Chapter 25: The Mark of Shadows

Scene: Real World — Outside the School Grounds

The afternoon sun hung suspended in the sky.

No wind. No sound. Not even the birds dared to move.

Haruto and Airi stood near the ancient, forgotten clock tower — a towering relic trapped between eras.

The silence pressed down like an invisible hand.

Airi (looking upward, tense):

"Something feels… off."

Haruto (checking the watch, wary):

"It's quiet. Too quiet."

Suddenly—

Tick...

The second hand on Haruto's watch froze.

Not by his command.

Haruto's heart skipped a beat.

Haruto (alarmed):

"What the—?"

Before they could react—

A shuddering crack tore open the sky.

Red and violet lightning clawed at the rift, shredding the clouds like paper.

Reality trembled.

Airi (eyes wide):

"That energy… It's not Kazuki..."

Out from the tear, a figure descended.

Slow.

Composed.

Deadly.

A dark cloak fluttered around him like bleeding shadows.

Glowing red eyes pierced through dimensions.

The figure stepped forward — calm, inevitable.

He pulled back his hood—

Revealing a face both cruel and emotionless.

On his forehead glowed an upside-down clock mark, its hands frozen at midnight.

???:

"So you're the ones who healed the Time God."

Haruto instinctively stepped in front of Airi, shielding her.

Haruto (gritting his teeth):

"Who are you?!"

The figure's voice was smooth. Inevitable.

Chronos:

"You may call me Chronos."

"The Dark God's chosen blade."

"I've come to erase your fragments… before they become whole."

He lifted one hand—

And the world behind him distorted.

The air twisted.

The colors drained.

The city blurred into black-and-white, like an ancient film reel stuttering and tearing apart.

Everyone — students, cars, even the trees — froze instantly.

Only Haruto and Airi remained moving.

Airi (whispering, horrified):

"He froze the world… without a watch?"

Chronos (calm, cold):

"Because I am the artifact."

Without warning, he vanished—

—and reappeared, slamming Haruto through the stone wall of the clock tower.

CRASH—!!

Haruto gasped, blood spraying from his lips, but instinctively activated the watch mid-air.

The world slowed — just barely.

Enough for him to counterstrike.

Their fists clashed.

The space between frozen seconds cracked and hissed.

It wasn't just a battle — it was a war inside time itself.

Meanwhile—

Airi's ring began to glow fiercely.

Flashes—visions—rushed into her mind:

A battlefield among stars.

Her standing beside a radiant goddess.

A blade of starlight clutched in her hand.

An oath whispered across eternity.

Airi (staggering back, dazed):

"What… is this feeling?"

Chronos halted mid-fight, his crimson eyes narrowing.

Chronos (murmuring, amused):

"So… the Light stirs quicker than I expected."

He lifted his hand again, gathering destructive energy —

—but suddenly froze, his gaze snapping upward.

A presence — ancient and furious — watched from beyond the clouds.

Far above the city, cloaked in swirling temporal mist,

the Time God stood — weakened but unyielding —

his golden eyes glaring through realms.

Time God (whispering to himself):

"He's here… sooner than I hoped."

Back below—

Haruto wiped the blood from his mouth, standing.

The Watch on his wrist burned with golden fire, casting fierce light against the twilight.

Haruto (furious, voice shaking):

"Touch her again… and I'll tear time itself apart to stop you!"

Chronos chuckled quietly.

Not mockery.

Not rage.

Just cold amusement.

Chronos:

"Then try, Child of Light."

"Show me what destiny has gifted you."

With a final smirk, Chronos vanished back into the rift, leaving only one thing behind—

A floating sigil.

A twisted clock, suspended midair, pulsing with black and crimson light.

A slow, steady tick sounded from it.

A countdown.

Airi (alarmed, clinging to Haruto's arm):

"What is that…?"

Haruto stared grimly at the sigil, feeling the weight settle on his shoulders.

Haruto (quietly):

"Something tells me… our time is running out."

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Scene: Far Away — Ruins of the Old City

Kazuki, hidden among the ruins, watched in growing horror.

His hands trembled.

Kazuki (inner voice, despairing):

"I was wrong..."

"This isn't just a battle of powers anymore."

"It's a war of fate."

The sigil in the sky continued to pulse—

slow, inevitable—

counting down to something neither side was fully ready to face.

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TO BE CONTINUED...