CHAPTER 67 — THE RISING OF TIME'S VEIL
San Juan no longer felt alive.
The sky was frozen between dusk and dawn, a copper hue reflecting off the towering chrono-spires. The air carried a strange pulse, as if time itself breathed through the city's lungs.
Atop the ruined terrace of the Chrono Citadel, Moro watched the horizon. His coat fluttered in the heated wind that smelled faintly of iron and rain. Kaya stood beside him, arms folded, eyes tracing the faint glow coming from the citadel's heart.
> Kaya: "It's quiet… too quiet. He's preparing something."
Moro: "Yeah. The Chronos Element—it's moving again. I can feel its rhythm."
Below them, Kiro and Wolf Hunter argued near the broken stairwell. Herbet, hands trembling slightly, adjusted the gauge of his plasma rifle.
> Wolf Hunter: "You all think you've seen hell? You've never faced Kuzak. That monster ripped open the old world. I won't let him rise again."
Kiro: "Then stop growling and help us plan. Revo's ahead of us; one mistake, and he finishes the ritual."
The group descended into the Citadel's lower sector. The floor was cracked glass and steel, humming with faint currents. In the center hovered the Chronos Core, a sphere of liquid light contained within shifting rings. Within its depths, faint shadows moved—like memories caught in rewind.
Moro touched one of the rings. The pulse that hit him made his bones ache.
Flashes of JJ, his father, crossed his mind—flame, steel, and sacrifice.
> Moro (whispering): "Father… you sealed Kuzak with your fire. If Revo breaks that seal…"
The thought died as a ripple of laughter filled the hall.
Revo stepped from the mist of the chamber, his robes flowing like melted silver, eyes glowing with an eerie amber. Time itself bent slightly around him—dust motes floating in reverse.
> Revo: "I see the sons of San Juan gather once more. The wolf who hunts ghosts. The blade who betrayed me. The boy who carries JJ's curse."
Moro: "End this, Revo. You're tearing apart everything JJ died to protect."
Revo: "Protect? He delayed evolution. I'm restoring what was stolen—the dominion of time."
With a sweep of his hand, he called forth guards made of glass-like armor—Chrono Knights born from frozen seconds. The battle erupted instantly.
Herbet unleashed plasma rounds that bent mid-air; Kaya shattered the first knight with an explosive strike from her gauntlets. Kiro's twin blades cut through distorted loops of time, striking enemies before they even moved.
Moro met Revo head-on. His fists burned with blue aura, each blow echoing through the citadel. Revo countered, twisting reality—turning punches into echoes that struck from behind.
> Revo: "You still fight like your father—heart first, mind second."
Moro: "Then I'll finish what he started."
Their clash sent cracks racing across the walls. The Chronos Core flared violently, projecting a phantom image of Kuzak, chained within fire and light, thrashing against invisible bonds. The mere image made the air quake.
Wolf Hunter froze.
> Wolf Hunter: "That… that presence… it's real. He's waking up."
Kiro shouted, "Everyone! Focus on the Core! Break the containment before the sequence completes!"
Moro drove his aura into the base of the sphere. The core rippled, its glow stuttering, the phantom of Kuzak flickering like a dying star.
Revo screamed—not in fear but in fury.
> Revo: "You fools! You can't stop the tide of eternity!"
He unleashed a wave of chronal energy that hurled them all back. Time slowed; raindrops hung in the air; every heartbeat became thunder.
Through the distortion, Moro forced himself forward. His veins pulsed with Matrix energy, sparks flaring from his arms.
> Moro: "Even if time stops—I won't!"
He struck Revo directly, the impact collapsing the inner ring of the Core. A blinding explosion of blue and gold light consumed the hall.
---
When the dust cleared, the Chrono Citadel lay half in ruins.
Revo was gone—swallowed by the distortion he created.
The Core remained, dim but beating like a heart refusing to die.
Kiro leaned against a broken pillar, panting. "He escaped… through a time fissure."
Wolf Hunter spat blood and looked at the still-glowing Core. "He didn't fail. He just postponed it."
Moro gazed into the trembling sphere and whispered,
> "If Kuzak stirs again… San Juan won't survive the next dawn."
The winds howled through the ruins, carrying with them a low hum—almost a voice, ancient and hateful, whispering from beyond time.
End of Chapter 67.
---