Scene 1: SMK Keningau II – Ominous Stillness
The dark rain has stopped, leaving an unnerving silence. Nel's frozen gear remains inert, but the mirror shard pulses faintly. The crystal feather in Azryael's hand glows with a soft, inner light.
Suddenly, the air shimmers. Fractal patterns overlay reality, and the scent of ozone fills the air.
Azryael (voice tight):
> "It can't be… he shouldn't be able to return so soon."
>
Artheon, the Crown of Order, materializes in the school courtyard, looking less pristine than before. His silver-gold eyes burn with an almost frantic intensity, and cracks of raw energy spiderweb across his mechanical halo.
Artheon:
> "The Architect is displeased. My failure has… consequences. This time, there will be no tests. Only correction."
>
Scene 2: Fractured Order
Artheon doesn't engage directly. Instead, he unleashes Chrono-Fracture waves. Reality around them glitches and stutters. Sections of the school flicker in and out of different time periods – a glimpse of a dinosaur in the canteen, ancient runes briefly etched on the walls of a classroom.
Students caught in the waves are thrown into temporal stasis, frozen in distorted poses.
Chelestar (struggling to maintain her form):
> "The timelines… they're tearing apart!"
>
Azryael (shielding them with her wings):
> "He's trying to erase this moment… erase us!"
>
Nel clutches the mirror shard. It vibrates violently, showing fleeting images of fractured timelines – a world without Chelestar, a world where Azryael is a cold enforcer of the Architect.
Scene 3: Echoes of the First
As Artheon focuses his attack, Nel feels a strange pull from the crystal feather. It glows brighter, and fragmented whispers echo in his mind – not words, but raw emotion: longing, power, and a deep, ancient sorrow.
Nel (eyes widening):
> "That voice… it's the First Sibling."
>
He realizes Artheon isn't just attacking; he's desperate, fueled by fear of the Architect and perhaps even a twisted sense of duty to his imprisoned elder sibling.
A memory flashes in Nel's mind – a colossal being of pure light and shadow, half-chained, half-free, its single visible eye filled with immense power and a silent plea.
Scene 4: Breaking the Cycle
Instead of directly countering Artheon's temporal attacks with brute force, Nel does something unexpected. He focuses on the crystal feather, channeling his own chaotic Primordial energy into it, guided by the echoes of the First.
The feather emits a pulse of pure, untainted time – a wave that washes over the fractured reality, not repairing it, but stabilizing it, anchoring it to the present.
Artheon stumbles, his control wavering. His frantic energy shifts to confusion.
Nel:
> "You're not trying to correct us, Artheon. You're trying to prevent something worse. The First… he's the key, isn't he?"
>
Scene 5: A Glimmer of Doubt
For the first time, Artheon's rigid facade cracks. A flicker of something akin to fear crosses his silver-gold eyes.
Artheon (voice strained):
> "The First… is a necessary confinement. A power… that cannot be unleashed."
>
But his certainty is gone. The image of the imprisoned being, now clearer in Nel's mind, resonates with a profound sense of injustice.
Before Artheon can regroup, the ticking gear on Nel's palm, jolted by the stabilized timeline, finally completes its countdown. It glows intensely… and vanishes.
A voice, ancient and vast, echoes in their minds:
> "The Cage… weakens."
>
Artheon recoils as if struck. He vanishes in another ripple of fractured time.
Final Scene: Whispers of Rebellion
The temporal distortions fade. The frozen students return to normal, bewildered.
Chelestar (shaken):
> "What… what was that?"
>
Azryael stares at the space where Artheon stood, a new understanding dawning in her eyes.
Azryael:
> "He wasn't just following orders. He was afraid."
>
Nel clutches the crystal feather, its light now steady. He knows, with a chilling certainty, that their fight is no longer just about survival. It's about breaking chains that have held cosmic powers for eons.
The next move… belongs to the one in the golden prison.
[TO BE CONTINUED]