Vault of Pactum, Avalon — A Secret Temple Beneath Castle Elysvarre, Renowned for Myths of Eternal Power and the Shadows of Its Dark Past
Midnight.
The air grew heavy. Sheena's breath was muffled by the emptiness that now enveloped the room.
The dark red glyph on the altar gleamed fiercely.
The face of the giant Osiris, carved into the wall, seemed to come alive, its empty eyes transforming into two slow-spinning dark vortices.
"Fitran Fate..."
"Author of the new fate? Or just a successor to mortal arrogance?"
Osiris's voice did not echo through the air. He spoke directly into their minds, piercing thoughts like magical thorns.
Sheena grasped Fitran's shoulder. "I am with you."
Fitran nodded without looking away. His gaze was fixed on the red symbol that began to form a circle of magic beneath their feet.
Yet, a sense of helplessness struggled to gnaw at his resolve. Amidst the looming threat of Osiris in his thoughts, various threads of discarded lives resurfaced, reminding him of all the sacrifices he had made to defy fate, including the loss of those he loved.
"I don't need a curse to determine the future of Elysvarre."
"I bring the light of my own will."
He took a deep breath and stretched out his left hand.
"Lux Testamentum."
"Legacy of Light."
From the palm of his hand, pure white light emerged. It did not burst forth violently but glimmered like a newly born dawn, splitting the darkness of the altar.
In an instant, Fitran felt power coursing through his body, as if every heartbeat radiated hope. His spirit rose to confront the darkness ahead. "It's not just words," he thought, "but every choice I make will shape the future."
A Circle of Light formed beneath Fitran, its radiance illuminating the surrounding darkness with an ethereal glow.
Symbols of proto-speech representing "free will," "choice," and "liberation" glowed along the circle, creating a profound mural of messages.
Osiris stood still. However, the altar's walls began to crack, as if influenced by the rising energy.
From the fissures, black smoke poured out. A magical wind blew, carrying whispers from a long-dead era.
"You defy fate. Thus, I call upon the harbinger of time."
Purple-black glyphs spiraled from the base of the altar.
"Chrono Nocturnum."
"The Night of the Timekeeper."
Suddenly, Sheena's lantern light extinguished completely.
The room transformed into emptiness, as if another world had swallowed the Vault of Pactum.
Ancient clocks emerged in the air. They did not tick forward. They ticked backward.
Time moved in reverse.
Osiris raised a hand that wasn't truly there—a projection of will.
From the darkness, fragments of time coalesced to form a black sword that faded and shifted like a shadow.
In a heavy voice, Osiris challenged, "Do not think you can alter the fate that has been etched." The darkness around him receded as if responding to the courage in his tone.
Fitran called forth Excalibur.
However, it was not the version of a mortal weapon.
Excalibur Lux Testamentum, the legendary radiant weapon symbolizing will and hope.
A sword of light representing his intention.
Light against time.
Osiris surged forward, his shadow preceding his body. He swung the sword of time—Blade of Regression.
As if time itself burned when each weapon clashed, light and darkness danced in a perilous certainty. The two warriors, reeling yet resolute, gazed at each other as if trying to see into one another's souls.
Fitran parried with Excalibur. Their impact produced no sound of clashing metal.
What clashed were the principles of the world: light against age.
These two entities, destined by fate, fought with a strong desire to free themselves from the chains that bound them, conveying the message that the struggle against destiny is part of the meaning of life. As magical energy gathered in the atmosphere, they felt that each attack was not merely physical, but also a battle between deep hope and despair.
"Your courage is an illusion. Every will ultimately bows to time."
"Light will not endure in eternal darkness."
As each clock's tick ceased, palpable tension filled the air, accompanied by a sense of impending change. His swift movements intertwined with the fabric of space and time, generating shockwaves that reverberated around them.
As each tick of the clock came to a halt, the air seemed filled with tension. His swift movements collided with space and time, creating shockwaves that reverberated around them.
"If time is my enemy, then I will write a new moment."
"Your clocks have no power over those who choose!"
Fitran swung Excalibur.
"Testamentum Radiantis!"
The ring of light bloomed like a giant rose. Its petals formed a Proto-Speech glyph that read:
"Choices shape meaning. Meaning shapes the future."
With each phrase, Fitran's spirit ignited, creating waves of light that fused with his courage. He prepared to face Osiris, vowing not to let destiny crush hope.
The light spread, piercing the darkness of Chrono Nocturnum.
Osiris hissed. The shadows of his body began to crack.
In that moment, Osiris felt the tendrils of darkness cling to his soul, attempting to fill the void left by the light. Conflict flickered in his eyes, a struggle between the desire for power and the fear of the emptiness it would bring.
However, he only chuckled softly.
"You fight with a light that has just been born, yet that light is fragile and easily fades."
"I am the will that has existed before history."
He raised his hand.
"Reversion Nexus."
A circle of time appeared behind him, creating a vortex of power that pulled in the light of the Testamentum Radiantis. It reversed the spell's time.
The light of Fitran began to fade, returning to the moment before he was thrown.
Behind Fitran, Sheena stood firm.
Though her body trembled, she lifted her hand.
With a voice that shook yet was full of courage, she shouted, "You are not alone, Fitran! We stand with you, even as time tries to defeat us!"
"Even if time reverses, even if the light dims... the will that has been chosen cannot be retracted!"
Sheena's aura shifted.
The heir of Elyndra's blood, now free from the golden curse, radiated pure will.
The light from Lux Testamentum began to push back against the pull of time. The Reversion Nexus spell faltered.
Echoing across the battlefield, Fitran's voice united with Sheena's cheers, creating a new force: "We are the light that will never fade!"
"Do you truly believe the wills of two united souls can defy the unyielding laws of the universe?"
"I am Osiris, the Guardian of the Final Gate. I am not merely a curse. I am the arbiter of meaning."
His silhouette shattered. From the cracks, the true form of Osiris emerged:
A horned man with hourglass eyes, skin gleaming like obsidian, and his left hand.
"If you challenge me... then accept the judgment of time."
He swung his left hand.
"Chrono Mandatum: Severan"
A horned man with hourglass eyes, skin gleaming like obsidian, and a hand made of chains of time.
"If you challenge me... then accept the judgment of time."
He swung his left hand.
"Chrono Mandatum: Severance of Present Will."
The wave of magic crashed into the room, not merely attacking the physical form of Fitran but assailing the very essence of his choices and the meaning behind them.
It sought to sever Fitran's will from the present, transforming him into a ghost with no influence on the world, trapped in the shadows of potentially flawed decisions.
A heavy sensation enveloped Fitran, akin to all his hopes and dreams slipping from his grasp. He trembled, not only from the overwhelming force acting upon him but also from a profound uncertainty, pressing on his soul with the echoing question: "Is this the end of everything I hold dear?"
Fitran bowed his head, his body shaking as the powers of time began to detach him from reality.
But he smiled.
"You can turn back time."
"But you cannot reverse the meaning."
As his smile broadened, a wave of confidence surged through him, strengthening his unsteady steps. With each heartbeat, Fitran felt the flame of courage ignite within him, urging the trapped souls inside to fight. "I will not allow myself to become a shadow."
With renewed purpose, he tightened his grip on Excalibur, feeling its power resonate with his own will.
"Lux Testamentum: Resolutio!"
Light erupted from his body.
It was not just ordinary light.
Resolutio is the manifestation of a will that has already been decided.
Magic that does not bow to the past, nor to the future. Only to the meaning chosen now.
A new circle of light took shape.
Glyph Proto-Speech: "The decision is absolute for those who swear."
As the light of Resolutio spread, it felt as if time itself had come to a halt. Osiris stood in awe, sensing an unexpected shift in power. "What is this...?" he thought, as Fitran's aura brimmed with unyielding determination, a realization struck in Osiris's mind: "He may possess more than just the will of a single individual." It dawned on him that Fitran might tap into a strength that transcended the capabilities of those who came before him.
The waves of Chrono Mandatum collapsed upon touching Resolutio.
Time cannot sever the will that has been fused into meaning.
Far behind the magic circle, hidden within a protective illusion, Kaseo Vallaricus observed.
His black cloak billowed in the wind, simultaneously reflecting the radiant white light and the encroaching shadows created by the clash of time itself.
"So this is the power they've built."
"A will capable of challenging the legacy of the ancient gods."
Kaseo narrowed his eyes.
"I don't need to act yet. Let them test each other and reinforce themselves. I only need to seize the final outcome and alter the flow of destiny."
The final clash of magic created ripples in the air.
The ancient clocks of Chrono Nocturnum began to shatter one by one.
Each broken clock unleashed sparks of time—a future yet unwritten, providing new opportunities for those daring enough to seize them.
In the midst of the chaos, Osiris's dark aura grew stronger, as if absorbing the light around him, creating a force that pressured Fitran, forcing him to struggle harder to avoid being trapped in the shadows.
Yet Osiris remained standing. Unyielding.
"You are strong, Fitran Fate."
"But your strength merely tests the gateway. The real trial has yet to begin."
In this tension, Fitran felt his heartbeat vibrating loudly, as if time slowed down; he knew that every decision, every wrong move could mean the end for all he loved and fought for.
The circle of time on the floor opened.
A time portal appeared.
Osiris pulled Fitran and Sheena inside.
"If you want to end this curse, meet me at the end of time."
Darkness.
Everything vanished.