🫀 Chapter 85 –
"There is no silence more terrifying than the moment your heart beats for something you swore to forget."
🔻 Scene 1: The Throne's Judgment
Aeren stepped toward the crimson throne—its cracked core pulsing with each beat of his heart.
The inscription beneath his feet began to glow.
Suddenly, the throne spoke—not with words, but through memory.
Aeren was pulled into another memory echo, but this time… it wasn't a vision. It was a sealed piece of his own soul.
He stood as Veleor, again.
But this memory was hidden for a reason.
🕰️ Scene 2: The Betrayal No One Knew
In the echo, Aeren saw himself leading the Crimson Order—not as their enemy, but as their creator.
The Order had been formed by Veleor to gather power against the gods who sought to erase time-manipulators like him.
He had not only founded it—he had trained the Thirteen Eyes.
And the Crimson Pact?
It was his creation.
"I started all of this…" Aeren whispered."And I destroyed it… when it turned into something it was never meant to be."
Then came the ultimate truth:
To destroy the Order, Veleor had sealed the Crimson Heart—a living artifact of time-blood itself—inside his own chest.
"You're not carrying the Clock Core alone," Seris's voice echoed."You've been carrying the Heart all along."
💀 Scene 3: The Heart Awakens
In the real world, Aeren gasped and clutched his chest.
The area over his heart glowed bright red and began pulsing—like a second heartbeat.
Seris stared in horror.
"Aeren… the Heart is waking. It's alive."
The throne began cracking more violently. Aeren staggered.
"If I fully awaken it—I'll become Veleor again.But if I don't… someone else will claim it."
The ground split beneath him—revealing an endless pit of glowing time fragments and crimson light.
And at the very bottom… a mirror.
Inside the mirror… another Aeren stood, cloaked in fire, smiling.
🧠 Scene 4: The Broken Memory Seal
Seris, realizing the truth, initiated a forbidden Dreambind spell:
"If we're going to survive this, I need to unseal the rest of your locked memories."
Aeren nodded.
The moment she cast it, a storm of visions flooded him:
The first war against the gods
The formation of the Thirteen Eyes
The birth of the Crimson Labyrinth
The first time Seris died for him—and was rewound through time
His betrayal of Kael, who had once been his most trusted commander
Aeren fell to his knees.Tears streamed down.
"I used to be worse than I ever feared…"
Seris held his face in her hands.
"You weren't a villain. You were alone. And you tried to stop a war before it started."
⚠️ Scene 5: Meanwhile in Nexilis
Deep within Nexilis Fortress, the Veilmaster stood before the final tomb.
With dark incantations, he shattered the seal.
From within the coffin, a pale figure rose—half-human, half-machine, with a crown of bone.
"Arise, Elarian the First Seeker—Bearer of the False Clock."
The moment Elarian opened his eyes, the Crimson sigils across Nexilis flared red.
"Veleor… has awakened the Heart.Then the old war… begins again."
🔚 End of Chapter 85