Chapter Four: Shattered City

A portal resembling the one used by the cloaked man to vanish, shimmered just ahead of us, flickering between moments like a broken mirror.

"It leads into the next Trial zone most likely where that man left to. We have to follow him." Lysia said coolly observing the broken reflection of the portal.

"The inner zone seems even more unstable then the this one..." Fritz studied the portal, the glint in his black eyes suggesting that he saw what was on the other side.

"Let's take care of this echo and move on to eliminating the singularity already." Freddy whined with a lazy grin.

After exchanging a look of approval, we crossed through the portal and the world around me warped taking away my sense of direction before transforming into a flat platform of dirt with rows of empty spectator seats circling us.

Littered on the ground were scraps of discarded armour and weapons, the whole thing reminding me of an arena pit.

A fog settled around as time fragments crackled in the air. Statutes flickering between ruined and pristine states, rupture coming and going out of existence throughout the space around us.

Past and present overlapped like waves crashing over one another.

I could now tell just how unstable reality was here.

Emerging from the mist, the cloaked man from before moved swiftly, almost as if slipping between seconds as he came to a stop a distance from us.

I clutched my fist feeling the soulbrand flare, blazing with determination as it reinforced my body. "I don't plan on running from anything anymore!" I glared at him. His glaze were focused on me although his expression remained neutral as our sliver eyes connected I could see a hint of regret in them.

From within the mist behind the man emerged numerous ghost like entities dressed in loose white robes with decaying animal skulls on their heads as they swam in the air with spinning curved black scythes as they murmured to themselves, uttering curses to those responsible for their demise.

Clank!

One of the phantom's swept across the arena, it's scythe clashing with Vivi's iron gauntlet.

Defending with one arm she used her other arm to attack, punching it's animal skull and crushing it to pieces.

The phantom let out an painful shriek before fading into nothingness.

Freddy dashed from where he stood, towards an approaching horde of phantom with his twin daggers in hand but then the space in front of him to tore open like an hungry beast's mouth. Swallowing him whole before spitting him out of another black crack near the end of the pit's walls with a group of phantoms swirling around him.

"Damnit! Fritz go back up Freddy" Vivi ordered while as she crushed the skulls of two phantoms with her massive gauntlets grip, not pausing as she moved to attack the nearest phantom.

The phantoms' scythes bouncing off her armour as she crushed one after another with her iron fists. Vivi was the party's tank alright.

"I was already planning to..." Fritz muttered under his breathe as he moved to where Freddy was currently being circled by the phantoms, like vultures circling an corpse. "....!"

The moment Fritz stepped on an mysterious black orb, his body flickered between the present and past, blocked temporary in a timeloop, giving the phantoms their chance to dive in with their scythes and...!

[Purify.]

An blinding light envelopes all the phantoms attacking Fritz causing them to let out shrieks just as the light consumed them all, leaving no trace behind.

A bolt of light flashed through the arena, piercing the pseudo bodies of the phantoms circling Freddy before coming back to Lysia's side revealing her pure white spear now burning a hot white.

Lysia stood infront of me with the same faint white glow surrounding her body.

Honestly she looked like some divine figure from myth, gracing her presence on the battlefield. "He seems to have no intention of joining the fight." Lysia said as she nudged her spear to where the cloaked man stood, surrounded by fog and swirling phantoms.

"Mayi you seem eager to settle a score with that echo." Lysia said with a gentle smile that seemed to shine. Damn hero rizz! "Get close to deliver a strike while we will handle the horde of abominations."

"At your orders, leader." I replied with an grin slipping onto my face as I began calculating the best way to bypass the wave of animal skull faced phantoms. "Fritz, could you create an opening with you the light ray from before?"

Fritz who had managed to break free from the loop, looked at me confused. "Light gun..? Do you mean my gauntlet's Aether Ray: pure gem?" He asked as a swirling dark portal materialized besides him, from within it exits the metal gauntlet from before.

"Yeah, just one shot is enough." With an understanding nod, Fritz wore the gauntlet, stretching out his hand towards the man that showed no signs of moving from where he stood.

1.

2..

3...!

[Crimson Step]

The moment the gem in Fritz's gauntlet shimmered I activated my first plundered skill. Drawing the most from of the 0,3% of it's power, I dashed across the path created by Fritz lazer beam.

Leaving a trail of a crimson afterimage behind me as I almost seemed to have teleported infront of the cloaked man, his sliver eyes as sharp as ever.

"I came to get the truth. Starting with who are you?" I demanded my blade pressed against his neck.

Surprisingly the cloaked man responded unbothered by the sword to his neck. "I am what you left behind, the choice you never made, the past you tried to fix." As he slowly raised his hand, time rippled around us, slowing everything down.

Suddenly, the echoes of past battles flickered in the air—pain, loss, hope. Swirling like a storm around us.

The man smiled sadly. "To face me is to face all your broken timelines. Are you ready?"

"....?"

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