Time Holders: The World of Balance

The Great War. A cataclysmic clash from two thousand years ago, it stood as the most devastating event ever known to humanity, eclipsed only by the First Impact. It was the sole architect of the current balance of power across the nations.

Long before that bloodbath, the continent was not divided by the current realms but ruled entirely by the Kingdom of the West. A mythical empire whose very existence was now debated. It was said that along the coastal edges of the continent, a unified territory of every type of Holder once occupied the vast western lands, leaving the rest of the world untouched.

Records and data of its existence were real, but most had been buried or forever lost to the ruthless dangers of the lands beyond. Why the definitive proof of such an empire lay outside the continent remained a mystery, but multiple elite cohorts of Holders who managed to return alive from those desolate places confirmed their remnants did exist.

However, ancient history mattered little in the present. Instead, it was the Great War—much more recent and well-documented—that had left an indelible scar on history and on the hearts of the great families that ruled the world.

Two thousand years ago, with the current nations already established, tensions escalated to a breaking point as each territory scrambled for a monopoly over the three Fragment types. Humanity’s greed inevitably ignited the conflict, plunging the world into a brutal fray that lasted ten years.

Yet, no one was granted victory. The clash ended abruptly, leaving behind nothing but ruin and misery for the populace. The violence only ceased once the three great heroes—the only fifth-rank Holders ever known to exist—perished on the battlefield together.

In the aftermath, the four great nations struck a solemn treaty, decreeing that each realm would hold absolute control and a total monopoly over a single Fragment type. That was how the southern nation—Aldrus’s motherland—came to be known as the Nation of Time.

Since then, each territory had focused exclusively on cultivating and exploiting the unique capabilities of their respective Fragment’s power. Consequently, they learned that the Great War had been, perhaps, a far more terrible mistake than they initially realized.

Beyond a century of starvation, economic ruin, and collective misery, they had effectively slaughtered what would have been their greatest weapon against the Guardians. Cooperation between Time, Matter, and Space Holders was crucial, harmonious, and perfect... Almost as if their powers had always been intended to intertwine.

In the millennia that followed, the four nations strengthened their bonds out of sheer survival, birthing the Expeditions. These groups gathered the most promising generations of new Holders, embarking on perilous journeys into the lands beyond the continent with two main objectives: first, to unearth as many lost truths as possible; and second, and far more critical, to harvest as many Fragments as they could find, for they were vastly more abundant the further one traveled from humanity, for reasons no one yet did understand.

Still, what Aldrus and his group had stumbled upon just now put into perspective the absurd, terrifying power gap between themselves and the fifth-ranked humans who once walked the same earth.

Everyone had heard of the Great War to some extent, and although the finer details were shrouded in myth, they knew the legends of its protagonists damn well. The three great Holders were humans who had practically transcended humanity, earning the right to be called absolute gods. No one knew their names, their faces, or their personal struggles; they only knew of the deeds they left behind.

It was said that a Fifth-Rank Holder possessed such terrifying might that they became the primary reason the war ground to a halt. Humanity was already cornered by the Guardians and presumably extinct beyond the continental borders, so the sheer scale of destruction brought by these three figures threatened to wipe the human race out entirely.

They fought, and they died fighting each other. A natural conclusion, given they belonged to opposing nations. The staggering magnitude of their duel left wounds engraved into the earth to this very day.

They were known as the Scars of the First War.

However, as gigantic as the crater before the youths was, it felt... underwhelming.

”Aiden, are you sure?” Aldrus asked. ”Don’t you think this is a bit...”

”Disappointing? Yes,” the silver-haired boy said. ”But don’t get it wrong. The Great War raged across every corner of the continent, yet the most severe damage happened only in the east. This crater right here might very well have been caused by a single punch from one of them.”

Aldrus swallowed hard. He had heard tales of the surreal devastation the continent suffered as a consequence of their clash.

The two great craters in the east were each as large as an entire nation, plunging deep enough into the earth to expose subterranean cavern systems. He had heard of weather patterns permanently altered wherever those people had set foot; kingdoms smashed to splinters and entire species wiped out as mere collateral damage.

Aiden wasn’t exaggerating. The massive crater before them might just be the byproduct of a casual blow, much like two adults breaking a window or two during a tavern brawl.

”Yeah, you might be right,” Aldrus muttered, staring into the warping depths. ”But even so... if they were once here, then that means...”

Aiden nodded, his expression turning grim.

”Yes,” he said. ”There might be fallen warriors buried somewhere nearby.”

The rest fell silent at those words. Curiosity bloomed in their hearts, but would it be a good idea to dive into such a place? What if they learned something they weren’t supposed to? Or even worse, what if something lurking within the loop were to lunge at their throats?

Still, choice was a luxury they did not possess. Nightfall was fast approaching, meaning monster activity would present a fatal danger from that moment on. Like it or not, their only way forward was straight through.

Thus, they needed no further discussion; they knew what was necessary.

”...Let’s go. Quickly,” Aldrus said. ”Those dogs will start to come out soon, and I’d rather die learning something extraordinary than rot inside their jaws.”

Just like that, they exchanged a quick glance, took a deep breath, and descended into the depths.