🌒 Chapter 60
"When the Timeborn returns, the moon shall weep and shadows will blink."—Ancient Seeker Prophecy, sealed by the Order of Vaelyn
🌀 Aeren's Return – But Not the Same
A sudden tear in space appeared behind Sinjai Academy's forest training dome. Students screamed as time warped briefly—birds froze mid-air, the sun dimmed, and water stopped flowing.
From that temporal fissure, Aeren stepped out.
His uniform was torn. His eyes no longer held the same confusion—they were calm… too calm.
On his right hand, the Mark of the Timeborn glowed faintly.
And behind him, a shadow shaped like a gear slowly faded into mist.
😨 Reactions at the Academy
Everyone froze. Anshi saw him and rushed forward.
"Aeren! Are you okay?! Where were you?!"
He blinked, then gave a weak smile. "I think… I met myself."
Vei and the three Diamond-ranked teachers appeared behind them, shocked by the symbol on his hand.
Master Kaiven's voice trembled:
"That mark… hasn't appeared in 10,000 years. He carries the Eye of Clocks."
Another teacher whispered:
"The legends were true. A Timeborn has awakened."
🕰️ The Eye in the Sky
Suddenly, a second moon appeared faintly behind the clouds—darker, bleeding shadows.
Only a few Seekers could see it. And all of them felt a pulse in their chests.
The moon had a slit… an eye.
The Eye That Watches All.
In a sealed dungeon below Sinjai, alarms started going off—a seal had cracked.
🧠 Aeren's New Abilities (Still Unstable)
After his return, Aeren began noticing strange changes:
He could read surface thoughts unconsciously.
He could sense events before they happened, just seconds early.
In battle, his mind mapped opponent weaknesses in real-time.
He saw flashes of other timelines—ones where he died, won, or became something monstrous.
But worst of all—he couldn't turn it off.
His dreams became layered with visions—some of him, some of other versions of him.
He began to ask:"Which version of me am I?"
🕳️ The Abyssal Order Moves
Far away, in the underground vaults of the Blackthorn Citadel, a cloaked figure knelt before a massive throne carved from the bones of time monsters.
"The Timeborn has returned, My Lord."
A skeletal hand tapped the throne.
"Send the Null-Bearers. And awaken Project Rift-Eater."
The Abyssal Order had waited millennia. And now… they would hunt the boy whose blood could rewind fate itself.
⚠️ The Final Trial: Dungeon Tournament Still Continues
Despite everything, the Academy proceeded with the last challenge before the year's ranking ceremony: the "Death Labyrinth".
It was an artificial dungeon, but...
Unknown to the teachers, a real monster had broken into it during the time rift.
A Level 9 monster known as "Throgg the Dream-Devourer" had entered the game.
And Aeren… was being guided toward him.
Not by accident.
But by the voice of the man on the cliff, echoing again:
"Your time has begun. Rewrite the verse, or be devoured by it."
✨ End of Chapter 60