Eloryn's ears still rang from the echo of Kaalketu's presence. Even after he vanished—folding into smoke like a curse unspoken—the world hadn't quite settled. The sky above the Sankhya Depths now flickered between ages: golden age, fire age, ash age. Time itself was… hesitant.
Maren checked her arm, where a streak of ash had burned a jagged mark during the clash.
"That man," he muttered, "is wielding power meant to end worlds."
Pennrick nodded grimly. "He's not just drawing from Rudra. That trident—he's unlocked something forbidden."
Eloryn stood quietly, staring at her reflection in a pool of still water. Except, it wasn't her reflection anymore.
It was… herself. But older. Stronger. And wearing the crown of the Oracle—not metaphorical, but real: a circlet of woven starlight and petrified mantra.
And behind her, a memory.
The first incarnation.
Standing beside Kaalketu. Smiling. Before everything burned.
She staggered back.
"I knew him," she whispered. "Before he fell. We were meant to protect time together. He was the Blade. I was the Loom."
Lys narrowed her eyes. "And now he's trying to cut what you're trying to mend."
Pennrick rifled through his notebook, flipping to a page scrawled with ancient diagrams. "There's a theory—older than any temple or scripture. The Yuga Keys. Artifacts created at the dawn of each age to anchor the flow of time."
He traced three symbols: a conch, a wheel, and a lotus. Beneath them: one still hidden.
"Each Yuga Key resonates with the essence of a specific era: Satya, Treta, Dvapara… and Kali. If someone were to collect all four, they could—"
"Reset the cycle," Eloryn said, completing the thought. "Or end it."
Pennrick nodded. "And Kaalketu is already searching for them. That trident of his—it's not just a weapon. It's a compass."
Fenn whistled low. "So we're in a cosmic scavenger hunt against a time-possessed Shiva disciple with rage issues and a flare for destruction. Sounds fun."
Maren looked at Eloryn. "Do you know where the Keys are?"
"I don't," she admitted. "But she might."
She touched her chest—where her past self stirred like a waking star.
"If I can merge more fully with my first life… I can find them before he does."
Lys stepped forward. "Then we'll protect you until that happens."
Even Fenn saluted, stick-sword in hand. "For what it's worth, I've fought a demi-dragon with indigestion. You're less intimidating."
Eloryn managed a small smile. "Then let's begin. Time's already watching."
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