The Weight of Time

Chapter 3: The Weight of Time

The dungeon air was thick with the scent of blood and sulfur, but Rei Kaizen barely noticed it. His mind was still racing, struggling to process everything that had happened. One moment, he had been at death's door, his body broken and betrayed. The next, he had stood before Chronos himself, granted the power of time itself.

Now, as the last echoes of the Time Eater's death throes faded into silence, Rei could feel the raw energy coursing through his veins. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced before—powerful, limitless, terrifying. He flexed his fingers, watching the faint silver glow dance across his skin.

Is this real?

He turned, his eyes scanning the ruined battlefield. The Time Eater's corpse lay motionless before him, its once fearsome form now a husk, its body twisted and frozen in a state of near-collapse. Time had unraveled it, breaking it apart at the seams. The sheer ease with which he had ended the beast sent a shiver down his spine.

"This power…" he muttered, staring at his own hands.

He had rewound his injuries, reversing the damage to his body. The bruises that once covered his skin were gone, the deep gashes across his arms now nothing more than faint marks. It felt surreal, as though reality itself had bent to his will.

Yet, for all this newfound strength, one thought lingered in his mind—the people who left him to die.

Juno.

His so-called best friend. The man who had turned his back on him the moment things became difficult. The memories of their last moments together flashed through his mind.

"You're too weak, Rei."

"Just stay back."

"This is your fault."

Rei clenched his fists, his jaw tightening.

If I was weak before… what am I now?

The power of time itself flowed through him, and for the first time in his life, he wasn't powerless. He had been betrayed. Abandoned. Left to die.

But he wasn't dead.

And that meant he had unfinished business.

---

The dungeon's corridors stretched before him, winding and twisting like an endless maze. The sound of dripping water echoed through the stone halls, the occasional flickering torch casting eerie shadows against the walls.

Rei walked with a newfound purpose, his steps silent, his breathing steady. Every movement felt… precise. Controlled. It was as if his body now existed on an entirely different plane, free from the constraints of normal time.

As he moved, he focused on the power within him, testing its limits. He reached out with his mind, pushing his perception forward, and the world around him slowed. The droplets of water that fell from the ceiling seemed to hang in the air, frozen in time. He could see every ripple, every shimmer of light as it passed through the liquid.

Then, with a thought, he let it go, and time resumed. The water hit the stone floor with a soft plip.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

This is going to be fun.

But he didn't have time to waste. He needed to find them.

The ones who abandoned him.

Juno and the others had retreated deeper into the dungeon, seeking an escape while leaving him behind as bait. Rei had no intention of letting that go unpunished.

He closed his eyes, reaching out again. This time, his power stretched beyond his own body. The dungeon was filled with echoes—fragments of time that still lingered in the air. He focused, allowing the remnants of the past to wash over him.

And then, he saw it.

Faint, translucent figures flickered into existence before him, moving like ghosts. Shadows of the past. His former teammates, running, desperate, fear in their eyes. Juno led the charge, his expression twisted in a mixture of panic and determination.

"We need to get out of here before it kills us all!" Juno's voice rang out, distorted through the lens of time.

"What about Rei?" one of the others had asked.

Juno's expression hardened. "He's already dead."

The vision faded. Rei's eyes snapped open, his breath slow and steady.

"Already dead?"

His fingers curled into a fist, the silver glow of his power pulsating faintly.

"Not yet, Juno," Rei whispered to himself. "Not yet."

---

The echoes led him deeper into the dungeon, through crumbling stone passages and past the remains of other creatures that had fallen victim to the labyrinth's horrors. Some of them bore the marks of battle, their bodies cleaved apart or burned beyond recognition.

Juno's group wasn't far.

Rei stopped at a crossroads, his senses tingling.

Then—footsteps.

He pressed himself against the shadows, his power coiling around him like a living thing. Time slowed to a crawl as he focused, allowing him to move in perfect silence, undetected.

The first figure appeared—a scout, one of Juno's lackeys. He looked tired, his armor scratched and dented, his breathing ragged.

Rei stepped forward.

The man had no time to react.

Before he could even blink, Rei had moved. He reached out, his fingers brushing the man's shoulder—and with a thought, time stopped.

The scout's eyes widened in frozen terror. His mouth was open mid-gasp, but no sound came. He was trapped, caught in a moment that no longer moved forward.

Rei exhaled.

With a flick of his wrist, time resumed, and the man collapsed, unconscious before he even realized what had happened.

Rei stepped over him, unbothered.

He continued forward, his footsteps light, his heart steady.

And then, finally, he saw them.

Juno and the remaining survivors were huddled near what appeared to be an exit—a towering stone door, ancient and covered in runes. They were arguing, their voices hushed and desperate.

"It won't open!" one of them snarled. "We're trapped!"

Juno's face was pale, his eyes darting back toward the dungeon's depths.

"Then we find another way."

A slow smile spread across Rei's lips.

They wouldn't be finding another way.

Because he was here now.

And time itself was on his side.

---

Juno's instincts screamed at him a second too late.

A shift in the air. A faint silver glow. A presence behind him—one that shouldn't exist.

He turned.

And there was Rei.

Standing there. Alive.

Juno's breath caught in his throat. "W-what the—?"

But he didn't get to finish.

Rei moved, and the world froze.

Juno tried to speak, to move, to breathe—but nothing happened. He was trapped in time, frozen like an insect caught in amber.

Rei stepped forward, his voice calm, cold.

"You left me to die, Juno."

Juno's eyes widened in horror, his body unmoving.

Rei crouched, staring into his former friend's frozen gaze. "And now, I get to decide what happens next."

He reached out.

And time resumed.

Juno gasped, stumbling backward, terror flooding his face.

Rei only smiled.

"Your time is up."