⚔️ Chapter 89
"Sometimes, to save someone, you must strike before they fall too far."
🩸 Scene 1: Aeren Begins to Unravel
Aeren knelt in the dust of the battlefield, his breath ragged.
The Crimson Heart beat louder in his chest—pulsing like a second life.Time rippled around him in violent waves. Past and future collapsed in flashes:
The day he first entered Sinjai Academy.
A future where Seris lay dead.
A moment where he wore the Crown of Timefire and ruled the broken world.
His body trembled. His thoughts began to fracture.
"Stop… STOP—" he gasped, clutching his head.
Nearby, Elarian observed calmly.
"He's unlocking too quickly. The Heart is feeding on instability."
He reached into his cloak… and pulled out a black crystal shard, crackling with fractured light.
"Let's end this with truth."
🔮 Scene 2: The Shard of Veleor's Final Battle
Elarian raised the black shard and crushed it in his palm.
A vision surged across the battlefield—shared with everyone present.
It showed Veleor, Aeren's past self, atop the burning cliffs of Chronix Fall… surrounded by gods and traitors.
He fought not with fury—but with sorrow.
"I never wanted this war," Veleor said.
But when they tried to erase time manipulation forever, he unleashed the full Crimson Heart… and time itself screamed.
The sky shattered.The sea boiled.The gods bled.
The vision ended.
Elarian pointed at Aeren.
"He is not the future.He is the greatest war criminal ever reborn."
Silence.
Then murmurs of fear. Even the elite defenders of Sinjai hesitated.
⚡ Scene 3: Anshi's Soul-Bind Slash
Anshi stood trembling.
"That's not who he is… not now."
But Aeren's body had risen again—this time without control.His eyes rotated with triple rings. Time flowed backward around him in a 3-meter radius.
He was losing control.
The Crimson Heart flared toward overload.
Anshi's tears fell.She whispered:
"Forgive me."
She leapt forward with a glowing slash—the Soul-Bind technique, meant to seal one's power, not destroy it.
The blade struck Aeren's shoulder, and a red sigil exploded across his chest.
Aeren froze mid-movement, his powers locked temporarily.
He collapsed unconscious.
🕳️ Scene 4: Silence on the Battlefield
For a moment, no one moved.
Then Seris appeared in a flash of Dreamfire and dragged Aeren's unconscious body behind the Sinjai barrier.
"He's not done. He just needs time."
Elarian watched, frowning—but not attacking.
"Let him rest.He'll awaken again. And when he does, he'll have to choose."
He turned, signaling the Legion to retreat—for now.
"We've planted the doubt.Now… let it grow."
🔚 End of Chapter 89