Five Seconds

Arkzen didn't blink.

Kael didn't speak again.

But Essence screamed between them, raw and silent.

Then—

They vanished.

No sound. No light. No dramatic pulse of power. Just absence.

It took nearly three full seconds for the nearest adventurers to notice.

"Hey, where's Arkzen?"

Someone blinked. "What?"

"The guildmaster—he was right there a second ago!"

A Radiant-ranked spear wielder turned his head, eyes narrowing. "...I didn't see him move."

Another Pyre-tier mage slowly shook her head. "Neither did I."

Leiya's brow furrowed as she turned, mouth half-open in mid-sentence. She stopped cold.

"Kael?" she whispered, eyes sweeping. "...Kael?!"

Panic flickered. But by the time she turned to shout—

Elsewhere.

Thousands of miles away.

The sky churned with Essence turbulence, a place untouched by civilization, surrounded by jagged peaks and molten rivers.

Kael stood still.

His hand gripped Arkzen's face.

Not gently. Not symbolically.

He had taken Arkzen.

In the blink of a breath, Kael had surged through stabilized space itself, bypassed all laws of magic, of detection, of understanding—and brought Arkzen to the edge of the world.

The elder's feet dangled a few inches off the ground. His composure had shattered. Essence flared in his body—first defensive, then curious.

Kael's voice was low, cold, and final.

"You're not fooling me. I've seen you before. I've killed you before. This time will be no different."

He let go, letting Arkzen drop onto solid stone.

"I won't ask again. Stay away from Elandor. If I see your face among my people one more time—I will erase you. Not kill. Not defeat. Erase."

For the first time in perhaps centuries, Arkzen looked… startled.

Not frightened. But shaken.

He adjusted his cloak, blinking slowly.

"How did you find out?" His voice was calm again, almost amused. A smirk crept back to his lips. "You weren't supposed to awaken so soon."

Kael didn't answer. He simply stared, as if burning the shape of Arkzen's soul into memory.

Arkzen tilted his head. "You've grown."

Kael vanished.

Back in Elandor.

Leiya gasped as a sudden rush of air blew past her.

Kael stood beside her again.

He was calm. Breathing normal. Arms at his sides.

Barely five seconds had passed.

But his hair was tousled differently. A thin burn marked the edge of his glove. A ripple of raw power coiled under his skin like a tightly-leashed storm.

She blinked. "Wha—?"

"Sorry," Kael said softly. "Needed to stretch."

Leiya opened her mouth—but something in his eyes silenced her.

Not distance. Not fear.

Purpose.

From a rooftop nearby, Arkzen appeared once more, standing with his arms crossed, speaking casually to a merchant. Laughing even.

Everyone else resumed their conversations.

Not a soul suspected a thing.

But Kael watched.

And Arkzen… never glanced his way.

Elsewhere. Far below the realm.

The Varnok Sovereign's eyes stirred again, black stars swirling in infinite sockets.

"He's broken the seal early."

A lesser Varnok knelt in reverence.

"Shall we purge this timeline, Sovereign?"

The answer came with ancient gravity.

"No. This one… may amuse me."