"What happened here?" Hadrid muttered under his breath, his blonde hair flickering in the dusty wind.
Blood pooled across the cracked pavement, littered with crushed vehicles and shattered infrastructure.
"Such devastation in such a short time..." Anna spoke up from behind, her voice somber as she took in the destruction.
"A massacre," she added, her gaze lingering on the chaos around them.
"Anna..."
"Yes, Leader?"
"Bring Shelman here."
"But… he's on his honeymoon," Anna replied hesitantly, her eyes flicking toward the others.
"I don't care. Bring him. Now," Hadrid's voice was sharp, brooking no argument.
Anna exchanged glances with the two nearby members, who nodded in grim understanding. She stepped back, her eyes narrowing with focus. She activated her system panel with a quiet hum, the air around her beginning to shimmer with energy. A bright ring of light spun outward beneath her feet, and ethereal scripts began to form in the air, glowing with an otherworldly intensity. The symbols danced and shifted, each one aligning with the next in a precise, fluid motion.
System: Name input required.
A blue interface flickered before Anna, its clarity cutting through the tension. She spoke firmly, the urgency creeping into her voice.
"Shelman," Anna said.
Elsewhere...
Shelman trailed behind his furious wife, Suly, her high heels tapping sharply against the cobblestone as she stormed ahead. Suddenly, she stopped and turned, her expression like ice.
"I said—honeymoon is canceled. Leave me alone, Shelman!"
He winced. "Honey, I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"You embarrassed me?" Her eyes flared. "You humiliated me in front of my friends. You brought me to a love hotel. A tacky, neon-lit disaster!"
Flashback:
Shelman stood proudly in front of a blinking pink building with the words "Endless Love Suite" overhead. He spread his arms wide like a magician unveiling a masterpiece. "Ta-da!"
His friends—and their husbands—were stunned into silence.
Back in the present, just as Sally opened her mouth to continue her rant, a radiant circle of code lit up beneath Shelman's feet.
"I should've known you were weird from the start. First that hotel and now you're—" she turned—
He was gone.
Shelman appeared with a sharp thud, landing on the cracked pavement of the devastated street. Dust swirled around his feet. His appearance, however, didn't quite match the chaos—casual honeymoon attire: a T-shirt with a bright key-shaped emblem stamped on the back and comfy-looking shorts.
The street was grim—burnt debris, twisted metal, and shattered glass painted a bleak picture. The stench of blood and smoke clung thick in the air. But as Shelman's figure emerged through the haze, the Oath members' eyes widened—not at the destruction, but at him.
Anna's lips twitched first.
Nick covered his mouth, eyes watering.
Bruno turned around abruptly, shoulders shaking slightly.
Only Hadrid stood firm, though even his jaw tightened like he was biting the inside of his cheek.
Shelman's cold, steely gaze swept over them, pausing briefly on each face.
"What," he said slowly, voice calm and edged with irritation, "is so funny?"
Nick choked on a half-snort. "N-Nothing, sir… it's just… the emblem. Is that a key or a bottle opener?"
Shelman tilted his head slightly. "It's a key. To pain. Want me to show you?"
Bruno couldn't hold it anymore. He burst into laughter and then tried to disguise it as a cough. Anna nudged him sharply in the ribs.
For a brief moment, the tension broke. The humor faded, but Shelman didn't react with his usual lighthearted charm. His gaze was sharp and calculating, the atmosphere immediately shifting back to seriousness.
"Alright, alright," Hadrid finally broke the silence, stepping forward and rubbing a hand down his face, regaining composure. "Shelman, as ridiculous as you look, we need you. This isn't a random attack. Something… or someone… has made contact."
Shelman's lighthearted aura didn't return. His fingers flexed slightly, and a subtle shimmer rippled down his arms.
"Good," he said. "I was looking for an excuse."
He walked toward the shattered shop, eyes locking onto the blood-smeared threshold.
Anna fell in beside him, keeping pace. "You're seriously not going to change clothes?"
Shelman smirked faintly, the only sign of amusement. "Real power doesn't need a uniform."
Nick muttered, "Right. Just a T-shirt with a bedtime story logo."
Shelman stopped, turned around slowly, and cracked his knuckles. Nick gulped and backed away.
"Let's focus," Hadrid said sternly, cutting the tension. "Whatever did this—it wasn't human. And it's not finished yet."
They moved forward together, Shelman walked toward the wrecked shop, the wind stirring loose ashes and fluttering debris. He didn't speak, didn't blink. His usual charm was gone—replaced by a chilling focus. As he reached the blood-stained ground, he knelt, placed two fingers in the crimson puddle, and closed his eyes.
A soft glow flickered beneath his hand.
"System," he muttered, and a system panel appeared before him.
"Activate Chrono Reversal: Site Echo."
The blood pulsed once, then erupted with glowing lines that spread in a circular pattern across the pavement—ancient runes swirling with violet light. A low hum resonated, vibrating through the cracked earth, as the air above the blood shimmered and twisted.
Then, like a reverse storm, time rewound.
A holographic dome unfolded above the scene. Flames curled back into their sources. Shattered glass rose from the ground, mending into shop windows. Crushed vehicles reassembled, inch by inch. The noise of chaos reversed—explosions unboomed, screams uncried.
"Six hours prior," the system announced calmly.
"Chrono sequence stable."