Memory of Heaven:Romance Written By Fate Through Beyond Infinity Time-Chapter 398 Fractured Time — The First Fragment of Chronos

The world of Omega trembles in silence.

In the sky torn apart by the Black Sun, something begins to emerge—not through a crack, but through the very fabric of reality itself. The air freezes yet burns, creating a paradoxical atmosphere. The wind ceases to blow, yet shakes the stones, as if nature struggles against the inevitable change. The heartbeat of the world reverses, and time begins to falter, as though everything is trying to resist the chaos that arrives with the last of its strength.

Joanna takes a deep breath.

"He is coming... his fragments."

From the black vortex in the sky, a hand emerges first—composed of the veins of time and the bones of memory. Then, a faceless body surrounded by broken clocks spinning backward slowly takes form.

The First Fragment of Chronos.

It does not speak.

It merely perceives your existence and tears apart reality to draw closer.

Its face changes every second: a crying baby, an old mother who forgets her child's name, a thief of time, a delayed lover... All are memories devoid of context.

"I can't let him fully merge," Joanna said, her eyes blazing with fierce determination. "This is only the first part. However, even a single fragment of Chronos is enough to kill five gods, and we can't take that risk—a foolish act that could destroy everything we hold dear."

Rui stepped forward.

"Then let's kill him... before he becomes complete."

The fragment raised his hand and created:

"Temporal Collapse: Mirror of Before"

As the incantation echoed, blinding light illuminated the sky, forming a swirling spiral that danced in the air. It was as if time itself receded, allowing shadows of the past to scatter around with a thunderous roar. The flashes from the giant mirror produced a kaleidoscope of colors that shattered reality, creating an illusion of presence, as if the world had paused to admire the dangerous beauty.

Joanna gasped, feeling the vibrations of the magic course through her skin, intensifying the pressure of the tense situation. "We don't have time, Rui!" she yelled, trying to dismiss the lurking fear at the edge of her consciousness and struggling to stay focused on their mission.

The fragment raised his hand and created:

"Temporal Collapse: Mirror of Before"

The mirror unleashed their memories as time bullets that exploded with terrifying destructive power. Each bullet soared through the air, shaking the atmosphere and shattering the suffocating silence, bringing forth vivid visions of the past that seemed to come alive; faces and painful events flashed by swiftly, crafting an unwanted spectacle that hurt the hearts of those who witnessed it.

Rui rolled her eyes, groaning, "Now is the time for us to confront all of this, Joanna! We can't run from our fate!"

Joanna snapped her fingers:

A massive mirror emerged above Joanna and Rui, reflecting their past in the form of weapons.

Joanna saw Jeanne's face... burned.

Rui saw Qayin... laughing at him.

The mirror unleashed their memories as time bullets that exploded.

Joanna snapped her fingers:

"Pendulum Break: Reverberate Split"

Time magic sliced the mirror into a parallel dimension.

Suddenly, a wave of energy radiated from Joanna's hands, forming a swirling blue light like a giant hourglass. The mirror quivered, displaying distortions in its reflection that revealed faces trapped in moments of fear and pain, intensifying the sense of uncertainty enveloping them. A sound resembling dulled bells echoed in the air, creating a resonating vibration that tore through space and time.

A large crack appeared on the surface of the mirror, emitting a sharp light as if it were separating the entrapment of dimensions. The surrounding space began to shake, weighed down by a deafening force that the witnesses desperately tried to avoid; the birds above flew away, signaling their fear of this unpredictable power.

Yet, Chronos needed no time. He was time.

His body fractured and reemerged from the past, launching an attack from a moment yet to occur.

Rui realized that ordinary magic and conventional techniques were not enough for her.

He grasped the Spiral relic, bit his thumb, and drew a circle of blood in the air.

With each stroke, his blood glowed a vibrant red, merging with the dark energy of the magic swirling around him. The circle spun and sank into the ground, creating a sound wave reminiscent of thunder that vibrated in the air, signaling the immense power he was summoning. Without hesitation, Rui felt the weight of the force she was invoking, like a sudden gust of wind striking her face, triggering her survival instincts.

"We cannot lose!" Rui shouted, strengthening her resolve as she sensed Chronos's shadow drawing closer, demanding bravery from within her. "I will make this work, no matter what happens!"

"Joanna, don't stop me."

"What are you doing—"

"I will use a forbidden technique."

Rui took a deep breath and began to recite the ancient Mandarin words:

「禁式:剝魂七曜・逆輪滅身」

Jìn Shì: Bō Hún Qī Yào — Nì Lún Miè Shēn

(Forbidden Technique: Soul Peeler of the Seven Lights — Reverse Wheel of Body Destruction)

Seven circles of light appeared on Rui's back, each circulating the direction of the soul's time.

As the technique activated, Rui's body shone with a golden-white radiance, creating a dazzling burst of light around him. The circles revealed a distortion of time, as if the world around Rui had slowed down. A rumbling sound like thunder echoed, and the wind swirled wildly, sweeping everything in its vicinity.

The plants trembled, sensing the power of the magic, while leaves fell from the trees, hovering in the air as if time had momentarily stopped. However, blood began to seep from her eyes, ears, and even her pores. This technique sacrifices the stability of the soul and body to twist the fate of her enemies into the void.

"I will become formless... but I will slash through time itself."

With her sparkling eyes, Joanna witnessed Rui's dramatic transformation and shouted, "Rui! Be careful! Don't let that magic consume you!" Her fear was clearly reflected in the emotional flow of her voice—a harmonious yet sorrowful melody that echoed along with the energy radiating from Rui, reminding them of the perilous nature of the power she was wielding.

He ran. The Chronos fragment raised its hand, creating a stack of time that froze movement.

Rui slashed at it with her own arm—now burning through reality.

Rui and the Chronos fragment collided in a vortex of time that defied logic.

Joanna watched as:

Rui moved, then was still.

Rui died, then came back to life.

Rui cried, then smiled, only to lose her own face.

The forbidden technique placed him beyond time, yet at a cost that cut through existence.

For the first time, the Chronos fragment was pushed back. Its body creaked, and the clocks surrounding it began to shatter.

However, in reaction... it unleashed the forbidden time spell:

"Epochal Rend: The Beginning Unwritten"

As the incantation flowed out, the world around seemed to pause for a moment. Space and time twisted, waves of energy surged from his hands, creating a stream of bright blue light that sparkled as if grasping the essence of time itself. The ticking of clocks that had been audible waned, replaced by whispers from another dimension.

She attempted to erase the birth of Joanna and Rui, striving to alter the course of history to ensure her own existence.

"No!" Joanna's scream echoed, as if tearing a rift in the reality that was forming. The blue light began to creep toward them, destroying everything in its path as though time was moving backward at full speed.

The entire world began to writhe.

Joanna screamed, standing before Rui, who was on the verge of collapse.

Time started folding inward, and their existence trembled.

Chronos prepared to launch the final attack of her fragment.

And Rui, blood covering his eyes, smiled faintly:

"If I must become dust for her to live... then I will be the dust that disrupts eternity."

As if hearing Rui's declaration, the wave of energy emitted by Chronos's spell intensified, creating ripples of light that made the entire environment shudder, while the distorted powers of time struggled to fill the space. The ancient pillars around them trembled, spewing dust and shimmering remnants of time, illustrating the immense scale of their battle. Amidst the warped passage of time, glimpses of Rui and Joanna's past began to materialize, shadowing the space around them with a painful nostalgia, awakening deep feelings of grief and loss.

"I will not let you disappear!" Joanna cried, her eyes filled with tears as she gazed at the light separating them, as if that light were a barrier between life and death, presence and absence, a barrier she was determined to fight against with everything she had.