---
The journey after the Sea of Chains felt quiet—too quiet. The storm had passed, the waves were calm, and the skies above shimmered with soft golden light. But peace didn't mean safety. Chirag stood at the front of the ship, holding the storm crystal Elira had given him. It pulsed gently in his palm, as if alive, as if waiting.
Siya leaned beside him. "Do you think she'll really help?"
"Elira kept her word," Chirag said. "I believe she will. But she's only one. There are more out there. We'll need all of them if we're going to stand a chance."
Kael joined them, adjusting the sails. "The compass points northeast now. Toward the Mountains of Mirrors."
Chirag frowned. "That's where time breaks, right?"
Kael nodded. "It's said the next Forgotten God—Vaelis the Healer—was cursed to live in shattered time. His palace appears only when the moment is right. A place where past, present, and future meet."
Siya's eyes darkened slightly. "If time is broken there, we'll have to be careful. We don't know what we'll see… or who."
---
Three days later, the ship reached the edge of the Mountains of Mirrors. They didn't rise like normal mountains. These shimmered like crystal towers, their surfaces reflecting not the world—but the memories of those who looked at them.
When Chirag stepped onto the mountain path, the mirrors showed him as a child—crying in the rain, abandoned by his family.
Kael saw himself holding a fallen comrade, eyes filled with guilt.
Siya saw her younger self, kneeling before her father, whispering, "Please… don't make me fight him."
None of them spoke. They just walked.
The deeper they went, the more time itself seemed to shift. The sun rose and set in seconds. Wind howled, then stopped. Trees aged and withered, then bloomed again.
And then, they saw it.
Floating above a valley of silver fog was a palace made of broken glass and golden vines. It wasn't there one moment—and the next, it was.
"The Palace of Moments," Kael whispered.
They climbed the final stretch. The palace doors opened on their own, silent and welcoming.
---
Inside the palace, time unraveled.
The halls stretched and twisted. Some paths looped back to the entrance. Others led to empty rooms filled with clocks. Every tick echoed through the air like a heartbeat.
At the center of the palace sat a man on a throne of hourglasses. His hair was white, though he looked young. One eye was gold, the other silver. He wore robes that shifted colors with each second.
Vaelis, the Healer of Broken Time.
He looked up slowly. "Ah. The Flame-Born, the Daughter of Shadows, and the Blade of Regret. I've seen you before—and I've yet to meet you."
Chirag stepped forward. "You know who we are?"
Vaelis nodded. "I know everyone who has ever stepped into time. I know your pain, your love, your rage. And I know why you've come."
"We need your help," Siya said. "The gods—"
"—plan to strike," Vaelis finished. "Yes. They always do. And always will. That is the nature of gods. They repeat their mistakes like echoes."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Then will you help us stop them?"
Vaelis stood and stepped forward. "Before I do, I must test you. But not with weapons. Not with fire or lightning."
He raised a hand.
"With time."
---
Suddenly, Chirag stood alone.
The palace had vanished.
He was in the Demon Realm—but it was different. Smaller. Younger.
He looked down and saw his younger self—a small boy, barefoot, being thrown into the streets by a cloaked figure. A woman.
His mother.
"Go. You'll never be anything but a burden."
The door slammed.
Chirag's hands shook.
He turned—and saw himself again. Years later. Bleeding in the forest, hungry, alone, until a demon found him—Kael. He remembered that day. The first time someone didn't look at him like garbage.
"You survived," a voice whispered.
Vaelis stood beside him.
"You could have given up. But you didn't. Why?"
Chirag swallowed. "Because I had to. I couldn't die… not before proving them wrong."
"And what about now?" Vaelis asked. "You're not weak anymore. You have power. So why do you keep fighting?"
Chirag didn't hesitate. "Because now, I'm fighting for someone else."
---
Siya stood alone in her own vision.
She was back in the demon palace, younger, training with blades. Her father, the Demon King, stood watching. Cold. Distant.
"You will be the one to kill him," he said. "The human. He is dangerous."
Siya remembered how her heart broke that day. She had already met Chirag. Already begun to love him.
She turned—and saw another memory. Her and Chirag, laughing together near a waterfall, long before war began.
"You chose love over loyalty," Vaelis said beside her. "Do you regret it?"
"No," Siya said. "I never did. I never will."
"Even if it costs everything?"
Siya nodded. "Even then."
---
Kael's vision was blood and fire.
He stood in the battlefield where his squad was lost. He saw their faces again. Heard their screams. He had led them, and they had trusted him.
"I failed them," he muttered.
"No," Vaelis said. "You carried them. And now, you carry this war."
Kael looked up. "So are you going to help us… or not?"
Vaelis smiled. "I already am."
---
They all woke together, back in the throne room.
Vaelis stood before them, holding a small glass orb filled with glowing sand.
"This is the Heart of Time. It slows moments, freezes seconds. In battle, it can bend the flow of time to your will—but only once. Use it wisely."
He handed it to Chirag.
"And remember this," Vaelis said. "Time does not serve anyone. It only watches. But love… love can defy even time."
Chirag bowed. "Thank you."
Vaelis turned away, fading into the shadows.
The palace cracked.
Time began to flow properly again, and the mirrors outside returned to silence.
---
Back on the ship, Chirag held the Heart of Time in one hand, and the Storm Crystal in the other. Two gods had joined their side. Two more waited.
But the gods were watching now.
And they were preparing to strike first.
---