⚙️ Chapter 69 –
"What if your greatest enemy… is yourself from a forgotten past?"
🌌 Scene 1: The Time Loop Begins
Inside the sealed Starfall Chamber, Aeren opened his eyes.
But he wasn't in the chamber anymore.
He stood in a war-torn village, where buildings floated in midair, distorted by time. Flames danced in reverse, ash returned to wood, and people screamed… backward.
"What… is this place?"
A child ran up to him.
"You're late, Commander Veleor! The Chrono Legion is falling apart!"
Aeren's heart skipped a beat.
"I'm not—wait—who?"
"Don't joke now, Sir! You told us to wait for you in this time!"
Suddenly, a soldier burst through the smoke—his eyes glowing violet, his voice trembling.
"The Red Moon has returned… and with it… he has awakened."
"Who?" Aeren asked.
The soldier dropped to one knee.
"Your darker self. The Crimson Paradox."
🩸 Scene 2: The Return of the Scarlet Moon
Meanwhile, in the real Crosnic Verse, the sky over the Sinjai region turned blood red.
A Scarlet Moon rose—once considered a myth, foretold to signal the Monster Rebirth Cycle.
All over the region, monsters that were once slain began reanimating, evolving—growing beyond their old ranks.
"A Class-7 Venom Wyvern just resurrected in Velmoor!""Level 9 Ghoul Lord has returned to Blackrind Mountains!""What the hell is going on?!"
Back at Sinjai, panic echoed through the walls. Seekers were being mobilized, and higher authorities were beginning to seal cities.
And within the shadows… the Dark Organization—NEXILIS—watched with satisfaction.
"The prophecy is in motion.""Now all we need… is the boy."
🧠 Scene 3: The Echo Duel
Back inside the Trial Realm, Aeren walked through halls built of broken time. Memories—not his—flashed by:
A version of himself slaughtering monsters with golden eyes.
Another, burning cities in madness.
Another, crying beside the corpse of a girl with hair like Anshi's.
Then, from the silence, a sword floated toward him—ancient, wrapped in living chains.
"Take me," a voice whispered. "Only you… only you can wield me again."
Aeren hesitated.
Suddenly, a man cloaked in black and gold armor dropped from the sky.
"You shouldn't be here yet, boy."
He looked just like Aeren—but older, with a scar crossing his left eye.
"I'm the part of you that never forgot. The King you abandoned."
They clashed—silver vs gold, instinct vs memory.
Blades collided in streaks of time. In one moment, Aeren was in the past. In another, flung into the future.
But something had changed.
For every move the echo made… Aeren read it. Predicted it. Countered.
Then… SNAP.
Aeren caught the echo's sword bare-handed, eyes glowing silver-white.
"You're not my future. You're my warning."
With a scream, Aeren unleashed a pulse of Chrono Force—a new variant of his power—and shattered the echo.
As it faded, the echo whispered:
"Then remember… the Crimson Paradox is still out there. And he won't be as forgiving."
🔺 Scene 4: The Mysterious Watcher
Back at Sinjai Academy, Anshi stood on the rooftop, eyes on the Scarlet Moon.
"Aeren… where are you?"
A voice behind her replied:
"He's where fate has always meant to hide him."
Anshi spun around—but no one was there.
Only a symbol glowed faintly in the air—a triangular eye surrounded by shattered gears.
And her heart dropped.
That symbol belonged to NEXILIS.
🧬 End of Chapter 69