🕰️ Chapter 74
"When power awakens too soon, it doesn't rise—it shatters the world around it."
⚠️ Scene 1: Unnatural Tremors at Sinjai Academy
Back at Sinjai Academy, the sky had turned an odd hue—an eerie gradient between twilight blue and moonlit crimson. The air buzzed, clocks in the entire region slowed or glitched.
Students noticed first:
"Why's my watch ticking backward?""My Skill Timer just froze…""Wasn't that building… facing the other direction yesterday?"
Inside the sealed archives of the Academy, a hidden relic—The Forbidden Clockwork Core—began to hum. Its silver gears, sealed for centuries, now pulsed in sync with one boy's heartbeat:
Aeren.
Three diamond-ranked instructors entered the vault.
"It's resonating. That means the bearer is active again…""Should we inform the Council?""No… if he's not controlled now, it may be too late."
🧭 Scene 2: Aeren's Return – Whispered Fears
After surviving the awakening of the ancient tomb, Aeren and the others were teleported back to the academy.
No one said a word.
But everyone looked at him differently.
Eyes filled with awe. Fear. Distrust.
Even the Headmistress herself—Madame Seraphis—called an emergency assembly.
"One of our own has awakened an ancient power," she said, her voice calm but sharp."A power even our archives can barely comprehend."
All eyes turned to Aeren in the crowd.
Anshi clutched his hand.
"They're scared of you."
"They should be," Aeren whispered, not out of arrogance—but out of truth.
He could feel the Crimson Paradox watching from the edges of his mind. Always waiting.
🧟 Scene 3: The Breakout – Monsters at the Gate
That night, while most students slept, an alarm blared across Sinjai.
The academy barrier had been breached.
Not by intruders.Not by humans.
But by monsters.
"Level 7 Chimera Serpent at the southern dome!""Two Level 6 Razorclaws sighted by the northern training halls!"
The entire Academy turned into a battleground.
Anshi, still injured from the previous encounter, stayed behind to help evacuate.
Aeren rushed toward the front line—but stopped when he realized:
None of these monsters were attacking randomly.They were searching.
And then—one of them spoke.
Yes—spoke.
The Razorclaw screeched, but Aeren heard the words clearly through mind link:
"Clocked one… where are you?"
He clenched his fists. His blood pulsed silver.
"You're not getting me. Not tonight."
⚔️ Scene 4: The Clock Unleashed
As the courtyard collapsed under the weight of battle, Aeren stepped into the center. Around him, students fought valiantly—some screamed, others cried.
He took a breath.
"Clock Core—Activate."
The mark on his back ignited, casting a circular glyph in the sky.
Time slowed.
Monsters froze mid-lunge.
Blades stopped inches from skin.
And Aeren walked calmly through the chaos, his eyes silver-white, whispering:
"Rewind the strike. Reverse the poison. Fast-forward the wound closing."
People who were bleeding began healing.
Monsters began breaking apart, confused by their own twisted timelines.
Even high-level seekers watching from the shadows stood stunned.
"That… that's not spellwork. That's divine-level time distortion."
🧬 Scene 5: Something More Enters
As Aeren forced the monsters back using his ability, a tear appeared in the sky.
A dimensional rift.
And from it stepped a masked figure in Nexilis robes.
He clapped slowly.
"Bravo, Aeren. Or should I say… Veleor."
Aeren's hand twitched.
"You know my name."
"We gave you that name," the man said. "You were never born. You were made. The perfect time weapon. The heir to the Paradox."
Then he pointed at Anshi—watching from a rooftop.
"Let's see if you'll awaken further… when we take her."
🔚 End of Chapter 74