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.