Chapter 35: Echoes of the Forgotten Age

The air was thick with the weight of lost history. Caius, Selene, and Elias stood in the ruins of Eldoria, their breathing heavy, their bodies aching from their battle in the Nexus. The once-great kingdom lay before them, a skeletal remnant of its former glory. Broken towers jutted into the storm-laden sky, their spires shattered. The cobbled streets beneath their feet were cracked and lined with moss, reclaimed by time itself.

Elias ran his fingers over the tattered map, eyes scanning its faded ink. "This can't be right… If this is Eldoria, then we've traveled hundreds of years into the past."

Selene's sharp gaze cut through the mist that rolled in from the ruins. "Or we've landed in a time where Eldoria was never destroyed."

Caius remained silent, his grip tightening on his sword. He could feel it—the distortion of time humming beneath his skin, shifting and bending like an unseen current. Whatever had happened in the Nexus had left them stranded here, cut off from their own timeline.

A distant sound broke the silence.

A low, echoing wail.

Selene was the first to react, drawing her daggers in one smooth motion. "We're not alone."

Elias's grip tightened around his staff. "What now?"

Caius took a slow step forward. The wail wasn't just a sound. It was a presence, an entity that had existed long before they arrived. Something ancient lurked within these ruins, watching them, waiting. He could feel its gaze pressing against his mind.

"We move," he said finally, his voice unwavering. "Find shelter, then figure out our next step."

They moved cautiously through the city, their footsteps muffled by layers of dust and overgrowth. Statues of Eldoria's past kings lined the crumbling streets, their once-proud visages now weathered and broken. The eerie silence was only broken by the occasional gust of wind, whispering through the ruins like ghosts of a forgotten age.

Then, another sound. Closer this time.

A shuffling.

Selene pressed herself against a broken wall, motioning for the others to stop. Caius followed her gaze toward an open plaza ahead. Shadows danced along the edges of the ruined buildings, moving with an unnatural slowness.

"Something's there," she whispered.

Elias raised a hand, murmuring an incantation under his breath. A faint shimmer of magic pulsed outward, revealing the figures lurking in the mist.

Hollow-eyed creatures, their bodies gaunt and stretched, their fingers elongated into twisted claws. Their skin, if it could even be called that, was a shifting mass of shadow and bone. They moved as if disconnected from time itself, flickering in and out of existence with every step.

Eldoria's forgotten dead.

The moment Elias's magic touched them, their heads snapped toward the trio, their hollow mouths opening in silent screams.

Then they charged.

Caius didn't hesitate. He surged forward, blade in hand, meeting the first creature head-on. His sword cut through its form, but instead of blood, it exploded into wisps of dark mist, reforming behind him.

"Damn it!" he growled.

Selene was already moving, her daggers flashing through the air. She ducked beneath a clawed swipe, slashing at another creature's legs, but it barely slowed. Elias launched a blast of arcane fire, incinerating one of the creatures, but three more took its place.

"There's too many!" Elias called out, retreating toward a broken archway.

Caius gritted his teeth. They couldn't win this fight. Not like this.

"Fall back!" he ordered.

They sprinted through the ruins, weaving between collapsed structures, the wailing dead close behind. The storm overhead rumbled, lightning flashing in jagged arcs, illuminating the nightmare chasing them.

Then, amidst the chaos, Caius saw it—a temple, half-buried in rubble, its entrance yawning like the maw of some great beast.

"This way!" he shouted.

They barreled through the doorway, Caius turning at the last second to slam the rusted doors shut behind them. A deafening crash followed as the creatures slammed against the barriers, their wails reverberating through the stone walls. The doors held, for now.

Darkness enveloped them.

Elias muttered a spell, and a soft blue glow ignited in the palm of his hand, illuminating the ancient temple's interior.

Massive stone pillars lined the chamber, their surfaces carved with intricate runes. At the far end, an altar stood beneath a circular stained-glass window, the image of a radiant figure holding a staff etched into its center. Dust motes swirled in the dim light.

Selene exhaled sharply. "What is this place?"

Elias stepped forward, eyes scanning the runes. "A sanctum of the Timekeepers."

Caius's chest tightened. The Timekeepers. The ancient order that once safeguarded the balance of time itself. If this temple still stood in this timeline, then there was a chance—however small—that answers lay within.

He approached the altar, running a hand over its cold surface. The moment his fingers brushed against the runes, a surge of energy coursed through him. Visions flooded his mind—flashes of past and future colliding, fragments of history rewritten and undone.

And a voice, distant yet familiar.

"You are not bound by fate."

Caius's breath caught in his throat. He had heard that voice before.

The room trembled.

The stained-glass window pulsed with light, and the altar's runes ignited, bathing the chamber in an ethereal glow. The wails of the creatures outside grew frenzied, their attacks against the doors more desperate.

Something was happening.

Elias's eyes widened. "The temple is reacting to you."

The light grew brighter, swirling around Caius's form. A surge of power rushed through his veins, ancient knowledge embedding itself within him. He could feel it—the echoes of the past whispering in his mind, guiding him. The power of time itself stirred, raw and unshackled.

Selene stepped back, shielding her eyes. "Caius—what's happening?"

The moment stretched, frozen in a blink. Then, with a thunderous pulse, the magic surged outward, blasting the temple doors open. The creatures outside shrieked, caught in the burst of energy. Some disintegrated on the spot, while others fled into the darkness, vanishing like specters in the night.

The storm outside calmed, the winds easing into a gentle breeze.

Caius collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. His hands trembled, still glowing with residual magic.

Elias reached out. "Caius—?"

Caius lifted his gaze, his eyes gleaming with newfound clarity.

"I know what we have to do."