⚙️ Chapter 67 –
"Some dungeons test strength. This one tests the soul."
🌫️ Scene 1: The Assignment
Just two days after the Crimson Stage incident, a sudden notice shook the academy.
Special Exploration AssignmentLocation: Sector C – Mind Prison Dungeon (Classified, 5-star danger zone)Participants: Top 20 from First Year RankingsObjective: Secure the Lost Seeker's Core FragmentNote: Survivability test. Mental deviation risk 87%.
Anshi protested to the instructors.
"You're sending first-years into Mind Prison?! That's a Tier-5 psychological breach zone!"
Instructor Zephyra replied coldly:
"They must face their inner selves sooner or later. Especially… him."
🚨 Scene 2: The Descent into Madness
Aeren stood at the massive obsidian gate of the dungeon, his heart strangely calm.
Each student had to enter alone—this dungeon mirrored one's greatest fears and locked them inside until they passed the mental trial.
Before entering, Anshi grabbed Aeren's wrist.
"Don't listen to anything in there. Not even me, if you hear me. That place messes with your head."
"I'll be back," he smiled faintly. "...To annoy you again."
Then he stepped in.
Darkness swallowed him.
🧠 Scene 3: Inside the Mind Prison
Aeren opened his eyes and found himself standing… in his old house.
The same house where his parents died.
The room was quiet… too quiet.
Until he saw them—his mother and father, smiling, sitting at the dinner table.
"Come join us, Aeren. We've missed you."
He took a step forward.
Then another.
Then—They began melting.Skin peeling, eyes darkening, mouths widening.
"YOU LET US DIE."
"YOU WERE BORN TO BE ALONE."
"YOU ARE A CURSE."
He collapsed, clutching his head.
Suddenly, the room cracked—like glass breaking.
A girl with white hair, tattoos glowing like sacred glyphs, appeared.
She held a clock-shaped staff.
"He's not ready for this prison yet."
She struck the floor.
Time reversed.
🧬 Scene 4: The White-Marked Girl
Aeren woke up again—in a different mental space, surrounded by fog and floating mirrors.
The girl stood before him.
Her eyes were glowing silver.
"I'm Auralis. Code name: The Clock's Heir. You don't know me yet, but you will."
"Where am I?"
"Inside the Mind Prison, but I've hijacked your thread. You're welcome."
"Why?"
"Because they're going to come for you, Aeren. All of them. The monsters, the Shadow Court, the Celestials, the Seekers' Union, and even the gods above the Crosnic Verse."
"...Why me?"
She touched his chest where the mysterious mark burned faintly.
"Because you're not supposed to exist."
Suddenly, the mirrors shattered again—revealing a giant shadow creature in chains, growling.
"He's coming through."
"Who?"
"The one who sleeps behind Time."
Before he could react, Auralis pushed him through a portal.
🪨 Scene 5: Back in Reality
Outside the dungeon, everyone thought Aeren had failed.
He had been inside for 3 hours longer than anyone else.
The teachers were ready to mark him as lost when…
BOOM—
The dungeon door exploded open.
Aeren stumbled out, bleeding from his eyes but standing tall.
On his back?
A ghostly, ancient clock sigil glowing through his shirt.
The seekers watching gasped.
Instructor Zephyra narrowed her eyes.
"So… he is the next one. The boy with the mind to bend Chronos."
And far, far away… the Shadow Court stirred.
"The Clock's Heir has found the Time Scar."
🌀 End of Chapter 67