Time Took Everything
Jimmy stepped into the quiet hotel room. The scent of fresh linen and warm air greeted him, but it was Luna that drew his eyes first.
Suddenly from her body a cold wind emitted and Jimmy also quickly pulls the curtain
Jimmy rushed over, hands trembling as he checked up in his Codex.
Level: Intermediate – Stage 4
He blinked.
Stared.
Read it again.
Level 4? He hadn't even trained her since yesterday. Had the dream…
No.
That dream—it was already fading, falling through his fingers like dust. He tried to remember the shapes of the Whisps that had surrounded him, their sounds, their presence—nothing.
Only Luna remained.
He glanced down at the bronze watch in his hand.
Its once-smooth surface had begun to peel—faint flickers of golden dust rising off it like pollen in sunlight. He clenched it tight, trying to anchor it, hold onto something—
But time, as it always does, slipped through.
The numbers on the watch face blurred. The hands twisted in impossible directions. The ticking grew silent.
And as he exhaled slowly…
Even that faded.
He could no longer recall how the watch came into his hand.
He could no longer remember the names of his other Whisps.
He could no longer remember the dream.
Not even his breath felt real—just a rhythm his body still obeyed, long after his soul had moved elsewhere.
He sat quietly beside Luna.
Outside, the world stirred.
Inside, time had swallowed another secret.
.........
Jimmy's breath grew uneven, dragging in air as though it were heavier than before. His fingers trembled.
"Was it a dream? Or an illusion? Or… something I still don't understand?" he asked himself silently, the question echoing in the hollow space left behind by forgotten memories.
He grabbed his notebook—the one he always carried for moments like these—flipped it open, hands clutching a pencil. But the page stared back at him, empty, just like his mind.
He tried to remember the shape of a horn, a silhouette in light, a trace of emotion. Nothing.
He pressed the pencil down.
But he didn't know what to draw.
He searched his thoughts, but every attempt crumbled like ash. There was no colour, no line, no image to anchor to. Only a void.
Why can't I remember? What was there? He bit his lip, pressing harder into the paper—but still, it stayed blank.
Then—
A sudden cry cut through the fog.
Luna's voice. Sharp. Real. Present.
Jimmy froze.
His pencil dropped.
His blindfolded face turned toward her instinctively, and though he had no eyes, his expression shifted—blank, stunned, as though he had just been pulled from the depths of some place far away.
Luna stood at the edge of the bed, her body upright, glowing faintly, concern etched into every inch of her stance.
Jimmy let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.
He was back.
Here.
Now.
But something was still missing. Something… unrecoverable.
He slowly closed the notebook. Not a single line drawn.
And yet—Luna was here.
That, at least, was real.
......................
After everything, Jimmy returned to his room in silence. The world felt slower now, heavier. He was still caught between memory and haze, but hunger nudged at his thoughts.
A soft knock came at the door.
"Sir," said a gentle voice, "your meal preferences?"
Jimmy nodded, signing quickly—simple vegetarian, something light, and a second plate for his pet. The hotel staff bowed slightly and left without further question.
Thirty minutes passed.
This time, it wasn't food that arrived—but a different knock.
"Sir," the staff member said politely, "we just received a message. The regional champion, King Anderson himself, has arrived—and he's staying in this very hotel. Because of that, we're hosting a grand banquet in the imperial hall. Authorities, nobles, and guild members are gathering. Please change out of your current… attire and attend. It would be an honour."
Jimmy blinked, still wrapped in his black coat—the same one he wore when the world turned to mist and light.
He nodded slowly. After the man left, Jimmy changed into a more formal set of clothing kept in his luggage. A long blue-grey tunic with subtle gold trim, simple trousers, and a silver pin with his tamer credentials. Luna, still resting in the Mind's Garden, stirred.
The voices from downstairs grew louder. Plates clattered, glasses rang, laughter surged. The hotel's grand feast for the King's arrival was in full swing.
When the attendant knocked again, politely reminding him to attend the special dinner as a guest of the hotel, Jimmy didn't resist. He followed them in silence, never once lifting his head.
Luna remained in his Mind's Garden, watching from the quiet with soft complaint:
"Jimmy always keeps me inside when it matters."
Jimmy signed back from his heart:
"Just for now. I'll call you there."
He entered the hall and took a chair near the middle—just another face, another silent guest among many. The light was warm, the tables grand, but his mind drifted like fog across water.
The voices around him began to blur.
His head ached.
He pressed his fingers to his temples and quietly summoned Luna beside him. She appeared like a breath—cool, silent, calm. Her touch steadied him.
They ate together without a word.
And just as he finished washing his hands and began moving toward the exit—
He stopped.
A man stepped in.
Tall. Dressed in regal crimson and black. Reporters flanked him. His fire Whisp walked beside him like a lion among wolves.
"Everyone's enjoying?" he called out to the room, a flash of a smile cutting across his face. "Why so quiet, young man? Eat and run?"
Jimmy stared.
That name… Anderson.
The name the banners chanted.
The man they called King.
Jimmy said nothing. Only bowed slightly and turned to leave.
...............
He vanished down the corridor with Luna by his side, blending into shadow as though he was never there.
One floor up, a balcony overlooked the dining area.
A man in a dark coat, flanked by firelight, watched him go.
He didn't call after him. He didn't smile.
He only whispered under his breath:
"So... it was him."
Jimmy entered the quiet room again, the door closing behind him like a curtain on a forgotten play.
He removed his coat and hung it gently.
He released Luna beside the bed, and she stretched out like she had never been away.
He again checked the Codex if he first saw it wrong.
[Level: Intermediate – Stage 3]
He stared.
Then remembered.
Then forgot.
The memory—already fading like sand in wind.
The watch… now gone.
The dream… dissolved.
His breath… shallow.
He sat on the edge of the bed and let the emptiness take him.
Then he laid back, eyes open, staring through darkness.
Not even Luna's soft breath could pull him back.
Time had swallowed everything.
And Jimmy—just slept.