Elijah
We left the cathedral before nightfall.
Eliza said she couldn't stand the way people looked at us now — like relics, or warnings.
We planned to escape to the Eastern Continent, a place where, hopefully, the men wouldn't follow us.
There were whispers of ships bound for it in Aaron's Reach.
We took the forest roads, traveling for two days — avoiding fires, villages, and questions.
Everything was fine until the third day, when the wind changed direction, carrying with it the scent of smoke… and footsteps.
There were four men, each cloaked in black. From the look of them, they had been sent to capture us.
"Nico," said their leader. "Come with us, and we'll spare your friends."
Nico was about to step forward when Eliza grabbed his arm, leaned close, and whispered something.
Then, without hesitation, she loosed four arrows.
Chaos.
She ran. I didn't. I drew my sword.
It wasn't until Nico shouted, "Run!" that I blinked, hesitated—then shook my head.
"No," I said. "We need to end this."
The trees became shadows. The ground, a blur. Arrows flew. Steel flashed.
Eliza struck first— a arrow found its mark. Another missed.
A blade came from the side. She turned too late.
She fell without a sound.
Nico roared. He drove his dagger into one man's stomach — but not before a sword slid between his ribs. He staggered, vomiting blood , and yet still he tried to rise.
I screamed and charged, slashing at the nearest attacker. . My blade bit his shoulder — but a sharp blow to my side sent me flying .
I stood up slowly, using my sword as a support. Blood flowed from the side of my mouth, warm and metallic, a bitter reminder that I was still alive. Each breath burned in my chest, and the world around me tilted slightly, but I forced myself upright and kept fighting.
I fought for Eliza. For Nico.
One last swing — I caught the leader's arm. He snarled. Then his boot slammed into my chest, knocking me to the ground.
The stars swam. My breath wouldn't come.
The leader stood over me, blood on his face — not his own.
You should've run.
I looked past him — to Eliza, to Nico, still on the forest floor.
I'm glad I didn't.
The last thing I saw was the sky through the trees.
Then his blade came down.
Nico
I woke up in an empty space, my body weightless, surrounded by nothing but silence and darkness. I had no idea where I was.
"Hello, Nico," said a voice — calm, powerful — echoing from everywhere in the void.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
"I am Ren, the God of Time," said a cloaked figure, materializing from thin air, as if the shadows themselves had shaped him.
Am I dead, I asked the cloaked figure.
Yes you are but not for long.
We have much to discuss.
And with that single sentence, everything came rushing back—not just memories, but lives.
The first life I lived, long ago, when I ended the Dark God Morthain .
But victory came at a cost.
After the final battle, the Dark God's followers—the Veilborn—sought vengeance. They hunted me across the world and found me among the ruins where it all ended. I died that day, believing the Dark God's reign had died with me.
But peace is fragile.
Ren told me the truth: the Dark God's soul hadn't been destroyed—only fragmented. Sealed away in ancient elemental temples hidden across the world: Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. Each fragment holds immense power. And now, centuries later, I've been reborn—not by fate, but by design.
I must find each temple, confront the guardian bound to its corrupted fragment, and decide the fate of that power. I can destroy it, sealing the darkness away forever—or I can absorb it, gaining unimaginable strength… and risk becoming what I once killed. After hearing all this my hand instinctively reached for the pendant around my neck—the amulet I always wore.
"That amulet belonged to your mother," he said softly. "She knew your destiny long before you did. She left you her artifact before she died — hoping it would help you in your quest."
Ren stepped forward, his cloak shifting like smoke, and held out his hand. In his palm rested a small, obsidian vessel shaped like a lotus in bloom. Runes pulsed faintly along its petals, glowing with a rhythm like a heartbeat.
"This is the Vessel of Nullion," he said. "Forged from the first moment time began. It's the only artifact capable of holding all four fragments of the Dark God's soul."
I reached out and took it. The vessel was cold—colder than death—but I felt something stir in its center, as though it recognized me.
"You must gather each fragment and seal it inside," Ren continued. "Only then can I unmake them—remove the Dark God's presence from existence itself."
"The power will tempt you. With every fragment, it will whisper. It will offer. You must remember who you are, Nico."
I nodded, clutching the vessel tighter. "Why me? Why now?"
"Because you were the only one who ever defeated him. And because your soul remembers." He extended a hand, and the space behind him shimmered like a veil being drawn open.I've put gold and basic equipment in the amulet.
"I'm sending you back—fifteen minutes before your death. That's all I can give. Change your fate. Use that time to escape the Veilborn and begin your journey."
The darkness around us began to twist, pulling me into a spiral of light and sound. Ren's voice echoed as everything faded:
"The past cannot be undone.
"The past cannot be undone.But the future is still unwritten.
Run, Nico.Run, and rewrite the end.
Go quickly. The first temple is located in the Ash Mountains."
Suddenly, I was back.
But not alone.
The wind rustled through tall trees, carrying the scent of damp earth and pine. Golden light filtered through the canopy above as the sound of birds echoed in the distance. I was walking—no, we were walking—along a narrow forest path, flanked by my closest friends.
They didn't seem to notice something was different but I did.
Because in my hand… the Vessel of Nullion pulsed faintly, its rune-lines glowing just beneath the surface. Alive with power.
Time hadn't given me a second chance.
Ren had.
And now, I had fifteen minutes to rewrite everything.