Kang Min-jae's pulse thundered, a frantic echo in the suffocating silence left by the Shadow Archives. The vision of his mother—her sorrowful eyes, cloaked in the Veiled Monarch's shadow, whispering, *"It was the only way"*—clawed at his heart, a wound that bled grief and betrayal. The air was thick with the fading scent of ink and despair, the Archives' glowing tomes now dim, their whispers reduced to a mournful hum. His tattered school uniform clung to his sweat-soaked skin, the gash on his leg pulsing with a dull ache despite Ji-yeon's trembling light. Her pale hair flickered like a dying star, her voice a fragile thread: "Min-jae… you're not alone, okay?"
He wasn't sure he believed her. Soo-jin's venomous words—Eun-ha's ties to the Monarch—gnawed at his trust, and Eun-ha's silver eyes, sharp as shattered glass, offered no solace. She stood ahead, her black robe flowing like a river of night, her voice a low, velvet blade: "The rift's hunger grows. The Fractured Hourglass awaits. Conquer its trials, or Shadows will bind you to its lies forever."
Tae-ho's scarred knuckles sparked, his amber eyes blazing with defiance. "Enough with the cryptic nonsense, Arbiter. What's the catch?" His bravado faltered, a flicker of dread betraying his usual fire. Min-jae clutched the mist-bound tome, its cold pulse syncing with the Shadow Spark within him—now sharper, hungrier as a Shadow Weaver. The rift's violet maw churned ahead, a storm of chaos that promised answers and peril. His mother's betrayal, Eun-ha's secrets, the Monarch's shadow—they were a web tightening around him. But Ji-yeon's trembling hand and Tae-ho's grudging presence were anchors in the dark. "We move forward," Min-jae said, his voice steadier than his heart. They stepped into the rift, and reality shattered.
---
The world unraveled like a torn scroll. Min-jae's senses spun—blinding violet light, a scream that wasn't his, then a silence so deep it crushed his chest. He landed on a jagged platform of obsidian and glass, its surface glinting with frozen moments, like tears trapped in time. The Fractured Hourglass loomed—a colossal ruin suspended in a starless void, its shattered shards orbiting like comets, each pulsing with fractured memories. The air was sharp, laced with iron and regret, its metallic tang stinging his tongue. A low hum vibrated through his bones, as if the Hourglass wept for the souls it devoured. Above, violet stars flickered erratically, glitching in sync with the rift; below, shadows coiled into faces—screaming, pleading, then dissolving into the abyss.
Ji-yeon's light flickered, her eyes wide with terror. "It's… breathing," she whispered, her glowing hands trembling as they cast faint beams across the platform. Tae-ho's flames roared, casting shadows that twisted with unnatural life, their edges clawing at the air. "Yeah, and it's got a grudge," he growled, his voice tight with unease. Eun-ha's silver light steadied, but her words were a blade: "The Hourglass is Shadows' crucible. It fractures time, replays your deepest wounds. Shatter its core, or loop in your failures for eternity."
Min-jae's heart lurched. *Failures?* The truck's roar echoed unbidden, his mother's face flashing in his mind. Before he could speak, a blue hologram flared, its runic edges glitching with static, as if the System itself strained under the rift's chaos.
---
**Oath of Judgment**
[Summoned: Kang Min-jae]
[Rank: 2]
[Role: Shadow Weaver]
[Attributes: Strength 6, Agility 8, Intelligence 10, Shadow Affinity 18]
[Authority: Shadow Veil (Intermediate), Temporal Weave (New)]
[Trial: Shatter the Fractured Hourglass's Core. Limit: 2 hours.]
[Choice: Wilt thou defy thy past, or let it bind thee?]
---
*Temporal Weave?* The words seared into Min-jae's mind, the System's archaic tone a death knell. The Shadow Spark pulsed, hot and restless, whispering, *Weave… unravel…* Before he could process, the platform quaked, and a glowing shard yanked him into its embrace.
---
The alley materialized, the streetlamp's flicker casting jagged shadows. The truck barreled toward him, its headlights blinding, its roar deafening. Min-jae's legs froze, his scream trapped in his throat. Time slowed, and his mother appeared, her Monarch cloak glinting, her eyes glowing with sorrow. "You were chosen, Min-jae," she whispered, her voice breaking. "To save us all." The truck struck, pain erupting like a supernova—then the scene reset. He was back, the truck charging again, faster, crueler.
"No!" Min-jae roared, the Shadow Spark flaring. *Temporal Weave* surged, shadows twisting time's fabric. He dodged, the truck grazing his arm, tearing fabric and flesh. But a shadow Vanguard materialized from the shard, its obsidian spear dripping violet ichor, its crimson eyes burning with malice. Min-jae's shadow whip snapped, parrying the spear, but the loop reset, the Vanguard stronger, its strikes precise. The Hourglass's voice—sentient, venomous—whispered, *You cannot escape.*
Ji-yeon's scream pierced the void. She was trapped in a hospital room, machines beeping, shadows clawing at her light. "I let them die!" she sobbed, her light flickering as it burned her attackers, but the loop tightened, her strength waning. Tae-ho battled a burning house, his flames faltering against a shadow figure—his sister, her face twisted in pain. "I failed you!" he bellowed, his fire dimming, his eyes haunted.
Eun-ha stood untouched, her silver light a beacon in the chaos. "Break the shards," she urged, her voice cutting through the din. "Face your truths, or Shadows will feast." Her gaze lingered on Min-jae, heavy with unspoken grief—or guilt. A flicker of a Monarch's mark glinted in her eyes, gone before he could be sure.
Min-jae's resolve ignited, a fire kindled by loss and defiance. He focused, *Temporal Weave* pulsing like a second heartbeat. The shadow Vanguard lunged, but he wove a shadow blade, its edge shimmering with time's fragments, sharp enough to cut reality. He slashed, the blade searing the Vanguard's chest, the shard cracking like glass. The loop shattered, time snapping back to the platform.
Ji-yeon's light surged, a radiant nova that incinerated her shadows, but she collapsed, gasping, her face streaked with tears. Tae-ho's flames roared, shattering his shard, but his fists trembled, his voice low: "My sister… Shadows took her. I saw the Monarch's mark." His amber eyes met Min-jae's, raw with pain—and trust. "We're in this, kid."
The platform reformed, a glass staircase spiraling toward the Hourglass's core, its violet pulse throbbing like a dying heart. But a new shard materialized—a sentient entity, humanoid but faceless, its form rippling with Min-jae's fears. Its voice was his mother's, distorted: "You failed me, Min-jae. You're nothing." It lunged, claws dripping time-warped ichor, each strike a memory—his mother's smile, her tears, the Monarch's crown.
Min-jae's heart splintered, tears burning his eyes, but he summoned a shadow veil, its lattice shimmering against the entity's assault. Ji-yeon's light flared, unstable but shielding him, her voice breaking: "You're not alone!" Tae-ho's fireballs exploded, but the entity absorbed them, growing larger, its form shifting to Tae-ho's sister, then Ji-yeon's lost patients, mocking their pain.
Eun-ha's silver light hesitated, then surged, weakening the entity. "End it, Weaver," she whispered, her voice raw, almost pleading. Min-jae's tears fell, but he channeled *Temporal Weave*, crafting a spear of shadow and time, its tip blazing with his mother's love, not her betrayal. "I'll find the truth," he vowed, hurling it. The entity screamed, the shard shattering, and the Hourglass quaked, its core exposed—a pulsating orb of violet and black, radiating malice.
The staircase pulsed, beckoning, but Tae-ho grabbed Min-jae's arm, his voice a harsh whisper: "I lied, kid. I saw the Monarch's agent in my loop—it was me, before Shadows burned my family. I was one of them." His eyes burned with shame, but he tightened his grip. "I'm with you now. Don't let me fall."
Min-jae's breath caught, shock and trust warring within him. Ji-yeon's smile was fragile, her light steadying as she nodded. Eun-ha's silence was a storm, her silver eyes hiding a Monarch's mark—or was it a trick of the light? A vision flashed—a cloaked figure, the Monarch's echo, standing at the core, its voice a hiss: "The Order was born from sacrifice, Weaver. Your mother paid the price."
The Hourglass trembled, shards raining down, and the core's pulse quickened, threatening to collapse reality. Min-jae's resolve hardened. His mother's sacrifice, Tae-ho's betrayal, Eun-ha's secrets—they were pieces of a puzzle Shadows didn't want solved. He'd shatter the core, protect Ji-yeon, and defy the Monarch, even if it meant unraveling time itself. The staircase loomed, and Shadows' lies tightened their grip.