Time Holders: The World of Balance

Morning—

Their days had slowly settled into a routine. Wake up, hunt, refill water, repair equipment, travel until sunset, and then spend the remaining hours checking supplies and planning the following day’s route before anyone allowed themselves to rest. But now things were about to take a turn.

”Well, are you ready?” Aldrus asked.

No one answered, or at least, not confidently, but that was good enough. The time had come; on this final leg of their journey, they’d reach the border of the Fog Island, and whatever came next... Well, that was yet to be seen.

”Let’s go, then.”

And thus, they headed out.

***

As the specter of hell drew closer, they continued to walk for another three days and nights. In preparation for what was to come, they had resolved not to stray from their path to hunt any more monsters; it was certain they would need that strength later.

Aiden and Aldrus kept feeding the artifact whenever possible; they were confident it was nearly ready and hoped to have it usable soon; however, they also wished they didn’t have to.

In terms of their physical state, while three weeks was insufficient to make significant progress with their powers, the endless wandering and fierce battles they’d fought were very beneficial to their stamina and teamwork.

At first, they were clumsy and often got in each other’s way, yet with the passage of days, taking on multiple opponents grew easier and more rewarding. Of course, they still lacked months, if not years, of practice—but as it was commonly known, the first stages of growth tend to be the most substantial.

Even though they hadn’t stumbled across another Orange-class beast, they were a lot more confident in their chances of winning without much trouble, as it should always have been.

The students had just learned how truly inexperienced they were; an Orange-class beast was not much different from themselves in terms of power, and furthermore, such creatures lacked consciousness, intellect, and self-restraint.

What should have been an easy fight turned into a struggle, nearly resulting in defeat. The realization that the four of them against one monster should have been manageable, yet they barely succeeded, hit them like a cold shower. This was a key factor in their decision to fight back. If they couldn’t take down a creature like that in a one-on-one encounter, they would not survive on the Fog Island.

Since none of them possessed a proper compass, they navigated using the position of the sun during the day and the stars after nightfall, constantly comparing them against Alice’s hand-drawn map whenever uncertainty arose.

Nonetheless, that period of training was over. They weren’t sure they were ready just yet. In fact, they knew damn well they weren’t, but they could not risk staying there in the hopes of improving further; getting home alive was still the top priority.

Soon, the third-day afternoon was upon them.

The group had grown accustomed to the unrealistic beauty of the landscape they wandered through, which is why Aldrus was startled when he noticed something strange far in the distance.

”W-Wait!” he called out, bringing them to a halt.

”What’s wrong, Aldrus? It’ll be nighttime soon; we can’t stop here,” Aiden said.

”No... Something’s off.”

”What is it? Will it happen now or soon?!” Cedric asked, gripping the boy’s shoulder.

Aldrus shook his head. ”N-No, there’s no danger, I think. But... rather than ’happening,’ there’s something wrong with the earth; y-you’ll see it in about ten minutes,” he explained.

The others exchanged confused glances, but using [Vision] for themselves would be a waste, so they simply shrugged and followed their comrade.

The next minutes went by slowly; each step somehow brought the group an odd sense of attraction, as if ahead lay a magnet pulling them closer. The sun beamed orange and purple hues over the otherworldly wasteland of the dead, and the once-sweet wind that brushed against their faces soon took on the flavor of tragedy itself.

There was a feeling in the air—a heavy atmosphere of sorrow and regret. The more they advanced, the thicker it became.

No one uttered a single word, for the moment they intended to, they were met with a breathtaking sight ahead.

”W-What the hell is that?!” Cedric shouted.

Before them, the familiar threshold between heaven and earth lay shattered on the horizon, the earth itself bent downward in a deep, colossal crater.

”A meteorite?” Alice asked, her eyes wide open.

”I... I don’t know,” Aldrus said.

The four were caught off guard by the sudden rupture of the never-ending path. Who knew what could’ve caused such a thing? And never mind what they would find close to its edge. Aldrus felt unsure of what to do, as did everyone else. However, turning back wasn’t an option; the only way toward the island was ahead.

The silver-haired boy turned to his friends.

”Aldrus, what do you think?” he asked.

”...Let’s keep going.”

Without much of a choice, they decided to push forward despite the danger. And once they arrived, their surprise was even greater.

From a distance, the crater already looked enormous, but standing on its rim couldn’t compare. It was so deep that if someone were to trip over the edge, they would die, without a doubt. The radius was so unbelievable that the youths seriously considered Alice’s words.

It wasn’t until Aiden spoke that they realized she was wrong.

”...Look there,” he said, pointing into the depths.

They narrowed their eyes, following his gaze.

In the center of the thing lay scattered a handful of different objects. Some mundane, some unknown. Some gleaming, some worn out. But they all shared a common point; they were battle equipment.

Old artifacts, powerful blades, broken shields, and bloodied armor. They were all from different times: some recent and recognizable, others archaic. They appeared and disappeared, flying from one place to another just to go back to the start. It happened both fast and slow, sometimes so much so that they couldn’t see. Reality around the center warped unnaturally, erratically in every direction—only visible to a Holder’s eyes.

”A-A TIME DOMAIN?!” The blond boy jumped back, terrified.

”No,” Aiden said. ”As far as I know, Time Domains are far more oppressive, and the distortion even greater.”

”T-Then...”

The silver-haired boy turned to them, astonished himself.

”This is no meteorite,” he said. ”This is a scar from the Great War.”