I could feel every crack and every fracture of the time plane through the soles of my feet, the sensation unlike anything I had ever experienced.
My heart raced, not just from fear, but from something far deeper—a strange, alien power coursing through my veins. I wasn’t a warrior. Neither was Satoru. And yet, here we were, standing before the Goddess of Chaos, armed and ready to face her.
The timepiece lodged in her chest pulsed like a living heart, its glow beckoning us, drawing us into the fight. But how? How were we supposed to defeat something as ancient and powerful as this goddess?
"Satoru," I breathed, barely able to tear my eyes from the towering figure before us. The goddess’s chaotic energy rippled through the air, distorting the ground, the sky—everything. I turned to him, needing to hear his voice, to know he was just as terrified as I was.
He met my gaze, his own eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and fear. "I don’t know how, Quinn… I don’t know how we’re supposed to do this."
His voice was hoarse, barely audible over the howling winds of chaos that surrounded us. "But I feel it… I feel her power in me."
I nodded, my throat tight. I could feel it, too. The moment we had entered this time plane, something had changed inside us. The goddess—she had lent us strength, as if her own chaotic power had seeped into our bodies.
We hadn’t asked for this. We hadn’t trained for battle. But our limbs felt stronger, faster, as though they had been molded for this one purpose.
The goddess let out a low, guttural laugh, her hollow eyes locking onto us. "You think you can stand against me?" Her voice was like thunder, reverberating through the time plane.
"Foolish mortals. You only live because I allow it. Your borrowed strength is nothing compared to my true power."
Her words sent a chill through me, but at the same time, something in my muscles tightened, a reflex I hadn’t known I possessed. The sword in my hand—when had I drawn it?—felt natural, like an extension of myself. My fingers wrapped around the hilt with a certainty I didn’t understand.
"I’ll distract her," I said, the words leaving my mouth before I had even thought them. The plan formed on instinct, as if my body already knew what had to be done. "You go for the timepiece."
Satoru looked at me, his brow furrowed in disbelief. "Quinn, we can’t… We don’t know how to fight. We—"
"Neither does she," I interrupted, my voice surprisingly steady. "She thinks we’re weak. We need to use that."
I didn’t wait for him to respond. My legs moved before my mind could catch up, carrying me forward, straight toward the goddess. I felt no fear in that moment, only a strange, detached clarity.
My body, imbued with this unnatural power, seemed to know exactly what to do. The ground cracked beneath my feet as I ran, each step pushing me closer to the goddess’s towering form.
She raised one massive hand, her fingers crackling with chaotic energy, and sent a blast of power toward me. My instincts screamed, and without thinking, I leaped into the air, twisting my body as the energy shot past me.
I landed gracefully, my sword already swinging in a wide arc. The blade struck the goddess’s barrier, sparks flying as chaos and strength collided.
The impact jolted through my arms, but my grip held firm. My heart pounded in my chest, but my body didn’t falter. I wasn’t trained for this. I had never held a weapon before today. And yet… I knew what I was doing.
The goddess snarled, swinging her arm again, this time faster. My body moved on its own, ducking under her strike and rolling to the side. A blast of energy exploded where I had just been standing, sending shards of the time plane flying in all directions.
My breath came in sharp gasps, but I felt no panic. Just focus. Pure, unrelenting focus.
"Satoru!" I shouted, my voice cutting through the chaos.
I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye, his figure weaving through the cracks in reality that the goddess’s energy had torn open.
He moved with the same unnerving precision, his body as if guided by some invisible hand, dodging the collapsing fragments of time itself. He was already climbing, scaling the goddess’s enormous form with an ease that made no sense.
The goddess turned, sensing him. "No!" she roared, her voice a tidal wave of rage. Her hand swung down toward him, but I was already moving again.
My legs propelled me forward, and with a burst of speed I didn’t know I possessed, I leaped high into the air, my sword arcing upward.
I struck her outstretched arm, the blade slicing through the chaos energy that surrounded her. For a brief moment, her attention snapped back to me, her eyes widening in shock. It was the opening we needed.
"Satoru, now!"
He didn’t hesitate. In one fluid motion, he reached the goddess’s chest, his hand closing around the timepiece.
The world seemed to pause, the very air growing thick as the power of the timepiece clashed with the goddess’s control. Satoru wrenched it free.
A scream unlike anything I had ever heard tore from the goddess’s throat. Her entire form shuddered, the chaos energy around her spiraling out of control. I barely had time to react before the shockwave hit us, throwing me backward.
I crashed to the ground, my sword slipping from my grasp. My body ached from the impact, but I forced myself to sit up, my eyes searching for Satoru.
There he was, clutching the timepiece, his face pale but alive. Relief flooded through me, the borrowed strength in my body ebbing slightly, though it hadn’t left entirely. Somehow, against all odds, we had done it.
Satoru stumbled over to me, his breath ragged as he knelt beside me. "Quinn… are you alright?"
I nodded, my heart still racing. "I’m fine. You?"
He managed a weak smile, holding up the timepiece. "I think we won."
I let out a breathless laugh, leaning back against the shattered remains of the time plane. "I have no idea how we did that."
Satoru chuckled, shaking his head. "Neither do I… but it feels like… it feels like we were meant to."
I nodded, staring up at the now crumbling figure of the goddess. For a moment, I wondered if this strange, borrowed power would leave us now that the battle was over. But as I looked at Satoru, I realized it didn’t matter. We had fought, together, and won.