The forsakened

"What!!? You meant this the end? You're joking, right? This can't be... when I finally just got used to regressing."

[I know, believe me, I too suffered the same fate as you, not just me but every Harbinger before you and I came to be.

The end of all time is up to the person in question, for how long they'll come to master their set of blessings and surroundings.

Countless Harbingers fail and come to be absorbed by the authority of Time like what had happened to me.

But instead of accepting their fates and being content, they grew to be vengeful, turning themselves into enemies of Time.

The moment the end of all time occurs, they'll finally lay waste to the world again, guarding the means to save the world.]

Zayn was doubtful, yet he wanted to believe his words, yet he uttered, "How am I sure you aren't secretly one of them? I don't know you to the point I'd trust you. And what if you just saved me so that the moment I reached this point you'd kill me and take my place?"

Doubt and hostility began to linger in his mind. Zayn had no intention of risking his freedom, even if it's the guide who aided him.

[Good...

I already expected you to be hostile, but for it to be this extreme, it makes me smile knowing I have a good successor.

You may not know this, but if those vengeful regressors came back and escaped Time's authority, then it wouldn't be pretty.

As their souls grow to adapt to the powers of time, even without its blessing, they can exhibit similar powers.]

"We've already seen how one person can lead everything to ruin, what more if there's millions of them lying around?"

[Exactly. Even if they can't regress—and they won't, because they're only limited to a few blessings—they're still a threat.

If you die and one of them succeeds, then instead of freeing himself, he lets off the rest of the vengeful regressors.

The power of regression may be unavailable, but if they misuse their powers one after another, they may even cause a ripple.]

"I don't trust you, but in my current state, I'm sure I'm at my lowest of low. I'll make an exception just this once." The violent air around him vanished, showing his desire for a temporary collaboration with the guiding voice, Elias Veron.

[I'm glad you chose to believe me.

I almost forgot because of our heated reunion, but you do possess an hourglass. It's supposed to occur right about now?

Oh, thank goodness. That thing in your palm is what we call the Temporal Stasis, containing a power originating from your past lives.

It'll be easier to tell you this if you know the term "Hollow Knight."]

As Elias spoke of such a foreign topic, Zayn seemed to have never heard of such a title and replied, "Never heard of it."

[You're from Earth, correct?]

"Where would I be from if not Earth?" Zayn replied.

[It seems my guess was correct, that every wielder came from Earth, but when exactly was the question?

I was abducted in the year 2025, when I suddenly picked that damned pocket watch from the ground.

I don't even know if Silksong came out; it was truly a horrible day—]

"Enough with your bickering. Tell me what this Hollowed Knight is related to? I'm wasting valuable time when I should be moving."

[Alright, alright, sheesh. Why aren't you prickly?

To be clear, what you possess has similar mechanics in terms of a charm.

Those black dots on your right hand indicate the amount of Temporal Stasis you can use, depending on their cost.

The powers they contain can be differentiated into three separate ranks: 1 dot, 2 dots, and lastly, 3 dots.

A one-dot worth of power means it's rare; two means a power only a few could hope to obtain; and three means a power a savior once possessed.]

"A Savior? You mean a power that's one of a kind which these so-called chosen Saviors acquire? That kind of power?"

[Indeed, it seems you got lucky for getting a two-cost Stasis as your first, but that also meant it was a horrific beast.

From your ragged appearance, it looked like a horrid skirmish had ensued. Still, you've survived, something nearly impossible.

That means you've already learned a trick or two for utilizing the powers of time. If not, then a goddamn miracle just happened.]

"I guess I was a saint all along. I'll talk to you later. The interview is more important, I still need to get that top spot."

[Indeed, off you go now. The fate of reality as we know it is at stake.]

Although he was oddly entranced by the mysteries of his future, along with the enigmatic Stasis, he sighed. The imprint on his palm piqued his interest, yet he carefully read his situation and chose to prioritize his present dilemma. Having regressed countless times, his focus was taken by the ongoing interview. He wasted no second unearthing yet another mechanism.

"I can't lose my only saving grace in this regression. My knowledge is worthless. Even so, a head start would be delightful."

He stomped the ancient tile below, in turn, dozens of rusted gears churned in response to his beckoning order. The floor before him shifted ever so slightly, revealing a hidden passage. The torches lit one by one, promising an exit. Zayn descended, and a loud thud echoed through his back as the corridor he once stood in returned to its former structure.

'I always wanted a change, but now that I got it, never once did I feel content, or was I disheartened by the cause? To think that after undergoing all that loss, failure, and depression, sinking my heart to the depths, I realized it was all for naught. That my suffering was just a process my predecessors underwent, and it had no great meaning. Well, it hardly matters now.'

Numbness was like Zayn's passionate lover. After going through heart-aching moments a second ago, to later finding them nonexistent. Insanity was like an abusive broad lusting for his flesh, reminding him of the times he was happy till it ultimately withered. After years of endurance, the use of worldly bliss had no effect on his psyche, leading him to a life as an undying drifter. Jealousy was what drove him to proceed, becoming anger, and evolved into sadness for his horrid fate, till his passion was no more.

"I envy you all..." He opened his eyes as the corridor led him to the third interview, and there he saw the unfortunate, bleeding and nearing their end.

"Ohohohoho! This is a surprise indeed. I don't know how that beast got loose, but it seems it died. Now, onto the third Interview."

The alarming voice of the entity enveloped the whole of this spacious section of the labyrinth, and in an instant, madness ensued. Having heard its voice, hundreds ran headfirst to the exit, and in their act of defiance, led to their unbecoming. All it took was a simple wave of the entity's power to have their heads pop in their act of insubordination to his wishes.

"Prepare yourselves. The fearful will perish, and the bold will rise in the face of danger. If you desire your dear life, then cull the numbers."

The interviewer's voice went silent as Zayn felt irritated, a strange ticking unlike any he'd experienced prior to this present. An unnerving sensation, a suffocating and blood-curdling feeling followed by an unprecedented ticking of his watch. As time passed, the volume rose, the noise originating from his head spiraled until it ultimately stopped, Zayn gasped.

"What the hell was that?" The sudden disappearance of the noise was what caused him to be alert, and a second later it ticked again.

"Bluagh!!!"

A sudden incision took place, a sharp needle-like weapon punctured the abdomen, and the victim of such an attack spat blood. The life in their eyes, the warmth of their flesh and blood, grew cold at the gaze of their killer, but mostly due to his frost-like weapon. If not for that tick, Zayn would've died. The moment he heard the climax, the noise came not from his head but lay at his rear.

"Damn... you!!! I could've sworn you ain't anything special. How come your mastery with the clock be so high—"

The ice-conjured needle that skewered his attacker in place detached itself from Zayn's left palm as it enveloped the corpse. He never thought his heart could ever race so incredibly high. That attack was ordinary, but he would've died if not for the noise. The pocket watch in his possession had its arm spun around in such intensity, the noise he was beginning to hear them once again.

"They have me surrounded!!!"

He took a step back as an attack broke the ground he once stood on, coming from above along with a big hulking figure. Another tick came from his side. He steered his head to the left and bent his upper body back, narrowly avoiding a cut. The third time, he felt the same sensation the moment this noise manifested, and the direction it pointed to was everywhere.

"Frost Heart; Ice bound igloo!!" He slammed his fist to the ground, unleashing an intense outburst of freezing gust, clouding the vision of his attackers.

"Kill him!!!"

His enemies showed no fear, and they leapt into the unknown, but what lay in their reckless bravado was their undoing. Their weapons clashed with a thick pile of ice, and like Zayn's experience with the Infernite, he counterattacked in response. It didn't take a second for them to realize his intent. Their jammed blades couldn't be easily pulled by their strength alone.

"You lot are a bunch of idiots."

As the ice felt even a little force, spikes shot out from this little igloo and skewered anything that incurred its wrath. "I'm guessing all of you are my vengeful predecessors? I apologize if I'm too informal. But even I have no respect for those who aim to kill me."