After three hours of nonstop fighting, their muscles aching and supplies running low, the monsters finally quit piercing the squall line of the breach. Now all was dead silent, not a creature stirring in the darkness. All that was heard was the sound of a fire crackling low as embers wisped into the air with the light breeze before fading in to the black almost starless sky.
The four new companions sat in a half-collapsed temple deep in the Valean marshes—its broken columns overrun with vines, its once-sacred statues worn smooth by time and weather. Strange runes on the walls shimmered softly, not with magic, but with a fading temporal echo, like the memories of prayers that had never been spoken.
The battle was over—for now. The spire had quieted but not collapsed. Its pulse still trembled in the distance, barely visible through the swamp mist. Whatever was inside it was watching, waiting.
But the group needed rest.
Karos sat sharpening the edge of the black steel blade he had previously retrieved, his brow furrowed in thought. His shoulders were broad, his posture rigid—still carrying the weight of command, though no one had offered it to him.
Across from him, Kara Vakia knelt in silence, her bow lying on the ground beside her. Her eyes were closed, her hands resting lightly on her knees. She was meditating, but not in the way monks did—this was a lunar ritual, a communion with cycles long lost to the world. With her cloak and hood now removed, her silver-white hair drifted with the breeze revealing a pair of elf ears which protrude through her hair, ending in delicate points. Her skin was glowing with a faint hue that mimicked the moonlight, her presence still and ethereal.
Shin lay sprawled across a fallen pillar, tossing a coin in the air and catching it without looking. Every few seconds he would make a face at the coin—either amused or disappointed. He hadn't stopped moving since the battle ended, and even now, his restless energy buzzed just under his skin.
Yazdrin Khalazza stood apart, leaning against the temple wall, arms crossed. His eyes flicked between the others, unreadable. He had said little since the fighting ended, his dark elven features carved in cold stone.
The silence stretched until Shin broke it with a loud sigh.
"Well," he said, flipping the coin one last time. "That was a flaming mess. Can we all agree on that? Black dragons, weird glowy spire, marshes that smell like expired destiny—yeah. Not a fan."
Karos grunted. "Could've gone worse."
"That's the brooding, stony optimism I've come to expect. Don't you ever smile?" Shin muttered with a grin.
Karos' gaze moves to Shin. "What do you mean 'come to expect'?"
Kara opened her eyes. "You… know of Karos? You've heard of him in your time?"
Shin shrugged, then nodded. "A little. Big name. Time warrior. Wielder of the Anchor. Last hope of the collapsing ages. That sort of thing. Though you are not as pretty as you are now, you have less scars." He glanced over. "Didn't expect you to have such a bad temper, though."
Karos didn't respond. He just kept sharpening his blade.
Yazdrin spoke up, his voice low and sharp. "You talk too much."
"I get that a lot," Shin said brightly.
"I meant it as a warning."
Karos looked up then, locking eyes with Yazdrin. "He's not wrong. We're all out of place. Out of time. No idea how long we'll last here, or what we're even facing inside that spire."
Kara spoke calmly, "We cannot survive this fractured timeline unless we understand each other. I don't even know what a Goliath is and goblins are scarce in my time and definitely do not procreate with humans. We are going to have to learn how to work together, how to trust each other until we are able to return to our own time."
Yazdrin scoffed. "Trust is earned. Not granted by coincidence."
"I don't believe in coincidence," Kara replied, meeting his gaze with quiet steel. "We were brought here for a reason."
Shin rolled over onto his elbows. "Alright. Team bonding moment. Let's do it." He pointed dramatically. "Name, era, worst fear. Go."
No one responded.
"…Fine. I'll start. Shin. Year 827 post-collapse. Worst fear? Frogs. Big ones. With teeth."
Karos blinked. "That's… oddly specific."
"They exist," Shin muttered. "You'll see."
Kara sighed but gave a slight smile. "Kara Vakia. Year 493 of the Old Calendar. My worst fear… losing the memory of my people."
Yazdrin hesitated, then spoke with quiet intensity. "Yazdrin Khalazza. Shadowguard of Vel Morak. Year 1213. I fear nothing. But… I hate not being in control in these circumstances."
Karos looked down at his sword. "Karos Belfier. Present era. My greatest fear… is that I'll survive long enough to see time fall apart." He looks around at each of them. "So, we have a half goblin from 50 years in the future, an elf from 1200 years in the past and another elf from 10 years in the past. Quite the motley crew we have assembled."
Silence again, but different this time. Heavier. Real.
Shin finally broke it. "Well. That got deep."
Kara leaned forward slightly. "We were pulled here. But what if it wasn't the spire? What if… we were pulled to each other?"
Yazdrin scowled. "For what purpose?"
Karos stared into the flames. "To finish something none of us could finish alone."
He stood slowly, sheathing his sword.
"The spire is still pulsing. Something inside is holding this timeline together—and tearing it apart at the same time. If we wait too long, it will spread."
Shin stood too, brushing off swamp muck. "You got a plan?"
Karos nodded. "We find the core. Whatever's anchoring this breach—it dies."
The Anchor pulsed once more and with a sudden flicker of energy, the amulet began to twist. The edges curled inward, elongating with a fluid grace. The metal cracked open like a chrysalis, revealing a hidden spine of dark steel. In moments, the amulet unfolded and reshaped—its curves straightening, its form sharpening—until a sleek, wicked dagger rested in Karos' palm, still warm from its transformation. The same runes now lined the blade, glowing with a quiet, lethal promise.
"What is going on?" Karos said, amazed.
"Look at you discovering a new facial expression." Shin chuckled.
"We don't have time to stand in awe we need to keep moving." Karos snapped back, annoyed at how nonchalant Shin was acting.
Yazdrin drew his blades, giving one slow nod.
Kara slung her bow over her back. "Then we move as one. For now, we fight together. No matter what time we came from."
Karos looked at each of them in turn.
"Then let us see what this breach has waiting for us."