Chương 32: Rewind

Eric woke up back at the time point he was before starting the loop. He gasped for air and clutched his chest. No injuries, blood, or other issues. Still, his mind struggled to process the events. I died in Purgatory… again. What happened after that? Where does my body go? A glance at Ash revealed it remained on the floor in its old position.

"Do you remember anything? We… I died earlier in the battle," Eric said, his voice trembling a bit. The raven tilted its head to the side and let out a screech. It walked over to Eric's legs and scratched him with its claws.

"It's me, relax. I'm real. No need to test stuff. So you don't know what I'm talking about?" An affirming nod followed from the raven. Ash doubted him, based on its observations and tests of Eric. Ash seemed unconvinced. It scratched Eric's leg, pecked lightly at his sleeve, then leaned in until its eyes were only inches from his own, as though searching for some invisible change. Eric grabbed his companion and placed it on the ground with a grunt.

"Enough! I'll tell you what happened so that neither I nor you die again. That lever over there, do you see it?" Ash jumped on the diamond in the lever responsible for triggering the time loop.

"When I pull it down and accept the quest, the System will transport us back before the Shattered kidnapped Time. We have to save him. There will be two guards, both holding a boy hostage. When they separate, I want you to attack the one that is near us. Understand?" The raven nodded.

"Good. Just in case, let's read the quest description again. I don't trust this place one bit." Activating the lever spawned the same ornamented system window with the glass mosaic at its base. Compared to the first time he read the message, Eric couldn't find anything different or alarming. Nothing had changed. He paused, replaying the plan in his mind before moving forward. Okay. Let's think this out. When the bridges spawn, I'll wait for the time point shield to fade.

Ash will fly over and attack the guard just before they see us, and then I will camouflage and ambush him. Hopefully, killing him on the spot will save time. As for his giant monster guardian, we'll figure him out as we go. Eric looked at his companion, hands on the diamond lever.

"You ready? Don't forget the plan." Eric accepted the quest once again. He felt confident. That lasted around two seconds before everyone appeared. He facepalmed himself hard and let another audible grunt. This place is irritating me. Big time. All the platforms linking the time points clicked into life. The bridges spawned again, connecting each corner of the room to the central tower pillar. To Eric's surprise, the types of his enemies were different.

He saw a gryphon rider circling above the black monster and a conjurer holding the boy captive with a spell. I guess we're done with planning for now. Is there any logic to this? The number of Shattered hasn't changed, but now I have a spellcaster and a gryphon rider. Where are the two guards from last time? Eric wasn't the only one confused. Ash looked from the battlefield to Eric with what could only be described as an accusing stare. Clearly, it was a little angry.

"It's not my fault! I didn't know this would happen," Eric said. Their minor squabble finished as the conjurer lifted the boy in the air.

"Do not take him! Your actions will have dire repercussions for all the realms!" The same phrase from the guardian! Then maybe…

"Dad! Don't let them hurt me!" Right in front of Eric and Ash, the little child repeated the same words as before. Only the Shattered were different.

"He is mine! The life of Time in my hands." As he spoke the conjurer strengthened the spell suspending the child in the air.

"You can't stop the inevitable. Rider, dispose of the junk. We're heading out soon." The command of the Shattered conjurer was loud and clear. He walked toward Eric's time point. The yellow film hiding them from the enemy flickered again. Steady. The guardian attacked first. Two massive tentacles lashed out in opposite directions, one toward the conjurer, and the other toward the gryphon circling overhead. The gryphon rider got trapped, and the guardian pulled him in.

They crashed onto the center column with dust erupting in the air like a smoke screen. Eric's time point blinked rapidly. It was almost time to enter the fray. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Steady! The reaper disciple summoned his dagger and moved closer to the yellow barrier. Seconds after that, the remaining thrashing tentacle finally found the conjurer. It gripped by the waist and lifted him in the air.

He stopped channeling the spell that held the boy. Time fell over the bridge, but the boy caught the railing, hanging over the white light. A glowing sword emerged in the conjurer's hands and he cut the tentacle. He opened a portal before jumping into it. Oh, come on! Ash moved closer to Eric. It sensed that the time point was running out and prepared itself. Spreading its wings, the raven timed the exact moment the film broke down, revealing Eric. It shot out and flew over to the guardian and the gryphon rider.

The furious flapping of its wings cleared some of the debris. White liquid was seeping from the monster, its wounds gaping wide from the gryphon's bite. He's falling!

"Dad! Help me!" The boy screamed, with eyes full of tears. He tried to pull himself up but slipped and fell. In his descent, a green spectral hand caught and returned him to the bridge.

"Don't worry, I've got you," said Eric. He was finally close enough to the child to see him. The crown on his head was oversized and barely stayed on top. His white robe had blue signs on it, and the watch on his necklace wasn't moving. The boy escaped from Eric and ran over to his guardian. He tried to stop it, but everything around him slowed down.

"Hey where are you…" Eric's mind registered two things. The first was that his body was moving slower than before. Second, his cognitive abilities were still sharp. The child dashed way faster than expected and reached his father almost immediately. Moments later, Eric's actions played out, but everything was sped up. A fast-forward state replaced his slowed state. Arms and legs moved on their own, catching up with the signals from his mind that were sent while slowed down.

He stumbled several steps forward before he could even think to stop. What did he do? Ash was trying to get the gryphon's attention away from Time's father and secure a chance for him to recover. It circled the rider and fired shots of energy. While they weren't strong enough to kill, the attacks were successfully distracting the rider. A green portal opened from the ground, and the conjurer landed nearby. He glanced over to the guardian and cleaned his sword of the white tentacle blood.

"I will flay you… and then your precious son. That will please the Infernal General!

"No! Get off him!" The boy crashed into the conjurer and dragged him by the clothes. That only angered the Shattered magician, and he lashed out at the child, opening a wound on its hand. Bright, transparent liquid splashed on the blue parts of its robe. Think, Graham! Panic and fear were taking over Eric's mind, but he forced the emotions back. Despite his previous battles, seeing the child and its father in danger compelled him to take it to heart.

Aion threw himself in danger without thinking, desperate to save the only family he had left. Eric's chest tightened. Is that how I looked when Grim brought me into this place? Eric teleported forward and closed the distance. He drove his dagger into the gryphon's hind leg. The beast shrieked and kicked wildly, its powerful tail smashed into the conjurer and send him sprawling. One flap of its giant wings later, and both the rider and Eric were now in the air.

The reaper disciple extended a phantom hand, grabbing the rider and throwing him to the side. He fell down, hit the edge of the bridge and spun into the white abyss. One down. Below, the conjurer screamed from the hit. The gryphon's tail had caught him across the body. Grimacing, he planted his sword against the stone and forced himself back to his feet. Time's father was sitting in a pool of his own white blood, his back leaned against the central pillar, while his child was holding him tight.

He looked up at the conjurer.

"Take me, but leave him. Do whatever you want," Time's father barely whispered.

"I'm afraid… that will not happen. Close your eyes, Archeon. I'll be brief." Ash jumped into the conjurer and attacked him. It focused on his wounds, trying to buy more time for Eric to interfere. Its senses screamed to get away just before impact. The reaper disciple directed the gryphon down into the group. After that, he stabbed the flying beast and jumped into the air. He teleported to the ground.

Eric grabbed Time from his father and teleported again along the nearest bridge to safety, moments before the dying gryphon came crashing down.

"Father! No!" the boy screamed moments before seeing his parent for the last time. The wounded gryphon smashed into the pillar and into the group. Rocks flew to the side, and a thunderous crack echoed in the room. Dust rose and hid the scene from the boy's eyes, shielding his mind from the images that he could carry till his own end. Eric threw himself in front of Aion, cutting aside the largest chunks of falling stone while deflecting the smaller fragments. Was that it? Did we make it?

"Why did you take me? I was going to help!" Time screamed at Eric.

"You were about to get killed, that's why. I saved you." The core beam holding the bridge shook violently. Parts of it fell down, and it cracked. No, no, no! This can't be. I survived the encounter, and the boy is alive. Why is it resetting? All four time points at the edges of the room flashed with white light. The central pillar collapsed, and the bridges began disappearing piece by piece, like falling dominoes. Ash shot through the air and moved past Eric.

It landed at a time point at the end of the crumbling bridge they were on.

"Move!" Eric yelled to the little boy. Both of them turned around and ran to safety. In that moment, each plummeting piece was coming closer and closer to them. Just before the ground underneath them crumbled, Eric picked up Time and jumped. He teleported onto the time point just as the bridge vanished beneath them. Looking back, the room reverted to its pre-quest state, yet nothing remained frozen. All the chains, platforms, and mechanisms worked.

A small notification appeared in Eric's vision, but he was too tired to check it now. Time was crying and yelling at him.

"You killed my father!" The child tried to hit him, but Ash stood in its way and spread its wings. A quick caw stopped it.

"I accepted a quest to save you." Eric hesitated.

"I couldn't save both of you."

"Quest? Father used his last remaining powers to force us into a time loop then. There's one big problem with that." Time looked at Eric with eyes full of tears.

"What is it?"

"Nobody can protect me from Lureon now."