Temporal stress

Time was unpredictable due to a variable that it could never hope to control: free will, a gift granted to every living being that can bend the confines of space and time for how they see fit. This very variable is the main reason why vast and infinite possibilities came to be, all tied to the same beginning. However, as they grew, the universe was stirred by the denizens as their choices, be they big or small, had an effect. A chance for a repetitive choice was only so few to occur, and sometimes even nigh impossible, but before this so-called Regressor was a vile beast from his past loops.

"An explosion?" A group of worn-out survivors who formed a team at the entrance of the corridor was alerted when one of the passages leading to their whereabouts exploded with a fiery blaze

"Gaaaaaghhh!!!" The beast slowly made its way to the entrance where hundreds of wounded candidates were present and upon losing its prime target it chose to wreak havoc to gain its attention

"You damn beast!" A warrior lunges forth at its rear, driving his spear with his built-up momentum; the force it exudes pierces its brittle hide.

"I'll be enjoying your soul once this is all over. It's stuck; I can't pull away. Ahhhh! It burns!! Argggggghhhhh..." His end came the moment he tugged his spear, and the spilled fluid of the monster grazed his flesh, a simple droplet was enough to set the man ablaze

"Krieeeek!!!" The warrior burned in the presence of the beast and not even his bone remained, the lodge spearhead melted, and the wound vanished as its rocky exterior coated its injury

"Fucking idiot, cocky brats like them are always present in each of my loops, but how come an Infernite is here? Shouldn't that belong to the Magmarion timeline?" Zayn managed to fool the beast by sacrificing his cutlass to thwart its infernal breath giving him enough time to escape and hide in plain sight, near the debris of the once-impenetrable gate

'The fact that thing is here means it finally occurred, Temporal stress, the book of Veron states it's a chaotic scenario originating from too much misuse of time, with Regression being the main cause. That's by far my least used blessing but its effects are incredible as it not only brings me back to life but the fact that it rewinds all the time I spent in a timeline, sending me back to the past. It's also important to add that this monster was one of the monsters feared for its monstrous recovery, earning the name Volatile Blaze in the Magmarion timeline which I explor-'

"Krieeesyaaaklaaaarieeeee!!!" It spews its innards the moment it finds Zayn's whereabouts, and everything in its presence burns, and a set amount of time explodes; while this occurs, Zayn dodges every one of its burning mucus.

"You finally found me, good job. Is this what you want? Then catch me if you can, you charcoaled prick!!!" He ran back to the 2nd corridor and the Infernite tailed him without hesitation.

"Shit! This isn't fair. Why are you the only one with a range attack?" 

He dodges its fiery breath by ducking his head all the while stepping on a hidden mechanism that retracts the tiles he currently stands on. It allowed him to escape a painful end as the beast leaped right after it shot out its blazing whiff. Another contraption appeared the moment he pulled a single tile and it triggered the walls near the Infernite to collide, breaking its momentum and rendering it immobile.

"I feel so cold! This feeling, I know this..." 

An insidious cold gradually spread throughout his body, so much so that he felt his inside burst and blood crystallized in turn. Although he's yet to suffer any internal damage, this cold that had grown to dwell was disastrous and came to be weakened. The walls that kept the Infernite in place finally collapsed, unleashing the hellish beast once again and leaping to its prey.

"Kraaaaagh!!!" 

The moment it closes in, the beast widely opens its jaws, revealing the intense heat lingering in its depths; as Zayn's unknown bane continues to deteriorate his physical condition, it finally reaches its peak and bursts. The once dominating blaze that melted anything in its path was now being repelled; a faint yet imposing aura had dwelled upon Zayn's chest, harboring a frost capable of bringing forth a blizzard in its wake; the frosted heart had awakened. It was a power once bestowed upon at the timeline where the beast before him had dwelled and in its arrival the wielder managed to survive as a wall of hail took the full force of the monster maw

"A surprise to be sure, but a welcomed one at that, not so brave are you now? Well, it's to be expected. It's a little chilly," The fain presence suddenly skyrockets the whole room was entrapped in ice, and not even the flames could burn it so easily

 "Now we're both equally matched," 

Zayn shoots out a singular spike of ice, striking another mechanism that contracts both the floor and walls to expand. The cold breeze paired with the airtight chamber meant that the Infernite's reign of bombardment was put to a stop. Although he sealed his foe's main arsenal for execution, the rock-hard hide it once had wilted, revealing its core along with enhancing its firepower

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakieeeeek!!!" 

Sparks flew from its feet and the less bulky monstrosity vanished only to reappear at Houren's rear. He ducks in turn and avoids its grasp, keeping his skull from ever being demolished by its brute-like strength. A small-scale combustion was brought to his attention for a coming, fast, and lethal strike, sending its left foot forward with blazing fury

"I got to give it to you. If I was a little bit slower, then I would've died. Now it's my turn, you grit your teeth!" 

The Infernite instinctively used its firepower once again to propel its foot to its rear, only for his target to appear before him with a speeding left hook. His attack sent the monster flying, and just when it thought it could finally recover, a monstrous aura suddenly appeared in its back, belonging to no one but Zayn. He blessed the monster with a welcoming smack, sending it back to its previous spot only to be confronted by Zayn yet again.

"Good luck getting out of this alive. Your life is mine for the taking. You've stepped into a one-way paid trip to Smack Town," 

Every time he appeared in the monster's back it was always accompanied by five seconds worth of ticking. An interval of no more than five seconds till he appeared at his enemy's rear, this was the time his blessing triggered. A reversal, a phenomenon known to many as rewind, reversing the fabric of time at his existence while the world's time remains unchanged

"Time isn't on your side," 

Zayn spammed his ability over and over, locking his enemy in a perpetual loop, having no escape till he stopped. The Infernites hard molten armor broke from his constant rush of frozen swings as the heat of its core grew dim. The once unscathed armor cracked, and with it came his only chance at breaking the core once and for all.

"Frost Heart; Friggid edge!!!" 

His last rewind came with the sudden change of his stance being precise, but slow, powerful yet flawed. This stance and the attack that it would have dealt with was the deciding moment to decide who lives and dies. By undertaking this stance meant he gave his foe some room to recover and the Infernite in turn retaliated by driving its claws

"That would've killed me for sure. However, I've outgrown the drawbacks of my blessings. If I cancel out an effect…" The air around him suddenly changed, a blue radiance surrounded his eyes, and a faint lightning surrounded his body

"Before it ends, I can use it again. I've only used it for a few seconds tops. And it lasts for three whole minutes, Fast forward!!!" 

What decides a powerful strike? Is it Strength? Technique? Precision? Or a strong Foundation? Every one of these has their own strengths but by combining them all meant the completion of a perfected strike. It would've taken years or even decades just to reach a portion of the absolute and yet for the likes of Zayn it was simple as breathing.

"The biggest secret for an absolute strike doesn't come with talent. Rather time itself. As your enemy won't allow you to perfectly wield such destructive power," 

Hesitation before the face of death, restlessness disturbing the stance, and fear to end another's life. This was something that everyone had come to face, and in time they'll break these shackles. A calm heart in face of death, a sturdy body to reinforce a stance, and an iron will to take a life, culminating in a perfect strike.

"Rest in pieces…" The icicle dagger pierce through the Infernites core and a sharp and stinging cold passed through his arms sending a deadly cold.

The added speed from his blessing gave him the edge he needed for his technique to strike his enemy first. If he rushed before completion, it wouldn't have enough force, and if he escaped, a chance may not appear a second time. His foe was nowhere near his level and he only came to be triumphant over a singular yet powerful strike. 

"Arghhhh!!! What's happening? It hurts, like hell! My heart!! It's bursting!!!" 

From hisnpast knowledge there was no such drawback as a painful sting upon overusing the frost heat. This sudden spike came from the present, as his remaining strength failed to overcome this pain, he fell. An imprint on his right arm appeared and soon an hourglass manifest before his eyes and sucked the cold of his heart

"An hourglass? The hell did it do?" 

The moment he held the glass he felt its power, and the tattooed imprint on his right glowed in turn. Three dots were found but the moment he tries to wield the frost two of the dots seemingly vanish. He came to the realization that this hourglass allows him to wield his past abilities which he nurtured from his countless regressions

[You're still alive, thank goodness]

"Veron is that you?"

[Yes it's me…

It seems the will of Time has weakened.

My shackles are finally broken.

I'm no longer tied to its authority.

But that also meant it finally happened.]

"What do you mean? The end of time? That's been happening for ages. I can't even count how many times I-"

[No! I meant the end of all time.

Remember the book.

The six categories that embodies the whole book…

Every time you regress a ripple stays in that failed timeline.

Every failure, every mistake, every choices leads you to this moment.

Like every regression causes countless ripples, that in turns makes them intertwined.

Thus creating a chaotic timeline, the ripples of the past timeline became obscure, causing them to collapse.

This is known as the Chronos Convergence, a black hole in time, where it devours all the timelines you once explored including the present]