BLOOD AND TIME

A layer of jagged bone erupted from Nova's body, latching onto his limbs and torso like a rugged, jagged armor

[MAD DOG: SHADOW BONE ARMOR]

The skeletal armor pulsed with dark energy, shadows leaking from between the joints as it solidified over his beastly frame.

Nova surged forward, foot crashing through the floor as he launched a brutal kick at Balrock—

—but the man flickered out of existence, vanishing before impact like a ghost.

Nova slammed into the ground, landing on all fours. His claws gouged into the marble, jaw clenched with rage.

"Balrock! Where are you?! You spineless coward!" he howled, his voice shaking the walls.

Laughter echoed through the ballroom, smooth and venomous.

"Control your tone, filthy beast," Balrock's voice sneered, bouncing from every direction.

"Now tell me—why have you come here?"

Nova's eyes glinted beneath his bone-helm. He wouldn't reveal the truth. Not to him at least not now.

"I came to bring you retribution, you worthless piece of trash!" he snarled.

Balrock scoffed, the sound dripping with contempt.

"Tch. Of course a brain-dead mutt would come barking vague threats like that..... Well I guess it's time to put you down mut"

TIME ARCANA: CRONO ERASURE

Blue orbs, inscribed with spiraling runes, shot toward Nova like homing missiles. He bolted out of their path, barely dodging.

The orbs struck the floor—and instantly, the marble aged and crumbled into dust, time accelerating until nothing remained.

"Kid, be careful! If those things even graze us, we're screwed!" Kan Sha barked from within.

Before Nova could respond, Balrock reappeared—slamming a fist into his gut with crushing force. He vanished again, materializing behind Nova and driving a brutal kick into the back of his head, sending him crashing into the far wall.

Nova grunted, staggering to his feet. "Okay… he's way stronger than I thought."

He raised his hand and whispered under his breath:

DRAGON RUNE ARCANA: DRACONIC GRAVEYARD

A pulse of energy ripped through the space, swallowing them whole. The ballroom vanished—replaced by a vast, desolate field of dragon skeletons. The sky above churned with violet clouds. The power of Nova's Dragon Rune abilities surged.

Balrock froze for a moment, eyes wide.

"This… This is Iris's ability! How the hell did you get your hands on it, bastard?!"

Nova smirked, lips curling under his bone-helm.

"I took it. Isn't it obvious, dumbass?"

TIME ARCANA: CRONO ACCELERATION

Balrock's form blurred—his speed skyrocketing. He dashed toward Nova, unleashing a savage barrage:

A hook smashed into Nova's chest.

A knee collided with his jaw.

A kick dislocated his leg, cracking bone.

The strikes were ruthless. Precise. Each hit dismantling Nova like a pile of scrap.

TIME ARCANA: CRONO ERASURE

Balrock summoned the blue orbs again—but Nova roared back:

MAD DOG: BERSERKER HOUND CRY

A thunderous howl ripped through the graveyard. The sound hit Balrock like a wave of chaos, paralyzing him mid-cast.

Nova didn't waste the opening.

MAD DOG: PACK CALL

Dozens of shadowy figures burst into existence—twenty-five bone-armored clones of Nova, each baring their fangs.

"Go."

MAD DOG: SHADOW FANG

All twenty-five lunged at once, tearing into Balrock.

‒ CHOMP!

‒ SLASH!

‒ TEAR!

[SHARPNESS +1... +4... +12... +19... +25]

Each bite sank deeper. Each strike grew stronger. Balrock staggered, overwhelmed by the relentless assault, his blood painting the bone field beneath him.

"Ha! Bet you! Didn't see that coming, huh? Bastard!" Nova screamed, laughing like a man unhinged.

Balrock stood, unfazed—expression flat, eyes cold.

TIME ARCANA: RESTORATION GENESIS

A brilliant blue aura surged around him reversing his wounds to before the fight. The wounds from Nova's onslaught reversed in real-time—flesh knitting, bones mending, blood evaporating. Within seconds, Balrock was completely healed.

Nova's laughter died instantly.

"…We're screwed," he muttered, glancing at Kan Sha.

"Most definitely," Kan Sha replied dryly.

Balrock's eyes narrowed. With a flick of his hand:

TIME ARCANA: CRONO SHIFT

The world froze.

Nova's eyes locked in place. His clones faded. As Balrock strock each of them kiling them. The air itself felt like glass.

Balrock calmly walked up to Nova. And then—

WHAM!

A punch to the face.

CRACK!

A kick to the ribs.

Another to the temple. Another to the gut.

Each blow landing with cruel precision, Balrock snarled between strikes.

"You mutt… You really thought you could beat me? Me—the next head of the House of Bluestone? You didn't stand a chance!"

Time resumed.

Nova's body flew back like a ragdoll, slamming into the ground. Blood spilled from his mouth as he twitched, bones broken, armor cracked.

The only reason he wasn't already dead… was the restriction. Time Arcana only allowed one ability at a time. A limit that bought Nova precious seconds of survival.

Barely conscious, Nova gathered what strength he could.

MAD DOG: HOWL

A small orb of primal energy formed at his throat, vibrating with unstable force.

But Balrock sneered.

SLAP!

He struck the orb mid-formation, dispersing it like smoke, then grabbed Nova by the neck.

With a brutal THUD, he slammed him into the ground, face-first.

Leaning down, lips near Nova's torn ear, Balrock whispered:

"Why don't you just go to sleep, mutt?"

DRAGON ARCANA: STONE WYRM SHACKLES

Nova roared as six massive stone wyrm statues erupted from the ground, coiling and lunging toward Balrock like living siege weapons.

But—

TIME ARCANA: CRONO ERASURE

Six blue orbs spun into existence around Balrock, glowing with deadly runes. They shot forward in perfect sync, colliding with the wyrms and instantly turning them to dust.

Nova grit his teeth.

ECHO STEP

He vanished in a flicker, reappearing far away from Balrock, gaining just enough distance to activate his next move.

BONE DRAGON AVATAR

Five skeletal dragons surged up from the blackened floor, shrieking as they dove toward Balrock with gnashing teeth and razor wings.

But Balrock didn't even flinch.

He raised one hand—and shattered them with raw force. Bones exploded into fragments mid-air.

"Hah! Running again, are we?" Balrock taunted, sneering with sadistic delight.

Then—he vanished.

TIME ARCANA: CRONO SHIFT

Time froze again.

When it resumed, Balrock was right in front of Nova.

Nova's eyes widened in panic.

"No—No! Get away from me!"

Balrock grinned, his voice low and cruel. "Mh… mh… hahaha. Go to hell, dog."

A blue orb formed in his hand—radiating pure annihilation.

TIME ARCANA: CRONO ERASURE

The orb lit up, humming as it locked onto Nova's chest.

Nova's mind spiraled into a storm of fury.

"How is he this strong...? It's not fair. Why? WHY!! WHY!!! WHY!!!!!!"

The only thought stabbing through the haze was murder.

Kill Balrock.

For the years of abuse.

For the screams of his sister.

For the memory of her broken body.

The idea of losing to that bastard—it felt like being skinned alive.

His blood boiled so hot, it poured from his nose. Steam hissed from his bones.

"I won't lose to you... You're dead! YOU'RE DEAD!! YOU'RE DEAD!!!!!!!" Nova howled, his voice a jagged screech of pure wrath.

Kan Sha's voice blared in his head, urgent and panicked.

> "Kid—stop! If you keep going, your mind's gonna break!"

Too late.

[SANITY LEVEL: 20%... 11%... 3%... -12%... -45%... -70%... -100%]

A low, guttural growl tore from Nova's throat as his body began to reconstruct.

His spine cracked like thunder. His limbs twitched, warped, stretched.

Four jagged, spiraled horns erupted from his skull.

Six massive, thrashing tails whipped behind him, dripping with dark ichor.

A red and black aura poured off him like wildfire, the air warping around him in heat-haze distortions.

Kan Sha fell silent for a moment. Even he didn't understand this.

> "-100%...? That's not even… possible... What is this?"

Then—

> [ERROR. ERROR!! SYSTEM FAILURE—CANNOT PROCESS FORM DATA]

[NEW FORM UNLOCKED]

[FORM: UNKNOWN]

[ABILITIES: $?#%!#!$]

[WARNING: USER MENTAL STATE UNSTABLE]

The screen in Nova's vision glitched violently, text distorting into static, symbols shifting between languages that shouldn't exist.

Nova didn't care.

He stood, and the ground beneath him cracked from the sheer weight of his aura.

Balrock blinked, confusion flickering across his expression.

"...What the hell are you?"

Nova looked up.

His eyes were gone—replaced with burning pits of red static, as if his soul had been overwritten.

Nova howled—a monstrous, primal roar that shattered the silence. The ground erupted around him, chunks of rock lifting and exploding from the sheer force of the sound waves.

He didn't speak.

He couldn't.

Language was beneath him now. All that remained was rage.

His vision burned a pure crimson, locked with unwavering focus on Balrock. No hesitation. No fear. Just kill.

He dashed forward—a streak of black and red energy tearing across the ruined battlefield.

> TIME ARCANA: CRONO SHIFT

Balrock snarled and activated his ability

Time stopped.

Dust and blood halted midair

He exhaled slowly—stepping aside.

Nova's claw hung inches from his throat, frozen.

Balrock smirked coldly. "Too slow."

He reached out, preparing to grab Nova's skull and crush his throat. "Goodbye, mutt—"

But—

He choked.

His hands twitched.

He looked down in horror.

His knees were on the ground. A hand—Nova's hand—was around his neck.

Tight. Unmoving.

Even in frozen time.

> [SYSTEM ALERT: UNAUTHORIZED MOTION DETECTED]

> [SPEED EXCEEDS SYSTEM LIMITS]

[SPEED BEYOND THE SPEED OF LIGHT—ACHIEVED]

[YOU ARE NOW ABLE TO MOVE WHEN TIME STANDS STILL]