Saint Camp, Two Days After the Chrono Sentinel Incident
End of the Chaos Era, Year 990
The dawn breeze carried the poignant scent of iron and damp earth, serving as a haunting reminder of the fierce battle that had just transpired. Fog hung low over the field of ruins, shrouding the fragmented memories of a once vibrant past.
and casting a dark shadow over every step taken. The remaining refugees began to stir: repairing tents, burning dead wood, and tending to their wounds. Yet a soft sound emerged, veiled by the tension lingering in the air, like whispers from a lost world reminding them of their vanished homes and hopes, echoing their collective despair.
Yet Sheena understood that beneath these routines, everyone harbored an underlying fear.
The Fear of Time Fractured.
In the midst of unspoken panic, her heartbeat quickened, echoing like the booming of a great clock counting down the final seconds towards doom. And now, that fear manifested in a tangible form — the Chrono Sentinel, signaling the presence of Chronos' will, ominous and conspicuous in the oppressive silence.
In the main tent, the Saints gathered, their faces dim, like shadows carved upon ancient canvas.
Aphrodite, Cosmo, Erina, Crystal, Sofia... and now, Sheena sat among them, feeling the weight of every pair of eyes fixed upon her. No longer a guest.
Though unspoken, whispers of distorted time echoed among them, an unavoidable threat that transcended words and infiltrated the minds of every bearer of fate.
Cosmo opened the meeting. The thunderous sounds from outside the tent created a tense atmosphere, as if nature itself was aware of the lurking danger. As dark clouds filled the sky, chilling shadows crossed the minds of all present, thickening the tension with an unspoken dread. "We all witnessed yesterday. Time around us is beginning to shift," he declared, his voice steady yet heavy.
"Chronos is seeking a loophole to hasten the destruction of this Era."
"All that remains of humanity will vanish. Even our existence could be erased entirely, like a line wiped from the pages of history, a record lost in the shadows of time."
Sheena clenched her fists. In this uncertainty, she felt the heavy burden of the past binding her. "I know I shouldn't interfere with the past," she said, her voice trembling. "But if Chronos is already watching me... then I have become part of this conflict."
The Saints exchanged glances, doubt creeping among them. Like grains being tossed in an endless field, they were ensnared in a daunting consideration. "So what is our next step?" asked Erina, her voice soft yet filled with hope.
Crystal replied in a heavy tone, "We must find Saint Maria." In her voice, there was a profound sense of despair and determination, two opposing elements in this confined space. Sofia gazed at the flickering campfire. "Saint Maria... The First Archivist, the Keeper of the Will Records."
"She is not an ordinary Saint. Maria has the ability to read Chronoglyphs—ancient symbols inscribed by time itself." Crystal's voice resonated in the silence, adding to the tension of the night. "She can comprehend the threads of time and, if necessary... sever them."
"According to our records, she secluded herself in the Sanctum Aristeia, a mysterious temple that appears only when the Black Sun hangs stationary in the sky, a moment that has now become a myth among the survivors."
Sheena closed her eyes. In the darkness, the image of Sanctum Aristeia emerged vividly, seeping into her soul. The name resonated like a vibration from the future, a call that could not be ignored. She had read references to it in the Proto-Speech artifacts that Fitran had meticulously examined, but a sense of unease gnawed at her heart; what would they find in that isolated, cursed place, filled with secrets and dangers?
"If we can find Maria," Sheena thought, "she might help us find our way home. Or... at the very least, protect Jeanne and Joanna from the destruction of time."
The next morning, a small group set out:
Sheena
Aphrodhite
Cosmo
Erina
Crystal
Sofia
They carried only minimal supplies and weapons. An eerie and oppressive silence enveloped their journey, like shadows flitting between the ruins. The ground beneath their feet appeared desolate, battered by the unavoidable void left in the wake of catastrophe that had collapsed civilization. There was no time for doubt.
Black Sun hung ominously in the sky like an unhealed wound. Below it lay a forsaken battlefield — cracked earth, toppled towers, and the skeletal remains of ancient war machines that had remained silent for millennia. In the distance, small flames flickered defiantly against the darkness of the night, as if bearing witness to a struggle that never ceased. With each step they took, fine dust swirled around them, and in every gust of wind, whispers from the past seemed to warn them of impending danger, like a voice caught between hope and dread.
Tension crept among them, and Cosmo's voice shattered the silence. "What if we don't find Maria?" he asked anxiously, his face growing paler in the dim light.
"We have no choice," Sheena replied firmly, her gaze fixed on the shadowed sky. "We must believe that there is hope beyond all this." Passion and anxiety mingled; although they were confident in their mission, the fear of a shattered time loomed over their every step, ready to engulf them in a deeper uncertainty.
In the midst of their journey, Sofia suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
She knelt down and touched the ground. On the dusty surface, strange symbols began to glow. Chronoglyph.
"The Chronos agents are moving towards Sanctum Aristeia faster than we can," Sofia murmured, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and urgency. "We must hurry to reach her before they do."
As they continued on their path, Sofia suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
She knelt and touched the ground. A cold wind rustled, carrying the scent of soil and dust, while strange symbols began to glow on the dusty surface. The darkness around them seemed to swallow all light, leaving only the mysterious glimmer that offered a fleeting moment of hope.
Chronoglyph.
Sheena crouched beside her.
As she gazed at the symbols, a sense of unease crept down her spine. "We can't let them get ahead of us," she murmured firmly, even though deep down, uncertainty gnawed at her, threatening to extinguish every glimmer of hope.
In the future, in Stones, Fitran had once shown her the same engraving.
"This is the emblem of 'Severance of Threads' — the severing of fate's lines."
If the Chronos agents reached Maria first...
Then all hope would vanish.
That night, as the others rested, Sheena dreamed vividly; echoes of the past captured her, breaking the stillness of the night.
But this was no ordinary dream.
She stood in the midst of a vortex of time. Thunder rumbled in the distance, with streaks of light extending in all directions, representing billions of shattered and fragmented possibilities of worlds. In the distance stood a woman clad in white, her golden hair flowing like a beacon amidst the surrounding chaos, and her eyes shone like dim stars, illuminating the darkness with a flicker of hope.
In her light, Sheena felt an immense weight. "Sheena Fate..."
"Do not let them sever your thread."
"I await you in Aristeia."
Only the woman's voice pierced the silence, but an air of tension filled the atmosphere, signaling that something darker was approaching. Sheena awoke gasping for breath, a strange warmth spreading across her chest, like the lingering effects of a relentless curse of time.
The baby in her womb moved.
The journey continued. They passed through the ruins of an ancient city, each step breaking the silence, adding to the somber mood surrounding them. The scent of charred earth and burnt soil reminded them of past tragedies. Fields of ancient dragon bones sprawled wide before them, indicating that there was no choice but to move forward, even as dread lurked in the shadows.
And rivers flowed backward due to anomalies in time, blending with the terrifying roar from the depths of the ravines.
The still clouds made the world feel as if it was frozen, trapped in an eerie silence, as if the last moment was capturing hope from a shattered existence. Shadows did not follow the light's direction, seemingly snatched by invisible hands, forcing them into silence. The sound of a giant clock, broken, echoed in the distance, replacing the ticking of time with a haunting stillness, as if time itself was spiraling without purpose.
Finally, in the deepest valley, they saw it: hope and fear converging at one point.
Sanctum Aristeia.
Sanctum Aristeia is a magnificent structure that defies conventional architecture. Every corner seems to hold dark secrets waiting to be uncovered, a symbol of a lost civilization. Crystal pillars shimmer with pale blue light, yet there is a chilling undertone that pricks at their fears, reminding them that behind its beauty lies a destructive darkness. At its pinnacle, the emblem of the Tree of Life stands cracked; its branches resemble the arms of ghosts reaching into the darkness, striving to reclaim something lost, something they may never find.
In front of the gate, the agents of Chronos had gathered. They stood with firm posture, yet their expressions reflected deep uncertainty. They were waiting. Their breaths mingled with tension, as if each passing second carried threats from the distorted realm of time. Breaking the silence, one of them, a woman clad in black with piercing sharp eyes, posed a chilling question: "What will we find inside? Are we prepared to face the horrors that lie beyond this door?"