The Time Eater had no form.
It was a concept, walking.
It dragged itself into Neo-Rome, devouring entire seconds with each step. People didn't die—they were erased, retroactively born still and cold. Streets un-paved themselves. Buildings folded back into quarries.
The sky shimmered with past weather.
Lyra tried to run, but her feet aged beneath her. Her shoes cracked into dust. Her bones bent back into pre-memory.
Then—a pulse.
The Epoch Shard flared, building a shell of resistance around her, casting history like armor.
From above, a spear of light descended.
Eidra.
"Guardian of Precession," she roared, cleaving through the air. Her golden armor was singed with prophecy.
The Time Eater turned its formless head.
"Finally," it said.
Eidra struck—but the spear shattered on contact. Time buckled.
The Time Eater leaned closer.
"I remember the moment you fail."
And Eidra screamed.