The silence stretched like a living thing, pulsating in the wake of the battle's fury. Steven's body was battered, his strength draining from the intense forces he'd unleashed. His legs shook, and his breath was shallow, but there was a sense of finality in the air. The Regressors were gone—erased from the fabric of reality. And yet, something gnawed at Steven's mind, a sense of foreboding that wouldn't let go.
"Is it over?" Azariel's voice broke through the stillness, his face betraying concern as he approached.
Steven's gaze flickered to the now-calm sky, the once-torn timelines now stitched together, fragile yet whole. "It's over... for now."
But even as he spoke those words, the Codex began to stir at his side. It pulsed faintly, as if it were alive, reacting to something. The bright, glowing pages trembled, and the air around them vibrated with an energy that was both familiar and unsettling.
"You've done it, Starcaster," the Keeper said, her voice grave. "But the Codex... it is never just a tool of creation. It is also a key."
Steven's pulse quickened, a chill creeping down his spine. "A key to what?"
The Keeper's expression darkened. "A key to the truth you've yet to face. The very truth of time itself. You may have severed the Regressors' grip, but there is one final force at work—a force older than you can comprehend. Something that you cannot simply rewrite."
Before Steven could respond, the Codex opened on its own, its pages flipping rapidly as though being pulled by some invisible force. The energy intensified, spiraling around him, the very fabric of reality beginning to tremble.
"No..." Azariel muttered, stepping back in fear. "It's happening again."
The Keeper closed her eyes, her voice barely a whisper. "The Final Rewind. The reset."
Suddenly, the world around them began to distort. Time, which had felt solid for a brief moment, began to fracture once more. The ground beneath their feet twisted, the skies darkened, and the landscape around them warped into something unrecognizable. Reality itself bent and twisted as if being pulled in multiple directions.
Steven's heart raced. He could feel it. The Codex, the source of all his power, was being pulled into something... something beyond him. The space around them seemed to contract, each second stretching out, becoming a loop, a repeating cycle.
"What is this?" Steven demanded, gripping his staff tightly. "What's happening?"
"The Final Rewind," the Keeper repeated, her voice heavy with the weight of centuries of knowledge. "It is the end and the beginning. A resetting of everything. A chance to undo the mistakes of time—or perhaps, to fall victim to them once more."
The Codex pulsed again, its pages glowing brighter as it began to release waves of energy, disrupting the very laws of reality. Time was being rewritten—again.
But this time, it wasn't Steven pulling the strings.
He could feel his power waning, his connection to the Codex slipping. "No! I won't let this happen!"
But the force was too powerful. The Rewind had already begun.
A voice echoed through the chaos. Not Azariel's, not the Keeper's, but a voice far older, far more primal. "You cannot stop it, Starcaster. You have defied the flow of time, but in the end, all things return to their origin. The Final Rewind is inevitable."
Steven looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. "Who are you?"
The voice chuckled. "You already know."
The world twisted once more, and a figure materialized before him—tall, cloaked in a shadow darker than the void itself, a presence that radiated power. His face was hidden beneath a hood, but his eyes, glowing with an ancient, unfathomable knowledge, were unmistakable.
"I am the Weaver of Time," the figure said, his voice like thunder, shaking the very core of existence. "The one who guides all timelines. The one who ensures that every thread is woven, and every thread is unwound. You have meddled with what should never have been tampered with."
Steven's heart clenched. "You... you are the force behind the Rewind?"
The Weaver's gaze intensified. "I am the force behind everything, Starcaster. Every death, every rebirth. I am the keeper of time's cycle. And now, you must face the consequences of your actions."
The Codex reacted violently to the Weaver's presence, the pages flipping frantically as if trying to escape its grasp. "You can't control it," Steven said, his voice trembling with fury. "I am the one who controls time now!"
The Weaver's smile was cold, calculating. "No, Starcaster. You are but a fleeting moment in the grand design. Time cannot be controlled, only endured. You cannot break the cycle. You cannot undo what has been set in motion."
The energy around them intensified, the world shuddering as the Rewind pushed forward. The timeline that Steven had so carefully manipulated was now unraveling, the threads of fate slipping through his fingers.
"I will fight you," Steven spat, his hand gripping the Codex tightly, even as it struggled against him. "I won't let you destroy everything I've worked for."
"You cannot fight the inevitable," the Weaver said, his voice low and heavy. "You have no choice but to accept your place in the cycle. You have defied the very essence of time. And now, the reset will come."
The Codex shone one last time, its energy surging to a peak before the final thread was pulled. Time itself stretched impossibly long, and everything, every reality, every moment, began to collapse inward.
And then, everything was gone.
---
(To be continued...)
Author's Note (Chapter 50 Milestone)
Fifty chapters... and the journey is only beginning.
To every single reader who's been with me through the storms, spells, and soul-shattering revelations of Steven Lethal's story—thank you. Chapter 50 marks not just a milestone, but a gateway. From here on out, the stakes are higher, the magic is deeper, and the secrets you thought you knew? They're just illusions waiting to be shattered.
If you're new here—welcome to a world where power isn't just cast… it's earned. And if you're a returning reader—strap in. Because what comes next will redefine everything you thought was true in the Chronicles.
If this chapter blew your mind, share it. Leave a review. Bring others into the storm. Let's make this legend unstoppable.
Stay lethal, —Araphat