Awakened Powers

The skeletal god loomed over Eren, its hollow eyes flickering with cold, divine malice. The very air seemed to warp around them, as if the arena itself was alive, breathing in time with the god's every movement. Its jagged limbs and shifting, shadowy form made it nearly impossible to predict.

But Eren was no longer the same. He could feel it deep within him—the whispers of forgotten battles and the tug of long-lost memories. His body moved before his mind could catch up.

As the god lunged, Eren's perception of time flickered.

A pulse. A moment stretched.

He was no longer where he had been a second ago. The world slowed. The air around him thickened like syrup, and his breath slowed to a crawl. The god's movements became sluggish, its clawed hand cutting through the air like a storm in slow motion.

Eren's heart pounded in his chest as he reached for his sword.

Temporal Echo.

He twisted, sidestepping the slow-moving strike. The god's claws missed by inches, the air behind it crackling with unrealized power.

Eren didn't need to think. He was seeing everything before it happened, instinctively knowing where the god would strike next.

But the price was steep.

His body trembled, the strain from manipulating time digging deep into his muscles. His vision blurred, and for a split second, his memories wavered. He caught flashes of past cycles—images of different arenas, different fights. Faces of warriors long lost to time. He could feel their lives, their pains, and their final moments, each memory slipping through his fingers like sand.

"Focus."

Jace's voice pulled him back to the present. He gritted his teeth and shifted again.

The world snapped back into real time. He was standing just a few feet away from the god, his sword now raised, ready to strike.

But then—

A ripple in the air. A distortion. The terrain beneath Eren's feet shifted.

Shifting Realms.

Eren's mind connected with the remnants of his past battles. The arena bled into another, and the environment around him began to warp. The ice cracked, forming jagged peaks that shot from the ground. A wall of stone erupted from the earth in front of him, creating a barrier between him and the god.

The entity stumbled back, its form flickering as it tried to adapt to the sudden changes in the space around it. The air buzzed with energy, and for a brief moment, Eren could hear the echo of past fights—the ghosts of warriors who had faced similar challenges in previous cycles.

The god's form flickered again, and a voice—a chorus of many voices—boomed in his head. "You are nothing. The Crucible is eternal. You cannot break us."

Eren's mind ached. The memories of previous cycles threatened to flood his senses. A warrior from another life, wearing the same armor Eren had once worn, shouted at him to remember the strength of their bond. The knowledge of how to defeat this god—but the memory fractured before he could grasp it.

Memory Recollection.

The pain of it was unbearable. His head swam, but through the haze, a fragment of knowledge clicked into place. A skill he had forgotten. He recalled a maneuver, a strike designed specifically to pierce the god's defenses.

The pieces came together just in time.

He leapt forward, sword raised, his muscles burning with the force of temporal manipulation. The god's skeletal form reared back, but Eren was already in motion, his body following instinct rather than thought.

The sword struck, and the world seemed to freeze.

The god howled in pain as Eren's blade found its mark, cutting through the creature's chest with a clean, brutal slice. Divine ichor spilled from the wound like molten metal, sizzling in the air.

But the god didn't fall.

Instead, its form began to shift, pulling itself together, its many faces contorting in rage.

Eren staggered back, his body drenched in sweat, the weight of his powers crashing down on him. He had pushed himself too far. Time warped around him again, and for a moment, he saw the arena as it had been in previous cycles—twisted, broken, and scattered.

He shook his head, trying to clear the fog, but it only made the disorientation worse.

"Not now," Eren muttered to himself, blinking rapidly. He couldn't afford to lose himself again.

Jace was beside him, his expression a mixture of awe and concern. "Eren… you've got to be careful with that."

Eren nodded, but his eyes were fixed on the god, still reforming. The battle wasn't over.

Not yet.

Temporal Echo pulsed inside him, a dark energy that burned his very soul.

And with it, Eren could see it all—the path to victory, the one that would break the cycle. But it was a path he could not walk alone.