Elize looked around at the endless desert, then back at Charlotte.

"Tell me everything that happened. From the beginning."

Charlotte took a deep breath and began recounting the events... the sudden appearance of Lyssandra on the highway, the green gem, the teleportation into the tower and the time storm.

Elize listened without interrupting, her face growing more serious with every word.

When Charlotte finished, Elize was quiet for a long moment.

Then she spoke, "This tower... the Dead Clock Spire. It’s one of the most dangerous. The time field suppresses all kinds of time abilities. Time storms are its primary defense mechanism. They don’t just move sand... they distort time."

"Brandon could be seconds away... or years away... or trapped in a single frozen moment." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Charlotte clenched her fists "I have to find him."

"We will," Elize said firmly. "But we can’t do it blindly. These towers have rules. There’s always an exit gate, but it moves. And there are guardians, traps, and environmental hazards designed to break people mentally as well as physically."

Upon hearing this, Charlotte’s gaze quivered in fear "K-Kael... I hope nothing happens to him till we find him."

Elize closed her eyes for a moment ’To be honest, even I am scared... what if the time storm took him to a different timeline, past or future... who knows.’

’Kael...’

She turned to look at Charlotte ’Char must be devastated... because the whole reason for her to become strong was to protect him and she failed at it.’

’She will definitely blame herself if we can’t find Brandon.’

Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart she patted Charlotte’s shoulder "We will surely find him."

---

The desert wind howled softly around them, carrying fine grains of sand that stung like tiny needles.

Brandon stood frozen in place, his heart slamming against his ribs.

’Rheanne Himelle?’

Even though she looked younger, perhaps in her early twenties... it is unmistakably her.

This was the woman he met in the church.

Rheanne’s gaze flickered toward him for a brief moment and her beautiful blue eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of confusion crossing her features.

’A civilian...?’

She clearly didn’t expect to find an ordinary person standing in the middle of this deadly tower.

’Huh... wait.’

She appeared directly in front of him, so fast that Brandon barely registered the movement.

Brandon instinctively took a step back and watched her cautiously, unsure whether she is a friend or threat in this strange place.

Rheanne reached out with surprising gentleness and grabbed his wrist, pulling him closer to her in one smooth motion.

Then her eyes widened in absolute shock.

"You can also use the energy...?"

She stared at him "Finally..." she whispered, her grip on his wrist tightening a little.

"Someone other than me who can control this ’otherworldly’ energy..."

Brandon opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, the remaining two guardians behind her let out piercing, inhuman screams.

SCRREECHHHH

The sand around them exploded upward as the massive creatures lunged forward.

Their arms elongated into deadly blades of compressed sand and slashed toward Rheanne’s back.

Rheanne gently let go of Brandon’s hand.

She turned to face the guardians and her fingers tightened around the hilt of her slender silver blade.

In one fluid motion, she drew the sword.

The first guardian’s sand blade came down in a vicious overhead strike.

Rheanne didn’t dodge.

She simply raised her sword and met the attack head-on.

CLANG!

The impact sent a visible shockwave rippling outward and sand exploded away from them in a perfect circle.

The guardian’s blade shattered on contact with her sword, disintegrating into harmless grains.

Before the second guardian could even complete its lunge, Rheanne moved.

She stepped forward and swung her blade in a wide, sweeping arc.

SHHHING-

Both guardians were sliced apart in a single, perfect cut.

Their massive sandy bodies froze mid-motion, then exploded outward in twin bursts of golden sand that rained down across the dunes.

The runes on the nearby stone archway flared brightly for a moment, then dimmed, as if acknowledging defeat.

Rheanne lowered her sword slowly and not a single grain of sand clung to her white dress or her flowing hair.

She turned fully toward Brandon and her gaze lingered on the numerous cuts and abrasions still visible on his arms, chest, and face.

Her eyes narrowed slightly and she stepped closer "Did you also use light energy to heal your injuries?"

Brandon blinked, still trying to process everything.

Before he could answer, she continued, "What is your power? How do you feel? Have you fought many weird creatures like that before?"

He stood there, momentarily overwhelmed "Um..."

Rheanne paused, realizing how intensely she was staring at him.

"Oh... I just got excited. This is the first time I am encountering someone who can harness the ’energy’ like me."

Brandon’s frown deepened as the pieces slowly clicked together in his mind.

’Wait, wait, wait... don’t tell me... I actually time-traveled to the past?’

Swallowing hard, he asked the question that had been burning in his chest.

"What year is it now?"

Rheanne raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by the question.

"1502," she answered simply. "Why do you ask?"

Brandon: -_-

’I am fucking 550 years in the past?’

He clutched his head, staring at the sand beneath his boots ’Wait- maybe it’s only the time inside this tower that’s shifted to the past. Once I leave, I can go back to the present... maybe.’

’Charlotte must be worried sick and searching for me right now...’

Rheanne watched the young man in front of her with quiet curiosity ’I really didn’t expect to find someone who can harness the energy...’ she thought, a flicker of hope blooming in her chest.

’But this is good. This can take some burden off my shoulders.’

She glanced at the endless dunes around them ’I can’t fight all those creatures alone in this world.’

Everyone in the world looks at her like a Goddess for saving them from those monsters, but it’s a heavy burden...

... because ’currently’ she is the only one in the world who can harness ’ether’ being the first and only awakener.

Her gaze lowered to the sand, and she took a slow, deep breath.

’I can finally get some rest... but before that, I need to confirm he is a good person.’

’What if he harnesses this power for wrongdoings? Like those Emperors who are trying to weaponize me...’

She lifted her eyes again and looked at Brandon carefully.

Brandon finally lowered his hands from his head and looked at her.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.

Looking athim, she asked "What is your name, young man?"

"...Brandon Kael."