⏱️ Part I: Relative Velocity
The Temporal Sentinel (Lv. 32) did not run; it leapt through micro-fractures in the spatial code. Its skeletal, winged body was surrounded by a bluish energy halo that warped the air, and its approach produced a dry, screeching noise, like corrupted audio code played too fast.
"Counter its acceleration!" Kael's shout had been more a logical command than encouragement.
Elara was already moving. The inability to use Holy damage didn't stop her. She knew she couldn't engage Cronos, but a Level 32 guard was a necessary execution.
[Elara uses: Kinetic Burst (DEX 30)]
Elara made a dash that was impossible moments before, almost instantly closing the distance. Her speed was superhuman, but her opponent was a temporal entity.
When Elara tried to intercept it, the Sentinel vanished. It hadn't moved; it had rewound its own position by a millisecond, reappearing two meters to her left, its temporal energy claw raking the air.
"It's faster!" Elara shouted, dodging the counter-attack with a violent twist of her torso. "My DEX 30 isn't enough! It distorts time around itself!"
The Sentinel, an entity of cold logic, understood the threat Elara represented. Instead of attacking, it tried to circle her, moving in temporal bursts that made it a phantom target.
📉 Part II: Code Flow Analysis
Kael was on the ground, his Mental Energy at 35% and slowly bleeding out as the Core Fragment continued its alarming ticking. He knew a second full use of [Deconstruct Interface] would put him in a catatonic state.
He had to use the [CODE ACUITY] ability and the newly acquired data on Cronos (Lv. 40) to understand its Level 32 guard.
Kael saw the code: the Sentinel wasn't fast; it created a temporal buffer.
Focus:[Time / Code].
Elara moved through space (coordinates X, Y, Z). The Sentinel, however, manipulated the T (Time) coordinate to gain an advantage.
"Elara, it's not speed!" Kael yelled, coughing. "It's creating tiny Code Loops around itself! When it attacks, it creates a one-millisecond rollback point to evade the counter-attack!"
Kael understood: the Sentinel couldn't sustain infinite acceleration. Every temporal manipulation had to have an anchor point and an energy cost.
[Kael uses: Code Acuity] (Focus: Time/Anchor)
Temporal code requires a physical point of origin for the Loop's inception.
Each Temporal Loop emits a short-duration Data Signal (SDS).
Kael noticed a phenomenon: every time the Sentinel accelerated, it left behind, for an infinitesimal period, a shadow of blue energy on the ground. That wasn't a shadow; it was its Temporal Anchor Point, the point from which the rollback was calculated.
"The shadow! Elara, hit the shadow!" Kael yelled. "When it vanishes, look where it was just before! It's a Temporal Anchor Node! Strike that spot with your sword!"
💥 Part III: The Anchor Node
Elara didn't hesitate. She had no idea what "Node" or "Anchor" meant, but she trusted her Archivist.
The Sentinel, sensing its evasion tactic was failing, committed to a six-strike burst, trying to overwhelm Elara with sheer temporal confusion.
Elara saw the temporal bursts, the world seeming to move in stutters around the Sentinel, but she focused only on one detail: the spot where the entity paused before each rewind. It was a tiny, blue spot on the ground.
The Sentinel delivered its most powerful strike. Elara lunged forward, not to hit the Sentinel, but to intercept the space occupied by the temporal shadow.
[Elara uses: Holy Execution (Targeting the Anchor)]
Elara's blade did not hit metal or flesh. It hit the T-Code.
When the Holy Damage made contact with the Temporal Anchor Node, the result was dramatic: a Time Fracture.
The Temporal Sentinel's body was undamaged, but its navigation interface crashed. The entity locked up in an infinite loop, its code attempting to execute two actions simultaneously.
[Temporal Sentinel (Lv. 32) Status: FATAL ERROR - TIME FRACTURE]
🌟 Part IV: The Archivist's Conclusion
The Temporal Sentinel, immobilized by its own logic error, was not eliminated but defused. Its winged body froze, its blue core emitting only a faint, intermittent hum.
Elara stopped, exhausted. The Temporal Anchor had been a trickier target than any physical armor.
"Is it over?" Elara asked, without lowering her sword.
Kael nodded, immediately running an [Archive Data] on the Sentinel's stasis body before the System could clean the code.
[High-Level Combat Data (Lv. 15 vs Lv. 32) Detected: TEMPORAL_CODE_FRACTURE. Log Running.]
Mental Energy: Replenished (65%).
"Yes. The Sentinel is in stasis," Kael replied. "We overwhelmed it with its own logic. I now have the data on the Level 32 [TIME FRACTURE] weakness. I can deduce the approach for Cronos."
Kael looked at the Big Ben Tower, which still ticked fast but with less aggression. The Sentinel's attack had been a test, and they had passed successfully.
"We bought ourselves a few minutes," Kael said, standing up. "Now, the Core Fragment knows we are not just strong, but we are also capable of rewriting its rules. The entrance is now extremely dangerous. We need to find an entry point other than the main gate."
Elara smiled, the thrill of danger lighting up her face. "I took out its eyes. Let's find its heart, Archivist."