Frostbound Flame: Legacy of the Forbidden Clans

Location: Ruins of Vaer'Morath – Shattered Temple RingTime: Moments after the Clock-Twin's arrival

The Sky Cracks Again

The Clock-Twin hovered above them — silent now, but for the eerie ticking sound that echoed with every motion. Their mirrored mask reflected a twisted version of each person's face. Time itself trembled around them; the clouds above churned in reverse.

They raised a single hand.

And the hourglass-shaped staff at their side flared with violet energy.

"All anomalies will be corrected."

Without further warning, the sky fractured, and dozens of spectral chains fell like rain, aimed straight at Rael.

Rael's Second Pulse

Aika lunged forward, launching an ice-fire wall that clashed with the first wave of chains. Ren followed, erupting into his Flame Fist Style: Third Fang — Lion's Rebound, shattering several of the glowing bonds mid-air.

But the real target was Rael.

He stood frozen.

His breath hitched. His body burned.

Something inside him… opened.

"I don't want to be erased…"

The second pulse exploded.

Golden energy — no, reverse flame — erupted from him in a spiral. Everything within ten meters bent backward by three seconds. Aika's stance reset. Ren's fist recoiled. The chains? They were never thrown.

Rael had rewound a single moment for everyone — instinctively.

The Clock-Twin staggered.

"Unauthorized reversal. Confirmed. Level Two threat."

Seris Bleeds Time

Seris leapt forward, blade unsheathed for the first time. It shimmered like glass, engraved with runes that shimmered in future tense.

"Chrono Art — Thread Severance: Vanishing Hour!"

She slashed the air — and one of the Clock-Twin's arms vanished from existence, as if it were never born.

But the victory came at a cost.

The recoil of the attack struck her—veins along her neck pulsed, eyes flickering wildly.

She collapsed to one knee, coughing blood that glowed silver.

Rael turned to her. "Seris—!"

She held up a shaking hand. "I'm fine. Go! Protect the memory!"

Fusion Formation: Storm-Fang

Ren shouted, "Aika! Formation Six!"

She nodded. They leapt into the air together — her frost circling his fire.

"Fusion Technique — Storm-Fang Spiral!"

Ren's flaming fist spun forward, wrapped in Aika's freezing vortex. The attack struck the Clock-Twin head-on, exploding into a cyclone of fire and ice.

The Clock-Twin twisted unnaturally mid-air, spinning back upright even as parts of their cloak burned away.

But for the first time…

They were bleeding gears.

The Clock-Twin's Counter

Raising their staff, the Clock-Twin struck the ground.

"Chrono Judgment: Countdown Collapse."

Everything turned white.

Aika and Ren were flung backward by an invisible force. Seris screamed as her body flickered between ages — twelve, twenty, seventy, back to seventeen — before stabilizing again.

Rael barely stayed standing.

He reached out—

Time tried to fold him.

But something within resisted.

His soul mark — the spiral brand on his chest — glowed.

And a voice returned.

"You are not ready. But neither was I."

"So stand anyway."

Rael's fists ignited in golden fire.

"Chrono Pulse: Reversal Kick!"

He leapt.

The strike met the Clock-Twin's chest — and froze them in a half-second loop.

For five heartbeats, they were trapped.

Rael shouted, "NOW!"

Aika's True Flame

Aika screamed, summoning all of her energy.

"Frozen Flame Style: Heavenfall Lance!"

She formed a spear of crystallized fire-frost and hurled it.

It struck the Clock-Twin's suspended form just as time resumed.

An explosion rocked the ruins.

Aftermath

When the dust settled, the Clock-Twin's mask lay shattered. Their body flickered… and then dissolved into a burst of torn paper and rusted clocks.

Dead?

No.

Seris gasped. "No… that was only a proxy. The real Clock-Twin is still in the Continuum."

Rael dropped to his knees.

Aika stumbled beside him, her breath ragged.

She looked at him.

"You fought like…"

He looked up, confused. "Like who?"

She whispered, "My father."