12. TIME STOPPED

12 TIME STOPPED

A smile played on his lips as he looked back at the school gate. "Didn't think it would come to this."

He enjoyed the sudden show he witnessed. He was in the meeting and it intimidated him a bit. The evidence of his mistakes was collected so perfectly, he didn't even try to count them. He didn’t expect it. Yet, it amused him. The spoiled, cold kid from the famous family had the power to gather even the smallest things he had done.

"Boss."

He shook his head and turned to his car. "So, this is why the old lady cut off her granddaughter. It's about being unrelated."

{Illeon's point of view:}

After the meeting was done, they didn't ask anything. I just left the room with those surprise stares that followed me until I was out of their sight. With these unbothered shoulders, I didn't mind.

I could feel the mixed feelings in their stares and the questions running around their minds. Yet, they couldn't do anything. Even my dearest grandma had no more say as I cut her out. SHE'S SUSPICIOUS OF ME. SHE DELIBERATELY PUSHED HER GRANDDAUGHTER, WHO IS NOW ME, AWAY FROM THEIR SOCIALITE circle.

"Did you see their faces, Sam? That was nothing like what we've seen before. It was as if their world had collapsed under a pile of huge boulders." I heard Brenda murmuring to Sam. They were pacing ahead of me, and obviously, they were talking about those filthy men who came out of that room. I don't think they noticed I was behind them.

"Apart from making such a bold scene here at school, they could still make those kinds of faces." Sam chuckled and joked.

"Well, adult business isn't different from our age's business. They can still act immaturely if their minds can't withstand the risk."

"Exactly... and by the way, Illeon was so bold today. It's not how people usually see her."

My forehead creased. Did I have such an image here that my unusual behavior was being noticed? Then I remembered their surprise birthday for me the other day. Their actions were even more unusual. From the information I've gathered over the years about Illeon, she doesn't have friends. Not because she's the daughter of a billionaire, nor because of her lonely, cold character, but because of the terrible aura most people feel around her. It took me some time to solve that puzzle.

Illeon possessed a "MYSTERIOUS THING" that caused people to lose any sense of obligation or recognition towards her. It was as if her energy compelled her to be abandoned and isolated, reflected in the cold way people viewed her.

There is a significant difference between genuine intent and pretense.

"Seriously, did she hit her head or something? Even though she's terribly mean, her coldness usually chills everything around her. It's like she's just a ghost walking in a warm body – a feelingless, wandering ghost."

My face twisted in disbelief. That could very well be why people never bothered to approach her. But it doesn't make any sense. Back in the day, I felt bitter just thinking about it; people would seize any chance to approach the high nobles. They wouldn't waste such opportunities. Yet, things have changed.

As I possessed this body, I slowly felt the changes. The changes that this body has been lacking since. The changes that are not given for her but hidden for her. ILLEON LACK A PART OF HER SOUL, WHILE HER SOUL IS LOOKING FOR ITS MISSING PIECE, IT CAUSED TO STIR THE PART OF HER LIFE, AS IF IT IS HER CURSE. AND THAT CURSE KILLED HER BEFORE I WENT TO HER BODY.

“But with how we witnessed her today, that’s terribly unusual, different, allegedly believable. As if her cold vibe suddenly thinned for a moment.”

A sudden force broke free. IT CAUSED TO STIR THE SURROUNDINGS. I could feel this sudden change of breeze. IT FELT FAMILIAR. I put my thing on the resting rail beside me and ROAMED MY EYES. Brenda and Sam were frozen in front of me. and their color suddenly changed into gray.

My eyes widened in shock. What just happened?

No, not just them. Everyone is frozen.

Why aren't they moving? I rushed to the railing and peered up at the sky.

I blinked... twice. My jaw slackened in disbelief. A barrier stretched across the sky, as if the sudden grayness of my surroundings had unveiled its powerful presence. I shuddered.

That's impossible.

I reached out to touch Brenda's shoulder, but before my fingers could make contact, my muscles seized, and I froze. My consciousness remained, though, a terrifying stillness. I found myself staring into Brenda's wide eyes, up close. I swallowed hard, disbelief choking me.

"How are you?" she asked.

"You?" I managed to croak.

"Hahahahahaha! That's the face of my beautiful Heart." A jolt of electricity surged through my body as a sudden gust of wind whipped past me.

No, time had clearly stopped. So, where did this wind come from?

I felt no pain, initially. Instead, I felt like I'd been flung away. No, I had been flung. My back slammed against a column with such force that it took me a moment to recover and relax. No broken bones, thankfully, but the impact was excruciating. It seemed the numbness had worn off, leaving me to be impaled by the raw pain.

“Hahahahaha.” In front of me, is the shadow that saved me that day. A shadow that I thought was the guidance of Death. But what shocked me the most as I raised my head, I was not in Illeon’s body anymore.

"Fruit doesn't ripen quickly with just a sudden boost of fertilizer. It needs time to develop its full, ripe colors."

"What do you mean?" The shadow facing me had no discernible features, but I could imagine the bitter expression within its depths.

"Time moves swiftly, Heart. But a foolish guess will lead you to misfortune. Remain where you are for now. It's entertaining, but I don't wish to see its conclusion so soon."

Foolish guess?

“Death always comes by, but second life is not a gift that you can just discard…”

whoosh…

That mysterious wind is still around. “REMEMBER, YOUR SHADOW ALWAYS FOLLOW YOU, JUST DON’T THROW IT OUT.” He walked towards my shadow and put his foot. And suddenly he went through my shadow as if it was his sea of darkness.

“AND BEWARE OF LOSING TO YOUR OWN SHADOW… SHADOW IS NOT JUST YOUR PAST BUT ALSO ONESELF THAT HAD BEEN LOST THAT ONLY A LIGHT COULD MAKE IT APPEAR .”

“What do you mean?” He didn’t bother to answer me and instead, he looked up at the sky. “SOMEONE DESTROY THE FLOW OF TIME, YOUR TIME WILL DIMINISHED AS THAT PERSON CONTINUES DOING THIS THING.”

“You are not the one who caused this?” If he is not the one who stopped the time, then there is an AUGUSTIA here in this place. He laughed at me. “I am the death,and not someone making the time walk backwards.”

“Walk backwards?”

“PAST SHOULD BE A PAST. PAST CAN’T BE A PRESENT ANYMORE. ONCE IT IS VIOLATED, SOMEONE WHO CLEARLY WITNESSED THE PAST AND EXPERIENCE IT AGAIN WILL TERRIBLY CHANGE THE FATE OF OTHERS…”

“Fate?” I mumbled.

“MY PARTNER AND I WILL FIGHT THAT FUSS. WHILE YOU LIVING IN THE PAST AGAIN, MAKE SURE TO LESSEN THAT PERSON’S FORCE ONCE YOU DETECTED THE CORE OF HIS POWER.”

“W-what!”