Chapter 36: The Timekeeper’s Revelation

The echoes of Caius's words still hung in the air. The chamber's glow dimmed, the magic settling into the ancient runes embedded in the stonework. The once-frenzied wails of the creatures outside had been replaced by an unsettling silence. It was as if the temple itself had driven them away.

Selene cautiously approached Caius, her voice barely above a whisper. "You know what we have to do?"

Caius inhaled deeply, steadying himself. His body still thrummed with the residual energy from the temple's awakening. He wasn't sure if it was the temple's power or something deeper within him that had stirred, but he knew with certainty that they had reached a turning point.

"This temple holds the key to undoing the catastrophe," he said. "I saw it... fragments of history shifting and bending. We're standing on a faultline of time itself."

Elias stepped closer, his hands shaking with restrained excitement. "The Timekeepers' Sanctum... it has to be here somewhere. If the order still exists in this timeline, they might have left behind knowledge—records, artifacts, something that can help us understand the forces at play."

Caius's gaze shifted toward the altar. The inscriptions glowed faintly, their symbols almost fluid in the dim light. He placed his palm against the stone, feeling a hum resonate through his bones. Then, as if responding to his touch, the runes rearranged, shifting into a pattern he could understand.

"Elias," he called, stepping aside to reveal the markings. "Can you decipher these?"

Elias's eyes widened. He knelt beside the altar, running his fingers over the script. "This... this is a prophecy. No, more than that. It's a record of what's been altered."

Selene's brow furrowed. "Altered?"

Elias nodded, his expression grim. "Time has been rewritten multiple times. The Timekeepers weren't just observers. They were custodians, responsible for ensuring that reality itself didn't fracture. And according to this..." His voice trailed off as he traced the symbols further. "Eldoria was never meant to fall. Something, or someone, interfered with history."

A heavy silence settled over them.

Caius clenched his fists. "If Eldoria's destruction was never meant to happen, then we still have a chance to fix it."

Selene crossed her arms, skepticism evident in her gaze. "Even if that's true, we don't have a way to manipulate time on such a scale."

Elias's fingers tightened against the stone. "We might. There's mention of an artifact—the Chronomancer's Heart. It's described as the 'Anchor of Eras,' a relic capable of stabilizing and rewinding fractured timelines."

Caius exhaled sharply. "And where is it?"

Elias hesitated. "According to this, the Heart was hidden within Eldoria's royal vaults, sealed away before the kingdom fell."

Selene scoffed. "Great. A treasure hunt through a ruined kingdom infested with creatures that defy reality. Just another day in paradise."

Caius turned toward the exit. "If the Heart is in the vaults, then that's where we go next. But we need to be prepared. Those creatures outside aren't going to let us walk through the city unchallenged."

Selene flicked one of her daggers between her fingers. "Then we make sure we hit them harder than they hit us."

Elias adjusted his grip on his staff. "We should rest first. Whatever happened back there with the magic surge—it drained you, Caius. You'll need your strength."

Caius nodded reluctantly. He could feel the exhaustion creeping in, a dull ache settling into his bones. As much as he wanted to push forward, he knew Elias was right.

They set up a makeshift camp within the temple, using the remaining candles and torches left behind by whoever had last stood in this place. The flickering light cast long shadows against the walls, adding to the weight of the ancient sanctuary.

Caius sat near the altar, his fingers tracing the runes absentmindedly. His mind swirled with thoughts—of the past, of the kingdom's fall, of the role he now found himself playing in the grand design of time itself.

Selene sat across from him, her sharp eyes studying his every movement. "You're different," she murmured.

He looked up. "What do you mean?"

She leaned back against the pillar. "Since we arrived here. Since you touched that altar. It's like... something inside you has shifted."

Caius hesitated. He wanted to deny it, but she was right. He felt more attuned to the ebb and flow of time, as though the knowledge embedded in the temple had integrated into him. It was disorienting, yet strangely natural.

"I don't know what's happening to me," he admitted. "But I do know that we're running out of time."

Selene's gaze softened for just a moment before she gave a small, dry chuckle. "Then we'd better make sure we don't waste what little we have left."

Dawn arrived, though the sky remained veiled in mist.

The city remained eerily silent as they emerged from the temple. The ruins stretched before them, cloaked in an unnatural stillness. But Caius could sense it—time here was still unstable, fractured. They needed to move quickly.

Elias led the way, navigating through the crumbled streets with the map he had managed to piece together. The royal vaults lay beneath what remained of the castle's foundation, a place that had long since been buried under debris and centuries of decay.

As they approached, the oppressive air around them thickened. A distant humming reverberated through the stone, a whisper of power still lingering within the ancient structures.

Then, the shadows moved.

The wraith-like creatures that had stalked them before were back, but this time, they were different. Their forms were more defined, their movements less erratic. It was as if the magic from the temple had made them stronger, more tangible.

"They're adapting," Selene said through gritted teeth.

Elias's hands glowed with arcane energy. "Then so must we."

Caius stepped forward, the power still humming within him. If he focused, he could feel the strands of time weaving around them, bending ever so slightly under his will. He clenched his fist, drawing from that unseen force.

The first creature lunged, its claws aiming for his throat.

Caius moved—not forward, not backward, but between moments. In the blink of an eye, he was behind the creature, his blade already swinging. The steel met its target, and this time, the creature let out a piercing shriek before dissipating.

Elias's eyes widened. "You just—"

"No time for explanations," Caius cut in. "Let's move."

They fought their way toward the remnants of the castle, striking down the creatures as they came. Each step brought them closer to their goal, but also deeper into the heart of Eldoria's mysteries.

As they reached the entrance to the royal vaults, Caius felt it again—that pull of something beyond time itself, waiting for them in the depths below.

The Chronomancer's Heart.

And the secret that would determine the fate of not just Eldoria, but time itself.