Chapter 2: Velmora Part 13

Part 13: "The Founder Hunter and the Chrono Trap Maze"

— The deepest truths are hidden not in space, but in time itself —

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[Scene 1 – The Awakening of the Founder Hunter]

Location: Velmora Central Vault — Containment Level 0

A sealed vault deep beneath the capital shook. Multiple spell locks shattered — not with explosions, but with time bending backwards.

A giant sarcophagus of glass and mana circuits cracked open.

Inside stood a figure — humanoid… but faceless. Dozens of ancient crests hovered around its chest, none of them glowing. Its name was never spoken aloud — but encoded in the system as:

> System Alert:

Subject Activated: FH-0 – Founder Hunter

Task: Seek and consume all Founder-linked anomalies.

Target Priority: Arshan – Crest Bearer Level 3.

> Velmora Council Head (via Mirror):

"Begin the Loop Cage Protocol. Lock his time coordinates. Let's see how he escapes eternity."

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[Scene 2 – The Ruins Collapse: Entry into the Chrono Maze]

Eastern Ruins started shaking violently. The crest platform beneath Arshan's feet lit up again — but this time with reverse-glyphs.

> Zyana:

"Emergency alert! We're caught in a retro-cascade. It's… a chrono trap!"

> Ilira (holding her head):

"The ruins aren't collapsing… we're being rewound."

Suddenly —

Everything froze.

Then restarted.

But things were… wrong.

Rayn was now wearing different armor. Ilira had no wound. Arshan… had no soul weapon.

> Arshan (shocked):

"This isn't real. This is a reset… but inside the same place."

> Zyana (in distress):

"They've placed you in a time-layered maze. Escape isn't about space — it's about choosing the correct moment."

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[Scene 3 – The Maze of Misremembered Paths]

The ruins transformed. Instead of stone corridors — shimmering echoes of past versions of the team filled the maze. Each door led to a memory — real or fake.

In one corridor, Arshan saw himself training with Master Ghallon (who had died years ago).

In another — he watched Ilira betraying him.

> Ilira (present version):

"That's not me! I swear—!"

> Rayn (drawing blade):

"These aren't illusions. They're possible pasts. Someone is testing which version of us is strongest."

> Zyana:

"Founder Hunter is manipulating emotional paradoxes to fracture your focus. Don't trust your own memories here."

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[Scene 4 – Face-to-Face with the Founder Hunter]

After crossing six fake loops and one failed timeline, they reached the core.

There it was — the Founder Hunter.

It had no face, but a halo of broken timepieces hovered behind its head.

> Founder Hunter (voice layered across time):

"Crest Bearer… you are an echo. A mistake.

The Founder did not die… he multiplied his curse across you all."

> Arshan:

"If I'm a mistake, then I'll rewrite the rules."

> Aetheryn (soul weapon, reactivating faintly):

"I remember this being. It once erased three timelines just to silence the Founder's voice."

The battle began.

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[Scene 5 – Battle of the Timeline Cuts]

The Founder Hunter didn't fight like any creature Arshan had faced.

It didn't move — it removed moments.

Rayn tried to strike — but suddenly, he was six seconds behind.

Ilira cast a ward — but the spell never started.

> Zyana:

"Your actions are being cancelled before they exist! You must strike in a timeline he hasn't noticed yet!"

> Arshan:

"How do I do that?!"

> Aetheryn (voice deeper):

"Use Soul Echo Burn. Project your intent into multiple futures. Let one slip through."

Arshan focused. A massive burst of heat radiated — the flame of Crest 3 erupted.

> Skill Activated:

Soul Echo Burn – Version Split x4

(Attack simultaneously in four potential timelines.)

One strike landed — it severed the creature's right arm, which turned into ash and… memories.

> Founder Hunter:

"You've broken a part of me. Now I must return. But I will find you… again. Again. Again..."

It vanished — but the damage was done.

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[Scene 6 – A Memory that Wasn't Supposed to Return]

As the maze cracked apart, a single memory shard remained, floating in golden light.

> Zyana (processing):

"This… doesn't belong to you. It's older than your birth."

Arshan touched it.

Suddenly —

He saw a firelit chamber.

Seven figures. One of them looked like… him.

Another looked like a young version of Council Head Velmora.

They were… creating something.

> Memory Voice:

"This Crest will survive us. Even if we fall, one of us will return."

> Arshan (stunned):

"That… was me. Or someone meant to become me."

> Zyana:

"The Founder wasn't one man. He was a lineage… and you may be its final echo."

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[Scene 7 – The Council Tightens the Net]

Back in Velmora:

> Mirror AI:

"Subject Arshan has resisted temporal erasure. Founder Hunter is retreating. Crest 3 intact."

> Council Head:

"This has gone too far.

Release the Driftbound Dengen.

Let's see how he handles corruption that remembers him."

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To Be Continued…

Next Part: Part 14 – "Driftbound Dengen and the Hall of Forgotten Names"

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Next Part Will Include:

Dengen corrupted by Drift — that remember Arshan's past decisions.

A secret hall beneath Arkalis holding erased students.

A message left by the Original Founder.

Zyana begins glitching… but not from damage — from emotion.