When Julius stepped back through the temporal gate, the world welcomed him with a deep stillness. Pendralune—once a vibrant and chaotic town filled with laughter, clanging tools, and buzzing guild chatter—was silent.
Not dead.
Just... suspended.
Rays of sunlight moved slower than they should. Birds hung mid-flight. The breeze had become a whisper on repeat.
Julius clutched his hand, the Chronos Sigil glowing faintly. Solas and Bloom followed behind, their steps echoing as if on hollow stone.
"We've moved ahead of time," Solas whispered. "But the town didn't."
No one in the Twilight Zone guild hall had moved since they left.
Lyra stood pouring tea—mid-pour, frozen. Rael sat halfway through a yawn.
Then the Clock of Glory in Julius's bag ticked once.
Everyone blinked.
Lyra stumbled forward, tea spilling. "What the hell just happened?!"
Rael fell out of his chair. "Wait… weren't you gone for five seconds?!"
Julius looked around. "We were gone for five weeks."
The Chronos Sigil pulsed again.
Kairon placed a hand on Julius's shoulder. "The fabric of this world is weakening. Time leaks are beginning to show. You'll need to anchor this town."
"What does that mean?" Julius asked.
"Twilight Zone must become more than a guild," Kairon said solemnly. "It must become a Chrono Beacon—a nexus of time stability."
To do that, the guild would need power. More quests. More members. And protection against the ripple effects of the Hollow's near-awakening.
Solas added, "The Void left seeds. We'll need to hunt them before they bloom into something worse."
Twilight Zone Guild – Members: 6
Julius (A-Rank Mage, Silver Guild Master)
Lyra (C-Rank Mage, Ice-Make Magic)
Rael (C-Rank Mage, Lightning Magic)
Rin Ayana (C-Rank Mage, Whispering Blade Style – Memory Awakening)
Solas (B-Rank Mage?, Unknown Magic – Seal Fragment Holder)
Bloom (C-Rank Mage, Assassin-Herbalist, Crimson Veil Defector)
F Rank Quests Completed: 70/1000E Rank Quests Completed: 10/10000D Rank Quests Completed: 15/1000C Rank Quests Completed: 16/1000B Rank Quests Completed: 4/10000A Rank Quests Completed: 1/10000
Guild Status: Silver Rank
Next Chapter Preview: The Seeds of Silence
As Julius begins investigating the lingering effects of the Hollow's presence, a new enemy emerges—one who plants time-fracture seeds in unsuspecting towns, creating echoes that can rewrite history.