in his armor.
His head was bowed.
Chains wrapped around his limbs.
Then he moved—not with noise, but by skipping frames of reality. One moment still… the next, standing.
"Who… disturbed my rest?""Who wears my mark?"
Everyone turned to Aeren.
Even the god.
And then, the giant being whispered something no one expected:
"Welcome back, King Veleor. You've forgotten me… but I never forgot you."
🧬 End of Chapter 72