The price of time

Ochi's mind reeled. The words Reina—no, the apparition of Reina—had spoken to him echoed in his mind, reverberating with a resonance that refused to fade. Her warning. The price. The cost.

As the light dimmed around him, he stood there, unmoving, his fists clenched so tight that his nails dug into his palms. His heart was pounding, each beat like the sound of an impending storm. "No," he whispered again, as if saying it out loud could make the truth go away. "I won't stop. I won't let her be a reflection. I'll bring her back. I'll bring them both back."

But even as the words left his mouth, his heart faltered. What if she was right?

He clenched his jaw, the pain of his decision gnawing at him from the inside. He had chosen this path. He had made a pact with the darkness, a deal with fate itself, and there was no turning back now. There was too much at stake.

The ground beneath him trembled once again, a low, resonating hum that grew louder with each passing moment. He could feel the oppressive weight of the space pressing against him. Time itself was bending, folding, as if everything he had done was being watched, scrutinized by some unseen force.

"Ochi Nakagura."

The voice came from behind him, cold and commanding. His muscles tensed, every fiber of his being alert. He spun around, every instinct screaming for him to be ready.

Out of the shadows stepped a figure—tall, cloaked in robes of midnight black, the hood drawn low, obscuring its face. The figure moved with a predatory grace, each step purposeful, deliberate, as if it knew exactly where to place each footfall. The very air around it seemed to hum with power.

"Who are you?" Ochi demanded, his voice steady despite the tension coursing through him. The blood in his veins felt like ice. This figure, whoever it was, felt like a force of nature. It was not human, not like him.

The figure's lips curled into an eerie smile beneath the hood, though it didn't speak immediately. Instead, it lifted a hand, and the ground trembled beneath them. Ochi felt the heat radiating from the being's power—raw and ancient. Something primal.

"I am the Keeper," the figure finally spoke, its voice deep and resonant. "The guardian of this place, the one who watches over those who dare defy the laws of time."

Ochi's eyes narrowed. "I've heard of the Keepers. You're the ones who ensure that the flow of time is maintained. But… what do you want from me?"

The Keeper's smile widened, though there was no warmth in it. "What do you think you want, Ochi Nakagura? You've defied time, you've broken the natural order to reclaim something that was never meant to return."

Ochi's fists clenched tighter, his nails digging into his skin. "I want my family back. I want them back, no matter what."

The Keeper's expression didn't change, though a flicker of something—amusement?—passed over its features. "Do you understand what you're asking for? You seek to tear apart the fabric of time itself for the sake of something that cannot be returned. The dead cannot be revived, Ochi Nakagura. And the consequences of doing so will be your undoing."

Ochi's mind raced. The Keeper's words echoed like a death sentence in his mind. The consequences. The cost. He had been warned. Again and again. But none of it mattered.

"I don't care," Ochi spat. "I've already lost them once. I won't lose them again."

The Keeper took a step closer, and the ground beneath Ochi's feet cracked, energy crackling through the air. "Then you will truly learn the meaning of loss. You will be tested, Ochi Nakagura. The trial you've begun is not one that ends with a simple victory. To defy the natural course of things, to bring back what is gone, it will consume you. The price you will pay is not one you can fathom."

Ochi clenched his jaw. He was not going to back down. "I don't care about the price. You can't stop me."

A long pause stretched between them. The Keeper's hood tilted slightly, as though considering Ochi's words carefully.

"Very well."

Without another word, the Keeper raised both arms, and the ground erupted in a surge of dark energy. Ochi gritted his teeth, summoning every ounce of his power. His body was alive with energy, his heart pumping raw determination.

"Then let's see if you are truly ready to face the consequences of your desire."

The air around him began to distort, bending and warping as if reality itself was being rewritten. The light dimmed, and the ground beneath him cracked wide open, revealing a swirling abyss below. The sky above twisted into a violent storm of black clouds and crackling energy.

Before Ochi could react, a massive, invisible force slammed into him, throwing him back across the broken earth. His body slammed into the ground with bone-shattering force, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs.

He gasped for air, his vision blurring as pain shot through his chest. He tried to move, but his body felt heavy, like the weight of the world was pressing down on him. He forced himself to his knees, pushing against the unbearable pressure.

"You think you are the only one who has lost?" The Keeper's voice rang out, louder now, as the storm of dark energy above grew more violent. "You think your pain is unique? The consequences of tampering with time will not be kind, Ochi Nakagura. It is not only you who will suffer. The very world will feel the weight of your decisions."

Ochi's chest heaved, and his eyes burned with fury. "I don't care what happens to the world! If I can't bring them back, then there's no point in anything else!"

The Keeper's figure loomed over him, casting an almost oppressive shadow. "Then brace yourself, Ochi Nakagura. The trial of time has begun."

With a final, deafening crash, the ground around him shattered. A torrent of energy—both cold and searing hot—ripped through the air, and Ochi was engulfed.

---

[Quest Update: The Trial of Fate]

Objective: Survive the Keeper's trial.